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Publishing Map

Self-publishing · Direct sales

How to sell books directly to readers

Selling direct means the reader pays the author, or the author's store, instead of a retailer keeping the sale. BookFunnel, Payhip, Shopify, Lulu Direct, BookVault, and Gumroad each publish fees for delivery, checkout, or print fulfilment, and those fees change. Checked 17 October 2026.

Publishing Map's take

Sell direct when the reader pays you or your store instead of a retailer. Pick the service by the job it publishes, file delivery, checkout, or print fulfilment, and use that service's own fee, because these pages do not share one rate.

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The short answer

  1. A direct sale can be a store that takes payment, a service that delivers the file, or a printer that ships a copy the author already sold. No page checked here prices a signed copy the author packs.[402][406]
  2. BookFunnel's table lists $30 a year, then $20 a month or $200 a year, then $30 a month or $300 a year. Direct sales delivery starts on the second row. A card on the same page also shows $25 a month. No card-processing fee is stated.[402]
  3. Payhip lists $0 plus 5 percent, $29 plus 2 percent, and $99 with no Payhip transaction fee. PayPal and Stripe still charge their own rates. Payhip says it remits digital EU and UK VAT and US and Canadian sales tax.[403]
  4. Shopify's table lists Basic at $39 USD a month or $29 USD a month yearly, online cards at 2.9 percent plus 30 cents, and a 2 percent third-party fee. The page also offers $1 a month for 3 months. Lulu Direct adds a $1.75 fulfillment fee. BookVault states no commission.[404][405][406]
  5. Gumroad states 10 percent plus $0.50 on a direct sale and 30 percent through Discover, and says it has been the merchant of record since 1 January 2025. Draft2Digital's partners page describes a link to stores, not a direct-checkout fee.[407][410]

01

What are the main ways authors sell direct?

The pages checked 17 October 2026 describe separate jobs. Payhip and Shopify publish store plans that take payment on a site the author controls. BookFunnel's pricing page names direct sales delivery, which is file delivery, on two of its three plans. Lulu Direct and BookVault print and ship after the author's store has taken the money. A signed print copy that the author packs is not given a fee on any of these pages. Draft2Digital does not state a checkout on the author's own site.[402][403][404][405][406][410]

  • A store fee, a delivery fee, and a print cost are different charges.
  • A Books2Read link is not, on that page, a direct sale.

02

What do BookFunnel and Payhip state about fees and delivery?

BookFunnel's comparison table lists a first plan at $30 a year, with no monthly price in that cell, one pen name, 500 downloads a month, and direct sales delivery set to No. The middle plan is $20 a month or $200 a year, four pen names, 5,000 downloads, and direct sales delivery set to Yes. The third plan is $30 a month or $300 a year, six pen names, unlimited downloads, and direct sales delivery set to Yes. The table names that row Bestseller. Cards on the same page show $2.50 a month paid annually ($30 a year), $16.67 a month paid annually ($200 a year), and $25 a month beside the unlimited-download list. The table's monthly price for that list is $30. Audiobook delivery is off on the first plan and priced separately on the others: $2 a month plus usage, or $20 a year plus usage, at $0.04 per delivered hour; 5,000 hours at $10 a month or $100 a year, overage $0.03 an hour; 10,000 hours at $20 a month or $200 a year, overage $0.02 an hour; unlimited at $30 a month or $300 a year. A refund is available if you ask within 30 days. The page does not state a card fee or a sales-tax role. Payhip lists $0 a month plus 5 percent, $29 a month plus 2 percent, and $99 a month with no Payhip transaction fee. Every plan includes all features and unlimited products. Payhip says PayPal and Stripe still charge their standard rates and does not print those rates. It says sales are deposited immediately after the transaction, and that it collects, reports, and remits digital EU and UK VAT and US and Canadian sales tax.[402][403]

  • BookFunnel prints both $25 and $30 as a monthly figure for the unlimited-download plan. Use the signup screen.
  • Payhip's percentages are its own transaction fees, not the card fee.

03

What do Shopify, Lulu Direct, and BookVault state?

Shopify's comparison table, checked 17 October 2026, lists Basic at $39 USD a month or $29 USD a month paid yearly, Grow at $105 or $79, Advanced at $399 or $299, and Plus starting at $2,300 USD a month. The yearly Plus cell is blank. The page also says 3 days free, then $1 a month for 3 months. There is no setup fee. Basic online standard cards are 2.9 percent plus 30 cents, and a third-party processor adds 2 percent. The tax rows include automated sales tax and VAT validation, exemptions, and invoicing. The page does not say Shopify delivers an ebook file. Lulu Direct, modified 28 September 2026, fulfills Shopify, WooCommerce, and Wix orders. The reader pays the merchant. The merchant pays Lulu the print cost, shipping, applicable taxes, and a $1.75 fulfillment fee. The article's dollar example is marked as an illustration and is not a general print price. No commission percentage is stated. BookVault says it charges no extra fee, percentage, or commission on a direct sale. The author pays production and shipping. The reader pays the author, and BookVault then charges the author. A sales-tax role is not stated.[404][405][406]

  • Shopify's $1 offer and the $39 and $29 Basic prices are all on the pricing page.

04

What does Gumroad state, and what does Draft2Digital state about a direct sale?

Gumroad states 10 percent plus $0.50 on a sale through your profile or a direct link, and 30 percent when a new customer buys through Discover. There is no monthly fee. Since 1 January 2025 it says it is the merchant of record and handles sales tax, including VAT and GST, where it has that obligation. Ebooks are on the list of what can be sold. Physical goods are on the list of what cannot. Payout method varies by country, and no day count is stated. Draft2Digital's partners page describes Books2Read as one marketing URL to retail stores. It does not state a fee for taking payment and delivering a file from the author's site.[407][410]

  • Gumroad's 10 percent and 30 percent are for different kinds of sale.

05

What do the UK and the EU publish about VAT on digital services sold to consumers?

HM Revenue and Customs, last updated 28 March 2022 and checked 17 October 2026, says the place of supply for cross-border digital services to private consumers follows the consumer. Supplies to UK consumers are liable to UK VAT. Supplies to consumers outside the UK are not liable to UK VAT and may be liable where the consumer is. If a third-party platform or marketplace makes the supply, that platform accounts for the VAT. An e-book is covered when delivery is automatic, such as a download or an automatic email. A PDF the seller emails by hand is not. Physical books are not in these digital-service rules. No VAT percentage is printed. The European Commission place-of-taxation page says business-to-consumer telecommunications, broadcasting, and electronic services are taxed where the customer resides, under Article 58. If the supplier is in a different EU country and the value of those services in all other EU countries is lower than EUR10 000 in a calendar year, Article 58 does not apply, under Article 59c, unless the supplier opts in. Other business-to-consumer services are taxed where the supplier is established, under Article 45. No VAT percentage is printed, and the page does not classify any author tool.[403][407][408][409]

  • The EU number on this page is the EUR10 000 threshold, not a VAT rate.
  • An automatic ebook download is inside the UK digital-service examples. A printed book is not.

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