posted on May 18, 2001 08:42:53 AM new
I just noticed today that when you do a search on Amazon and get the list of titles, there is now a button on that screen you can click for USED copies. Even if the book is Out of Print.
Previously, a buyer would see OP and have no clue that a Marketplace copy was available on the next screen if they clicked the title.
I wonder if this was put in place to make ex-Bibliofind sellers happy?
It sounds good. But I haven't had a sale on Amazon all week...first time in ages! Nothing on half.com either.
posted on May 21, 2001 08:12:14 AM new
I'm happy to hear that - it was a complaint I had about selling used books on Amazon. I haven't had many sales this week, either. I guess everyone is making Memorial Day plans.
Have you checked out the rare & used books tab on Amazon? It doesn't look like Amazon has convinced too many former Bibliofind sellers to come on over to Amazon. Not surprising, since $39.99 per month is somewhat steep. I think if they lowered that fee significantly, or switched to an all-commission site, the number of sellers would increase.
[ edited by birdwatcher on May 21, 2001 08:13 AM ]
posted on May 21, 2001 05:43:25 PM new
I have over 10,000 listings on Amazon and $40 a month to maintain up to 40,000 listings does not seem steep to me.
Of course, it may seem steep to someone who is not going to list but 50 to 100 per month.
posted on May 22, 2001 08:39:02 AM new
fourty smackers a month doesn't seem awfully steep to me, either. I started Amazing *grin* about a year ago after sales slumped at ebay and fees were eating my budget up! Half my items closed unsold! You do have to have a LOT of items listed on Amazon to show a steady turnaround, I say a bare minimum of 200, but it seems to take closer to 800-1,000 to show STEADY daily sales. Then again my items are books, if I was selling baby carriages, kitchen sinks and widgets I'm sure my perceptions would be different.
I do not carry clothing and whenever I am tempted I remember the thread about the buyer with the very small wrists who could NOT be satisfied! I wonder what ever ended up happening there? I can't seem to find that story now.
Mom, knows all and willing to train you.
(joke, ok?)
posted on May 29, 2001 06:43:31 PM new
I meant that 40 bucks seems steep in comparison to the former Bibliofind price structure, as well as ABE's. For small sellers, that is. If you have 40,000 listings, then sure, 40 dollars is chicken scratch. But if you only have 1,000 or even 2,000, ABE looks like a much better deal.
posted on May 29, 2001 09:46:36 PM new
I haven't signed up for the $40 a month yet but I have about 50-60 books listed on amazon just to see if I would have any buyers. I have sold about 10 books in the last 3 weeks & have sales every other day or so. But I still pay the .99 fee per sale PLUS 15%!!
ANy feedback from more experienced sellers? Should I sign up??
I sell my rare collectible books on eBay & they do well there but the common popular titles I learned that Amazon sells better!
Ebay fees are killing me, I pay almost $150 a month in fees but I sell about 85% off ALL my books listed there!
ANy feedbacks sellers
I am currently signed up with Alibris but havent been uploading as it seems like a slower site to me for selling books.
Anyhow, I dont have a lot of books there & am really considering just selling on Amazon..Do you think they will lower their fees soon?
I have about 700 books waiting to be listed plus I will be buying more so maybe I should do it....What do you think??
posted on May 30, 2001 06:57:26 AM new
Why is $150 in ebay fees killing you? Are you paying a lot for gallery or high minimums or something? Just wondering. Surely that amount of fees reflects good sales, too, if you sell 85% of your books.
I doubt Amazon will drop their fees, why would they? but sometimes you have to spend money to make money. In this case, you pay for exposure on the number one book selling site.
A bookstore owner I know just recently moved his Bibliofind stock to Marketplace, and he seems amazed and delighted by how much he's selling via Amazon now. He says ABE doesn't come close, and that's probably the last remaining big used book site.
posted on May 30, 2001 04:13:44 PM new
Keziak--Thanks for your advice. I am seriously thinking of signing up . I have lots of contemporary fiction titles & I know I can sell them better on Amazon.
