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Is Amazon cheating?

by zamzung
5 replies
Well, I know they have some limitations and different terms for many countries and they don't even pay royalties the same for buyers from "not friendly" countries, but what is not clear to me is why they have different prices?

For example, I have some books published through Kindle, and the price for them is $0.99 (for example) ... and that price is valid for buyers from US and all "supported" countries... but when I check sales pages for those books, price for me is $2.99...

Still waiting for explanation from them but wanted to hear from you what's that all about... if anyone have experience with this problem?

I really don't see a valid reason for Amazon to charge extra $2 per Kindle book for people from "not supported" countries... I mean, there is no extra costs or anything, as far as I know... so that looks like a cheating to me... or anyone have a better explanation?
#amazon #cheating
  • Profile picture of the author dv8domainsDotCom
    I'll play devil's advocate and say that they might not be cheating; we just might not know the whole story. For instance; they might have different data centers in the US that cost less to operate than in some other country? Or possibly have to pay regulations or other fees in said countries that we're not aware of. Or (another possibility) they have some form of 'risk management' built in, where they see 'x' number of refunds from country 'y' ( a higher percentage than normal ), and they try to mitigate that by charging slightly higher costs to those countries?
    So, a whole bunch of "maybe" type things, I'm sorry I can't give a definitive answer, other than "It's their sandbox". Sorry friend
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    • Profile picture of the author Bill Farnham
      Here's another guess...the exchange rates for funds from some countries may be different to the point it's reflected in the sales price.

      It's their ball, they do get to call the rules.

      ~Bill
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  • Profile picture of the author zamzung
    Yup, I know there is so many "maybes" with this story but it's quite interesting for me... can't wait to see what will they reply to my question on this issue...
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  • Profile picture of the author zamzung
    Nice guess Bill ... but still, $2 flat extra charge for different exchange rates sounds too much, don't you think? I mean, some percentage would have more sense... but again, you could be right...
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    • Profile picture of the author Bill Farnham
      Originally Posted by zamzung View Post

      Nice guess Bill ... but still, $2 flat extra charge for different exchange rates sounds too much, don't you think? I mean, some percentage would have more sense... but again, you could be right...
      Here's an example...Last week I looked for the 2012 Almanac for my dad (he's 87 and senile ) and the price on the book was $15.99 USA and $18.99 for Canada. A difference based on ????

      Go figure...

      ~Bill
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