Play Books Pricing (USD, GP 48%)

This skill computes and documents the USD list price of a book on Google Play Books under the project's pricing model: Google keeps 48% (ค่า GP), the publisher keeps 52% net, and it writes the result into sale.md section 4.

1. The Model

Where 48% comes from (official): Google's default revenue split for Google Play Books is 52% of the list price to the partner. Per Google's Revenue Split FAQ, that default applies to ebook sales in — among others — Thailand, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam, and to partners who have not accepted the updated (2019) Terms of Service.

Two official facts that change how you quote numbers:

1. The split is paid on the list price, not the discounted price — "Google pays revenue split on the list price" (Revenue Split FAQ #5). Promotions therefore do not shrink your per-copy share of the list price.
2. A 70% split exists. Partners who accepted the 2019 TOS earn 70% of list price in 60+ eligible countries (US, UK, EU, Australia, Canada, and more — not Thailand). If the user's account is in that program, recompute with --share 70; otherwise stay on 48% GP / 52% net.

Sources (verified 2026-10-26): Revenue Split FAQs · Book prices · How to sell books on Google Play

2. Platform Constraints (official)

• Price must be between $0.05 and $200 USD (limits are defined in USD; local currencies are converted).
• USD is the anchor currency: "price limits are set in US Dollars (USD)."
• Accounts created after July 2014 have currency conversion on by default — one USD list price fans out to every territory automatically.
• Converted international prices are auto-"prettified" by at most ±5% (e.g. $4.99 → a clean local price); publishers can opt out.
• Settings available per price: tax-inclusive (Is tax included?), fixed-price-law territories, and scheduled effective dates (YYYY-MM-DD).

3. Calculation

Given a price:        GP   = price × 0.48        Net = price × 0.52
Given a target net:   min price = target_net ÷ 0.52  → round UP to a charm price

Always present money rounded to the nearest cent (matching how sale.md already reports it), and keep the price itself on a charm ending (.99, .49, .00).

The calculator

node .agents/skills/play-books-pricing/scripts/price.js 3.99        # breakdown
node .agents/skills/play-books-pricing/scripts/price.js --table     # price ladder
node .agents/skills/play-books-pricing/scripts/price.js --target 3  # price earning ≥ $3 net
node .agents/skills/play-books-pricing/scripts/price.js --share 70 3.99   # 70% split markets

Reference ladder (GP 48% / net 52%)

4. Choosing the Price

Work from both directions and pick where they meet:

1. Floor: what net per copy do you need? price ≥ target_net ÷ 0.52.
2. Ceiling: what will the audience pay for this format?

Positioning bands for a professional/technical ebook:

Deciding factors: page count (82 pages sits in $2.99-$4.99), depth of examples, whether the audience buys individually or as a team, and launch strategy (launch low, raise after reviews — schedule with Effective dates).

5. Entering the Price in Partner Center

1. Sign in to Partner Center → select the book → Pricing.
2. Add a price → choose currency USD → enter the amount (must fall in $0.05–$200).
3. Select the countries/regions this price applies to (or rely on currency conversion for worldwide).
4. Review Is tax included?, fixed-price-law territories, and Effective dates if scheduling.
5. Confirm the Effective prices table — it shows country, list price, base price, your revenue, and effective dates. Your revenue column is the ground truth for the net share.

6. Output Convention

Write into sale.md → ## 4. การตั้งราคาขายบน Google Play Books (สกุลเงิน USD):

เนื่องจาก Google Play Books หักส่วนแบ่งรายได้ (Google GP) ที่ **48%**
(ผู้เขียนจะได้รับส่วนแบ่งสุทธิ **52%**) การคำนวณราคาจึงต้องเผื่อสัดส่วนรายได้ที่ต้องการรับจริงครับ

* **ราคาขายแนะนำ (Retail Price):** **$X.XX USD**
* Google หักส่วนแบ่ง (48%): $G.GG USD
* **รายได้สุทธิที่คุณได้รับ (52%):** **$N.NN USD** ต่อเล่ม

Rules:

• Show list price, GP cut, and net for every option (at least the recommended price and one alternative).
• The GP and net figures must come from price.js — do not hand-compute.
• State the recommendation band for the book, and note the 70% split only if the account actually qualifies.

7. Final QA

• Split is 48% GP / 52% net (or --share 70 explicitly requested and justified)
• Price sits within the official $0.05–$200 USD range
• All money figures produced by price.js, rounded to the nearest cent
• Net figures match the ladder (e.g. $3.99 → GP $1.92, net $2.07)
• Price uses a charm ending and matches the book's length/positioning
• Split stated as being on list price, not the sale price
• sale.md section 4 updated; sections 1-3 untouched