Selling off Specialist Texts
June 25, 2011 11:47 AM Subscribe
Does anyone have experience with Fulfillment by Amazon as a seller?
I have a small number of specialist engineering texts to sell, and expect I will need to reach as many people as possible to sell them. I also have a small amount of fiction and popular non-fiction. Fulfillment by Amazon looks like a way to go, but I’d like to hear more about the seller experience. I’m also open to other suggestions, though I’m resistant to sending each book out individually myself, and I don’t really see specialist texts of this nature on craigslist or ebay, and so wouldn’t expect buyers to be looking there.
In addition, I’m wondering if people have advice on pricing. Just because a text is listed on Amazon for $120+ doesn’t mean that it’s selling for $120. Alternatively, some books which are listed for a minimum of $X are being “bought back” by Amazon at $X/3. Which is more likely to be the realistic price?
Many thanks.
I have a small number of specialist engineering texts to sell, and expect I will need to reach as many people as possible to sell them. I also have a small amount of fiction and popular non-fiction. Fulfillment by Amazon looks like a way to go, but I’d like to hear more about the seller experience. I’m also open to other suggestions, though I’m resistant to sending each book out individually myself, and I don’t really see specialist texts of this nature on craigslist or ebay, and so wouldn’t expect buyers to be looking there.
In addition, I’m wondering if people have advice on pricing. Just because a text is listed on Amazon for $120+ doesn’t mean that it’s selling for $120. Alternatively, some books which are listed for a minimum of $X are being “bought back” by Amazon at $X/3. Which is more likely to be the realistic price?
Many thanks.
I'm a small seller on Amazon (about 2,000 sales/year), and I recently moved all my sales to Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA). It's the best move I could have done, the service is exceptional. People go to Amazon for books, they don't really search eBay or Craigslist for specific books. Half.com sometimes. But FBA is a great service. Scan the items, send it in the box, and Amazon does the rest.
They used to make you put a unique sticker on each item you send to them, to differentiate my copy of Jurassic Park from yours. Now, Amazon does all that for you, and it's so much easier now.
It's very attractive for buyers to know they are getting an item FROM Amazon, even if they purchase it from you. So often, even though the content is the same, many sellers are flaky in sending items, and Amazon obviously has no trouble shipping quickly. I highly suggest FBA.
posted by santaliqueur at 1:22 PM on June 25, 2011 [4 favorites]
They used to make you put a unique sticker on each item you send to them, to differentiate my copy of Jurassic Park from yours. Now, Amazon does all that for you, and it's so much easier now.
It's very attractive for buyers to know they are getting an item FROM Amazon, even if they purchase it from you. So often, even though the content is the same, many sellers are flaky in sending items, and Amazon obviously has no trouble shipping quickly. I highly suggest FBA.
posted by santaliqueur at 1:22 PM on June 25, 2011 [4 favorites]
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I've never used Amazon but maybe you can just start the listing process on Half to see what the prices are there, might give you some idea at least.
posted by magnetsphere at 12:28 PM on June 25, 2011