How to make money selling used books on Amazon

Selling used books for money on amazon can be easy as well as fiancially rewarding. With just a few hours a week, used book sellers can turn a money making hobby into a lucrative part time or full time job. There are not guarantees that you will be successful, but with some effort it can be a real possibility.

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Amazon has made it very simple for anyone to put books up for sale on its site. The directions are clear and it can take less than a few minutes to enter all the important information about the books you wish to sell.

Fees

There are fees for each book that is sold through the program. The Basic program will charge $2.34 + 15% of the selling price per book sold. These fees may seem high, but Amazon has an enormous selling audience that would not be available to you on your own site. It is critical that a book seller understand and incorporate these fees into the selling price, or it will be impossible to make a profit. Amazon gives a seller $3.99 for shipping and handling for every book sold. It is possible to make a profit on s&h through the use of Media Mail from the USPS as well as reducing the cost of packing materials.

If a seller has a large number of books and is selling 40 plus books a month, he should consider joining the Proseller program. The seller is charged a monthly $39.95 fee a month and the $.99 fee per book is waived. Sellers have the ability to download and upload files to manage their inventory as well as other options only available in this program. It is not recommended for beginning sellers but should be considered as inventory grows and sales increase.

Where to find books

Books can be found many places. Local thrift shops are a good hunting ground as well as garage sales and estate sales. Buying wholesale can be very tricky and sellers will be competing against very large book buyers for best pricing.

Friends of the library groups are another place to scout for books. Some groups have a store that sells used books as well as regular book sales.

Craig's list is another place to look for people selling books. It is also possible to put up an ad requesting books for purchase.

Many beginning book sellers find items lying around the house. Keep in mind that many books such as mass market paperbacks sell on Amazon for $.01 (yes, a penny) and may not be worth the effort. For those who do sell penny books, they focus on huge volume selling to make even a dime per book. It is better to focus on higher priced books.

The Selling Process

When a book has been sold, Amazon will send an email with the name of the book as well as the amount that it will pay you. The seller then packs up the book and mails it to the purchaser. Amazon will NOT pay you until you indicate that the book has been shipped. The money will accrue in the seller account and will be distributed to a designated checking account every two weeks. It is possible to have funds distributed sooner if necessary.

Seller community

Buying a book is a great idea for new sellers. The ones listed above will provide information as well as guidance when starting out. These books will also help you steer clear of potential potholes that get in the way of successful book selling.

Using the available seller's forum is also a great way to find out how to handle particular situations and ask for advice. Older sellers will answer questions for newer sellers to help them along their journey.

Amazon offers a great deal of information as well through its help area. Watching the video on selling is a must.

What you can sell

Books are the main focus, but selling other categories such as videos, CDs, cassette tapes and VHS tapes are accepted as well. There are items that are prohibited such as uncorrected proofs, so understanding the rules is a must. Amazon will close an account that violates these policies.