posted on August 30, 2001 01:28:31 PM
I've only put books up on Amazon's Marketplace, and have yet to use their Auction, but it seems to me this applies to both...
What's with all these sellers dumping carloads of Like New books at prices like $.39?? Apart from the fact that it spoils things for us peons trying to get rid of a single Tom Clancy, how can they make any profit at all? Surely Amazon's fees alone amount to more than that!
posted on August 30, 2001 04:36:56 PM
like new books at 39 cents-
if these are not employees of print shops who can paperbacks free ,then they could be getting these books by the yards.
39 cents sold-99 cents amzn transaction fee plus 15% of .39 (=.02)less shipping rebate of 2.23 come to 1.61.
they are getting 1.61 but shipping will take away 1.00,so they net 61 cents.
unless they get the envelope free then they net 81 cents.
amzn will soon realise it does not make sense
to provide venue for such nonsense.
same with ebay,i see postcards for 99 cents,so ebay takes 35 cents??
are you sure this is not a typo mistake,i have seen paperbacks on half.com for 75 cents
posted on August 30, 2001 05:20:09 PM
Here's a sample just of Scott Turow hardbacks (check 'em for yourself!):
"Personal Injuries" - Like New("Mint condition" - $.92
"Burden of Proof" - Very Good - $.35
"The Laws of Our Fathers" - Like New ("Perfect copy... gift quality" - $.50
"Pleading Guilty" - Like New - $.48, $.60, $.65, $.70
I picked Turow at random... it's the same with almost any popular author there... and some not-so-popular ones too! How can you compete with these guys??
Forget Amazon's fee...take away the cost of a padded envelope to mail it in and a label, and you'd already be in the red!
posted on August 30, 2001 05:56:38 PM
I only started selling on Amazon 5 weeks ago. I've seen books going for .01. I'm guessing these people have no patience to wait for a sale and just want to move stuff..BUT.. I believe they are doing themselves and other sellers a disservice(sp?). I've listed the same book for 3.00 and sold it and it hasn't been sitting there for months...why?...I think a good description of condition in plain English, I think if you hold value to what you sell others will also.
My first thought when I see one so cheap is that it must not be worth anything, or something is wrong with it that they're not saying. I believe a lot of people may feel that way based on my limited experience with it thus far.
I'm pretty happy with my results so far I've sold 76 books all pbs brought in 500.00 after costs and nothing under 2.00 regardless of condition. Lowest sale 2.00, highest 45.00.
I think we need some type of limit or minimum built in to prevent it. Sorry so long
Jay
posted on September 4, 2001 06:56:05 PM
I checked out a book today that I wanted to list .01 cents! and the price new ( it had just been newly printed) about $6.99!
I hate to see another half.com
The way my sales on ebay are going ~ will have to be way more careful what I list.
On amazon , I still sell on marketplace but try not to list under $ 5.00 as I ship from canada air to have the book arrive fast!
posted on September 8, 2001 05:52:03 PM
I am not defending sellers who price items low but there are some reasons it could make sense.
For instance, I already buy books in large lots and my cost per book averages about 5 cents each or less. And, most of that cost is for storage. Every lot I buy is paid for by selling one or two books that have values that make it like finding diamonds in the rough.
If I had the mind to, I don't, I could make good money low-balling.
Anyway, if I have gone to the trouble of listing a book and find out 30 copies are available I might as well go ahead and list it at a price I can sell it fast and be done with it - storage is costing me and turnover is a key to finding more diamonds.
I buy bubble wrap and cardboard wholesale and it cost me about 8 cents or less per package and about 1 minute of time to complete a labeled package.
I have a postage due account at the Post Office and never stand in lines. It takes me two minutes to drop of my totes full of packages in the mornings and the postal workers process the shipments when they have time and they leave me receipts in my PO Box.
I can package up about 30 books an hour and spend less than $3 on materials. Amazon gives me $2.23 to ship books and they cost me $1.33, making me 70 cents a book on postage. or $21 and hour PROFIT selling books at 1 cent each.
I do NOT do it but I can understand why some sellers would.
posted on September 10, 2001 02:09:46 PM
who said they have to use padded envelope,they could be using recycled ordinary envelope?
they could also have access to these books as rejects from the print shops.
posted on September 10, 2001 08:41:21 PM
I've wondered too about these el cheapo prices. But the seller would only get 25 cents each for paperbacks by having a garage sale. Anything more than that, even a few pennies, is better.
MrWriteLA mentioned prices for hard covers. If they are very heavy books, I don't see how the seller could be coming out ahead.
The online markets for a lot of different items, not just books, is being ruined now by all of the lowball sellers.
posted on September 13, 2001 03:44:38 PM
sometimes the book just isn't worth any more than that. Go to half and look for almost any oprah's book club book (huge sellers usually) - there are so many copies for sale that supply vastly exceeds demand, with the result that the price for a hardcover like "how stella got her groove back" is 0.75c, and there are loads of them unsold at that price. Usually these are people just wanting something, anything, for a book that is sitting on their shelf. You want to sell it for $5 on amazon? good luck. get in line.
posted on September 14, 2001 10:54:44 AM
like natural gas and very kind of commodity under the sun,this trend shall pass.
i am getting cancelled orders from various booksites becasue they leave their listings up there for eons while they cannot find the book.
amzn has alraedy shortened the number of days listed from 30 to 14.so unless you have a pro merchant account ,the books would not be auto listed.
book publishers,clubs and wholesale and retailers are going under,latest casualty is antique publication,not sure if schiffer is still in business.
harsh reality is that if you dont make a profit,you cannot last long-bookclubs keep on printing,soon they will go bust.
posted on September 14, 2001 10:59:27 AM
like natural gas and very kind of commodity under the sun,this trend shall pass.
i am getting cancelled orders from various booksites becasue they leave their listings up there for eons while they cannot find the book.
amzn has alraedy shortened the number of days listed from 30 to 14.so unless you have a pro merchant account ,the books would not be auto listed.
book publishers,clubs and wholesale and retailers are going under,latest casualty is antique publication,not sure if schiffer is still in business.
harsh reality is that if you dont make a profit,you cannot last long-bookclubs keep on printing,soon they will go bust.
- $.92