Selling your stuff on Amazon - Part 6- Advice for newbies in first post

larmy16

AT I was wondering with the new postal rates if you are still sticking to first class only? I know we have discussed this topic before and both preferred to do first class, but the hike in prices has made it very difficult with some of the cheaper books.

Just being nosey

apprentice_tycoon

Hi username - you're on a roll - great :j I love it when people are buzzing, it give me a little buzz too.

Hi larmy, yes, I'm still absolutely convinced that my books sell better than their competitors because I have 'same day dispatch by 1st class post or airmail' in the listing (obviously the airmail is only in the smaller books, I'm not totally nuts!). I'm fortunate that I can get out to post them every day so it seems foolish not to turn this to my advantage and make a real selling point out of it and I also altered my selling name to one that includes a strong hint that I can move fast with the sales

It's been swings and roundabouts with the new postage rates, I posted 2 books today for 65p, 1st class - that's incredible! of course some are costing more, videos in particular but I only have a few listed and some of those are listed at over a tenner so I can absorb the extra costs when I have to.

You said that the prices of some of your books are so cheap that you're finding it difficult, I haven't upped any prices yet but I expect some sellers will so I think that there may be a slight shift upwards and you could join in with it.

At the moment I think that any profit is OK (don't forget that I'm a pro seller so get a bit more in the pocket) and with 900 books on sale I don't have the time to go through the list looking for ones that will cost me a few pence more to sell them, it's a time and money thing and with the time that I'd spend weeding out the ones that will cost me a little more I can get more of my normal china auctions running and that's where my main income is.

MyUserNamesTaken

apprentice_tycoon wrote:

Hi username - you're on a roll - great :j I love it when people are buzzing, it give me a little buzz too.

Thanks for that. To be honest, I'm totally amazed! The two things I sold today I paid £5 and £10 for respectively. I sold the £5 item for £15.99 and the £10 for £31.99. It won't last long, as I'm running out of stuff (got 4 items left on Amazon). This stuff is literally the dregs of what Boots was flogging of cheap! I am helped by the fact that I can afford to drastically undercut the competition, as I paid next to nothing for the items in the first place. Actually, overall, I've spent £28 on the whole lot. The rest was paid for with Boots vouchers earnt by myself and my OH on Pigsback.

becky004

apprentice_tycoon wrote:

I haven't upped any prices yet but I expect some sellers will so I think that there may be a slight shift upwards and you could join in with it.

Have noticed this, a book I took off because of new postage rates which waqs heavy and only selling for £7 is now up to £17

larmy16

I have mostly upped my prices of the cheaper books by 40p as most I sell seem to come in at £1.70 first class, but today I was lucky that one went through the gap so it only cost 99p. Nice one. I also sold a re- listed thrice book yesterday, so it is encouraging when you get rid of an oldie.

Kazonline

Thanks for you replies everyone. I've not been on MSE for a few days due to starting college.
I've no idea what I was doing wrong to only get 8 matches for Sega megadrive on Amazon . We've not yet used marketplace, but I think the games and some vids might be the best place to start. The way I understand it is that amazon only charges once a sale has been made?
Also made my first 'market place' purchase last night (college book). I wonder if it was any of you guys?? Hope so
Thanks again for all your advice,
Kaz x

apprentice_tycoon

Yes, you're right - no fees till you sell something.

Good luck with it and let us know how you've got on.

katchambers

I have been finding that this new postal system is lowering my costs, on average. I think it's because I have been sending alot of thin paperbacks recently, one I sent today was only 44p first class!!! I was shocked! I have been sending quite a few of my books first class because there is only like 10-20p in it, and I am happy to gain the good feedback for an extra 20p. I have decided now to advertise that I am sending first class with every thin & light book that I sell.

I have also been finding, like someone else mentioned earlier that my fiction books are selling even when there are 1p listings on there. My new thing is that I don't sell any books for less than 95p because that will give me £3 after fees and would be like selling on Greenmetropolis, anything less than that goes on GM otherwise it will not be worth my time. As long as you are listed on the first page I believe you can still sell at a higher price.

Kat x

RubyMurray

I've been following this thread for the past month or so and today I've taken the plunge and signed up as a seller. I've put up 4 books so far ranging from £1.50 to 4.50, going to have a root around for some more later on, I'm a terrible book hoarder so it will be nice to have a bit more space as well as some cash, hopefully! Should I go mad and list as many books as I can or should I stick with just a few at first in case I get myself in a muddle?

Thanks everyone! oh and where do I sign up for the Amazon Seller's club?

comicmankev

The lady at the post office charged me 75p per book, then after going through 20 of them she then said "Actually, I think ALL of those are too big for the service and I will have to charge more. We then went through the process of adding individual stamps! How annoying. And I have to say, all my paperbacks I sent out yesterday came in at £1.39 2nd class, which selling at a penny each doest give me much for my envelopes and time - lol! I'm off to Amazon to do some restructuring!