Paperback copies of my books are available through CreateSpace, a publishing division of Amazon. When authors choose Createspace, they not only make their books available through Amazon.com, they are also given their own “e-store” where readers can purchase the book directly.
Choosing the latter is essentially like buying direct from the printer. But since Amazon is not going to undercut itself, the retail price remains the same at both outlets.
What’s the difference, then, you ask? Well, since there’s less overhead in buying direct from the printer, I make almost TWICE as much money on books bought direct (the “From Me” link) as from Amazon…and the price is EXACTLY the same for the reader. If you buy from Amazon, I make a reduced royalty amount, because Amazon has overhead costs to cover.
The difference for you is if you are a member of Amazon Prime, since you can’t use Prime with CS purchases. If you’re not a member of Prime, then I encourage you to buy direct from CS (the “From Me” link): the price is the same and you make this independent author very happy.
An Example
The paperback edition of my debut crime fiction novel A Reason to Live retails at $14.99.
If you buy it “From Me” (i.e., my CS e-store at https://www.createspace.com/3865267), I make $6.85. You will pay $14.99 + $5.14 shipping.
If you buy it “From Amazon” (http://www.amazon.com/Sword-of-Kings-ebook/dp/B00758JRAY/) you will still pay just $14.99, and about $3.99 in shipping. But if you have Prime, obviously, you’ll pay nothing for shipping. Either way, I make $3.85 if you buy from Amazon.
Reasoning
Why did I choose this price for my book? Because, in addition to direct e-store and Amazon sales, Createspace allows you to choose expanded distribution to libraries and independent booksellers. Because these outlets demand–and need–deep discounts in order to carry a book, I only make $.85 per copy at my retail price of $14.99.