selling your stuff on Amazon - part 8 - advice for newbies in the first 2 posts

hilary1

OMG just sold my first 2 5p books:T

wilf55

well done hilary what you spending your cash on more stock!!

funkyfunkymonkey

wilf55 wrote:

hi guys can i join in just started selling on amazon with 1112 books i was given 10 piles of musty stuff in massive boxes 13 sales so far but that was mainly chic lit stuff listed 270 so far with what feels like 10 million to go ...any help tips etc greatly recieved

thanks

Hi Wilf

I probably shouldn't cut and paste such a large lump, this info was in Post 2 and AT always copies Posts 1 and 2 everytime she starts a new thread. Anyway, these were the 'faster listing' tips.

what if you've got the bug and bought loads? tips for listing quickly

This is just a few ideas on how to list quickly, or at least it's how I do it with large lots - not necessarily the right or best way but might give you some ideas - would love any ideas/feedback from you guys - 'cos I'm sure I still have loads of room for improvement.

use a hand held scanner

I've heard you can get these worth the money on Ebay, but I bought mine direct from https://www.barcode-solutions.co.uk it's a ZEBEX Z-3080 the man there was really helpful, I placed my order over the internet and he then phoned me to check which type of connector I needed, he asked what it was for and when I said Amazon sales he set it up for me before sending. The price was quite high (£75 including next day delivery) but I had just bought 2000 books and it proved to be a god-send - but not worth it if you are only listing a few at a time. When the scanner arrived it really was 'plug and play', I didn't have to set it up or anything else.

use standard descriptions

Start a word document and set up some standard detailed descriptions depending on the condition of the book eg
acceptable - First class despatch, UK seller, spine and covers creased, edges of pages yellow
good - First class despatch, UK seller, spine creased
very good - First class despatch, UK seller, spine uncreased
like new - First class despatch, UK seller, looks and feels unread
If you look through some of your own existing descriptions you will probably see that they are all very similar like the examples above - but do make them 'your own' and make sure the seller knows what they will be getting. You should find that you then make sales before other sellers who can't be bothered to describe the book and only tell you about their fast postal service (if anything at all). I regularly sell before one of the big players who never puts in a description - I know from experience he is a good seller, but other buyers wouldn't necessarily know what the different Amazon Categories mean eg Very Good should mean no creases on the spine etc

You can then quickly click between the Amazon listing page and the word document and double click on the correct descriptive paragraph and then copy and paste into the Amazon description.

sort before listing

When you first get your books sort them into those that have an ISBN and those that don't and then into piles of small paperbacks and large paperbacks.

Then when you do a batch of listing you can get through the ISBN books quickly - the sooner they are listed the sooner they will sell. You can spend more time later searching out the non ISBN books, they can sometimes take a while to pinpoint (but they are also often the rare ones and sometimes worth the extra effort and time needed)

Sorting into sizes allows you to put similar sizes together and keeps storage space/boxes tidier eg small pbs into small fruit boxes, large pbs into the larger size boxes.

use SKU's (if you are a convert)
By sorting before listing the chances are you will be putting alot of books into the same box at the same time, this makes the job of filling in an SKU much easier because the 'drop down' lets you see the SKU's you have already entered. eg you could use 270606 box 01 - 1, 270606 box 01 - 2 etc as you fill up your box - you would only have to update the 1 to 2 to 3 each time you listed a new book on that day (not sure if that makes sense - you may need to try it to see what works for you)

FFM

COOLTRIKERCHICK

just a quick question..... i am now going through all my books today and trying to list the more presentable ones on amazon.. got the bug now.....

i have a book.....isbn 0582-02290-8

yorks notes.. the nun's priest's tale...

now i know there are inflated prices on there...but this book is listed for £27.25:eek: and its only a £3.50 book

so being realistic what would you do.... i have a few of these type books......

i still cant get why people put such a high price on things......there are only 2 of these books for sale...

i would be gratefull.. for advice...... thanks.....

rare_stuff

COOLTRIKERCHICK wrote:

i have a book.....isbn 0582-02290-8

yorks notes.. the nun's priest's tale...

now i know there are inflated prices on there...but this book is listed for £27.25:eek: and its only a £3.50 book

so being realistic what would you do.... i have a few of these type books......

i still cant get why people put such a high price on things......there are only 2 of these books for sale...

i would be gratefull.. for advice...... thanks.....

the only other copy I can find listed is one on ABE for 48p!

I suspect there may be a more uptodate edition of this selling for reasonable prices, but I must add I have sold similairly rare york notes in the past that for £14.99, had to wait a while though.

So, it depends if you want a fast sale or a GOOD sale!

COOLTRIKERCHICK

thanks rare_stuff....

can i pick your brain again.. pleeeeeeeeeeease....

i have a book called the nazi elite.... it didnt sell on ebay.. the twice that i listed it..

i have now had a look on amazon.... and it starts from £9.50 right up to £80 odd amazon is selling it for i think £69. ...
the isbn is 0333569504 its a hardcover with dust jacket....the dust jacket has marks etc...its a mcmillian 1993 so am i right in thinking this is the right book....and i could ask around the £9.50.. or basically put any price on it and wait it out... ......

foxybabe

Hi, Do you guys always match the lowest price with your books? I am asking because I did this with a book I just sold but after postage (it was a very heavy book) I only made £2.00 on a £6.00 book. Mine was as new, but so were a few others at the same price.

many thanks everyone

tsharp

boston_uk wrote:

yep it a pro-seller perk - if you call a HUGE list a perk !!!

https://secure.amazon.co.uk/exec/panama/seller-admin/download/preorder-report

So you can't use it without being a Pro-Seller?

rare_stuff

i know the seller at £9.50 and suspect they have it priced right, though with that sales rank it will sit around for a while, there is a cheaper copy on Abe, but not much cheaper.
Try checking prices across a number of sites, www.bookprice24.co.uk will do this and even search ebay, though will only return ebay results if the isbn is detailed in the description.


As for pricing against the lowest, there is an awful lot to consider when deciding to do this. Many of the big sellers have postal discounts and can send a book weighing upto 2kilos by 2nd class post and only pay on average about £1.20-£1.40 per book sent.
It's also worth considering how well others have described the book, condition, feedback of other sellers, whether they are a US seller, sales ranking, the list goes on.....
And making £2 ain't bad!

wilf55

if a book hasnt got an isbn and isnt listed on amazon or bookfinder how do you find how much its worth and what do you do with it

thanks