Open An Amazon Seller’s Account
Once you’ve chosen a plan, you can either sell from your existing Amazon customer account or open a separate . A seller’s account lets you direct proceeds to a separate bank account and use a business email to track sales, so they don’t get lost in your personal inbox. This is a good option if you plan to sell a large volume of books or like to keep your personal and professional correspondence and finances separate. Before you open the account, have ready:
- A business email address or Amazon customer account
- A credit card
- A bank account for proceeds from your sales
But What If You Were To Use Fba
The biggest difference between FBA and seller-fulfilled orders is that Amazon keeps any additional shipping fee. So youd only receive $4.99. Your costs for an FBA order would be:
- $0.99 per-item fee
- $2.41 fulfillment fee
These fees dont include inbound transportation and storage costs.
If you were to use FBA to fulfill this order, youd receive less than $0.96 after you account for the inbound and storage fees.
How To Sell Textbooks On Amazon
Fiona O’Connor
One of Amazons biggest and most popular categories is Books, with millions of titles being moved each month. But what about textbooks? Turns out thats also pretty big big enough to warrant its own category, in fact. If youre thinking of getting into the student market, eDesk has the information you need to get started.
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Promote And Market Your Books
Take advantage of Amazon tools
Promote your online book business on social media
Pay attention to reviews
- Be honest about item condition
- Ship orders on time
- Respond to customer inquiries quickly
- If issues arise, solve them as soon as possible
Pick Categories With Under 10000 Titles
Some categories are more competitive than others. If you can, try to slot your book into niche sub-categories with under 10,000 books, which will give you a much better chance of climbing up the Best Sellers and Popular Lists.
Of course, picking the right categories can be a bit of a balancing act. You dont necessarily want to target the smallest sub-category possible some will barely have 100 books because those will naturally have fewer buyers. Youll want to find the sweet spot: categories that arent cutthroat-competitive or hopelessly obscure.
If youre new to this and are unsure how to pick the right categories to sell ebooks on Amazon, dont worry! We have an .
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Places To Sell Your Used Textbooks
If youve ever attended college in person, you probably know that you can sell your books back to the university bookstore at the end of the semester. But did you know that you can sell your books online as well? You can, and often for a better return on investment than you can get at the physical bookstore. Ive rounded up 10 of the top companies you may wish to check with before selling your used textbooks offline.
Hook The Reader With Your Opening Line
Your opening needs to immediately grab readers attention. One foolproof way to do that is with social validation: offer evidence that other people like your work, whether thats an impressive sales figure or a quote from a glowing review. Dont have anything like that just yet? Not to worry just make your headline snappy and exciting.
Amazon supports formatting for your book description, so feel free to make your headline pop with some different visual styles. Youll want to keep your blurb relatively simple, visually speaking, but this opening is the perfect place to grab attention with one or more of the following:
- Bolding: < b> this is the text you want in bold< /b>
- Italics: < i> this is the text you want in italics< /i>
- Blockquote: < blockquote> this is the text you want formatted as an indented quote< /blockquote>
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Sell Used Books Directly To Students
Some of your underclassmen will need to get the same textbooks you bought last semester. You can sell your books directly to these students.
Pros: You can potentially make a profit by cutting out the middleman.
Cons: Finding a buyer isn’t always easy. Even students who want to save money might feel uncomfortable paying you for textbook. There’s also the possibility that students will drop some classes. When that happens, they may come to you for a refund. You don’t have to give them their money back, but it’s an awkward conversation that can make you look like the bad guy on campus.
You Cant Sell Textbooks To Amazon Anymore
Launched around 2010 as an extension of their rapidly growing Trade-In Program, the Amazon Textbook Buyback system quickly became a popular option for students wondering what to do with old textbooks. Over the course of nearly a decade, the program allowed students to sell textbooks to Amazon with the same convenience and competitive pricing that Amazon is known for across their business. In that time, the program helped the company amass an expansive inventory of textbooks while simultaneously growing their user base among younger segments of the population through annual subscriptions like Prime Student.
So where is the program now? Unfortunately for loyal users, its not so easy to sell back textbooks to Amazon anymore
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Selling Books On Amazon
So, how do you sell books on Amazon? You can sell anything from collectibles to classics to non-fiction, comic books, and textbooks. A seller can pick whichever genre, but it is important to take into consideration which book can boost sales, and what has a high number of average purchases.
