2008-07-11 Every Online Bookseller Should Read this Book!!!

I've been selling books on the Amazon Marketplace as a hobby for about 7 months now. After reading "The Home-Based Bookstore," I could definitely make more money by employing Steve Weber's advice.

His advice includes:
-where to find books
-how to price them
-how to handle inventory
-how to handle shipping
-how to deal with problem customers
-and how to deal with legal details (taxes, etc.)

I made about $400 in two weeks after selling the most sought-after books. The most sought-after books are usually college textbooks.

In one part of the book, he says how college students are sometimes careless when purchasing a book. They occasionally buy the older edition, thinking it's the edition they need. When they receive it, they get angry. But it's usually their fault for not searching with the ISBN or paying attention to the details. There are, however, some sellers who list the wrong edition on Amazon's Marketplace. It may not be intentional, but listing the wrong edition is a violation of the Amazon Marketplace guidelines. I once purchased a textbook from a third-party seller who sent me the older edition. I didn't do anything about it. I was still able to use it.

After a few weeks of selling, I started getting some feedback. The first five were all positive, but I got one neutral feedback. The neutral feedback I got was fair. I sent her the wrong book. It was my fault. I entered the title instead of the ISBN when I searched for it. ALWAYS use the ISBN. To prevent negative feedback from this buyer, I issued a refund immediately and allowed her to keep the book I had sent her. I lost money when I did this, but I couldn't afford negative feedback at the time.

I may never become a full-time bookseller online, but I will continue to do this as a hobby. I also think that college students should get a copy of this book. It will help them tremendously when purchasing their textbooks...and reselling them when they're done with them.

Brandon Simpson