selling books on Amazon - tips for more profit

cack

apprentice_tycoon wrote:

If the CD won't come up in the search by number, does it come up by name of artiist and title? if so it's like the book club books, you could still list it but make a note that it's different in some way to the others, if it won't search at all then it's got to be ebay.

Yes, in some cases what I've had to do is find another version of the CD (for example where there are different versions of a CD single with different tracks on, and only the 'wrong' one is listed on Amazon), and then in the comments field put PLEASE NOTE TRACK LISTING followed by the full listing.

However, in some cases the CD just isn't listed at all....guess it's back to eBay for those items!

nemo183 wrote:

As I understand it, proof of posting equates to proof of delivery - i.e. once you have the certificate of posting, it's the purchaser that runs the risk if the item gets lost.

Proof of posting is only proof of posting! If you want proof of delivery, you have to use one of the 'signed for' services, ie Recorded delivery. However, if you always get a certificate of posting then it means that if the item goes missing, you can proove to the buyer that you sent it, and also you can pass the c.o.p. onto them to assist them to make a claim for the lost item with Royal Mail.

apprentice_tycoon

Well done to Chickadee for the first sale, it was easy wasn't it?

Thanks also to Nemo (reluctant to divulge my killer tip....) and everyone else who shared their tips, it's all in keeping with the spirit of the MSE site, I don't think that anyone will lose out by sharing, it's a big country with enough cheap books to pick up for sale and enough willing buyers that we won't all be treading on each others toes. :T

sellingmysoul666

I can recommend greenmetroplis for selling books

http://www.greenmetropolis.com/index.asp

"Ever thought of satisfying your appetite for reading and more importantly, preserving your hard earned cash by buying books second-hand? Well now you can! Whether it's the latest release or last year's bestseller, all our books sell for one unbelievably low price of £3.75 and all standard paperbacks include FREE delivery

Are your old books gathering dust at home? Have they literally become part of the furniture? Well, why not turn them into cash! We pay for every book you sell with GreenMetropolis.com. Intrigued? Then read more....

By recycling used books not only are we saving existing trees, we're actually planting new ones. How? GreenMetropolis.com donates 5p for every book sold to the 'Plant a Tree' scheme run by the Woodland Trust - the UK’s leading woodland conservation charity"

I have been using it for a couple of years sold lots and bought some as well
If its a large paperback or hardback you can also choose the amount for postage so you do not lose out like amazon

I do use amazon if the second hand price is more than £3 some of my out of print graphic novel have sold very well. I have also sold cd's dvd pc games but the amazon fees are quite high so you need to check you are not loosing out.

I also sell dvds some times on here

http://www.thatzdvd.com/

you can get credit to buy things later or cash ( a bit less) you do not have to pay for postage to them as it is a free post address

Helen

Austin_Allegro

Sometimes you will find your book/CD or whatever is not listed on Amazon. The simple way round this is to find the closest item and list it with a description.

EG. there is a series of books about the detective !!!!!! Barton. I had number one in the series but Amazon didn't recognize the ISBN, although it did for all the others in the series. So I posted the book under number three in the series, but in the 'description' made clear it was a different book. I had no problems and sold it soon after.

So if you had a CD of Beethoven's fourth symphony by the Berlin philharmonic but Amazon had no record of it existing, you could sell it under the title of the fourth symphony by the London philharmonic, as long as you made it clear it was a different CD.

This is probably against some rule or other but it is a way round the problem.

Austin_Allegro

Another idea is to flog those DVDs and paperback books that you get free with Sunday papers, magazines etc. Again, Amazon won't recognize these because they are officially not for resale. So you just list them under the title of the film/book but make it clear they are a different edition. It's worth waiting a few weeks though, because there will be a glut on the market shortly after the freebie is given out as everybody else decides to sell them!

coffeeandfags

Thanks to the OP. Inspired by this thread i decided to chuck a few books onto Amazon this afternoon....... guess what? Ive sold one already!!


ive now sold 3 things! Wow ive made £15 for 5 minutes work!!

coffeeandfags

smartcat04

coffeeandfags wrote:

Thanks to the OP. Inspired by this thread i decided to chuck a few books onto Amazon this afternoon....... guess what? Ive sold one already!!

coffeeandfags

Snap! I couldn't believe it when I got the email. Used to selling in ebay where it can sometimes take ages.Impressed.

MATH

After the summer (I'm going away for six weeks) I will be chucking a few books Amazon's way. Mrs MATH has just been made redundant so a few pennies will no doubt come in handy by then!

I am so impressed and greatful to all the experienced Amazon/Ebay posters (Graham, Austin, AT, Rebob and others) who have generously given their hints and tips so I and others can benefit.
Thank you

hfbates

apprentice_tycoon wrote:

Just a few things I've learned about selling books on amazon.

I started by selling all our unwanted books, then the bug had set in and now I buy books in to sell, I get them from boot sales, charity shops and in bulk at auctions.

The ones to avoid if you are buying just to sell for profit are the popular novels, there will be dozens of them for sale, all costing 1 penny - amazon gives you £2.32 for postage for the book, so if it only costs you £1.20 to post then you're in profit, there are also fees to be paid, this is a fixed amount plus a percentage but you can sell a book for 1 penny and still make a small profit. When you list the book it shows you what the charges will be, and your takings so you can see if this is acceptable to you.

Other books to avoid if you are selling just for profit are heavy ones - the postage allowance of £2.32 will be paid regardless of the books' size so it may cost you £4.00 to post it, if you can get a good price for the book then this will balance out.

When you list a book for sale there is no photo needed or fee charged, it's only when you sell the book that you have to pay (out of your takings) so you can have a book listed for months for free. Also when you list the book you will see the price that others are charging for the same book, you might want to get yours sold quickly and undercut them or you could decide to stick it out for a better price.

You have to choose a description of the book's condition -like new -very good etc and then you have a space for a few more descriptive words. I always put in 'smoke free home' and 'same day dispatch' because these make a book stand out from the rest. The condition of the book is important to get the best price so watch out for creases and bends etc also gift inscriptions, you will have to mention them all (in fairness to the buyer and you don't want any awkward emails later or poor feedback in your ratings) and this may make your book less attractive than the others

I have kept my very best tip to the end - the books that I've found to be the best sellers are paperback self-help books on any kind of off the wall subject you can think of like angels, reincarnation, astral travel, psychic stuff, stopping smoking etc. These are harder to buy from shops like WHS so they sell well second hand. I bought a book on wednesday last week on time managment for 49 pence at a charity shop. I listed it as soon as I got home, the lowest price of the others that was for sale was £7.20 so I undercut for £6.90 and sold it within 2 hours. After postage costs there was a profit of over £4.00...:j

You will need some padded envelopes for postage, get them anywhere but the post office, they are so expensive there, You will see some on ebay or if you need loads then viking direct is the place to look, nectar points too if you register your card with them.

edit - I just remembered another reason for a book not getting a good price - if the book was a book club edition it won't search on the ISDN number and will come up as not suitable for sale (or words to the effect), this doesn't put some people off, they list anyway but they (should) mention 'book club edition' in the description but it won't sell as for the same price as others that are proper editions

Just a minor point, the postage credit from Amazon is only £2.26 for books if you are not VAT registered. I thought I would mention it because if you're looking to sell books for 1p you will only get £2.27 from Amazon. I appreciate that you may still be 'in profit' but 6p off of a small profit is worth knowing about.

The postage credit for CD's is 96p, VHS £1.43 and DVD's £1.08, so take care when pricing or you could end up paying for the privilege!

margaret_3

Thanks to a.p., who has as usual, started a very interesting thread.:)