New books have more demand than old ones since people usually prefer buying books that are brand new. But new books are also more cumbersome to obtain. You will need to prepare yourself to buy in large quantities from publishers, wholesalers, and distributors.
On the other hand, obtaining used books is relatively easy. There are several places online to buy them from, or you can buy them physically from good discount sales like those at bookstores, thrift shops, yard, and estate sales, and sales at libraries.
General Rules Of Thumb For Book Condition
Amazon looks at the following to determine whether the textbook is in good condition or not.
1. The binding
Is it in tact, new, and sharp? Or is it tattered, torn, and coming apart from the rest of the book
2. The pages
Generally speaking, are they wrinkled, folded over, or water-stained? Or are they crisp and without a lot of wear and tear
3. Water damage
Water is a books mortal enemy. If the book as been exposed to water or extreme moisture, the pages will be bumpy and Amazon will most likely not accept the return.
4. Did your book also double as your notebook?
If you went overboard and personalized the book with your name, doodles, notes, and highlights, Amazon will probably not accept it as a trade-in. In the future, try using sticky notes if you want to mark a page.
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The Inspiration To Start Selling Used Books
I wanted to find something to find some extra money, Charlie told me.
Charlie had a toddler at home, and another child on the way. He wanted to find a side hustle that would bring in some extra cash without pulling him away from the house for hours at a time.
A couple of his friends were . One of them put Charlie in contact with someone reselling books, which piqued his interest.
I just downloaded Scout IQ and just jumped into it, Charlie told me. And Ive been addicted ever since.
Sell Your Textbooks Online
Many students buy textbooks online to save money. If you already have books, you can use those sites to sell books to other students.
Pros: Websites like eCampus make it easy to compare buyback prices so you don’t get ripped off. Selling online is also really easy. Just enter the book’s information, wait for it to sell, and collect your profits.
Cons: Shipping textbooks might be inconvenient if you don’t live near a post office. The good news is that some websites will pay your shipping expenses.
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These Were Ways Most Students Tried To Sell Their Books:
1. Sell it back to the campus bookstore but prepare for rejection if they had a new edition of that book.
2. Sell it back to the off-campus, used bookstore. This was totally hit or miss, depending on which book it was, and if that particular version was still relevant.
3. Sell it to another student whos going to take that class, but that requires you to put in some effort to actually find these students before the semester starts.
These three options are still relevant today, but with buyback programs like Amazon and other used textbook sites, there are so many more web-based options.
Best Time To Sell Used Textbooks
The best time to sell used textbooks is at the beginning of a new semester when the demand for textbooks is high. So, sell your used books during August and January when a new semester begins to get the best price for your used textbooks.Sell your used books immediately after your final exams, each semester, and once you no longer need them.
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Sell Used Textbooks To The College Bookstore
Most college bookstores will buy back used textbooks, especially if professors plan to use the same text next semester.
Pros: Bookstores will often pay you cash within minutes. Some people feel that convenience is worth more than money.
Cons: If you sell your books to a bookstore, don’t expect to turn a profit. College bookstores need to make money reselling the books they buy from you. That encourages them to pay you as little as possible.
Selling Your Textbooks On Amazon
If you decide to go with Amazon, have now have two options to sell your books on Amazon
- Amazon buyback program: Amazon has a buyback program for textbooks, that is now called the Amazon trade-in program. With the trade-in program, you can exchange your use items, such as textbooks, for an Amazon.com gift card.
- Selling through an Amazon account: if you would rather receive cash , you will want to sell directly on the Amazon marketplace. To do this, you will need an Amazon seller account.
Note: Amazon changed the name of the buyback program from buyback to trade-in
Amazon buyback Vs selling on Amazon: If you sell your textbooks directly on Amazon, it will allow you to receive more money than the Amazon trade-in program. The only drawback to selling on Amazon is it will involve a little more legwork and it will take more time.
You will have to list the textbook, wait for it to sell and then pack and ship it to the buyer. Honestly though, this is not a big deal and is worth it for the extra money you will receive, especially if you have more than one textbook to sell.
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Start Listing Your Books
Since books are an unrestricted item on Amazon, you can sell new and used books, magazines, textbooks, magazines, even the sheet music your kids stopped using two months after they begged for lessons. The Amazon seller app can walk you through how to list them.
