The intent of a zShop is to provide you with your own online bookstore that can be accessed through a unique web address. The address is:
www.amazon.com/shops/your_store_name
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You can use this web address to give your customers a location where they can order. If you want, you could also sign up with a web hosting company so that you would have a unique URL (like www.booksellingMike.com) and then redirect your home page to your Amazon zShop store.
(2) Half.com
I chose to sell those items that have an invalid ISBN number at Amazon, through the eBay store called Half.com. In addition, I sell other items that have either a rarity factor (author-signed, first printings, etc.) or no ISBN number (Disney
Commemorative Books, etc.) through auction at eBay.
There are some tradeoffs when using Half.com (owned by eBay).
• There is currently less traffic for books than at Amazon.
• Any upset customer can destroy your eBay seller rating because both
their auctions and stores use the same rating system.
• They require a huge amount of books in order to pay them to use their
automated uploading services.
• Their system of processing book orders is pretty lame. It takes a while
to figure out what they sold and where you put those items in storage.
• It’s much harder to manage your inventory and monitor your pricing.
(3) eBay
I pretty much use eBay to sell anything that I can’t sell on Amazon or Half. I also use it when I have rare items where I know I can get more from an auction than sitting online at a bookstore.
There you have it, my online bookselling strategy that’s been working fine for me:
• Sell primarily at Amazon
• Minor overload selling at Half
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• Everything else is sold through auction at eBay
2.04
Operational Hardware & Software
I’ve chosen the following hardware and software to automate much of my
bookselling process and to make the business enjoyable. You could get by without most of it, but I highly recommend using these items to simplify your life.
Unfortunately, when building any business, there is a learning curve. In this case you will need to spend some time to familiarize yourself with all the different software.
You will feel uncomfortable at first, but it will become second nature very quickly.
Then you won’t have to think so hard each step of the way.
(1) Computer and Monitor
In order to run your new business effectively, you’ll need a solid computer to run the required software. The majority of the required software has been developed for Windows systems only, therefore I recommend using a solid Windows-based
computer system.
The computer doesn’t need to be all that powerful but it needs plenty of RAM – as much as you can afford. I currently use an old 800 MHZ, Pentium III system with 512MB RAM. I also highly recommend using at least a 17” monitor – I’m using a Samsung Flat Panel because it throws off a lot less heat than my old monitor and because the image is very crisp.
(2) Printer For Shipping Labels and Postage
I started out by manually printing my mailing labels and then running them over to the post office to send out. I then started to cut and paste the customer mailing information that was sent to me by email, but I still ran over to the post office.
My “state of the art” system works much, much cleaner. I bought a DYMO label printer that attaches to my computer like any other printer. Now I’m able to print my postage, delivery confirmation and mailing labels all at the same time. And I don’t have to run to the post office every 2 seconds and stand in line during the busy times.
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I’m currently using a company named Endicia for most of my postage needs. Stop by my website at www.tipsonbookselling.com to see if they are still my primary supplier.
(3) Bookkeeping Software
You need to keep track of a lot of details for your accounting. In addition to a qualified accountant, I highly recommend QuickBooks Basic for your bookkeeping software. This software package makes it a lot easier to track inventory, expenses and write sales receipts. Again, stop by my website at www.tipsonbookselling.com
to see if they are still my primary supplier.
(4) Book Database Software
You need to track all the books you’re selling. You could load all the books onto Amazon one by one, but that is time consuming and a pain in the neck (that’s how I started). I looked for a program that could streamline the book loading process.
There are many different systems out there. Most of them automatically load up pictures of the books, get book descriptions, help complete the sales paperwork, etc.
I looked at many of these but discovered that only one of them helped with the most time-consuming aspect of selling books effectively – the ability to help me
determine realistic pricing.
I chose a book database program called SellerEngine because of its ability to pull Amazon information from each of your book listings and show you very quickly where your price is relative to your competitors’ for the same quality of book!
Check out my website at www.tipsonbookselling.com to make sure they are still my recommendation.
The downside to using this software is that it doesn’t directly work with any other sites (Alibris, Half, ABE, etc.). Since almost entirely all of my sales come from Amazon, that’s a good tradeoff for my operation.
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(5) Contact Management Software
You need contact management software to email your customers when you send out their order, have special deals for them, etc. I started out using Microsoft Outlook so I could fetch my email, track the customer and print shipping labels directly from it.
My customer base has grown quite a bit so I have begun using ACT! as my contact manager because it has some advanced features I like to use.
Again, check out my website at www.tipsonbookselling.com to make sure they are
still my recommendation.
(6) Internet Connection
Running this business using a telephone dial-up connection would be very hard. You really need to invest in a full-time, high bandwidth Internet connection. Most places have cable or DSL services available for a nominal monthly fee. This fee is tax deductible as a legitimate business expense.
I personally use a cable connection. The cable service costs me under $50/month and provides about 3 times the speed of the local DSL service.
