Buying direct from the author versus Amazon

There is no question that I am a huge Amazon fan. I purchase everything from sewing and embroidery supplies, to books, to toilet paper and more on Amazon. But until I was ready to move forward with publishing this book I never really thought about what it means to an author when the subject of buying direct from the author versus Amazon is concerned.

I did not come up with the idea of this book in order to become rich and famous (though if it happens I won’t be upset), but I would like to make some profit from sales of the book in order to support my goal of raising money for charitable organizations related to children. And, that’s when the lightbulb went off about sales of the book and why I need to drive people to the website to order direct from me instead of Amazon.

All upfront costs are the same with regard to paying to have the books printed and packaged, but when books are sold through Amazon there is a hefty ‘online seller commission’ that comes out of the profit for each book. The amount that Amazon will get can be the difference between making money and none at all. This image is using fictitious numbers where my book is concerned, but shows a direct relationship between the difference in what an author will make if the book purchased directly from the author instead of Amazon. Keep in mind, if the book price goes up, the amount/commission paid to Amazon also goes up and therefore the difference in profit pretty much remains the same. Where Amazon would make $1.00 the author would make $0.10.

*keep in mind that buying the books in larger quantities can change this and there are likely authors buying thousands of copies at a time, so this is not an e

So, while I don’t want to keep you from your monthly, weekly or daily Amazon orders, I hope you will consider buying the book direct from our website so that I can share a portion of the profit with deserving charities!

The book is available for pre-order and should be ready sometime in September for shipping. You also have the option of purchasing an autographed copy in case you think I will end up famous some day!

5/8/23 – moved from website SayNoToKids.com