A product listing includes the book’s ISBN number, a description that includes price, condition, and shipping options, and additional identifying information. If someone else has already listed the same book, Amazon will help fill in some of the details. Once you’ve filled in all of the pertinent info, your book will appear on a product details page, which you’ve already seen if you shop the site.
Could The Inventory Dry Up
Of course, Charlie isnt the only person sifting through thrift stores to flip books for profit.
He said he has seen some books on Amazon being sold by Goodwill, so some stores are doing it. But for the most part, Charlie doesnt think they will start selling their books on Amazon anytime soon.
A lot of thrift store owners dont want to deal with the online thing, Charlie told me.
One interesting idea Charlie is pursuing is working out consignment deals with some of his best sourcing spots. In this scenario, hed sell their inventory on Amazon, and share a portion of the proceeds with the store. The big advantage would be essentially eliminating his book scanning competition.
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High School And College Stores
Many colleges and universities, and some high schools have a bookstore on campus where you can sell used textbooks in person. Make sure to research your local high school, college, and university stores near you to find out what their requirements are before you head off to any of them to sell your used textbooks in person. Again, sell your old textbooks immediately after each semester you have completed so that they are still relevant and to get a good price.
Write A Catchier Book Description
Your book description tells would-be readers what your book is about and, more importantly, why they should care. Use it as an opportunity to hype it up think sales copy, not high school book report!
Remember, your book description will be most readers first point of contact with your writing. If they dont like what they see, theyll have no reason to want another several hundred pages of the same. Heres a guide on how to craft a perfect book description, but lets quickly go through the basics right here.
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Ship With Fbm At The Beginning
While youre still new at selling books on Amazon, use FBM for shipping. This means that youre responsible for packing and shipping all the orders. Since you will only have a small inventory and few orders to fulfill, the workload should be manageable.
Remember, if you opt for FBM, it means YOU are handling everything, including customer service.
How To Sell Ebooks On Amazon: 7 Tips For Making Money As An Author
Becoming a successful author via Kindle Direct Publishing might seem like the kind of thing thats easier said than done. But the formula behind how to sell ebooks on Amazon is actually very simple:
Traffic x Conversion = Sales
Traffic gets visitors to your book page, while conversion turns them into buyers.
In this post, well first show you how you can optimize your Amazon book page to maximize conversion potential. Then we’ll discuss tactics for increasing the amount of traffic to your book page in the first place if you’d like to jump ahead to those, .
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Tips For Preparing To Sell Your Used Textbooks
If youre planning to sell your college textbooks, its important to keep them in good condition the state of your book determines how much youll be able to recoup when you sell it. Avoid marking the book, so dont highlight passages or write in the margins. Try to avoid eating or drinking while studying as well, and keep your book shelved when its not in use. Anything you can do to minimize wear and tear on the book as youre using it will help assure a maximum return once youre ready to sell it on.
Another important tip for selling your old textbooks is to do it as soon as youre finished with the book. Dont wait prices can and will drop when a book becomes less popular or if a new edition is released. While you leave it on your bookshelf, you could be losing any chance of reclaiming the money you spent in the first place. Given how pricey textbooks often are, thats no small chunk of change!
How To Use The Program
To find out how much each specific book will be worth in the program, visit the textbook buyback site. There, you can enter the ISBN of each book you want to sell. What pops up next looks like a search results page, but look over on the far right. If the book qualifies for the program, youll have a clickable link that gives you the option to do a trade-in and tells you how much the trade-in value is.
Once you click on that link, youll be taken to a page that asks you a few questions about the condition of the book youre selling back. Answer these truthfully Amazon is known to be extremely picky with their trade-in program, and if they dont get their books in the condition you list, they may be rejected.
After that, you just pick your return shipping address and youre good to go! You can keep adding books to your trade-in order, or if youre done, hit the yellow Confirm Trade-In button.
The next step is to package up your books, print off the free mailing label, and get them on their way to Amazon. Once theyre received and verified, youll receive a credit for your total trade-in value.
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Do not have your own old textbooks? You can then buy used textbooks at discounted prices and sell them for higher prices to make several hundred dollars every month.
In this article, I will share the best places to sell used textbooks for fast cash to help you get the most money back in your pocket.