At 70%, Amazon deducts a delivery charge of $0.15 per MB of the finished eBook file. A 500KB eBook costs about $0.075 to "deliver" — negligible. But a heavily illustrated book or one with many embedded images can balloon to 10–20MB, costing $1.50–$3.00 in delivery fees per sale. At a $2.99 price point, a $3.00 delivery fee would wipe out most of your royalty. If your eBook has many images, compress them aggressively or consider whether the 70% tier actually nets more than 35%.
The 70% tier requires a minimum list price of $2.99. A book priced at $2.98 falls into the 35% tier and earns $1.04 instead of roughly $2.00. This is one of the most common and costly KDP pricing mistakes. Always price at $2.99 or above if you want the 70% rate.
Permafree lead magnets and $0.99 loss leaders are intentionally in the 35% tier. The goal isn't royalty per unit — it's reader acquisition. Many authors price book one of a series at $0.99 or free, accepting the lower royalty to maximise series read-through. If you enrol the book in KDP Select, you can make it permafree by matching a free listing on Smashwords or Draft2Digital and requesting a price match — though this is at Amazon's discretion.
Does the 70% royalty rate apply automatically?
Yes — if your book meets the price, marketplace, and eligibility requirements, KDP automatically applies the 70% rate. You select it in the pricing section when uploading or updating your book. If your book doesn't qualify, only the 35% option will be available for that marketplace.
Can I have different royalty rates in different countries?
Yes. KDP lets you set prices per marketplace. Your book might qualify for 70% in the US at $2.99 but fall outside the qualifying range in a smaller marketplace where you've set a lower local price. Check the eligibility for each marketplace when you set prices in KDP.
Does KDP Select affect which royalty rate I get?
KDP Select is not a requirement for the 70% royalty tier. Select adds promotional tools (Free Days, Countdown Deals) and makes your book available in Kindle Unlimited — but the royalty rate is determined by pricing, not Select enrolment.
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