Using Amazon To Make Money For You

(Amazon Opportunities, Part 1)


(
http://www.amazon.com) Amazon has just made it easy for us to make money on their site.

HERE'S THE DEAL: Amazon.com now let's you easily list used books, CD's etc on their web site for sale. The results come up right when anyone searches their site for new books and CD's. If you search on anything you are interested in, there's a box below the listing that says, "
Already Own This Item?- I have one to sell: Sell Yours Here". Click on that link and it will take you to a screen where you enter the item's ISBN number or UPC.

It takes me about 30 minutes to list about 25 titles. The listing process on Amazon is incredibly easy and ther's no charge for listing. All you have to do is enter the ISBN number (for books), select the condition of the book (see my Internet OP Bookseller Manual) from a drop-down list, add a comment or two, confirm- and it's up for sale!

Of the 25 titles I list, I sell 10-15 for an average profit of $8-$10 each. Amazon takes 15% + .99 for each book sold. If you're doing larger volumes you can join their "ProSeller" club and get the .99 fee waived, but membership is $39.95 a month.

Newer books on business, computers and the Internet sell best.

The secret is in buying books cheap enough to make a profit. Used bookstores are great for books in the $4-$5 range you can sell for $15-$20 each if they are in good condition. I recently sold a book on stock trading techniques that's out of print (Steidlmayer on Markets ) for $55.00. The price on the jacket was only $37.95. I bought it for a $3.00 at a local charity auction.

I also frequently visit used /remainder book sites online to make bulk purchases such as:

http://www.abebooks.com
http://www.bibliofind.com
http://www.bookopoly.com
http://www.remainder-books.com/

And I use
http://www.bookfinder.com to search mutiple sites at once.

Questions and Answers From Members:

: 1. Does Amazon charge the used book customer their regular fee
: to ship and then give you a cut of that fee for shipping it
: yourself?


Amazon doesn't tell dealers what they charge the customer for shipping. My guess is they charge a little more but I'm not certain. The only way to tell for sure is to order a used book on the site and then see what they charge for shipping- I haven't done that yet since this new program has been set up. The $2.20 they set as a shipping bonus covers Media Mail rates for most books with a few cents to spare.


: 2. How quickly do used business, finance, and writing books
: move?


The listings you put up only last for 30 days. The better books will sell within 24 hours to 48 hours of listing them. When I list a book I keep 2 screens on my monitor open- one to list and the other on Amazon's site to search for the book I'm listing. If I see that the book is 'out-of-print' and there are no used copies available at the moment, that gives me an indication it will probably sell fast.

: 3. I've noticed that Amazon does not rate the used book's
: condition for buyers. Do they set a minimum standard for the
: used booksellers?


Actually right at the top of the listing for the used book it says "Condition:". It's easy to miss. There are no minimum standards for used booksellers- anyone can sell their books. I would imagine though that they would start banning anyone who doesn't fill orders or doesn't fill them in a timely manner.

: 4. Is your profit margin better with Amazon than with Ebay for
: used books?


Rare and antiquarian books sell pretty good on eBay. Amazon only allows you to list a book if it has an ISBN number. ISBN weren't commonly used until the mid 1960's. Newer books don't do well on eBay.

A new development that will change this (potentially) is the integration of Bibliofind.com's database with Amazon's site and search function starting May 1st, 2001. Bibliofind.com was purchased by Amazon last year from Exchange.com. So you may be able to list older books on Amazon- that would be great for book sellers.


TO SUM UP
AMAZON Marketplace: It's easy...it makes money...it costs you ZERO, NADA to list your books...Amazon only takes a cut (15%) if you sell but they give you an additional couple of dollars to ship the book using Media Mail rate.


Entire Contents © Copyright 2001 by David Vallieres. All rights reserved.