In 1994, Jeff Bezos founded Amazon and started selling books on the platform. According to eMarketer, Books/Music/Video is the third most popular category on Amazon in the United States:
As you can see from the table above, Amazon is expected to generate a total ecommerce revenue of $409.19 billion in 2022. The revenue share of the category books/music/video is expected to be 11.5%.
But why am I telling you this?
There’s one simple reason: You can also make money on Amazon selling used (or even new) books.
Selling books on Amazon is a great opportunity, especially if you consider becoming an Amazon seller.
A reason for this is that you don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars to buy products you want to sell on Amazon. There is no risk that you will lose a lot of money because books aren’t expensive. You can save up a starting capital that you can use to launch your first product on Amazon.
You will also gain valuable experience by selling books on Amazon. If you want to start an Amazon business, this experience will pay off in the long run.
So it doesn’t matter whether you want to get rid of old books from your bookshelf or start a real business – it’s always a great idea to sell books on Amazon.
If you want to know how to sell books on Amazon in 2023, you’ve come to the right place. Here’s what you will learn in this article:
- 4 Reasons Why You Should Sell Books on Amazon
- How to Find Books to Sell on Amazon
- How to Get Started Selling Books On Amazon
- Frequently Asked Questions
Let’s dive right in.
4 Reasons Why You Should Sell Books on Amazon
Some people want to get rid of their old books. Others want to start an Amazon FBA business.
No matter what’s your goal – here are the top four reasons why you should sell books on Amazon:
Reason 1: You Can Make Money Selling (Used) Books on Amazon
This reason is pretty simple: You can make money selling books on Amazon.
Dave Hamrick from Jungle Scout claims that he has built a lucrative Amazon business that makes thousands a month selling used books on Amazon.
No matter if you want to sell used books or new ones. In both cases, you can make money.
Selling books on Amazon is also great to save money for future investments. For example, if you want to sell private label products on Amazon.
Reason 2: People Want to Buy Books
Today, there are ebooks, digital magazines, and almost everyone is looking for information on Wikipedia rather than in an old-school encyclopedia.
One might think that the demand for books has dropped dramatically in recent years.
But according to Google Trends, this is not the case. People worldwide search for books, and demand hasn’t fallen over the last five years. Here is the Google Trends Chart for the search query books:
So I think the demand for books is huge. In 2019, the net revenue of the U.S. book publishing industry was about 25.93 billion USD. 10 billion USD were generated in bookstores. And as we all know, bookstores sell printed books, not eBooks.
Reason 3: Amazon Is a Great Marketplace to Sell Books
Amazon is the largest online marketplace for products worldwide. 59% of 16-36 Year-Olds head to Amazon before to any other Ecommerce Website.
Here are some interesting facts about Amazon:
- Net Sales 2020: 29.57 billion USD
- Amazon Monthly traffic: 452.5 million
- Active customer accounts: 300 million
If you want to sell online, there’s no better option than becoming an Amazon seller.
Some people claim selling on eBay is better, but I wouldn’t recommend it. However, you can read our article about selling on Amazon vs. eBay to find out what’s better for you.
Reason 4: Amazon Makes Your Life Easier
On Amazon, you can choose between three fulfillment options:
- Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM): You list your product on Amazon, pack it and ship it to your customers.
- Amazon Vendors (AMZ): You sell your products directly to Amazon.
- Processing by Amazon (FBA): You list your products on Amazon. Amazon stores, packs, and ships your product to your customers.
Amazon FBA is a great way to get started as an Amazon seller.
That’s because FBA sellers only have to do marketing for their products, and they don’t have to worry about storage or shipping.
When you start selling on Amazon, you can pack and ship products on your own. But as soon as you sell more products, I recommend switching to Amazon FBA.
How to Find Books to Sell on Amazon
Since it’s not a good idea to buy books on alibaba or Aliexpress, let’s discuss where and how you should buy them.
Two things are essential when you are looking for books to sell on Amazon:
Amazon Sales Rank (BSR) and net profit after deducting all costs and Amazon fees.
The Best Seller Rank (BSR) tells you how quickly a product sells on Amazon. A higher BSR indicates that a product sells slower on Amazon. A lower Best Seller Rank indicates that a product sells faster.
The BSR shouldn’t exceed 100.000.
After deducting all costs and Amazon fees, the net profit should be at least 2 USD for books – 3 USD is better.
You can easily calculate the net profit with Helium 10’s Profitability Calculator. Here’s a screenshot of it:
I highly recommend signing up here for free.
Every book you want to sell on Amazon must meet these two criteria.
Method #1: Search Offline
Searching offline for books to resell on Amazon is a very popular method. You should search for places where you can find heavily reduced books, and book prices should be between $1 and $2 per unit.
