On Amazon, you can now offer a lot more products than ever before. But did you know that before becoming the best e-commerce marketplace that we recognize today, Amazon started as an online retailer by selling books?
Even though Amazon has now diversified its product offerings to cover a wide range of other categories, books remain a primary priority. Every year, millions of customers purchase billions of dollars worth of books from Amazon which is why many sellers choose to base their businesses on selling books.
Amazon has been the best platform to resell books and start making money while also learning the ropes. Here are a few things you must know to sell books on Amazon and nail the game.
Is it a terrific idea to sell books on Amazon?
If you are asking in terms of profit, then the answer would be a yes. There are several cases of people selling or reselling books on Amazon on the internet. As a side hustle to earn some extra money and end up pursuing it as a full-time job. Amazon This is due to the possibility of exceptionally high-profit margins. A few bucks will get you a book and then sold at a price that is ten times higher than the actual cost.
However, sellers should know that every book won’t be as profitable. You will need to do your homework, and invest your time in research, in the same way, that you would for any other item. You must determine which books have the highest rating. as well as demand in the market. In addition, if you want to sell profitably then make sure to offer the best prices and follow the right tactics. Selling books full-time can get you in a lot of competition on Amazon. Get the best Amazon repricing tool to help you get through it and let your book prices shine in front of the customers.
And if you want to sell books online, it should be through Amazon. The e-commerce giant owns around three-quarters of the e-book industry and almost 50% of the print book industry in the US (Publishingperspectives.com), with thousands of customers getting Amazon prime memberships on a daily basis. It’s obvious that when most people seek books these days, they make sure to check out Amazon.
Does it cost a lot to sell books?
The best aspect of this kind of business is that it would not cost you a lot, to begin with. If you don’t want to invest a lot of money, you can start selling a few books initially, which can cost you a couple of bucks only.
Alternatively, if you can spend more money at an initial stage, then start by selling a larger number of books. It all depends on the budget you have set for your business.
Don’t worry about the account fee which is about $39.99 if you sign up for a Professional Seller Account. It is a lot less as compared to the costs of running other businesses on Amazon.
What to do next?
You need to have a proper plan if you want to become the leading bookseller and succeed on Amazon. Here is what you need to do in order to begin selling books on Amazon:
1. Invest your time and research on what types of books you want to sell
You can’t just start selling random books on Amazon and hope to earn a profit. It is really important to understand what kinds of books are liked by the customers. Search about the top-selling books on Amazon, the most popular books that are bought by individuals, etc. Make sure you research well and purchase high-quality books to resell on Amazon..
2. Find suppliers or other ways of sourcing the books you wish to sell
Now that you have an idea of which kind of books you would like to make the sale on Amazon, your next step should be to identify from where you can get those books at reasonable rates. There are a few options that we will discuss below.
3. Sign up and register yourself on Amazon as a seller
If you don’t have an Amazon seller account yet, then make sure to create one first. Amazon offers two different types of seller accounts.:
- Account for Amazon Professional Sellers which costs you $39.99 per month without any additional fees.
- Individual Amazon Seller Account that costs you $0.99 every time you make a sale.
4. Start listing all your books on Amazon to offer them to the public
- Go to your seller central account on Amazon.
- Click on “catalog” and choose the option “Add product”.
- Start entering the ISBN of your book. ISBN is usually known as an identifying number, which is found on the back cover of the book.
- Enter the price at which you want to sell your book. Make sure to not go extremely high since you will be competing with a lot of sellers and you don’t want them to get all the sales. Also, you miss out on the chances of winning the Buy Box. Sign up with the best Amazon repricer to handle your pricing and repricing for you.
- Enter the number of copies you wish to sell.
5. Choose an order fulfillment plan for your books to be delivered to the customers
Choose between FBM or FBA to fulfill your orders. FBA if you want Amazon to handle and ship the orders for you, and FBM if you want to ship orders yourself. A personal suggestion would be to go for FBA PREP and let Amazon handle your fulfillments while you focus on making maximum sales.
6. Click on Save and you are done!
It really is that simple.
Sources to get new and old books on Amazon
· New books
If you want to sell new and latest books that you need to search through three of the best sourcing options, that are:
- Wholesalers: They get the latest books from publishers to resell them to the sellers.
- Publishers: Only if sellers consider buying in a bulk, publishers might be interested in selling their books directly to the sellers.
- Distributors: Publishers usually contact distributors to help them sell their books. You can connect with a few distributors but it can cost you a little more than getting books from wholesalers.
However, selling new books on Amazon requires a bigger budget. But since you will be buying in a larger quantity, the cost per book would be less which will help you in earning a lot more on each sale you make.
· Used books:
- Book stores: Visit your local book stores and get valuable books at cheap rates. Moreover, keep an eye out for a bookstore sale or discounts that stores usually offer.
- Libraries: Libraries do sell some of the books at very reasonable rates during sales.
- Thrift stores: You can end up finding a few of the best pieces in thrift stores that are underpriced.
- Online marketplaces: Facebook, eBay, and other online platforms can help you purchase books at good rates.
- Yard sales: People sell their books during yard sells and sometimes they don’t even have a clue about the worth of a book. If you keep searching, you can find a few of the best books there at amazing discounts.
Moreover, post on your social media platforms and other buying platforms that you are looking for purchasing books. People who are interested in selling books or have contacts in that area will contact you by themselves.
In conclusion,
Selling books on Amazon is a great option whether you want to start a full-blown business on Amazon or do it as a side-hustle. It doesn’t cost you much and gives you the profit you need to grow your business. If done the right way, you can earn more than you initially expected. Follow the guideline above to start selling books on Amazon.
