Question: Should I sell used books on eBay or Amazon?
Answer: I prefer selling on Amazon because it is just so much more efficient than eBay (in most cases). You can list your books for sale much faster, and I believe they sell faster on Amazon because the buying process is so much simpler and easier for the buyers.
Another big plus in selling books on Amazon is that you can capture some sales from book buyers who go to Amazon, originally with the intention of buying a new book. They get to Amazon’s site expecting to pay $20 for a new book, and notice that a used bookseller has the same thing they’re looking for in excellent condition for only $10. So you get lots of sales on Amazon from people who hadn’t even considered buying a used book.
However, there are some instances when I think it’s good to sell on eBay. If you have a collection or assortment of one authors’ books, you could sell it as a package. For example, if you had one copy of each book written by Stephen King, you could sell it as an “instant Stephen King collection” and it would surely receive lots of attention, and sell for more than you could get for each of the titles individually.
And there are lots of booksellers that believe if you have a truly unusual, collectible book, you can get a higher price by auctioning it on eBay than you can selling it at a fixed price on Amazon.
So even though I prefer selling on Amazon to eBay, I have active accounts on both sites because I don’t want to put all my eggs in one basket. For example, what would happen if your whole business depended on Amazon, and one day Amazon decided they didn’t want to allow independent sellers on their site anymore? In that case your whole business could go down the tubes. So I would recommend that sellers maintain an active eBay account, just to avoid becoming totally dependent on a certain sales venue.
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6 Comments
Hello – I’ve enjoyed your blog, lots of great info here. As far as selling on Amazon, it seems like every book I look at listing, some dealer is selling it for $.50, even though other dealers on ABE and elsewhere are selling for reasonable prices. How are these people on Amazon making money selling $20 books for $.50? And how can you compete with them?
Yes, there are a lot books on sale for low prices on Amazon, that happens when the supply is really high and demand for that book is low. It used to be possible to squeeze about 50 cents of profit from selling “penny books” on Amazon — assuming the seller got the book free, it weighed less than a pound, and could be mailed in a cheap bubble envelope.
But since the Postal Service raised rates last year (and Amazon didn’t raise shipping credits for sellers) the days of squeezing profits from shipping fees are over. If the book isn’t worth a few dollars, the best thing to do is donate to your local friends of the library or a local charity.
Some people I suppose go ahead and sell cheap books as a way to build up their feedback, but it can be a real hassle. People who buy very cheap books tend to be problem customers, they complain about everything.
That Steve Weber is a smart guy. I bought his book several years ago, and it was a shot in the arm to my book business. I thought I knew the business, but he opened my eyes to some great new ideas. Anything he posts on here, believe it!! Hubert Sutton, Kinston, N. C.
Got to be Amazon as opposed to Ebay. Ebay are power crazy and will suspend your account for no reason and as they are part of Paypal they can hold onto your funds for no reason. They also dictate to you that you have to use Paypal which is just plain wrong. Also, if a competitor complains about your listing then they will take your listing down at the drop of a hat. And for the record, it might be worth a visit to http://www.paypalsucks.com and see how bad Paypal really is. Ebay grew too quick and are now so far up their own back sides that they are living in another world. I used to be a Powerseller and like so many other sellers I now sell through other avenues including Amazon. Remember, there are 3 charges on Ebay, you are charged a listing fee, a selling fee and then a Paypal fee….3 charges for every item you sell….ludicrous !
Amazon are so professional and more importantly, they do not rip you off with numerous fees, probably the best avenue to sell online.
Hi,My name is digvijay, i am from india , i would like to learn how to sell the used books on the amazon or ebay.Would appreciate if you can help me on this topic or mail me the same info on my email id digvijay.rana@gmail.com
Looking forward of a positive reply from your end.
Thanks in advance.
Digvijay
So, I have been selling with Amazon for a while; have sold on my own as well as fulfillment by Amazon … it seems the items do sell faster when “FBA” but I don’t have the brain energy to really figure out the cost benefits … any thoughts from the pros out there?