How to Build a Part-Time Used Book Sales Business Using Amazon.com

This article is mainly geared toward people who are already familiar with Amazon.com selling as a hobby and would like to transition it into a profitable part-time business. This is more about developing the business system side than Amazon.com itself.

1) One of the first steps you need to take from transitioning selling on Amazon from a hobby to a business is to get yourself organized.

From a financial standpoint, I recommend consulting with your tax accountant to get a full list of records you should keep. You may also need to check into business regulations in your local area.

As far as inventory, I recommend keeping using a spare bedroom or office to keep it all in one place. You want enough room to keep an inventory around 100-300 books at any given time with the way I plan to show you. Keep all your shipping and insurance receipts, as well as any other records, all in one place. To make your accounting easier, open up a separate account to hold all your profits and take out all of your expenses.

2) Gathering good inventory is probably one of the hardest problems people have. I personally suggest checking in your local area at used bookstores and thrift shops.
Used book stores are the best place to find textbooks--just because the local college isn't taking them back doesn't mean someone else in the country needs it. Before you spend a lot of money on something you think is worth getting, simply write down the ISBN and check it at home. You can always come back and you don't lose money if it's not worth it. Also, be sure to look at the sales ranking of the item--if it's way down at the bottom, it still may not be worth paying a lot to get. Overall you want inventory that moves fast so you don't get piled up.

I personally do not bother trying to sell something less than $8 unless the price just falls down below that point. Factor shipping into your asking price, as Amazon's commission tends to take up your shipping credit.

3) Be very professional with your customers.
Mail your books out within the next business day if possible. Thank them for your purchase and let them know you're there for them if they have any questions. It is personal service that will give you great feedback and in turn more customers.

With shipping, I would suggest getting insurance on anything more than $20 (or whatever amount is the minimum you'd hate to lose if it gets lost in the mail). Insurance with the U.S. Post Office is tracked on their internal system and is cheaper than delivery confirmation. Plus you're protected if anything does happen.

More Tips:

• If you are a college student, consider checking with your fellow students if they have any textbooks the bookstore didn't take back. Offer to check to see if it's selling online and split the money with them (keep good records on this). Sometimes people will even give them to you for free!

• As a general rule, I've found it's better to grow in quality instead of quantity. You use up less of your time and make roughly the same profits.

• Link your Amazon store to your blog for free advertising. I've gotten a few customers that way.

• Develop a normal routine that fits into your daily life. It makes things easier when you plan everything out as if it were a job.

• Even though it's tempting because of higher profits, don't skip on the insurance on higher end items. I don't think scams are common, but the moment you relax on that is usually when the book doesn't arrive.

• Don't spend all your income from this business immediately. Keep a small emergency buffer in case something unexpected occurs.