How to make money selling books on amazon

Amazon started as an online marketplace for books. When establishing the company, Jeff Bezos believed that the best way to succeed online is to grow big and faster, which materialized. Today, Amazon is the world’s largest online retailer offering about 350 million product choices. 

Despite its enormous growth, the e-commerce juggernaut has not forgotten its roots. Indeed, Amazon makes significant revenue from the sale of books.

Guess where this is heading to? Selling books on Amazon is a good idea and, needless to say, an excellent way to make money. Interesting, the market is exceptionally large and is rapidly growing. 

Whether you want to work from home as an online seller, selling your own books, or unload your bookshelf while making money in the process, Amazon is a good starting point. 

In this definitive guide, you will learn how to make money selling books on amazon. 

How to sell books on Amazon

If you ever wanted to be an entrepreneur, you can become an online seller with Amazon’s Fulfilment-by-Amazon (FBA) programs. Selling books on this e-commerce giant is absolutely doable. 

Like just about any other thing, becoming a successful bookseller doesn’t happen overnight. Here are the steps to set up an account and create listings. 

1. Create your account

Your journey of success starts with creating an Amazon seller account. When creating a seller account, you will be faced with two options: individual seller account and professional account. 

• Individual seller account: This type of account brings you closest to selling books for free because no monthly fees is charged. You will only be paying $0.99 for every sale you make. Additionally, the platform charges a 15% referral fee on your sales. The individual seller account is suitable for casual booksellers. It works best if you sell less than 40 a month. 
• Professional seller account: If you’re anticipating selling many copies (exceeding 40) every month, create a professional seller account. With this type of seller account, you will pay a $39.99 monthly subscription fee plus other selling fees. A professional account is an advanced plan where you register as a business, so you will need a business name, address, contact details, bank info, and credit card. 

If you’re contemplating which account is suitable for you, just estimate the number of books you anticipate selling per month. Regardless of your expectations, it is a good idea to start with the individual plan. You can always upgrade to the professional plan if you hit over 40 sales per month. 

To complete account registration, you have to enter payment information. By providing valid account details, you will make your account legit. 

2. List the books you’re selling

After setting up your account, you can start to create book listings. Creating product pages for your books will only take a few minutes unless you’re self-publishing. This is because, more often than not, your books will be already listed by another seller. 

If you’re listing a book that is already being sold, all the hard work is done. Here is how to list volumes.

• Log in to your seller account, click Catalog, then select Add Product. This will take you to a search field. 
• Search the title using the book’s ISBN (International Standard Book Number), usually printed on the back of the book. If the book is already listed, all you need is to click on Sell on Amazon, appearing below the buy box. 
• Enter SKU: You can populate this field with whatever you wish, but it’s better if you use what you can remember. It is going to be the code for the book. If you leave it blank, Amazon will randomly generate an SKU for your volume. 
• Set the price: Remember that you’re competing against other booksellers. Setting a lower helps to win the buy box. The price you set should match the book’s conditions. 
• Input quantity: The default quantity is one. If you have more copies, you can change the figure accordingly. 
• Select the condition: This where you have to be honest. Tells if the book is new, collectible, or used. Honesty helps to get Amazon seller ratings, avoid claims, and limit losses due to returns.
• Choose your fulfillment method: You can let Amazon handle orders by signing up for FBA or choose to fulfill orders by yourself via Fulfillment-by-Merchant (FBM).

For volumes that don’t come up in the search results, you will have to create a new listing. Listing a new book is similar to adding an existing manual. The extras involve adding the book title, the author, and other information you consider important. 

3. Monitor your sales and make adjustments where necessary

Once you have created product pages for each book, you can sit back and wait for sales to roll out.  Monitor your sales and identify what books are selling and that don’t sell. 

If a certain book is not selling, you can boost sales by lowering your price to make it more competitive. When adjusting prices, be keen not to compromise profit margins. You may also consider FBM for volumes with lower turnover. 

How to find profitable books to sell on Amazon

If you’re considering selling books on Amazon, it is good to focus on non-fiction books. Although some fiction volumes are gems, they tend to have too low prices. 

With non-fiction books, the only challenge is that you have to narrow to a specific niche that is manageable. 

Most booksellers start by selling books they have authored. If you opt for this route, you need to source many copies to start earning. 

Regardless of the option you choose, you can make money selling various books, including used books or new works sourced from wholesale stores. 

Finals thoughts

Selling books on Amazon is a great way to generate revenue. Even when you’re new to the business, you can successfully compete with established sellers by doing thorough homework before you start selling. Like any other business, your success will immensely depend on your business plan. Beware, there are market fluctuations too.