I’ve read a few other threads related to this and I’ve too tried my luck with Amazon support but they aren’t budging. I have an e-book going on sale on 15 June priced $9.99 (my first book) and I already have a significant number of buyers who have either pre-ordered or are ready to order it, and a good chunk of my readership is in Ukraine, which falls in the 35% royalty region. I’ve explained repeatedly to support about the situation in Ukraine and how it’s very hard to order the print copy to be delivered to Ukraine. Forgive my question if it’s silly, I’m not very tech-savvy, but if I encouraged my readers to order via a VPN, would I get the 70% royalty? Since I’ll be donating a portion of my royalties to Ukraine it seems harsh that I’d get that lower rate. The other option is to sell it direct on my own site, which is all set up and ready to go with Payhip, and I’d get 95% - but as it’s my first book, it’s the whole ‘bank v rank’ dilemma, I’d like to get some Amazon sales, rankings, reviews, etc.
Thanks.
To make a purchase of Amazon they need to have an account. That usually lists an address. Which provides a location, regardless of their VPN.
What you are describing, is one of the reasons people occaisionally show up here with a “Help, amazon banned me for some reason”
Play by the rules.
Amazon might just ban them for using a VPN. A lot of companies will do that, actually. If you get caught trying to manipulate sales, Amazon will ban you and keep all of your royalties. If Amazon bans you, you don’t get to publish on them again, even through a 3rd party like Draft2Digital.
Sell it on Google Play. Ukraine is 70%.
Amazon isn’t the only marketplace.
I have recently launched a digital distribution platform where you can sell e-books while keeping 90% of the money minus payment processing fees if you want to take a look 
You can find it @ ampliphy.me
EDIT: Spelling
Yeah, don’t mess with Amazons rules. You don’t want to risk a life long ban just to earn a couple more dollars this month.
Thanks for clarifying, I commented above on my main issue with this.
Appreciate the response and I certainly don’t want to get banned. What I have found so frustrating in my communication with Amazon is that I can’t get a rationale or justification as to why certain territories are in the 35% region (it’s not costs - it’s no more expensive to download an e-book there as opposed to, say, Poland, which is in the 70% region), and I was hoping that due to the war in Ukraine they might be more flexible, especially as ordering the print version is so difficult (Amazon won’t deliver to Ukraine, though there are complex workarounds). I dislike these seemingly arbitrary decisions when a simple reasoning can’t be provided.
It’s probably because of the value-added tax (VAT) Ukraine charges non-domestic companies
You had your answer six months ago when you asked a similar question (congratulations on having a publish date, though).
Amazon offers 35% royalty (vs. 70%) when it costs THEM more money to deliver the product. Usually because that other country has more expensive data usage, tariffs, taxes, or other laws or fees associated with selling digital media.
Or, you know, also whenever Amazon can get away with it. Remember, Amazon is not now and will never be your friend. They exist to make a profit, full stop.
For me, my books have a decent percentage of sales in Germany, and the only thing that concerns me is how excited I am that they’re reaching a wider audience.