Here are some examples for such places:
- Bookstores (often offer heavily reduced books as well)
- Book flea markets
- Yard sales
- Libraries
A great strategy to find heavily reduced books is to ask bookstores if there are any special events, book sales, fairs, etc…
Once you’ve found some good places to buy books, you need to find books that meet the criteria mentioned above:
- BSR lower than 100.000
- Net profit over 2 USD
You should use Helium 10’s Profitability Calculator to calculate the net profit.
Searching offline for books can even be fun. You will see that there are a lot of books on a lot of exciting topics.
Method #2: Wholesale
That’s another way to find books to sell on Amazon. Instead of searching for individual books, you can also buy them in bulk.
Of course, you won’t have much control over what you buy – however, you can purchase books at a much lower price and resell them at a much higher price.
Just make sure the books you buy are in good condition.
Here’re some places to buy books in bulk:
- Farm sales
- Real estate sales
- Bookstore closings
- Wholesalers
- Distributors
At such events, you can always get fascinating stuff for a few buckets.
Dave Hemrick of Jungle Scout reports that he was able to buy books for $0.25 this way. Not bad. However, Dave has been stuck on a few books, so he ended up paying $1 for each unit.
Method #3: Online Arbitrage
Online arbitrage works like retail arbitrage with one crucial difference. You don’t buy books offline; you buy them on other online marketplaces like eBay.
Here’re some examples:
- eBay
- Craigslist
- Letgo
Here’s a great article about Online Arbitrage.
How to Get Started Selling Books On Amazon
Step 1: Choose a Method to Search for Books
The first thing you have to do is choose a method to search for books:
- Are you creative? Then the offline method is the right choice for you.
- Are you a tough businessman? Go for the wholesale method.
- Do you like to do business online? Try online arbitrage.
Step 2: Buy the Books
If you go for the offline method, check out some yard sales or special book sales. You can also talk to the bookstore staff to find out whether there are other places to buy books.
If you want to go for the wholesale method, I would also talk to a library or a bookstore staff. Of course, you can also search for places to buy books in bulk on Craigslist, Facebook, or Google.
If you want to buy books online, check out some eBay, Craigslist, or Facebook product listings.
Step 3: Create an Amazon Seller Account
If you want to become an Amazon seller, you’ll need an Amazon seller account.
There are two types of seller accounts:
- Individual Seller Account
- Professional Seller Account
With the Individual Seller Account, you need to pay a $0.99 fee per sale. With the Professional Seller Account, you need to pay a monthly fee of $39.95.
So, if you sell more than 40 products per month, a Professional Seller Account is totally worth it.
I highly recommend checking out this article about Amazon FBA Fees.
Here’s how to create an Amazon Seller Account:
1. Go to Amazon
2. Next to the search field, you can create a regular Amazon account.
3. Once you’re logged in, your name will appear in the field next to the search box. Click on this field.
4. Scroll down and click on “Your Seller Account”.
5. You will be redirected to the next page. Click on “Start Selling”.
6. Now, you have to decide whether you want to have the Individual- or Professional Seller Account (you need to provide a valid credit card, bank account, phone number, and tax information).
7. Go through the registration process.
8. After you’ve created your account, you should have access to Amazon seller central.
If you can afford it, I recommend creating a Professional Seller Account right away. If not, switch to one as soon as you can.
Step 4: Use a Tool to Analyze Costs and Profits
You probably won’t remember how much money you’ve spent on each book. Accordingly, you won’t know which books make money and which do not.
You can’t analyze and optimize your Amazon business if you don’t know what makes money and what costs money.
I recommend using a tool to analyze the costs and profits of your bookselling business. Here are my recommendations:
Jungle Scout Sales Analytics
Jungle Scout Sales Analytics organizes and tracks all your Amazon sales data in real-time, so you can focus on profitable and cost-saving strategies and make more money.
Price: Not available individually, $49 per month with Jungle Scout.
Helium 10 Profits
Helium 10 Profits analyzes cost and profits. Finally, you need to minimize all the negative factors that cost you money. With Helium 10 Profits, you can get the maximum profit out of your Amazon business.
Price: $37 per month with the A la carte plan or $97 per month with the Platinum Plan.
Step 5: List Your Books on Amazon
To create your book listing, enter the book’s ISBN (usually below the barcode) of the book into the Amazon search bar. Then click on “Have one for sale”.
Amazon will guide you through a simple process where you have to provide some information about your book.
You must also provide information about the condition of your book. There are five possible conditions, which are explained below:
You can learn more here.
You also need to set a price for your book. Don’t set the price too high because the lowest price usually wins the buy box.
Step 6: Use Amazon FBA to Sell Your Books
If you use Fulfillment by Amazon, you won’t have to ship your books to your customers. Amazon will store, pack and ship your books. Plus, products you sell via Amazon FBA are eligible for Amazon Prime.
However, you have to send them to an Amazon fulfillment center. Here’s how to prepare your books for Amazon FBA step-by-step.
Create Your Shipment
- Log into your Amazon seller account.
- Click on “Inventory” and then on “Manage Inventory”.
