Q&A: Where does Amazon’s ‘Buyers Waiting’ prices come from?

UPDATE from 4/29/2010: This article contains some outdated information. To get up to date, read this article.

QUESTION: I’ve researched several of the books on Amazon’s Buyers Waiting list. In the rare cases where a book is for sale elsewhere, they’re always offered at four to five times the price mentioned on the Buyers Waiting list.

Is this a good reflection of overall market price, not just Amazon buyers? If I match the Buyers Waiting price, does that mean I would likely get the sale at that price?

ANSWER: It’s important to remember that the information on Amazon’s Buyers Waiting list isn’t set by Amazon. The list is generated by orders that customers have placed on Amazon’s site.

So if there’s a pending order for $50 for a given book, if you list that book at $50 or under, you’ll get the sale — if you’ve met the buyer’s minimum condition rating. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the book’s value is $50. That’s just what one person is willing to pay — normally the book could be worth more or less.

So the Buyers Waiting” price very rarely gives you an accurate reading of a book’s worth, it just tells you that someone wasn’t able to find it for sale at the price they wanted, so they placed an order on Amazon at “their” price.

When you looked around and saw other listings at 4 or 5 times the price, that’s probably a more accurate reflection of the value. On the other hand, if those
other listings don’t sell within a few years, it’s safe to say that they were above the real market value.

There’s an old saying in the book trade: A book is worth exactly what the buyer is willing to pay.

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Related posts:

1. What book buyers want: Amazon “buyers waiting” pre-orders
2. Q&A: How can I use Amazon’s ‘Buyer’s Waiting’ list for scouting used books?