Member FAQs
Buy the Book FAQ's
Getting Started
Buy the Book is an Irish-owned platform for authors to sell their books directly to their readers. The platform gives authors access to their own seller dashboard where they can add their book, author profile, set the pricing and receive order confirmations directly. Authors are responsible for posting their books and will receive payments directly within 7 days.
Read our Trustpilot reviews to hear what authors are saying about Buy the Book.
Here’s a short video outlining how Buy the Book works.
Buy the Book is an easy to access, low-cost solution for direct distribution where authors can retain up to 95% of their book royalties and get paid directly within 7 days.
By selling direct, you will maintain full control over pricing, stock and distribution and connect with your reader directly. Buy the Book also offers members access to free masterclasses to support them with book marketing and promotion.
No. You can join our platform before your book is printed. As a Buy the Book member, you can ask us about recommended service providers and access our masterclasses to help you prepare for marketing and promoting your book.
You can also set up a pre-order on Buy the Book up to 3 months in advance of your publication date. By setting up your book on pre-order, you can take payment for sales ahead of time which can help you fund your printing costs and give you an idea of how many books to get printed.
No. We welcome authors who are self-published and traditionally published. Once you have physical copies of your book to sell and you are looking to sell directly, you are welcome to join our platform.
Selling direct on buythebook.ie gives you full control over your book distribution and gives you royalties of up to 95%. Additional benefits include immediate payment for all sales, access to your customer data and connecting directly to your reader. To find out more about the benefits of selling direct, read our Author Guide on Why Sell Direct?
To create an author account, go to the sign-up page and complete the sign-up form. Select your preferred subscription and complete the checkout process. After you sign up, you will have access to your own seller dashboard, with step-by-step instructions on how to set up your author profile, list your books, and start selling.
You can have your account set up in approximately 30 minutes. After joining, you can add your book details, pricing, shipping costs, shipping regions and author profile. Your book will go live on our website and be ready to sell within 24 hours.
Buy the Book is SEO-optimised, so your book will start appearing in Google search results soon after it goes live.
Our Seller Support Centre includes step-by-step videos to guide you through the set-up process. If you need help, you can also email us at [email protected].
You can list up to 3 books on your seller dashboard. There is also the option to upgrade to a 5-book subscription from your dashboard if you need to add additional books.
No. We welcome all authors to join, regardless of what country you live in.
No technical skills are required to create or manage your account. Buy the Book is designed to be easy to use even if you have never sold online before. When you set up your account, we provide step-by-step instructions, video tutorials and email support.
From your seller dashboard you can add your book and author profile and connect a Stripe account. We provide clear instructions to help you set up a Stripe account. Our dedicated support team is here to assist you if needed.
Pricing & Payments
We offer flexible, low-cost membership options. You can view full details on our Membership Plans page.
Buy the Book charges between 5% and 20% commission, depending on which plan you choose. All payments are processed through Stripe, which charges an additional transaction fee of 1.5% + €0.25 for EU standard cards.
Payments are made immediately to you through Stripe. You can set up a Stripe account free of charge, and funds from each sale will be transferred from Stripe to your bank account within 7 days. To setup a Stripe account, click here.
Yes. A Stripe account is required to immediately receive payments for your book sales. Stripe processes all payments for your book, and your earnings are transferred directly to your bank account within 7 days of each sale. Setting up a Stripe account is free, and we provide guidance to help you through the process.
Orders & Fulfilment
You are responsible for packaging and shipping your book once you receive an order. When a customer places an order for your book, you will receive an order notification immediately by email, which will include the shipping details. We require that all orders are shipped within 3-5 working days. When the book is shipped, you can mark the order as Completed on your seller dashboard.
When a customer places an order for your book on Buy the Book, you will immediately receive an email notification with the order details.
The payment for the order will automatically transfer to your Stripe account, minus any commission and Stripe fees.
You are responsible for posting your book to the customer.
Once posted, you can mark the order as Completed on your dashboard.
A list of all your orders is available to download from your seller dashboard.
Yes, we offer fulfilment services for some authors who are doing significant sales volume. If you’re interested in having your orders handled for you, please email us at [email protected].
Your shipping cost will depend on the weight and size of your book, as well as the destination.
We recommend weighing your book at your local post office and checking the current rates. You can view An Post’s postage rates here.
Once you’ve decided how much to charge for postage, and where you want to ship, you can set different prices per region in your seller dashboard.
