Guide · 26 August 2026

How to sell ebooks online in 2026 — and keep every cent

Amazon takes up to 65% on some royalty tiers. Gumroad takes 10%. Selling from your own store takes none of it — here is how to do it properly, including the file-protection part most guides skip.

You can sell ebooks from your own store today, keeping 100% of every sale. Upload the files, set a price, and connect your own Stripe account. Each buyer gets a download link that expires and only works a set number of times. On SitesPlaced this is free to publish with 0% commission — $14.99/month when you want your own domain and unlimited downloads. Most alternatives take 5-10% of every sale forever.

TL;DR

• Narrow beats broad: a specific ebook for a specific person outsells a comprehensive one every time.
• Price for the time you save the buyer, not the time it took you to make.
• Deliver with expiring per-buyer links and a download limit — never a public URL.
• 0% commission means a flat fee beats percentage platforms above roughly $150-300/month.
• You are the seller of record, so sales tax is yours — Stripe Tax can calculate it at checkout.

What sells

The ebooks that sell solve one problem for one person. 'The complete guide to photography' competes with a library; 'lighting for people who only shoot in their kitchen' does not.

• Practical guides that save an afternoon — setup walkthroughs, checklists, templates bundled with the text.
• Niche expertise with no mass-market publisher — trade knowledge, regional guides, hobby specifics.
• Companion material to something you already do — a newsletter, a channel, a course.
• Workbooks and planners, where the format itself is the value.
• Recipe and pattern collections, especially with printable extras.

What to charge

Ebook pricing is anchored low by Amazon and that anchor does not have to apply to you. Selling direct means you set it.

• $9-19 for a focused practical guide is normal outside Amazon's ecosystem.
• Bundle the PDF with an EPUB and any working files — same product, obviously better value.
• A $29 workbook edition with printable pages routinely outsells a $9 plain PDF.
• Do not discount to compete with Amazon pricing. You are not selling the same thing.

Packaging it properly

• Ship PDF and EPUB together. Readers have preferences and neither format costs you anything extra.
• Include the printable extras as separate files — buyers value being able to print just the worksheet.
• Put your name and a contact address inside the file. Some of your best future work comes from replies.
• Version it. 'v2, updated August 2026' gives past buyers a reason to come back and a reason to trust the purchase.
• Keep the cover legible at thumbnail size — that is the size most people will judge it at.

Protecting the files

The wrong model is a shared cloud folder with a long link. One buyer posts it somewhere and it is public forever, with no way to switch it off.

• Files sit in private storage with no public web address — nothing to guess or scrape.
• Each buyer gets a signed link that expires within minutes of being issued.
• You set how many downloads each buyer gets and how long their link lives.
• Refunded someone? Disable their link and it stops working immediately.
• Nothing stops a buyer sharing a file after downloading it — no platform can. Limits, expiry and revocation are the real controls.

Setting up the store

Create a store free — describe your work and AI drafts the first version, or pick from 17 themes.
Add a product, choose 'digital download', and upload your files.
Set the download limit and link expiry. Five downloads over thirty days suits most sellers.
Connect your own Stripe account with a restricted key, and PayPal if you want the second button.
Publish. A downloads-only cart asks for a name and email — no address, no phone.

Worth knowing: you can sell physical products from the same store. Add prints or merch alongside the files and the checkout asks for an address only when something needs posting.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the best place to sell ebooks?

If you sell occasionally, a no-monthly-fee platform that takes a percentage is cheapest. If you sell steadily, a flat fee with 0% commission wins — above roughly $150-300 a month the percentage platforms cost more, and keep costing more.

How do I stop buyers sharing the files?

Give each buyer their own link that expires and works a limited number of times, and keep the files off any public address. Nothing prevents re-sharing after download — but limits, expiry and revocation handle nearly all real leakage.

Do I need my own website?

Not to start, but it compounds. A product page on someone else's platform sells today; a site with a blog on your own domain earns search traffic that keeps sending buyers for years.

What about sales tax?

You are the seller of record, so it is your responsibility. You can enable Stripe Tax in your own Stripe account and it will calculate tax at checkout. Merchant-of-record platforms like Gumroad handle it instead, as part of their larger cut.