# Selling books on Amazon.com



## cc-rider (Jul 29, 2003)

I just read a bit about this on another thread. Does anyone here really MAKE any money selling books on Amazon? By the time they take out the 99cent listing fee, the $1.35 processing fee, and 15%, there isn't anything left. Some people sell their books for a penny because the $3.99 shipping fee covers their expenses, but it doesn't seem worth all that work for a few cents. 

Your opinion??


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## copperkid3 (Mar 18, 2005)

The wife and I have been running a small-time book business thru Amazon for the last 7 yrs as vendors there, 
and while we aren't millionaires...(yet), we're now averaging around 8 to 10 thousand a yr from sales. 
It helps pay the bills and we've since expanded into other venues; such as eBay, Valore, Biblio and Half.com. 
One of the "tricks" is to reduce your expenses while maximizing your profits!!!! No seriously, 
you have to either get into it totally; treat it like a business and take the necessary steps to save money; 
i.e. unlimited listing monthly fee + a percentage of each book sold..... or continue to try dabbling at it and 
spending higher amounts per book listings + percentage. Personally, I don't know how or why those penny listers
do it......we currently have a policy that if the book won't make at least a dollar, than it isn't worth the 
time/trouble of listing it. And we may soon change that to a higher amount. We presently have OVER
5000 books, tapes, pamphlets, etc. listed and at least that many more, still stored and waiting to be listed and uploaded. 
There are good times and slow times and you have to anticipate those times and be able to go with the flow. 
It's best to use the slow times to pick up inventory and list it......then when the good/better/best times come along, 
you're in position to sell them. There are alot of other "tricks", but it takes time/experience to learn them and 
we haven't got ALL of them down pat yet. If we gave away all our secrets, we'd have more competition. 
The most important secret that I will reveal however, is that you have to have a love for the product
and a williness to do the very best at getting it to the customer in a condition that is better than
they are expecting. If you can do all this, then you can't help but succeed at your business.

Check us out at: Keeweesbooks and/or Keewees Kornicopia on those venues listed previously.


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## featherbottoms (May 28, 2005)

copperkid3 said:


> ...Personally, I don't know how or why those penny listers
> do it......we currently have a policy that if the book won't make at least a dollar, than it isn't worth the
> time/trouble of listing it....


A list I subscribe to had a lengthly discussion about this topic a couple weeks ago. Penny listers do it because most of those particular sellers are mega listers. One particular lister that was discussed had the number 10-15,000 books sold per day mentioned. Not all those are penny books and it all just adds up to a tidy sum of money.


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## featherbottoms (May 28, 2005)

cc-rider said:


> ...Some people sell their books for a penny because the $3.99 shipping fee covers their expenses, but it doesn't seem worth all that work for a few cents...


See the above post.


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## clovis (May 13, 2002)

Why not abe.com????

They have a monthly fee that is pretty affordable for the small seller. $40 a month????

If I can't buy the book I want on ebay or abe.com, I am not going to order it. I have never been impressed with amazon, or some of the other book places. Shipping and high prices are generally the reason.

Clove


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## featherbottoms (May 28, 2005)

clovis said:


> Why not abe.com????
> 
> They have a monthly fee that is pretty affordable for the small seller. $40 a month????
> 
> ...



mmmmmm..... did you know that Amazon owns Abe?


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## clovis (May 13, 2002)

featherbottoms said:


> mmmmmm..... did you know that Amazon owns Abe?


Nuh-uhhh!!!!!!!!!! Get out!!!

That explains the new shipping changes...as well as the other changes I don't care for!!!!

Learn something new every day....


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