Comments on: Figuring out the Amazon Sales Rank

By: David Airey

David Airey — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 18:52:13 +0000

Oops. Well thanks all the same, Chris. I’m glad you think it’ll make a perfect gift.

By: Chris Lee

Chris Lee — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 18:49:54 +0000

It was my fault. Through a series of dumb moves, I added it twice to my cart and didn’t notice because I was buying other stuff as well.

It’s OK, though. It will make a perfect gift for someone.

By: David Airey

David Airey — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:53:48 +0000

Hi Chris, how did that happen? I hope you didn’t need to pay twice unnecessarily.

JMV, thanks for taking the time to rate my book on Amazon. That’s hugely appreciated.

By: Chris Lee

Chris Lee — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 06:49:26 +0000

Well, I know I helped that rank in my own way. I own two copies (albeit accidentally).

By: Brian D. Hawkins

Brian D. Hawkins — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 14:36:22 +0000

It seems like Amazon could learn a little from the New York Times Best Seller List.

By: JMV

JMV — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 02:35:07 +0000

I purchased my copy of your book from Amazon.ca. I purchase a large majority of my books from there, but I’ve never even thought of leaving a review before.

I’m on my way to leave my review right now!

By: Suhasini

Suhasini — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 14:25:59 +0000

I am sure Logo Design Love will do very well as I have read few chapters of it. All the best.

By: David Airey

David Airey — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 18:17:02 +0000

It is very trend-focused, Jon. Unless Amazon divulges overall sales figures, I can’t think of another way (off the top of my head) to give some kind of indication.

Good to know, Gareth. If I remember correctly, I’ve previously bought items from Amazon.com and had them shipped to the UK, cheaper than they’d be here. Maybe that was just because the item wasn’t available on the Amazon.co.uk, and not because of my superior cunning.

I think so, Andy, but if enough authors were to put their sales data together (i.e., Amazon ranking for one week combined with weekly sales figures from the publisher), it’d be possible to get a more accurate Sales Rank picture.

By: Andy Lam

Andy Lam — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 15:01:05 +0000

So unless there’s a marketing push, the rankings are just for kicks? I’m curious as to why amazon wont show you (the author) sales figures. That seems like the number that matters most.

Do you track sales from book stores? In the US, Borders or Barnes and Noble? I got my copy at Borders because I had member discounts, got reward points, and I could pick it up at the store the day of instead of waiting for shipping. Instead of ordering from amazon.

I never review anything, but I guess I owe it to the community since I read reviews before buying everything. I’ll have to start with your book.

By: Gareth Morgan

Gareth Morgan — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 14:33:12 +0000

As always, good insight. Thank you. The lower figure for Amazon Canada may perhaps be at least partly explained by the fact that it is a small store with a limited inventory: For most items, even slightly out-of-the-mainstream books or music, I find I often have to order them via amazon.com, despite living in Montreal. As a result, my tendency is to ignore amazon.ca altogether. I am probably not alone.