Another question---what happens if you have to go on vacation?
Do you delete all your listings?
Is there any way you can place a "hold" or "stop " on your books listed when you're gone?
I know Amazon requires sellers to ship within 2 days of the sale.
posted on May 30, 2001 08:23:03 PM new
I'm wondering whether your books are listed on the auctions or Marketplace Keziak? I have been selling on Half for a while now. I started listing in the Marketplace a month ago. I double list. My sales at Amazon have taken off, while I've only had 1 sale on Half during that time. The same books are listed on both, with the prices at Half often set lower, but the Marketplace has been much more lucrative for me, both in volume sold and in the prices I've received. I am a small seller - with about 100 books listed. I have sold 13-14 books in the past 3 days in the Marketplace. Not one has sold on Half during that time. I don't know if my experience with this is an anomaly, or whether it's what others are experiencing, but I am loving it. I cringe when I think of the commission I pay, but I am still making a good profit so I can't really complain. At this point I am happy with the Marketplace, getting disillusioned with Half, and wondering whether my sales would be as successful if I set up a Z-shop. If anyone has an answer to that, I would love to hear it.
[ edited by eternallythankful on May 30, 2001 08:25 PM ]
posted on May 31, 2001 07:00:35 AM new
eternally: definitely Marketplace! I have not signed up for a merchant account so my stuff comes off every 30 days, but right now that's OK. I'd rather go back and see if the price is right, list on ebay, or whatever, rather than have them sit.
I double list on half and Marketplace and sell on both...a bit more on Amazon lately.
As for the vacation issue, there have been posts here about what to do if you use the bulk loader. There is some trick to it.
I am not sure what I'm going to do when I take 5 days off in August. Possibly upgrade to Priority for any books that "sit" for a day or two while I am gone. Buyers will get their books even faster than if I immediately shipped Media Mail.
posted on May 31, 2001 08:23:37 AM new
Thanks for your reply Keziak. I agree with you on the Marketplace. I guess that seems the place to be these days, although I can't really speak from experience. I haven't tried their auctions or their z-shops, so I don't have those to compare it to.
Unfortunately I don't have the answer on the vacation issue there either. I know that I've read others' discussions about it, but will have to do some research to see if I can find past discussions on it. I seem to remember something about downloading your listings on a spreadsheet, although how to do it is still unknown to me. If I come up with any helpful hints in my research I'll be happy to pass them along. In the meantime maybe someone who does know the answer will come along. Best of luck with your sales!
posted on June 5, 2001 01:05:24 PM new
eternallythankful, I have had pretty much the same experience regarding listings on Marketplace and Half. I started a thread about this topic on the eBay forum about a week or so ago. I sell much more on Marketplace, for better prices. But I still double-list, because it takes very little extra time, and I do sell *some* stuff on Half.
posted on June 6, 2001 08:03:38 AM new
RE vacation feature: if you go to the seller's connection board on amazon there is a thread on this issue: it is a huge issue for those listing thousands of books ( you can list I believe 40,000 books!) I am eager to return to amazon if only to use their "market place " showcase.Finally got my "third" signature form to join a bank! ( and I thought Amazon had down times) Amazon killed their auction site~ + z shops doesn't get much exposure any more but amazon is promoting their marketplace ~ probably because they get 15% of the profit but only a much smaller portion in their auction and z shops. Good luck to all you sellers ~ I am doing my final listing on ebay and am leaving to go on holidays soon to see my ma! ( and of course hunt out the big bookstores in Toronto) . You can't beat the small towns though. Went to a small little second hand book store yesterday and they handed me three bags of Nora Roberts! for free and said they had saved them for me knowing how much I like to read Nora Roberts! 40 of the lol series! I will read them as I have sold all of my nora roberts last year and then sell so I bought them some goodies from the bakery ( they don't take harlequins but for me they save them!) what a place! Cheers, Suzanne
posted on June 6, 2001 03:33:06 PM new
keziak- I did notice that! a welcome improvement, and long overdue!
