How to Make Money through Amazon
Without a doubt an easy way to earn pocket money is by selling your books through Amazon. With the global recession more people are looking at making as many extra pounds, euros or dollars as they can, over and above what they already earn if they are lucky enough to be in employment.Almost everyone has at least one shelf of books which they have read once and will never read again, yet still persist in hanging on to them. Why hang on to these books when money can be made from selling them? It is so easy to make money this way.If it is so easy though why isn't everyone doing it? Well the easy part is sitting back and waiting for the money to come in. In reality you can make selling books on Amazon as easy or hard as you like, like most other money-making ventures, it is not necessarily about how hard you work, but how much you apply yourself to the task.For example, in order to sell something you need to make whatever you are selling sound attractive to a potential buyer. In book terms this means giving a good description with respect to; what the book looks like, its material make-up, its condition, any faults or damage it may have and, probably of most importance, what the book is actually about. Giving a good description can be hard work, especially if you are a slow typist. With Amazon in particular the description is more relevant, as sellers are unable to include a picture of the specific book they are selling.There are sellers on Amazon who will only say something such as "good" or "very good" in the description box, needless to say, they stand a lower chance of getting a sale.So how do you go about the actual process of selling your books on Amazon? First of all you need to sign up for an account. This is simple in itself and involves Amazon being given some personal details, and this will include your bank details, in order that you can be paid directly - no messing about with Paypal here. You should also choose a memorable username, as this will be the name you, as a seller will be identified by.Once you have set up this account, there are two methods for selling through Amazon. You may sell as an Individual, or as a Pro-Merchant. Selling as a Pro-Merchant requires you to pay a monthly fee of £28.75 - you still have to pay a closing fee of 17.25 per-cent for each sale, though you don't pay the 86 pence completion fee. The Pro-Merchant account is only worth having of you sell in excess of forty books per month. That way you make up your monthly fee by not having to pay the completion fee.To sell by the Pro-Merchant method you really need to have an inventory of books of five figures. The only other benefit of selling via the Pro-Merchant method is that you can add titles to Amazon's book database.The most immediate way to sell on Amazon for the average person with a shelf or two of books to sell is by the Individual route. As the whole point is to make money, here are some figures you need to know. For each sale you make, Amazon will charge you 86 pence completion fee, and also the aforementioned closing fee of 17.25 per-cent. In the U.K., for books posted within the U.K., the buyer is charged £2.75 in addition to the item cost. This £2.75 is passed on to the seller, however, Amazon do take a cut from that as well. You will end up with less to play with for posting and this amount might not cover the actual cost of posting the book, especially if it weighs over 500 grams.Now that you know what it is going to cost to sell, you need to decide how much you want for your books, after Amazon have taken their cut and after you have paid for postage. You need to decide if you want to make a profit, or if you want to break even on what you originally paid for the books. If you want to make a profit, technically you are now a business and will need to register as being self-employed with the Inland Revenue in the U.K., or similar body in whatever country you reside. The biggest mistake amateur and some so-called professionals make when selling on Amazon is to think they are doing OK, by keeping an eye on how much their books are selling for, rather than how much Amazon are taking in fees, how much postage, packing and petrol costs to the post office are eating at profits.This is all before you have even gone in and written a description!By now you may have decided this is all too much hard work. Perhaps it is too much too think about. However if you want to persevere and sell books, this is how you actually list.Go to Amazon's main page and log in to your account. Go to Amazon's book search. Enter the ISBN number of the book, it is on the back of the book above the barcode. This will take you to the books main description page. Look for the button that reads "Sell yours here" and click on it. You will be taken to a page which will allow you to enter the books condition from a drop down menu and also to enter any notes about the condition. This box is important and is your chance to really sell the book. Now click the continue button. Here you will enter the price you want to sell the book at - remember you will need to work out how much you will make after deductions. Click continue. The next page will tell you how much fees you will be charged and most importantly how much you will receive. You also need to take your actual costs, shipping, handling etc from this amount. It is at this point most people need to go back and put their price up. It is also at this point most people decide if it is really worth it after all the Amazon fees and your costs.Sorry to burst the bubble after all this. Amazon is pricey for buying and selling. Pricey for the buyer, because the seller needs to cover their fees. Pricey for the seller because of the fees. It is at this point that many wannabe sellers consider ebid.net as it is free to list there and Final Value Fees range from 0 per-cent to 3 per-cent. However many stick with Amazon and their high fees as they do have a large customer base.Making money on Amazon is hard work, and it is possible. Just be sure you have at least one thousand books, of good quality and in very good condition, and be prepared for a lot of typing and number crunching.
