Success! The website has generated its first orders, which have proved that both the Stripe and PayPal payment mechanisms work and generate all the appropriate information. And, it has made the book available to a customer in the UK who was otherwise looking at $130, plus shipping.
I understand that life isn’t fair, and I don’t pretend that I’m Erin Brockovich because I’m selling a book for $50, which is still a lot of money for a book. But when I reprinted the book, which actually took a hell of a lot more time and work than expected, I rejected advice to price it higher because people would expect and pay a higher price, especially since the bar had been raised by used prices; because next to $400 it would seem like a bargain at $75 or $80. Which might have been true, but I said that I could make enough per book to make it worthwhile at the old price. OK, I’m paying myself to be my own warehouse, my own shipping department, my own controller, my own secretary as well as my own author, but “enough” is a valuable concept. Maybe this is what my friends who think I’m a liberal mean, but the guy I admire is the mechanic who charges the same price for a new transmission whether you are shopping for the best price or you limped into his shop having blown up halfway through your cross-country trip. As opposed to the mechanic who will stick it to you in the latter case, unless it really seems like you might have your car towed back to Minnesota. Which is what “dynamic pricing” means to me, and why I dislike it.
I don’t know how much integrity I really have; no one does until he actually finds a shopping bag full of cash or is given the opportunity to make billions in global currency deals. But you play the hand you’re dealt.