Selling Books on Amazon: Essential Tips & Guide for 2023

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The world of books is a rich place. Whether you want to hold on to some for nostalgia or sell some for a little extra cash, it’s nice when a used book gets a longer shelf life. Outside of yard sales or estate sales, if you are looking to sell used books, you may want to find a platform where you can feel more like a professional seller than a hobbyist. Keep reading to learn how to sell books on Amazon and tips for success.

How To Sell Books On Amazon and Get Paid

Amazon is seller central when it comes to any kind of book. It can be a great place for individual sellers to create their own e-commerce business and start raking in sales. Once you sign up for your Amazon seller account, you can decide if you want an individual or professional account. From there, the rest of the process is pretty straightforward. Here are some steps and essential tips to sell books on Amazon:

1. Choose and find books to sell
2. Build your bookstore
3. Create an order fulfillment method
4. Price your books
5. Make a marketing campaign
6. List your books on Amazon
7. Calculate packing and shipping costs

1. Choose and Find Books To Sell 

The first step in selling books on Amazon is to assess what type of books you want to sell and what inventory you already have. If you aren’t sure where to start, you may want to research which genres or categories of books sell the most on Amazon and go from there. If you get your hands on a bunch of books that are bestsellers, it will only help boost your sales.

2. Build Your Bookstore 

To get a high seller ranking and a reputation for great customer service, make sure when you are stocking your new e-commerce bookstore, you are completely honest about the condition of your books. Nothing is stopping you from selling your books on Amazon as well as creating your own website or online storefront. Just be sure to keep up with your inventory and orders on every platform. 

Is It a Good Idea To Sell Books on Amazon?

Selling books on Amazon can be a good idea if you know which books you’d like to sell and what next steps you need to take. There are also selling incentives such as the following:

• You can get 5% back on your first $1,000,000 in branded sales.
• Get a $50 credit for Sponsored Products CPC ads.
• Get a head start on brand protection or product reviews.

3. Create an Order Fulfillment 

One of the keys to success in making money selling books on Amazon is choosing the best way to fulfill orders.  You can either ship books yourself or use Fulfillment by Amazon. If you opt for FBA, Amazon will handle all elements of your book-selling process such as shipping and handling, storage and even customer service.

There are options when it comes to how you would like to fulfill your orders. Here are some key takeaways:

• Merchant Fulfilled Network: MFN is where you store inventory, pack and ship books independently, and are responsible for customer service. 
• Fulfillment by Amazon: FBA involves you shipping your books to an Amazon Fulfillment Center. They take care of storage, packing, shipping, customer service and returns.

4. Price Your Books 

How you price your books will depend on several factors including:

• Whether it is used or new
• What condition it is in
• If it is a first edition or collectible

In general, it is a good idea to monitor the pricing of other booksellers so you can remain competitive and flexible should trends change. Amazon sellers even have access to a handy cost calculator to help with factoring in additional considerations such as shipping or credit card or item fees. 

5. Make a Marketing Campaign 

In order to boost your sales, make sure you are promoting your e-commerce bookstore or Amazon book sales on social media platforms. You could even consider affiliate marketing and post referral codes or links to help drive traffic to your website or selling page. Keep in mind that some marketing may cost you money for advertising or referral fees so factor that into your budget. 

6. List Your Books on Amazon 

Once you have chosen your books, priced them and promoted them, it is time to go live with selling them on Amazon. You can simply go to the product page, look up the titles you’re selling and follow these steps:

• Step 1: Search for the titles in the Amazon search bar by entering the book’s ISBN code.
• Step 2: Once you locate the title you’re looking to sell, click “Sell on Amazon.”
• Step 3: You can then select the price you are selling it for or match the lowest price.
• Step 4: Choose how many units you are selling if it is more than one.
• Step 5: Select what condition your book is in.
• Step 6: Choose whether you’d like to fulfill your orders through MFN or FBA.

7. Calculate Packing and Shipping Costs

Books can be heavy things to send through the mail so be sure to factor in how much packaging and shipping will cost you. You want to make sure you have enough profit margin. That being said, you need to invest in proper packing materials to protect the book’s cover, corners and pages while it’s being tossed through the mail. 

Final Take To GO

When you sell books on Amazon, it is important to monitor your reviews and pay attention to areas where you can improve to help increase your seller rating. As soon as you have a good handle on what your inventory will be and set your prices, there are only a few steps to take to start making money selling books on Amazon. 

Information is accurate as of Aug. 18, 2023. 

Editorial Note: This content is not provided by any entity covered in this article. Any opinions, analyses, reviews, ratings or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author alone and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any entity named in this article.

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