Are any of you guys going to give bookopoly a try? Does anyone have any success stories from that site yet? Just wondering. I am planning to register, but not sure how much of my inventory to commit to listing there.
posted on June 6, 2001 06:37:46 PM new
what happens to bibliofind?
i know amzn bot it,but why would bibliofind sellers move to amzn marketplace?
bibliofind i believe is only 15-25 dollars a month with no commision,but marketplace is 99 cents plus 15 % commision,also if you dont sign up for pro merchant at 39.99,your unsold listing on marketplace come off and you have to relist,a big pain!!
you can only sell books,vidos,dvd on marketplace ,no ebay type of collectibles or antiques.
so if you sign up for pro merchant at 39.99,you can have a zshop for selling non book,non video items and free listing on auction up to 40,000 plus unlimitled markeplace listings with automatic relisting if item does not sell.
so i fyou think you will sell 40 or more books/dvd etc on marketplace,then why not sign up for pro merchant?
just the auto relisting and no 99 cents transaction fee pay for that 39.99 a month/
i just looked at their auction,FORGET IT!!
it is a waste of time to list anything there.
how about z shop,are they selling anything??
posted on June 6, 2001 06:41:23 PM new
sales is slow everywhere,but if your book sales is slower at marketplace,well,it could be amzn has invited some big discount booksellers to join,so there is some competition now from big boys.'
also it could be possible that some wholesaler which also retail could be there too!! no way to tell??
posted on June 12, 2001 02:34:46 PM new
we started listing items in zshops about three months ago when ebay cancelled our auctions without notice. What we found was a MUCH better way to sell. we list the items and then use the amazon payment system so that when we receive an email from amazon that an item sold we have ALREADY been paid. and because we can list different colors and options (something that got our auctions killed in the past with ebay) we get less emails asking us things that we are not allowed to tell on ebay. Amazon ROCKS, we get sales 4-5 days a week at full price with very little hassle. A much better way of selling then the "kiss ebays ass" method. We still list some items with ebay but dollar for dollar Amazon is a much better "venue". To not list your items on Amazon at least to try it out is simply leaving money on the table. While we will most likly use the new ebay store front as well ( we now have three, our main site, yahoo shopping site, and amazon site) I will go into it kicking and screaming. And watch how quickly I leave the day that it doesnt justify itself. ebay in my opinion is the hardest sell with the most effort and Amazon and Yahoo is the easiest with the least effort.
posted on June 12, 2001 04:15:34 PM new
Amazon by far is the best overall of the big three or four auction houses online. Imagine how great it would be if it truly improved!
posted on June 13, 2001 08:31:00 AM new
amzn is a place for books,when someone thinks of buying a book on internet,he/she comes searching for that book at amzn.
with independent sellers listing their used and out of print books on marketplace and zshops,there is even more reason to visit amzn for that hard to find book.
it works well for both amzn and the small sellers.
Half.com is not a place for some of us who sell out of print books in new condition,we bot these books at 40-50% discount from publisher or wholesalers(or with remainders,we paid 50% of remainder price),books are heavy to ship and are usually shipped ups,not usps book,real business enterprise cannot afford to have employee stand in line at post office,neither can they ask employee going to dumpster or liquor store or supermarket looking for free boxes.nor can we afford to receive new books in ketchup stained or cockroach infested boxes.
why should we list these books at 50% discount to original listed price,where is our profit??how do we pay our bills??
look no further than a name in discount booksales-ER HAMILTON,it sells on both amzn and half.com.
the books it offer on amzn are the same as the ones it sell in its own mail order business,but what does ERHAMILTON sell on HALF.COM ,stale and obscure books it cant give away and not worth the time to relist in its regular catalog.
if you wonder why your results are poor at half.com,the reason is poor picking,both buyers and sellers go to a place which produces results.
