Did Kobo's pricing discounts really affect you?
Everyone reading this news article has probably read or heard about the furor over discounting at Kobo (an ePub distributor, e-bookseller, device-maker and reading application maker), and how it's affected Amazon pricing and commissions. Many authors have removed their titles from Kobo, not wanting Kobo's discounting to reduce their Amazon prices, and thus their commission structure. But customers distributing their ePubs through InGrooves no longer have to worry about that, and are getting a better commission structure through InGrooves!
This past week, Kobo executives agreed to provide commissions to InGrooves' distribution partners that exceed their normal commission structure for self-published authors. Instead of the 50/50% deal that is normally offered, InGrooves' authors will receive a 70/30% commission structure, resulting in a net royalty to them of 65%--a 20% increase. In addition, Kobo has agreed to cease discounting without the express permission of the author, eliminating the Amazon-pricing "Death Spiral" that has recently caused significant income loss to Kindle authors.
Contact me if you need further information about this development.
Update: This article no longer relevant as of year-end, 2011.
