[westonw]

I wrote a travelogue about my teaching experience in South Korea. Recently, I lowered the price of my ebook to $2.99, and of course the worldwide pricing is set to be the equivalent. I've been promoting my book through various outlets in Korea since that's where a good portion of my target market is located. I come to find out that Amazon is charging $4.99 for the ebook in Korea.

I sent Amazon an email, which they responded...

All items available in the Amazon.com Kindle Store are listed in U.S. dollars (USD). The availability and pricing of titles in global Kindle Stores may vary by home country or region, including taxes and other operating costs.

Has anyone experienced the same pricing issues in overseas markets? I can't imagine taxes and operating costs would justify a 70% price increase for a non-tangible product such as an ebook. And as far as I know, I don't see any of that additional revenue. Also, Barnes & Noble has the book listed as the price I set which makes it even more suspicious. I almost find it a little too convenient that Amazon is charging more for an ebook in an international market where they know the book is being targeted. Not that I'm making killer sales to even make it worthwhile for Amazon. I just want to make sure everything is on the up and up.

Any thoughts, suggestions, or experiences would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Routhwick]

It appears you've been hit by that surcharge; Amazon applies it for foreign customers who visit the main U.S. site.

 

[BlankPage]

Comment removed due to VS TOS 25/9/2018

 

[AndreSanThomas]

There are taxes, tariffs, foreign carrier fees for delivery, currency exchange fees and god knows what all else involved when someone in another country buys something from Amazon.com.

The good news is that those up charges are across the board, so you're in the same situation as every other book that they'd be looking at on Amazon.

 

[CoraBuhlert]

The Amazon surcharge is also an excellent reason to put up your book at other vendors as well, because e.g. Smashwords and Kobo don't have a surcharge.

 

[Terrence OBrien]

" I almost find it a little too convenient that Amazon is charging more for an ebook in an international market where they know the book is being targeted."

It applies to all books, and has nothing to do with where the book is targeted.

 

[westonw]

Thanks everyone for your input!  I'll just be more careful about how I promote my book.