In this tutorial, we’ll take a look at how to set prices through the CoreSource metadata template, and break down the components of the price type composite.
Price Model Business Flag
There are three primary price model business flags that you will be using: retail, library and agency price.
- Retail: Price used by sites like Kobo and Amazon that sell directly to consumers.
- Library: Price read by wholesalers like OverDrive and Baker & Taylor that sell to (you guessed it) libraries.
- Agency: Price used by retailers with whom you have an agency agreement. The only agency agreement that eBOUND currently has is with the Apple iBookstore.
You can designate the business flag using the drop-down menu in column BA on the metadata template.
If you are selling your books in all three markets, you need to set a separate price for each one. The way that you achieve that through the CoreSource metadata template is to create a separate record (row on the spreadsheet) for each one. You will need to set a price in each currency for each of those three business flags. More on that below.
Price Type
The ONIX standard determines the list of price types for selling into different markets. In Canada and the U.S., consumer prices are typically listed as tax-exclusive, and then the tax is added at point of sale. In Europe, and pretty much the rest of the world, taxes are listed as price-inclusive.
Here are the most common price types:
| Price Type | Use Case |
|---|---|
| 01 RRP excluding tax | Retail and library markets in territories where sales tax is added at purchase (Canada and the US) |
| 02 RRP including tax | Retail and library markets in territories where sales tax is included in price (UK, Europe, AU, NZ) |
| 41 Publishers retail price excluding tax | For a product supplied on agency terms in territories where sales tax is added at purchase (Canada and the US on Apple) |
| 42 Publishers retail price including tax | For a product supplied on agency terms in territories where sales tax is included in price (Europe, AU, NZ on Apple) |
All of the price types listed on the CoreSource template are derived from ONIX code list 58. You can download the code lists from the EDItEUR site here for ONIX 2.1, and here for ONIX 3.0.
Pricing for Different Currencies
Best practice for ebook pricing is to set a price in the currency of each of the major markets that you are distributing your books to. For your retail price, we recommend setting prices in CAD, USD, GBP and EUR at minimum, but you are welcome to set prices in as many currencies as you like. For the library price, you will want to set USD and CAD prices at minimum.
For most retailers, if you do not set a price in the currency of a region that they sell books into, they will take your USD price and convert it to the local rate. So for instance, if you don’t set a price in South Africa’s currency, the Rand (ZAR), the retailer would read the USD price from your metadata, and convert it into ZAR for customers in South Africa.
Apple does things a little differently in this regard; they will not convert prices from one currency to another, so you need to set an agency price in each currency for territories that you’d like Apple to sell your books into.
For more information, see our tutorial How to Set Agency Prices for Apple to Increase Your Global Sales Reach.
Here’s an example of all of the prices and price types for one title:
In this spreadsheet, we have set the following prices (starting from the top):
- A retail price in USD, CAD, GBP and EUR for use on sites like Kobo
- Agency prices in EUR, USD, CAD, GBP, EUR, AUD, CHF, DKK, JPY, MXN, NOK, NZD, and SEK for the Apple iBookstore
- Library prices in USD and CAD
- A Kindle price in USD and CAD for Amazon
- Library prices in USD and CAD for the PDF version of the book
- Retail prices in USD and CAD for the PDF version of the book
We admit, it seems like a lot of data for one book. But once you get going (and master the art of copy and paste in Excel) you’ll have it filled out in no time.
Now, what if you want to set a promotional price for your titles to run for a limited period of time? Don’t worry, we have a tutorial for that too. Check out How to Set Promotional Prices For Your Ebooks.
You can also check out our tutorial on How to Input Discount Code Metadata for vendors that offer a short discount on academic and professional titles.