Let’s say you have a pile of books and want to sell them, where do you start? You will have to list them, store them and then ship them. Books are one of the easiest things to start selling online.
Listing
It’s a lot easier to list on Amazon than eBay. If you can possibly list there, then do so. Every book has an ISBN, which stands for International Standard Book Number. This uniquely identifies each book and each edition of a book. The ISBN is located on the back of the book, near the barcode.
Enter the ISBN into the search on the Amazon webpage. This should give you the product details, the price and the other people selling the book. If you go over to the right of this page you can see a little button that says, “Have one to sell? Sell on Amazon.” Click here.
It’s really important on Amazon that you only sell what directly relates to the correct ISBN, in fact, it’s against the rules not to. If for instance you have a 1st edition of a book, you are not allowed to sell in on the page for 2nd edition and mention in the notes that it is a 1st edition.
Amazon asks you for the condition of your book: new, nearly new, very good, good or acceptable. You can add a condition note, and then choose a price. And listing is as easy as that. Personally I look at the range of prices and choose before I reach the page where it asks me. Don’t think you have to offer the lowest price for your category. Books often sell on Amazon when they are not the lowest price, as people will order books from sellers close to where they live. Also, not everyone offers international shipping, you will sell more if you do.
Storing Books
Once the books are listed, you need a storage location that is away from your normal bookshelf and a place where you can easily find them when they sell. Personally I have a bookshelf in the garage where the books are stored. You don’t want to list a book on Amazon and forget about it. I usually drop the price 50c to $1 each month until they sell, as I don’t like having books sitting on the shelf for over a year if they are not selling.
I store books by the date they are listed and the shelves are marked accordingly. That way they are easier to find and I also know how long they have been sitting there.
Shipping Books
As you list something, check that you have the right box to ship it in. Books are easy because generally they all need similar size boxes for shipping. You can buy boxes, but I usually get them from my local freecycle. Many people buy books from Amazon and other places online and so have boxes they don’t want. I regularly ask freecycle for small boxes and bubble wrap and that saves me buying them, helps the environment with reusing and saves me money. I do, however, keep a supply of 9 x 12 x 4 boxes and bubble wrap envelopes for when I don’t get enough from freecycle.
Other alternatives
When a book sells, you need to ship it within a day or two. If that adds pressure to your otherwise busy life, there are alternatives. You can list a pile of books for fulfillment by Amazon, or you can sell directly to Amazon.
If you use Fulfillment by Amazon the books are stored for you by Amazon and shipped by them when they sell. The advantage of this is that your books are eligible to join the Amazon Prime program and are more likely to sell. The disadvantage is what to do with the books if they don’t sell. Amazon does charge a fee for this, but if you don’t like shipping quickly and suddenly, you can send all of the books in one parcel and forget about them until Amazon sends you your earned money.
Another option is to directly sell the books to Amazon so that Amazon owns them. You do get a lot less for them, but you get instant money. Yet again you can ship a pile of books in one large parcel and forget about it.
Other things
You can sell much more with Amazon than just books. If the listing already exists you can sell anything. Other products have an ASIN number (number on the bar code) and you use that instead of the ISBN. If you are selling a large amount of products, then for a $40 fee you can become an Amazon Pro-Merchant. This gives you a discount of $1 on every item you sell, but the advantage is that you can create Amazon listings. But I’m sure for may people reading this article, that’s a long way in the future.
How to Sell Books on Amazon: The Stay-at-Home Mom's Secret Guide to Selling Used Books on Amazon
The Home-Based Bookstore: Start Your Own Business Selling Used Books on Amazon, eBay or Your Own Web Site