- Click on “Edit” and select “Send/Replenish Inventory”.
- Fill out “Ship from address.”
- Choose “Individual products” for different books with different ISBNs. Choose “Case-packed products” if you’re sending multiple versions of one book. Also, enter how many copies of one book you’re sending to the Amazon fulfillment center.
- Select “No Prep Needed” and you’re good to go.
Labeling And Calculating Your Costs
- The next step asks you to label your products. Your books will already have a manufacturer barcode, so click “Continue.”
- Amazon will tell you to which fulfillment center to send your books.
- Choose your shipping service.
- Enter your package dimensions and weight.
- Click “Calculate” to see your shipping cost.
- After you review everything, accept the charges and print your shipping labels.
- Stick the shipping labels on your package and send them to Amazon. Drop your boxes off with your carrier, or arrange for a pick-up at your home.
It generally takes 1 – 2 weeks for packages to arrive at Amazon, then another three days for your books to be entered into their inventory. Amazon will notify you once your books have arrived and are ready to be sold.
Step 7: Analyze Your Costs and Profits
Once your book listings are live, you have to monitor your sales to see which books perform and which ones are not. You can track your sales with Jungle Scout Sales Analytics or Helium 10 Profits.
Remember that the chance to win the buy box is better with a lower price. However, be aware of your margins and don’t price your books too low. Be sure you’ll still make a profit when the book sells.
Step 8: Care About Reviews
With books, customer service is a bit easier than with normal products. Since you didn’t write the books yourself, you don’t have to worry about reviews.
But what you should do is to care about Amazon reviews regarding the quality of your books.
You need to state the condition of the book correctly. If you indicate a better condition than the actual one, then you will probably get bad reviews.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where Else Can I Sell Old Books?
Donate Books
One of the easiest ways to get rid of your old books is to donate them. All you’ve to do is call a non-profit organization like the Salvation Army, and they will send a truck to pick up your old books. In return, you’ll get a recipe that you can write off on your taxes. You won’t get much cash, but this is one of the easiest ways to get rid of your old books.
Used Bookstores
Another option to consider is to sell your book to used bookstores. The benefit is that it requires no effort, and you’ll get some cash. The drawback is that used bookstores only pay a small amount of money, even for books that look new.
Sell Books on eBay
Of course, you can also sell your books on eBay. However, I prefer selling books on Amazon because I had more success with it. This is mainly because there’s more demand on Amazon, and you can use metrics like the Amazon Sales Rank (BSR) to determine how likely a book will sell.
What Types of Books Sell Best on Amazon?
- Textbooks
- Niche books
- Comic books
- Collectibles
- Non-fiction
- Hardcovers
What Types of Books Don’t Sell Well on Amazon?
- Fiction
- Children’s books
- Cookbooks
- Mass market paperbacks
- Popular new books
How Much Does It Cost to Sell Books on Amazon?
Like most online marketplaces, Amazon charges fees to sell on their platform. Here’s an overview of all the fees you’ve to pay if you want to sell books on Amazon:
Fees for Amazon Seller Account
You’ve to pay fees for your Amazon Seller Account. There are two types of Amazon seller accounts:
- Individual Seller Account
- Professional Seller Account
The Individual Seller Account comes with no monthly flat fee. Yet, you need to pay a fee of $0.99 per sale. The Professional Seller Account comes with a monthly flat fee of $39.99, but no fee per sale.
Finally, the plan you should choose depends on the number of books you sell on Amazon per month. If you sell more than 40 books, the Professional Seller Account is worth it.
Referral Fees
Referral fees occur when you make a sale through Amazon, and this fee is 15% for books.
Closing Fee
Media products such as books, DVDs, CDs, and Blue Ray come with a flat fee of $1.80 per sale.
Shipping Costs
There are two ways to sell on Amazon: Fulfillment by Merchant and Fulfillment by Amazon.
If you go for Fulfillment by Merchant, you need to pack and ship products on your own. You’ll then have to pay the shipping costs of your carrier, the resources you use, and the cost of labor.
On the other hand, if you go for Fulfillment by Amazon, Amazon will handle all of this for you, and you’ll therefore have to pay a fulfillment fee to Amazon.
In most cases, this fulfillment fee is lower than the normal costs for shipping. However, you’ve to check whether Amazon FBA is worth it for your business or not.
Can I Sell Books on Amazon for Free?
Yes. Amazon has a program called Amazon Trade-In. It allows you to exchange your old books for Amazon credits. Yet, the downside is that Amazon is very picky about what they accept, and you won’t get many credits for your old books.
Conclusion
To finish this article, let’s repeat the most important things learned:
- Books should have a lower BSR than 100.000
- After deducting all fees and costs, a book should still make in $2 profit
- You can search for books offline and online
- You need to buy books for a low price
- Enter the correct condition so that you won’t get bad reviews
And most importantly, save the budget to launch a private label product.
