[BD]

I'm preparing to launch my first book and as I was checking the prices of Kindle store bestsellers I've noticed most books were priced 4.19 or 5.24. Why? Are those 3.99 and 4.99 with some percentage/tax added? Is it because I'm browsing from EU (the store is Amazon.com though)?

 

[dotisunderwood]

Are you sure those are priced in USD still? I think Amazon auto-converts to local currency for wherever my delivery address is, so I get weird price conversions of 3.99/4.99/0.99 for the account where the main delivery address is outside the US. The local currency is indicated in very small letters, easy to misread.

 

[BD]

Yep pretty sure. Let's make an experiment:
https://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Kindle-Store-Paranormal-Urban-Fantasy/zgbs/digital-text/6157853011
What price is #4, Midnight Kisses? At my end it's USD 4.19

(I suspect it might be VAT. Authors select 3.99 and 4.99 but Amazon adds VAT on top of that.)

 

[ImaWriter]

Use a VPN and set it to a US server. You will see the prices that anyone in the US see. Everything is geo-targeted, so wherever Amazon thinks you are located based on your IP address will determine the price you see.

The price showing for me browsing from Canada is $3.91.

 

[BD]

If this is the case, I wonder what happens when we set the price for our books -- is it then changed for the US or for our geolocation...

 

[alexabooks]

Use a VPN and set it to a US server. You will see the prices that anyone in the US see. Everything is geo-targeted, so wherever Amazon thinks you are located based on your IP address will determine the price you see.

The price showing for me browsing from Canada is $3.91.

True. I'm not in the US, and even though I browse amazon.com, I see prices with VAT.

 

[BD]

So, I launched a preorder and set the price to $4.99. As it went live, the price on its Amazon page is $5.24. It must mean that even though I'm browsing Amazon.com, they're adding a tax for non-US users.