How to Sell Secondhand Books on Amazon

How to Sell Secondhand Books on Amazon

Selling secondhand books on Amazon is a great and simple way to make money online. Whether you are just looking to pick up a few bucks from some old books around your house or are trying to make a full-blown business of it, Amazon can help you turn those secondhand books into cash. To get started, simply follow these easy steps.

1. Sign Up for an Amazon Seller Account

The first step in selling secondhand books on Amazon is to sign up for a seller account. Click on “Your Account” from any page on Amazon.com, and in the “Your Other Accounts” section click the link for “Your Seller Account.” If you are not signed in, you will be taken to a login screen. If you have an Amazon account, enter it there. If you do not have an Amazon account yet, you can create one with your name and email address.

The first time you access this portion of the Amazon website, you will be taken to the Sell on Amazon website. Here you will choose whether you will be an individual seller or a professional seller. An individual seller account is free to create and list items, but you can only sell 40 items or less per month. For each item you sell as an individual seller, Amazon takes 99 cents per sale plus a referral fee which is a certain percentage based on the type of item you sell. A professional seller account costs $39.99 per month and allows an unlimited number of sales. There is no 99-cent fee for professional sellers, but Amazon will still take a referral fee.

2. List Your Secondhand Books on Amazon

After your seller account is created, you can start listing books for sale. Look for the book in Amazon’s current listings to see if Amazon or other Amazon merchants are already selling the book. Ideally you will be able to find a listing for the book you want to sell. If you are unable to find a listing for the book you want to sell, your account type will determine what you are able to do about it. For individual sellers, you can only list items for sale that are already listed on Amazon. If the secondhand book you want to sell is not already listed, you cannot create a new listing. For professional sellers, you can create a new listing on Amazon for the item you are selling if there is not already one listed.

When listing your secondhand books, pay close attention to the details. Many books have multiple editions and can come in paperback or hardback. Be sure to list your book under the correct item listing.

When you find the correct listing, you can list your copy in two ways. The first way is to add your copy from the Amazon Seller Central with the ISBN, UPC, or ASIN. Alternatively, on the book’s listing page you can click the link to “Sell Yours Here.” You can then enter the book’s condition, the price at which you will sell it, and what shipping options you will accept.

When you are finished listing your secondhand book for sale on Amazon, it will show up on the page for the book you are selling under “More Buying Choices” widget.

3. Someone Buys Your Secondhand Book

After your book is listed, hopefully someone will buy it. When a shopper comes across your listing and buys your book, Amazon will send you an email letting you know your item has sold and remind you that you have to ship it within two business days of the purchase.

4. Ship the Book You Sold

Once you receive the “Sold, Ship Now” email from Amazon, you will need to ship the secondhand book you sold. You can use any carrier you want to complete the shipment, but Amazon looks favorably upon shipping methods with a tracking number and it recommends that you use one that provide one.

The shipping methods you allowed when creating the product listing and the shipping method selected by the buyer will determine how quickly the book you sold needs to arrive to the buyer. For Domestic Standard shipping, for instance, Amazon expects the book to arrive between four and 14 days (21 days at the most), but for Domestic Expedited it should take no more than six days from shipment.

Use your shrewdness to find the best price for shipping. If you are shipping the book yourself rather than using Amazon’s order fulfillment system, Amazon gives you a certain amount of money to help with the shipping costs of the book. The cheaper the shipping option is, the more money you get to keep. Using the United States Postal Service’s Media Mail is usually a good way to go for standard shipping, depending on the weight of the book. For expedited shipping, priority mail flat-rate shipping is usually sufficient.

5. Collect Your Earnings

After you ship your item, be sure to confirm the shipment in the Amazon seller central. This is where you will include the tracking number if you have one. When shipment is confirmed, the money you earned is credited to your payments account. When you have a positive balance in your payments account, you can request a disbursement or wait for the next automatic settlement date. Before you are issued payment for your sale, you must sign up for Marketplace Payments by Amazon and make sure you have a valid credit card and a valid bank account listed on your account.