Selling books on Amazon may be a very profitable business since the e-commerce platform boasts over 200 million Prime members globally and books are among the top 5 most popular categories. Therefore, Amazon is the best place to sell textbooks, whether your goal is to make this a reliable source of revenue or you're just a student clearing out your old textbooks.
In this article, you will learn:
- Can You Sell Textbooks on Amazon as a Third-Party Seller?
- Which Textbook Types Are You Able to Sell on Amazon?
- The Step-by-Step Guide to Amazon Textbook Sales
- Register as an Amazon Seller
- Select Your Option for Fulfillment
- Select the Price
- Make a Textbook List
- Arrange and Send Your Books
- Does Reselling Require Author or Publisher Permission?
Can You Sell Textbooks on Amazon as a Third-Party Seller?
Indeed. These days, textbook resellers are among the more than 2 million third-party merchants on Amazon.
After the school year or your courses are over, you may need to declutter because you may have a lot of textbooks lying around. If they're still in good enough shape, you can list them on Amazon.
Which Textbook Types Are You Able to Sell on Amazon?
Books can be sold on Amazon in both new and used condition as long as they don't include any objectionable or unlawful content. Amazon's Content Guidelines for Books should be adhered to. Although e-books are also possible to sell, we'll be concentrating on selling actual textbooks in this post.
If the textbook is brand-new, it must be in pristine original condition, free of any dents, bends, writing, highlights, scratches, ripped pages, broken spines, or other signs of normal wear and tear. Used books that are being resold may fit into any of the following condition categories:
- Like New: with very minor flaws and the dust cover is still in place; no highlights or annotations
- Very Good: few minor flaws; dust cover and set cases may be missing; some remaining marks
- Good: cover and pages intact; some underlining and notes; dust cover, shrink wrap, and set cases may be missing.
- Acceptable: cover and pages intact; a few notes and highlights; some water damage; readable text; may lack shrink wrap and set cases.
As much as possible, your items should at least be in a “Good” condition, but don’t worry; some flaws are still acceptable. Take note that textbooks may be updated from time to time, rendering older versions obsolete as a result. You should be mindful of this when you’re selecting a product listing.
Textbooks are available in many editions as well. The following editions are available for sale on Amazon:
Your products should ideally be in at least "Good" condition, but a few imperfections are still acceptable. Be aware that textbooks could undergo updates from time to time, making previous editions outdated. This is something to keep in mind while choosing a product listing.
The Step-by-Step Guide to Amazon Textbook Sales
Selling textbooks tends to be profitable because they are in great demand and don't cost a lot to start, whether you're doing it for Amazon arbitrage or decluttering. Generally speaking, the procedure is the same as for selling other kinds of books on Amazon and begins with putting your textbooks there.
Register as an Amazon Seller
The professional selling strategy and the individual selling plan are your two possibilities. Their primary differences are in costs and perks. View below:
Once you have selected your plan, use Amazon's cost calculator to determine your margin of sales for each product. You must first register as an AmazonSS seller in order to begin selling. The procedure is quite simple to follow. Just prepare the following files:
Business email address (using your Amazon customer account is an option, but not advised.)
- Credit card that can be charged abroad
- Government Identity
- Tax data
- Telephone number
- An account where you can receive money from Amazon for your sales
Select Your Option for Fulfillment
You have the option to fulfill orders yourself or to have Amazon do it for you. Naturally, there are extra costs associated with the latter. If you have a small number of products to offer, fulfillment by merchant, or FBM, is a decent alternative; on the other hand, if you want to develop a steady stream of income from selling textbooks on Amazon, FBA is the better choice.
Select the Price
Your textbooks' condition—like-new, very good, good, or acceptable—will determine how much they cost. See the aforementioned categories. For comparison, check your price against those of other sellers.
It's a good idea to give your textbook a lower quality rating than it truly deserves in order to steer clear of unfavorable reviews from clients. Setting realistic expectations will keep them from being let down and instead leave them feeling pleasantly surprised.
Make a Textbook List
Amazon maintains a policy of one listing per product. This implies that you are unable to make a separate listing if someone else is currently selling the same textbook as you. You ought to add your stuff to these already-existing listings instead.
Arrange and Send Your Books
Wait for a customer to place an order after listing your textbook. Once more, you are not required to personally fulfill orders if you are an FBA seller. You may leave it to Amazon.
Does Reselling Require Author or Publisher Permission?
You don't. Intellectual property rights are not necessary when you are just reselling books; they only apply to the publication of copyrighted publications. If a book has an ISBN, it indicates that it should be placed for sale. Who sells the book—the publisher, the author, or a reseller—generally doesn't matter.
