In author groups on social media, every so often this question comes up: Why can’t I get Amazon Prime shipping for my author copies?
Well, officially, Amazon doesn’t offer Prime shipping when you order author copies, which are the at-cost books authors can order 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 orders (for giveaway items only, no resale!), and option #3 which is non-Prime regular shipping.
This isn’t official advice, just me hopefully helping to clarify some of the fine print we all get to wade through.
Contents
A quick note on the terms “proof copy” and “author copy”
With all the terms we have to keep straight as we learn publishing jargon, things can get a little blurry. Here are the purposes of a proof copy vs. an author copy, both from KDP.
- Proof copy: a print book used 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.
- Other companies may call books like these a galley, galley proof, or page proof.
- Author copy: a final print copy with no cover markings, meant for customer distribution
- Author copies are books you can consign to bookstores, take to a book signing, sell direct—whatever you want new, unmarked books for.
Ordering author copies from your KDP dashboard
Both a proof copy and an author copy start at your KDP “bookshelf,” the main screen you see when you log in to kdp.amazon.com.
Button & link: Order author copies
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 for your paperback edition 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 from KDP to your Amazon cart.
If the books don’t show up in your cart: check that you are logged in with the same Amazon account that you connected to KDP. You can have multiple “buyer accounts” but you’re only allowed one account per household address for selling.
Finish the order on Amazon
Next, the checkout option just functions as a regular Amazon purchase.
Amazon now takes the base printing cost (in this case, $2.41 x 3 = $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 is a fix that sometimes works for this. I address that in the Troubleshooting section at the end of this post.
Ordering copies with Prime shipping (giveaways or freebies only)
Another way you can order almost-at-cost copies does use Prime shipping and thus is not approved for resale copies.
Bear with me for a second because I’m going to show you these steps BUT option #3 is adjusted to
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 that blank you will see the minimum amount you can 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. 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. Update your sales price again and push Publish.
The non-Prime Amazon option that’s still fast
Since it is the PRIME terms of service, not Amazon overall, that restricts items for resale, if you meet the minimum order amount with a NON-PRIME account, you should still be able to benefit from their fast and free shipping.
Again, since this isn’t spelled out in Amazon’s terms, as I read them, I’m sharing my experience and not giving official advice on the topic.
These are the steps:
- Lower the price of the book in KDP (see previous section).
- Wait for the price drop to be approved.
- Search your book on the main Amazon page *from a free, non-Prime Amazon account.*
- Place the order over the $35 minimum (here in the US) to get free shipping.
Shipping may be a bit slower than Prime, but as I mentioned in the author copy section, you are multiple “buyer accounts”—so if you create one for this purpose, just use a completely separate email address. (And don’t create a duplicate KDP account—if you go to the KDP site but you’re already logged into Amazon with a different email, KDP will trigger a new account. Contact KDP support about how to have that duplicate account deleted.
Don’t forget to raise your KDP price back up after your purchase is complete.
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
Considerations for this non-author-copy workaround
So here’s a controversial thing about ordering fast non-Prime books: 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, you might be able to order those before you can fulfill a larger order for author copies.
- So if KDP is replacing a large order number with a smaller quantity that’s seemingly 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 override the smaller number with the larger quantity. So if a smaller number keeps coming up, try the two-order trick and see if that helps.
This may not work with books that are pre-printed at multiple printing locations, since Amazon ships from different warehouses around the US, but it may be worth trying.
For books with typos, new covers, or any revised files: If the small order number comes to you and the books are an outdated version, KDP may replace those copies with the updated ones at no charge.
They aren’t required to replace them, but here’s how to contact them.
In the case of true author copies that aren’t showing updates, you can log in to your KDP account and click the tiny “Contact Us” link at the very bottom of the KDP Bookshelf page (see next photo). A KDP representative may be able to help you.
If you ordered books straight from Amazon, Prime or not, go through your order dashboard to request help with any issues. Again, they’re not required to replace them—but if they offer replacements, and they ask you to send the other copies back … those books will go right back into distribution. (Ugh.)
From the KDP back end as author copies, or with ordering from Amazon’s front-end interface, with outdated copies, it’s worth considering the benefits to YOU having them (with the option to sell “discounted” copies still at a profit) versus having them ship to your readers and risk poor reviews.
Thanks for reading! I’d love to connect and hear what your experiences are doing in real time.
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.