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KyGuy
Joined: 04 Apr 2010
Posts: 4
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| Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2010 9:28 am Post subject: Question for Amazon booksellers |
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I'm looking into selling some used books but something's got me baffled.
How can sellers sell a book for 99 cents (or less) with $3.99 Shipping, then pay the Amazon fee of $1.35 plus the sale percentage?
The answer or the location of where I could find it would be greatly appreciated.... |
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lightning_lash
Joined: 22 Jul 2006
Posts: 367
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| Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2010 12:36 pm Post subject: Re: Question for Amazon booksellers |
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The $1.35 really comes out of the Shipping and Handling. You are paid $2.64 for shipping a book ($3.99 - $1.35).
The commission on selling a book in 15% plus $0.99. If you become a Promerchant, Amazon waives their flat fee of $0.99. That leaves a 15% commission on the book, which gives the seller $0.84 gross profit. Assuming you break even on the shipping and handling.
But if the book is light and you can get shipping supplies very cheaply or free, the profit is higher. Also very large operation can get bulk discounts for shipping identical packages from the post office. |
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KyGuy
Joined: 04 Apr 2010
Posts: 4
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| Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2010 10:24 am Post subject: |
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| Thanks people. Reading your posts and others have helped a lot. |
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thakid212
Joined: 03 Jun 2008
Posts: 13
Location: New York
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| Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 11:43 pm Post subject: |
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| I tried Amazon & failed lol.... |
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elgato
Joined: 24 Feb 2005
Posts: 17237
Location: Texas
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| Posted: Thu May 06, 2010 9:49 am Post subject: Re: Question for Amazon booksellers |
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"Online Bookseller Shares Tips on Using Fulfillment by Amazon"
Amazon.com offers a fulfillment service to sellers, but it's not easy for entrepreneurial merchants to give up control of their inventory. Ecommerce expert Steve Weber discusses the pros and cons of Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) in a podcast interview on AuctionBytes' Ecommerce Industry SoundBytes.
Mr. Weber is author of "The Home Based Bookstore" as well as ebooks about how to sell on eBay and Amazon.com. He's a longtime bookseller who has firsthand experience with the FBA fulfillment service. In the interview, he answers questions such as:
more.. link to news article |
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campu2
Joined: 17 May 2006
Posts: 334
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| Posted: Sun May 09, 2010 6:52 pm Post subject: Re: Question for Amazon booksellers |
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I've always been a LOT seller. With or without fees,
selling/shipping individual titles has always been
a lost cause for me.
I normally have 200 to 300 DVD titles listed on
Google Groups and Craigslist. Minimum purchase 10 DVDs.
Total profit is probably less than the year I was
selling on eBay, but I'm not spending 40 to 60 hrs
per week, listing, packing, and shipping.
I've had less success with CDs and Books. Still
more profitable selling in lots.
Ebay's biggest DVD/Media sellers went out of business.
A typical case of volume without profits. |
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elgato
Joined: 24 Feb 2005
Posts: 17237
Location: Texas
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| Posted: Tue Jun 08, 2010 11:41 am Post subject: Re: Question for Amazon booksellers |
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Related to KyGuy's OP:
"Booksellers complain Amazon ‘price parity’ policy is ‘anticompetitive’
Did you know that Amazon wants to prevent you from selling your books elsewhere at lower prices? Amazon has rarely enforced this policy with U.S. sellers, but the issue is coming to a head overseas. Booksellers on Amazon’s United Kingdom, French and German marketplaces are objecting to Amazon’s “price parity” policy, which prevents them from selling new or used books at lower prices, even at their own Web sites.
Many booksellers add 15 percent to their regular prices when selling on Marketplace, to account for Amazon’s fees. But the company wants to outlaw this.
“Customers trust that they’ll find consistently low prices and other favorable terms on Amazon, and we think this is an important step to preserve that trust,” Amazon’s policy says.
more.. link to news article |
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deal-seal
Joined: 27 Jun 2010
Posts: 4
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| Posted: Sun Jun 27, 2010 4:03 pm Post subject: |
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| Also sometimes people are obtaining the books for free or very cheap (1-5 cents a book in bulk). Makes a big difference compared to if you paid 10 or 25 or 50 cents for the book. |
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quicksrt
Joined: 26 Oct 2009
Posts: 401
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| Posted: Tue Jul 13, 2010 8:07 pm Post subject: Re: Question for Amazon booksellers |
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elgato wrote (View Post): › docWrite("quote")“Customers trust that they’ll find consistently low prices and other favorable terms on Amazon, and we think this is an important step to preserve that trust,” Amazon’s policy says.
more.. link to news article
Interesting that Amazon wants you to offer the lowest price anywhere when selling on their site, and they also charge you the highest fees anywhere when you sell an item on their site. They really want it both ways don't they.
I wonder if they ever look up their sellers to try and find their respective websites, and check prices? |
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