Prime shipping should not be used for books meant for resale, per Amazon's terms, so my third point below gives a comparable workaround. This post should not be considered endorsement or advice.
Every so often, the question comes up of why can’t I get free Amazon Prime shipping for author copies?
Well, officially, Amazon doesn’t offer Prime shipping when you order author copies — the at-cost books ordered through KDP. Because I like to know as many routes as possible to my regular local stops (just ask my husband), I decided to do some experimenting on this route, too. I’ve compared prices and shipping speeds on the official author copies, Prime for giveaway items, and option #3 which is non-Prime regular shipping, and my recommendation.
Contents
A quick note on the terms “proof copy” and “author copy”
- Proof copy: print books for layout checks before publishing
Proof copies are used to verify that the print layout is good, that cover prints correctly, etc. Because they’re intended for review before offering for sale, KDP puts an awkward printed band across the entire cover that says NOT FOR RESALE. These may also be called a galley, galley proof, or page proof. - Author copy: print copy with no cover markings, meant for customer distribution
These are copies you can take directly to bookstores, have at a book signing table, whatever you want YOUR books for.
Door #1: Here’s how to order author copies from KDP the official way
Both these order processes start at your KDP “bookshelf,” the main screen you see when you log in to kdp.amazon.com.
Button/link: Order author copies
So, from your KDP bookshelf, locate your book, and check the buttons in the section that shows the paperback’s status (which should be “Live”). If the button in the same section as your paperback doesn’t already show “Order author copies,” click the small button with the three dots and choose that option.
Quantity and marketplace
On the next screen, choose the number of copies you want to order, then select the marketplace for your country/region.
These factors trigger the total cost (the quick math you can see below the “marketplace” drop-down). At the base print cost of $2.41 for this particular book, the cost of three copies is $7.23. (They’ll add shipping in the next step.)
Click Submit Order.
This will take you to from KDP to your Amazon cart. (If they don’t show up in your cart, check that you are logged in with the correct Amazon account. You can have a bunch of buyer accounts but you’re only allowed one account per household for selling.)
Finish the order on Amazon
Next, checkout just functions as a regular Amazon purchase.
Amazon now takes the base printing cost (in this case, $7.23), and adds shipping and tax. The purchase total is now $12.72.
Once you complete your order, author copies usually take 1-2 weeks to arrive. If you plan on unpublishing your book afterward, don’t do it until you have a shipping notification or the order will be cancelled.
If you have issues ordering as many copies as you want, there’s a reason for that. I address that in the Troubleshooting section at the end of this post.
Door #2: Prime shipping (giveaways/freebies only)
Ok, so here’s the other way you can try, not approved for resale copies but giveaway copies would likely be another story (>>not official advice or approval from me<<). Let me take you back to my KDP bookshelf page again.
Edit print book pricing
Again, from the section with your paperback book status (“Live”), go to the button with the three small dots and choose the “Edit print book pricing” link.
On the pricing page, look for the blank labeled “List Price.” Underneath it you will see a minimum amount you must list the book for. Reset your book’s pricing to that lowest amount for the marketplace you purchase in (no need to adjust the prices in the other marketplaces). In my case, that minimum price is $4.02, which is the base print cost plus the math that KDP lists at this link (which I’m sure makes sense to someone).
With the price updated, click Publish Your Paperback Book.
Purchase with your Prime account
Now go directly to Amazon.com to look up the book. This time make sure you’re signed in with the email account connected to your Amazon Prime subscription.
It will take a few minutes to update, but since it is only a price adjustment and not new file uploads, this usually is approved pretty quickly. Your mileage may vary, of course, but this process I’m documenting took under 15 minutes for the price to update on the main Amazon page (though another book of mine took about 8 hours). Just refresh the page every so often to see the change.
Choose the number of copies you want and go to checkout. I’ve again chosen three books, and in the checkout I now have Prime shipping options.
The total, made up of that minimum price plus tax is $12.78 (so $4.02 x 3 = $12.06, plus $.72 tax).
Choose your desired shipping option and complete your order. As with author copies, if you plan on unpublishing your book afterward, don’t do it until you have a shipping notification or the order will be cancelled.
Don’t forget to reset your price in KDP
Once you’ve completed the purchase, go back to your KDP bookshelf. When the book file is available for revisions again, simply update your sales price and push Publish again. (This part may take a little longer to adjust.)
Door #3: quicker shipping but without Prime
An option that might work for quick shipping but would not break the Prime rule would be to lower the price from KDP, as in the last step.
Then place the order from a non-Prime Amazon account. At present in the US, there is free shipping available for a purchase over $25 (USD), but it’s not quite as fast as Prime. (As I mentioned above, you’re allowed only one Amazon seller account per household. But a household is allowed multiple Amazon buyer accounts.)
Don’t forget to raise your KDP price back up after your purchase.
Numbers comparison for my order test, three books each
In the end, the prices for these three copies were only different by a few cents per copy, and it’s primarily shipping speed that’s the technical difference.
- Author copy order: $12.72.
1-2 weeks to arrive after books are printed - Price adjustment order: $12.78.
Prime shipping, or free standard shipping speed, after books are printed
Should you use this non-author-copy workaround? A tale of two scoldings
(Ok, it’s one scolding incident which was covered by multiple news outlets. That heading just sounded catchy, lol.)
So here’s a controversial thing about ordering this way: unlike author copy orders, purchases on Amazon (Prime or no) count toward your sales rankings.
While that seems like only a good thing, author Mark Dawson got some bad press in 2020 by ordering 400 copies of his own new release from a local bookstore, not unlike this process I’ve just described. This purchase got him onto the New York Times top 10, but his books were removed from that prestigious list shortly thereafter, to mixed reviews. He was open about the process on his social media platform, asking readers about interest in sales and stating in advance how he planned to ship to those markets, but some people complained that he wasn’t playing fair, even if the top 10 wasn’t part of the calculus.
So just take these things into consideration. Some people won’t care, but a lot of people want to do the right thing and will want to know not to inflate their numbers and then go cheer a “#1” tag all over social media. Know what I mean?
Troubleshooting: Why can I only order a small number of author copies?
If KDP has copies already printed, waiting to ship (usually a very small number), you must order those before you can fulfill a larger order for author copies. So if it’s rejecting a large order number and giving you a smaller quantity, seemingly at random, place an order for that smaller number to clear the stock. Then place a second order for the rest of the copies you want.
Multiple times, I’ve seen the author copy order just disappear from the system if the author tries to type the bigger quantity in. So if a small number keeps coming up, try the two-order trick and see if that helps.
In the case of books with typos/errors that needed revised files: If the small order is an outdated version, KDP may replace those copies with the updated ones at no charge. They aren’t required to, but here’s how to ask.
- In the case of true author copies that aren’t updated, you can log in to your KDP account and click the tiny “Contact Us” link at the very bottom of the page (see next photo). A KDP representative can help you.
- If you ordered books straight from Amazon, Prime or not, go through your order dashboard to request help. And either way, with outdated copies, remember that you’d rather have them than having them ship to your readers.
Thanks for reading!
I'm a sucker for tips, tricks, and sanity-saving "hacks" that work with proven systems! If you have a topic you'd like addressed, email hello(at)SkinnerBooks(dot)com and I'll give it a look. :) ~Jody Skinner
Thanks, Jody. As a new (almost published) author, I was curious about how to order author copies from Amazon. (I don’t have Prime, so that part doesn’t matter.