Guides
How to sell ebooks from your own website
Amazon is where strangers find you; your own site is where your readers pay you more and become your list. Selling an ebook directly takes an afternoon to set up and changes the economics of every book after it: 90 % or more of the price instead of 70 %, no price ceiling, and an email address with every sale.
| Tool | Fee | Handles VAT? | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gumroad | 10 % + payment fees | Yes (merchant of record) | Fastest setup, discover feature |
| Payhip | 5 % on the free plan, 0 % on paid plans | Yes | Low fees, coupons, affiliates |
| Lemon Squeezy | 5 % + $0.50 | Yes (merchant of record) | Software-style checkout, licences |
| Stripe Payment Links + a delivery tool | ~3 % + $0.30 | No, you file it | Lowest fees if you handle tax |
| Shopify + Digital Downloads app | Plan from $39/month + 2.9 % | Partly | Existing shop |
Step 1: the files
Sell the PDF and the EPUB together. The PDF is what most buyers open; the EPUB is for their reader app. Put your name and site in the footer of the PDF and in the EPUB metadata. Keep a MOBI out; Kindle apps now accept EPUB sent by email.
Step 2: the page
One page: cover, title, the same description structure as on Amazon (situation, promise, what is inside, for whom), a sample chapter as a free PDF, the price, the buy button. Testimonials if you have them. No navigation that leads away.
Step 3: price
Direct buyers pay more than Amazon buyers because they already trust you. $9 to $19 for a guide, $19 to $49 for a workbook with worksheets, more with a bonus (a template, a call, a video). Offer the Amazon edition at $4.99 for strangers and the direct edition with extras for your audience.
Step 4: VAT and tax
Digital products sold to EU consumers carry VAT at the buyer’s country rate, whatever your size. Tools that act as merchant of record (Gumroad, Payhip, Lemon Squeezy) collect and remit it for you, which is the main reason to accept their fee. With Stripe alone you register for OSS or a local scheme and file yourself. Outside the EU, rules vary; the merchant-of-record tools handle most of them.
Step 5: delivery, refunds, piracy
- Delivery: the tool emails a download link; set it to expire after a few downloads.
- Refunds: offer 14 days, no questions. Refund rates on ebooks are under 2 % and the policy sells more than it costs.
- Piracy: it happens and does not matter at this scale. Watermark the PDF with the buyer’s email if the tool offers it, and move on.
Step 6: the email
Every sale is a subscriber. Send the download, then a short sequence: how to use the book, a question to reply to, and the next product. That sequence is where direct sales beat Amazon by a wide margin.
Frequently asked questions
Can I sell on my site and on Amazon at the same time?
Yes, unless the ebook is in KDP Select. Wide distribution plus direct sales is the normal setup for non-fiction.
Do I need a company?
Depends on your country. Many authors sell as sole traders; the merchant-of-record tools invoice the buyer, and you invoice the tool.
Which tool if I have no audience?
Gumroad, for its discover feed and zero monthly cost. Move to Payhip or Lemon Squeezy once fees matter.
Can I sell a book made with create-ebook?
Yes. Full commercial rights; download the PDF and EPUB and upload them to any of these tools.