King for a day, or three

It’s taken me almost 70 years, but my new book, On God, the Wider Self, and the Expanding Circle, made it to #1 on the Amazon Bestsellers list in the Utilitarian Philosophy category, nudging Machiavelli and John Stuart Mill aside. So far, it’s been there for three days.

I’m not entirely sure how the rankings work, but I understand that the BSR reflects how a product's sales compare to those of other products in the same category or subcategory. Amazon weighs recent sales (sales velocity) much more heavily than older or historical sales. This makes the rank dynamic: a sudden surge in purchases can quickly improve a product's position, while slowing sales cause it to drop. So please keep buying my fucking book!

Amazon doesn't officially disclose the full formula, but it's based purely on sales data (units sold). Page views, reviews, ratings, price changes, or advertising don't directly affect BSR - only actual purchases count.