Tuesday, November 20, 2018

A question to Amazon

As well as an editor, I am an independent author in Australia, and I have been using Amazon KDP (and previously Createspace) to publish my paperback books for some years. I have also assisted other Australian authors to do so. Since 1 July 2018, changes to Australian law regarding GST have led Amazon to make the decision to no longer ship proof copies and author copies to Australia. Instead, I, as an author, am directed to buy print copies from the http://amazon.com.au retail page. This means paying (for instance) AU$18.33 plus shipping for a copy of my own book, rather than US$3.68 plus shipping as it would have been. This is a HUGE cost increase and makes purchasing copies for resale locally no longer viable.

I would love to hear from other authors, particularly in Australia, but elsewhere too if a similar situation pertains.

Amazon is a large, technologically advanced company, and my question to them is: When will Amazon resume shipments of proofs and author copies to Australia, including handling of the required GST payment?