(7) HTML Editor
To make your life easier when setting up auctions on eBay, get yourself an HTML
editor. These programs let you easily create the web pages that eBay buyers see when they view your auction.
I use Microsoft FrontPage because it’s easy to use and I purchased it when I designed web sites for a living. There are other professional packages out there, like Macromedia Dreamweaver and Adobe GoLive, in addition to basic free HTML
editors that can be found at www.tucows.com
Stop by my website at www.tipsonbookselling.com to see what I’m currently using.
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Chapter 3 Set Up Your Accounts
ou need to set up accounts in order to sell online. These accounts assure that you agree with the terms and conditions of the individual online company
Y you are working with. If you have any doubt regarding the legalese, contact a lawyer.
For all of these accounts, stop by www.tipsonbookselling.com for the latest account URL’s.
3.01
Amazon.com
This is your primary selling account. Do the following after going to the signup page I provided on my website.
Click on the link that says “Sign In” under existing Sellers. You can now tell them your email address and create a password. If you are already an Amazon customer, just use the email address and password that you have been using to order books.
After setting up your user information, return to the page you arrived at by clicking the “Sell Your Stuff” link. Now click on the link “Learn about volume selling” under
“Have Lots to Sell?”
Now click on “Pro Merchant Subscription” and set up your subscription for $39.99
per month. This is the one that allows you to use the automated tools to do price changes and batch loading of inventory.
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3.02
Half.com and eBay.com
This account is both your backup selling account (Half.com) and your auction account (eBay.com). Do the following after going to the signup page I provided on my website.
Click on the link titled “my account” at the top of the page. If you don’t have an eBay or Half account, now is the time to set it up.
3.03
This account lets you make and receive payments for eBay auctions. It also lets you accept credit card payments for eBay transactions (Amazon and Half both handle their own credit card transactions for you).
You don’t pay fees when you use this service to pay for items that you purchased, however you do pay fees when you receive funds if you choose to accept credit cards.
Go to www.paypal.com and set up your account as a new user.
3.04
Endicia
This account lets you buy postage online and then print it to your printer. The cost is $9.95 per month for the service, but you more than pay for that monthly fee due to their reduced delivery confirmation charges and from not having to drive to the post office and stand in line. Use the link I’ve provided on my website to get the equipment and service I recommend.
3.05
SellerEngine.com
Go to www.sellerengine.com to purchase and download the book database and pricing software. Please let them know that you found out about them from Larry Scott.
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3.06
YourBookstore.com
As your business grows, you will probably want to have your own online bookstore.
You will get orders from Amazon, and when you sell a book you’ll send these new customers a shipment confirmation along with a small piece of advertising with your web address on it that invites them to come shop at your bookstore.
After a while, people will start coming to your store before shopping on Amazon.
Then you won’t have to pay commissions to Amazon and you will keep the full
shipping and handling fee for yourself.
I’m still trying to find the most cost-effective way to set up my store. SellerEngine doesn’t gather book images, synopsis, publishing data, etc., so I would need to manually enter all that information each time I added a new book to my bookstore.
Check back to my website at www.tipsonbookselling.com to see how I solve this.
Until I do, I’ll keep using my Amazon zShop as my storefront.
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Chapter 4 The Books
he books you choose to sell define how your company is perceived. Are you a
bargain basement seller of romance paperbacks, a moderately priced seller of T school textbooks, or maybe an upscale seller of historical books? Whatever you decide to sell will determine what customers will come to your store.
4.01
What Kind Of Books Should I Sell?
I have found that almost any type of book you decide to handle will eventually sell.
I didn’t want to rely solely on books I could find at estate sales for supplying my book inventory, so I tried purchasing only brand new books. I found out that many places on the Internet sell remaindered books. Remaindered books are those books that didn’t sell at the bookstore so they were returned for credit to the publisher. The publisher requires these books to be somehow marked so they can’t be sold as brand new. The mark is usually in the form of a black permanent marker line across the top or bottom edge of the book. The book is still brand new, but now it is not perfect except for reading. The concept of buying these and selling against Amazons’ “new”
books was quite appealing. It’s so appealing in fact, that there are a bunch of booksellers doing the same thing. What does that do? It drives the price of the books way down due to oversupply. I refuse to sell so low that I’m giving my inventory away so I still have a lot of new, remaindered books in my inventory.
Another source of new books is to buy them at auction on eBay. I bought a bunch of newly published, soft covered books from a small publisher. I put them on Amazon and found that since nobody has heard of these titles, they never search for them and so far I haven’t sold a single one of them!
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That leaves selling used books. I have found that buying large quantities of used books has yielded pretty good results. You’ll find that a lot of the books you get can’t even be given away – but there will be a good number that people will pay good money for. Most books from well-known authors do NOT sell well – unless that book is collectible or happens to be in short supply. Publishers for known authors start out with huge print runs, swamp the market, and then people unload those books after having read them. You see it all the time in new bookstores – they sell a bunch of them and then they give huge discounts to get rid of their inventory.
