Shopping online is something most of us do every day, but you might still have concerns about buying from me direct, and because of this here are some FAQs. If I’ve missed anything out, please feel free to send me an email.
Q: When I click on the button to buy direct from you it takes me to a site called PayHip. Are they trustworthy? Who are they?
A: PayHip is a highly reputable and trust-worthy e-commerce website based in the UK! Because handling direct sales can cause issues, I use PayHip to help with the process. This service allows me to sell goods directly to customers. They charge me a small fee on each transaction, which means I can keep 90% of the profits I make from selling direct. On the other hand when I sell through major retailers like Amazon, Apple, Google and the like, they’ll take 30% of the profits on every sale.
Q: When I buy an e-book directly from you, how do I receive this?
A: After completing checkout at my PayHip web store, they’ll send you an email with links to download both the .MOBI (Kindle) and .EPUB (Other Devices) versions of the files. All files supplied are DRM-free, meaning they’re yours forever and can be used on any compatible e-reader app or device. If you’re used to sending those kinds of files to your device, you can then go about doing so.
If you aren’t, wait for another email from Book Funnel, which is a service that helps readers receive books and get them onto their devices. If you have any problems with the files or getting them on your e-reader, Book Funnel’s customer support is excellent at walking you through the process step by step, no matter which device you’re using.
Q: Which payment methods can I use?
A: My PayHip web store is set up to accept PayPal, Visa, MasterCard, or American Express credit or debit card, with payments being processed securely by PayHip. PayHip also handles all necessary local and government taxes (including VAT) during checkout.
Q: Why should I buy direct?
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A: When you buy directly from me, two things happen:
1. You could save money
2. I make more money
That has to be a win-win, right? So how does that work. Simple, when you buy directly from me, I keep more of the profit from the sale — often 90% of it! Because of this, I’m able to offer you lower prices on certain things. This allows me to keep paying my bills and writing more books that you’ll love. I also have a permanent secret discount code for followers, so it’s worth thinking about subscribing to my newsletter.
Because I’m an indie-published author, I don’t have the backing of a huge corporation producing my books getting them out to amazing readers like you. I do almost everything myself. In addition to writing, I also working on the first round edits, sometimes make the covers, run most of my marketing (ads, email newsletter, social media, etc.), produce high-quality paperbacks, maintain this website, and a whole lot more. Things that most people never see because they’re behind the scenes. All that costs me a lot of time and money!
To put things in perspective, let’s look at some numbers. I sell my e-books for $2.99 each on all the major retailers. After subtracting the retailer’s 30% share of the sale, I take home approximately $2.00 Because the income from my books allows me to only have to work part-time, I still need to sell around 300 copies of my books every month just to keep the lights on and the cat in the biscuits she really likes. That many sales a month might not sound like a lot to you, but it’s a lot of hard work.
On the other hand, when you buy that same $2.99 book directly from me, I get to keep approximately $2.70, which is 70c more! It doesn’t sound like a lot, but it soon adds up. It also means I only need to sell 225 copies of my books every month, which is much easier to do than 300!
So when you buy directly from me, it truly makes a huge difference. Not only does it show you want to support me, it shows you care. It also means you’ll get to see more of my work come to life — and all at no extra cost to you.
Q: Why are some titles/sets only available direct?
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As mentioned above, by selling direct, I can offer special discounts that aren’t possible on the major retailers due to their royalty rates. On Amazon, e-books priced higher than $9.99 only earn a 35% royalty. Therefore, a box set of six books for $11.99 ($2 per book), I’d only make $4.20 — that hurts!
When I offer that same box set on my web store for $11.99, I make $10.80 on the sale. That’s a big difference! It also means, I’m able to offer some box sets and collections exclusively on my web store at even lower prices. Whereas selling them on some of the major retailers for the same price, would have me losing a lot of money!
However, not all the major retailers have royalty rates that are so severe. Apple and Kobo, for example, often provide the same 70% royalty rate for products priced higher than $9.99, so you might see some of my box sets available for sale there at a slightly higher price than on my web store to make up for the difference in royalty rates (70% on Apple/Kobo vs. 90% direct).
Hopefully this has helped answer your questions, and let you have a look behind the scenes. If you’ve got more questions or worries about buying direct, please drop me an email.