Why Should You Choose Amazon to Sell Textbooks?
Besides the fact that books are one of the best-sellers on Amazon, why is it a good idea to sell textbooks on the platform? Here’s your answer:
- Textbooks can earn you extra income – selling textbooks on Amazon is an excellent way for college students or new graduates to stand on their own feet and earn extra cash without wasting too much time and effort.
- Textbooks are easy to source – if you’re a college/high school student or a recent graduate, you probably already have a bunch of textbooks lying around. But even if you don’t have any textbooks, you can easily find them in garage sales, thrift stores, or even online marketplaces for a low price.
- Selling textbooks on Amazon requires fewer resources – You don’t need a big investment to start selling textbooks on Amazon. $500 – $1,000 should be enough to get you started. This mainly covers Amazon-related expenses – your seller plan, shipping, storage, fulfillment costs, and product sourcing.
- Textbooks are in high demand – As you already know, textbooks are commonly used for academic purposes. Hundreds of schools offer the same lessons and courses that use the same textbooks. So, there is always a high academic demand for textbooks that you can use.
Is It Worth It to Sell Textbooks on Amazon?
Considering all the benefits you can get if you sell textbooks on Amazon, yes, it can be worthwhile. Textbooks are often used for lessons and courses taught in schools and colleges, and most of these institutions base their lesson plans on the same textbooks’ chapters. Lesson plans are usually consistent from year to year, so there will be classes that need your textbooks every year. This results in many students going on Amazon in search of your textbooks, and many of them buying your products. So, textbooks give you a higher chance of making huge profits on Amazon.
However, you must do enough research and make decisions based on reliable data. You also need a pricing strategy and determine how much time, resources, and effort you’re willing to put into this business.
Step-by-Step Guide to Start Selling Textbooks on Amazon
Before you start to sell textbooks on Amazon, there are a few things you should take care of, including:
- Choose your seller plan – Amazon offers two plans for third-party sellers: Individual and Professional. The Individual plan is ideal if you don’t consider this a serious business and want to sell a few textbooks. It allows you to sell up to 40 products every month for a fee of $0.99 for each product.
However, to create a business and make a regular income using Amazon, you must go for the Professional plan. It allows you to sell as many products as you want for a monthly fee of $39.99.
- Choose your fulfillment method – Amazon offers two types of fulfillment methods: FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) and FBM (Fulfillment by Merchant). Starting an amazon fba business means that Amazon handles product-related things like refunds, inventory storage, order fulfillment, and even customer support for a fee. This lets you concentrate on more important tasks like advertisement and listing optimization. Selling books on amazon fba is advised here if you have a high number of orders to fill or you don’t have a place to store your inventory. Find out more on how to ship to Amazon FBA here.
On the other hand, with FBM, you must handle shipping, customer service, and all the other part of the selling process. You can choose the FBM method if you have a few orders coming, but make sure you find a place to store your textbooks.
Choose how you source your inventory – you have three sourcing options if you want to sell textbooks on Amazon:
- Wholesalers who buy books in bulk from publishers to sell to resellers.
- Distributors who assist publishers in getting their books sold.
- Publishers sell their books to you directly, but only in large volumes.
You can also source textbooks from thrift stores, bookstore sales, yard sales, estate sales, and online marketplaces like eBay.
Now that you’re ready, you can start selling textbooks on Amazon using the following steps:
1) Sign Up as an Amazon Seller
If you already don’t have an Amazon seller account, it’s time to make one. Choose one of the available plans (Individual or Professional) based on your preferences. You’ll need to provide a valid phone number, billing and tax information, and a viable address, among other information. The address is crucial because Amazon will send a postcard containing a verification code there, which you must enter to complete the registration process.
2) Choose the Right Textbooks to Sell
You can check out the competition and prices by entering your textbook’s ISBN (International Standard Book Number) in the Amazon search bar. The ISBN is a 13- or 10-digit code located on the back of your textbook underneath the barcode. If you can earn a nice profit if you sell textbooks on Amazon, go to the next step.
3) List and Sell Your Textbooks
Go to your seller central account, click “Inventory”, and choose “Add a Product” from the drop-down menu. Type the textbook’s ISBN in the search field. If your textbook is already listed on Amazon, follow the steps below:
- Choose the book’s condition (Used, Collectible, or New) from the drop-down menu and click “Sell this Product”.
- Give your book an SKU (unique identifier), or have Amazon generate one.
- Type in your price (remember not to go overboard).
- Fill in the number of textbooks you’re selling, and select your fulfillment method (FBM or FBA).
- Click “Save and Finish”.
If your textbook doesn’t appear in the search results, no one on Amazon has yet listed it. To make a new listing, click “Create a new product listing” and fill in the required information (the textbook’s title, the quantity, the author’s name, etc.).
If you’re not allowed to list your textbook, it is gated (restricted). You can lift the restriction by following our guide about ungating on Amazon.
Final Thoughts
Whether you’re still in college or a recent graduate, you probably have a few textbooks lying around your apartment. If you’re looking to earn extra income quickly and reliably, why not sell textbooks on Amazon? You can also look into selling books on Amazon if textbooks don’t interest you enough.
Either way, selling on Amazon is a great way to become independent and make your own money – it’s easy, doesn’t need a huge investment, and can be very profitable.
Amazon retail arbitrage offers a low-risk and high-reward business opportunity, where you can leverage your shopping skills and market knowledge to create a profitable venture.
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