A recent example of this is Hillary Clinton’s book, Living History. The publisher had forced the book onto the booksellers so that the booksellers had no choice but try and figure out how to unload them. I was at a Barnes and Noble bookstore the day after this book came out and they had already discounted it 30% to get rid of their inventory. I went to a small local bookstore and they were trying to compete with Barnes and Noble so they had it discounted 40% - THE DAY AFTER THE BOOK
CAME OUT! Unbelievable! (I guess that’s how they sold so many of copies of this book. I still haven’t talked to anyone that has read it.).
I tend to focus on business, science fiction and mystery types of books without much regard as to whether or not they are soft covered or hard covered. By narrowing down what I choose to sell, I can be more effective in understanding if I am buying items at a good price. By far, the most important element of selling items online is to sell QUALITY items. Stay away from musty, broken, torn and worn out books
because all they will give you is grief.
As you add books to your inventory, you will become much more comfortable with what sells and what to avoid. Until you get comfortable with knowing what type of book sells well, pick up a mixture of different books and see how they sell.
4.02
How Much Should I Pay For Them?
Normally, in business, you can determine how much to mark up an item and apply that across your product line. However, in bookselling, the process is not that clean.
As an example, you could purchase 100 paperback books for $50 and find out that 99 of them aren’t worth anything but one of them is worth $100.
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I try to keep my cost of inventory to an absolute minimum. I try not to pay any more than 50 cents per paperback (shipping and tax included) and I try not to pay more than one dollar for hard covers.
The exception I make to this rule is when I purchase used text books. By their very nature, text books are pricey. If you plan to buy a particular set of text books (as I have done on eBay), check out the titles on Amazon to see what they are selling for.
Then figure a price that is NO MORE than 1/3 of the lowest price (including
shipping and tax). It’s not that you are trying to rip anyone off; it’s just that textbooks sell at the same times as school sessions start so you may end up holding your inventory for a while. And you have to be careful to buy current editions that are not severely marked up or highlighted. These books take a fair amount of work to buy at the right price, but they can make you a pretty good profit when they sell.
4.03
Where Do I Store Them?
Okay, now that you have purchased some books, where do you store them? That
doesn’t seem like too hard of a question until you start to see that you need adequate space to store them. 1,000 books may not sound like much until you see how much they weigh and the amount of physical space they take up.
You need a place that is environmentally friendly. Musty basements or garages can quickly doom your new venture. Your inventory should be stored in the same living conditions that you prefer to live in – for me this means storing a lot of them in my spare upstairs bedroom.
Just how do you make all these books easy to find and not get damaged? Books should be stored vertically so that they don’t get that dreaded slant to them. In addition, they should not have other books on top of them, crushing their corners or bending the soft covers of the paperbacks. I started out by storing them in pressed wood bookcases from the local discount store. I quickly found that I was constantly shuffling the books as they sold so that the authors were in the right location so I could find them easily (who wants to spend 2 hours looking through thousands of books to find the one that just sold for $1.95?).
My current system evolved to track and manage inventory. When I enter a book in the database, I add a SKU (Stock-Keeping Unit) number in the description field.
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When a book is sold, this number is sent to me along with the book title. I simply decode the SKU, walk into the other room, and within 2 minutes I am back at my desk and sending the item out.
How do I do that? Well, I found that the little plastic storage crates that are sold at discount office supply stores work great for stacking and storing books. I just assign a SKU number to my current book purchase and put that number on the crate (I use a post-it note with tape to hold it in place). When I get an order, I just walk over to a stack of crates and look for that SKU number. When I find it, I know the book I need is within the box.
Some booksellers like to make up SKU numbers that start with letters denoting where in the house the book is located – like MBR to signify Master Bedroom, LR
to signify Living Room, etc. My SKU numbering system is pretty straightforward, when I buy new books I put the month, year and the number of the box I added this month. For example, if this is the 4th box I filled in December of 2003, the SKU
would be 1203.04 (December = 12, 2003 = 03, 4th box = 04).
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SellerEngine keeps track of each title as a unique SKU item. So what I do is allow the program to automatically keep the numbering system that provides a number like SKU-001345. I then manually add the 1203.04 to make the full number read
something like SKU-001345-1203.04. It’s now a breeze to find my book and the serial number of the SKU allows me to track items independent of each other.
4.04
Where Do I Buy Brand New Books?
New books can be purchased from various sources. You can buy them one at a time or a bulk lot of thousands of books.
(1) New Bookstores
Stop by your local new bookseller and check out their overstock tables. When you’ve been doing this for a while, you’ll find that occasionally these booksellers have something that is selling well nationally but not locally.
As an example of this, I discovered that Dan Browns’ book, The DaVinci Code, was being discounted to about $15. I knew that the first edition, first printing of this book was selling on eBay for over $45. I looked through the books and found a dozen First Edition, First Printing copies. I auctioned a couple of them off to recoup a lot of my initial investment and I’m holding on to the remaining