Sell used technical books on Amazon

Posted by Matt Thommes on December 10, 2006

I've always been interested in selling some of the technical books that I've amassed over the years. Some books are outdated or just don't pique my interest anymore.

Rather than continue to use them as "door stops," or squashing large bugs - I've decided to scrape the bug guts off them, and sell them through the Amazon Marketplace.

With Amazon, the books stay put until they are purchased, unlike eBay, where you have to re-list your item if it doesn't sell. And up until they are purchased, I can change my desired cost, or remove the books completely. It's totally up to my discretion, and I don't pay any fees to Amazon until my books sell.

Sell used technical books on Amazon

Selling your books on Amazon is dead simple. Amazon advertises three easy steps:

  1. List your item.
  2. Ship your item to the buyer.
  3. Get paid for your item.

If it sounds too easy, it probably is!

More specifically:

  1. Search. Find the item in our catalog of products.
  2. List. Tell us the condition, price, and quantity of the items you want to sell.
  3. Earn. When your item sells, we collect payment and send you the profits!

To illustrate how simple this is, I'll walk through the process of listing your books.

List your book

There are many ways to sell your books on Amazon. The most obvious is to view the actual product page, and look for the "Sell Yours Here" link:

Click the

Click the "Sell yours here" link on any product page

Or you can visit the Sell an item page directly, and type in any ISBN number, usually found on the back of your books, above the barcode:

Type in the ISBN number on the back of the book

Set the condition of the book, and provide a comment if necessary

Next you must select the condition of your book, using this scale:

  • New
  • Used - Like New
  • Used - Very Good
  • Used - Good
  • Used - Acceptable
  • Collectible - Like New
  • Collectible - Very Good
  • Collectible - Good
  • Collectible - Acceptable

You can also add a short comment to better describe the condition of your book, such as:

> Bug guts still reside on back cover. Wiped off as best I could.

Set a price and quantity for your book

Next, you must set a price for your book. Amazon shows you their current price for the book, to help you gauge how much you should charge. You can change your fee at anytime after you post your book - as long as no one has purchased it yet.

Also, set the quantity of the books you have to sell, your location, and your preferred shipping method.

Create an Amazon account

If you don't have an Amazon account already, you'll be prompted to create one, before you can list your book.

In order to do this, you'll need the following:

  • A US-based credit card.
  • A US phone number.
  • A billing address.

If you already have an Amazon account, all you do at this point is log in, and continue onto the next step.

Phone verification

Answer your phone to verify to Amazon!

Answer your phone to verify to Amazon!

In order to verify your existence, Amazon sends an automated call to the phone number of your choice. Once you receive the call, you are prompted to enter or say a 4-digit pin number.

This was extremely smooth for me - I simply hit the "Call me now" button, and the call came right away. Entering my 4-digit pin was quick and painless.

Note: you only have to do this the very first time you sell an item on Amazon.

Confirm your listing

All that's left is to confirm your listing details, and your book instantly becomes "live" on Amazon.com, for people to buy.

You can keep track of all your "sales," on your "Marketplace Open Listings" page, on Amazon.com.

The quickest way to view your "Marketplace items" is to go to Your Account, and look for the Marketplace box.

Your Marketplace access under Your Account

Your Marketplace access under Your Account

Amazon.com is typically cluttered with links and images, so it makes finding this section difficult.

View your item listing

When purchasing books on Amazon, you should always check the "Used" prices first. Sometimes discounts are up to 90% off the retail price, while still in "New" condition!

Always check the

Always check the "used" prices first!

Search for your book on Amazon, and go to the product page. You should see a link that contains similar verbiage: 43 used & new from $6.68.

Click on that link, and you'll be taken directly to the Marketplace listings for that book. You'll notice the prices are sometimes really cheap. You should be able to find your listing, as well.

If you feel you are charging too much for your book, you can always change the price, at any time.

About the author(s)

Matt Thommes is an independent publishing enthusiast, mobile blogger, content creator, informative writer, web developer from a suburb of Chicago. Never one to conform, Matt intends to promote the effect the web has on our lives, in an effort to intensify, instruct, and clarify all that is happening around us.

Comments

Note: Comments may be viewed by authors, but if you have a more specific question you'd like to ask them, please email matt.thommes@paininthetech.com.

# Adam K at 1/27/2007 1:30 am cst

Although gainfully employed by Amazon, I feel obliged to tell you that eBay owns half.com which manages a marketplace of sellers, much like Amazon's marketplace. Half.com is limited to media items like movies and music, unlike Amazon, but it seems like another channel to sell your books. The commission and listing fees also seem comparable for both. It might be interesting to split your books and list them in both marketplaces to see which sells faster. Not very scientific, but entertaining.

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# TJ at 12/2/2007 10:14 pm cst

Amazon's phone verification is facist - they do not recompensate cell phone users for the call, nor do they consider households with multiple phones that can wake other family members at night for this excessive security measure.

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