You also have the option to offer your reader free shipping or local pickup. For the local pickup option, you can enter a specific location.
Yes. Readers can send you a message in two ways:
At Checkout – During the checkout process, customers can leave you a message in the Order Notes section. This can be used to request a personalised signed copy or write you a personal message. You will receive these messages in the order email notification.
Direct Messaging – Readers can also contact you directly using the messaging feature on your author page. We will forward these messages directly to you, and will include a reply-to email address should you choose to respond.
Features & Tools
Buy the Book offers a range of powerful tools to help authors sell more books and connect with readers:
Pre-Orders: Start taking orders and revenue before your book is released.
Discount Codes: Run reader promotions by creating discount codes directly from your dashboard.
Reader Reviews: Get reviews directly to your book page which can help to boost sales.
Signed Copies: Give readers the option to request signed copies of your book.
Custom URLs: Create a custom url link for your book and share it on social media.
Nielsen BookScan Integration: All sales data will be included in Nielsen BookScan for inclusion in the Irish Times bestseller listings.
Author Dashboard: Manage your sales easily with tools for order history, customer list downloads, shipping settings, and stock control.
Shipping Options: Set custom shipping rates by country, offer free shipping or local pickup.
Analytics: Track how many views your book has received and view sales over time.
Direct Messaging: Receive personal messages or requests from readers via email or through your author page.
Fast Payments: Get paid immediately through Stripe, which will transfer your funds to your bank account within 7 days of each sale.
Community Access: Join our private Facebook group with other authors.
Monthly Masterclasses: Attend free masterclasses on marketing, publishing, and promotion.
Pre-orders allow you to start generating sales before your book is printed or released. This can help fund your printing costs, build early momentum, and give you an idea of how many copies to print.
Pre-orders can also increase your chances of being listed as an Irish Times bestseller. You can read our Author Guide on How to Become a Bestseller in Ireland.
You do not need an ISBN to sell your book on Buy the Book. However, we recommend getting one. An ISBN allows you to sell your book through libraries and other retailers, and lets your sales data be tracked by Nielsen BookScan in Ireland.
You can buy ISBNs from Nielsen, the official provider for authors and publishers in Ireland. You can also use an ISBN from Amazon if selling on Buy the Book.
Why Choose Buy the Book
Buy the Book is a better option for authors who want more control and visibility, higher royalties, quicker payment times and a direct connection to their readers. Here’s how we compare to Amazon:
Royalties: With Buy the Book, authors keep up to 95% of the sale price, compared to 40–60% on Amazon. Use our Royalty Calculator to see how much more you can earn with Buy the Book.
Payments: Buy the Book pays authors immediately for each sale via Stripe. Amazon can take 60-90 days for payment.
Visibility: Buy the Book proudly showcases its authors books on the home page of our website, with optimised search and SEO functionality built-in. We will also showcase your author profile across our social media channels. Amazon has millions of other books, making it very difficult to compete for visibility.
Dedicated Support: Buy the Book is Irish-owned, with personal support via email and a private Facebook group of Irish authors. Amazon offers automated global support, with limited personal support for authors.
Signed Copies: Buy the Book allows readers to request personalised signed copies of your book, which is not possible on Amazon.
Pre-orders: Buy the Book can help you generate pre-order sales and revenue for your book, helping you to fund your publication. Amazon does not offer a pre-order sale option for paperback books.
Know Your Customer: With Buy the Book, you can access your customer list and request reviews. Amazon does not share any customer information with authors.
Reader Messaging: When you sell with Buy the Book you can receive messages from readers directly. Amazon does not share messages with authors.
Account Control: You can cancel your Buy the Book account anytime. Amazon accounts are subject to strict rules and can be closed without warning due to account violations.
Community & Learning: Buy the Book hosts free monthly masterclasses, offers authors the opportunity to become bestsellers via Nielsen BookScan, and has a community of Irish self-published authors.
Buy the Book gives you full control, faster payment, higher royalties, and a more personal selling experience—designed specifically for Irish authors.
Yes. We do not require you to sell exclusively with Buy the Book. You are free to sell through any other channel that you choose.
Selling on your own website comes with higher costs, technical work, ongoing fees and management. Buy the Book offers a unique selling solution tailored for Irish authors. Here is how we compare:
Setup Time & Cost: Buy the Book offers authors a low-cost solution for direct selling. Setting up an account is easy and quick, and support is provided if required. Creating your own website takes time and requires hiring and paying for web development and ongoing maintenance costs.
Technical Skills: No technical skills are needed on Buy the Book. Your own website may require coding, SEO configuration, and integrating payment systems like Stripe or PayPal.
SEO & Discoverability: Buy the Book is optimised for SEO, and your book will appear in Google search results. Your own website will need to be configured for SEO, and it will take time for your books to rank high on Google.
Pre-orders: Buy the Book makes it easy to set up a pre-order sale before launch, and your readers will be notified of the release date through order confirmation emails. On your own website, you will need configuration to integrate pre-orders.
Nielsen BookScan: Buy the Book sends all sales data to Nielsen, for inclusion in the weekly Irish Times Bestseller list. You cannot do this by selling on your own website.
Payments: Buy the Book makes it easy for you to connect your Stripe account and get paid immediately after each sale.
Discount Codes: You can generate discount codes on Buy the Book to share with your readers.
Reader Reviews: Buy the Book allows you to request and receive reviews directly on your book page.
Signed Copies: Readers can request signed copies of your book on Buy the Book.
Order Management: Buy the Book has the tools you need to manage stock levels, view your order history, download your customer details, and view analytics.
Marketing: With Buy the Book, you can access member-only free monthly masterclasses on marketing, promotion and other topics relevant to selling your book.
Support: Buy the Book offers advice, email support and video tutorials. There are no ongoing charges for support or hosting.
Buy the Book gives you the freedom of selling direct—without the high costs of building and maintaining your own website.
Selling through bookstores involves higher commissions, longer payment times, and limited visibility to who your customer is. Here is how we compare to bookstores:
Royalties: With Buy the Book, authors keep up to 95% of the sale price, compared to 50-60% with bookstores. Use our Royalty Calculator to see how much more you can earn with Buy the Book.
Payment Times: With Buy the Book, you get paid immediately via Stripe. Bookstores require that you invoice them and follow up for payment, which can take months to receive.
Stock: Bookstores sell your book on a sale-or-return basis, meaning that any books not sold are returned to you. You are also responsible for collecting unsold stock and sending stock to bookstores.
Pre-orders: Bookstores generally do not offer pre-sale of your book. On Buy the Book, you can run a pre-order campaign to generate sales and revenue before your book is published.
Marketing Support: Most bookstores will not promote your book. Buy the Book will share your author profile on their social media platforms, and give you access to free monthly masterclasses and a community of authors.
Visibility & Reach: Buy the Book gives your book optimum visibility on our website, along with optimised SEO, making it easier for readers to find you.
Reviews: On Buy the Book, readers can leave reviews directly on your book page. Bookstores will not offer you this feature.
Author Experience: Buy the Book offers authors a better experience, allowing you to sell signed copies, receive personal messages from readers, and offer discount codes during promotions.
Know Your Customer: Bookstores don’t share customer information with you. On Buy the Book, you can download your customer list so you know who is buying your book.
Nielsen BookScan: Sales from Buy the Book are reported to Nielsen BookScan for inclusion in the Irish Times bestseller listings. Many smaller bookstores do not report sales to Nielsen.
Ongoing Support: Buy the Book offers email support, community advice and monthly masterclasses to help you market and promote your book.
Author Success & Support
If you have built up a large following through social media or your personal network, you have an opportunity to become an Irish Times bestseller.
All sales made through Buy the Book are submitted to Nielsen BookScan, for inclusion in the Irish Times bestseller list. When you become a member of Buy the Book, we can provide you with a step-by-step guide of the bestseller process.
Read our Author Guide on How to Become a Bestseller in Ireland.
We will email you a reminder before your 6-month membership term ends.
You will be notified of your membership expiry date, and asked whether you want to continue your membership, change your membership plan, or cancel your membership with Buy the Book.
We have a very welcoming and supportive online author community. When you become a member, you will be invited to join our private Facebook group.
You will also receive monthly member emails which will include upcoming opportunities for authors, member events and exclusive member discounts.
We offer one post about your book across our social media platforms after you join, along with access to our free member masterclasses on topics such as book publicity, book marketing and how to plan your book launch.
We can attend your book launch (for a fee) and capture in-person sales for you, which will then be recorded in your seller dashboard and submitted to Nielsen BookScan.
Read our Author Guides for more information on how to sell your book.
Read our Trustpilot reviews to hear what authors are saying about Buy the Book.
Email us at [email protected] with any questions you may have.
| Books Sold | BuyTheBook Royalty (€) | Amazon UK Royalty (€) |
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