Customer Reviews

Selling Used Books Online: The Complete Guide to Bookselling at Amazon's Marketplace and Other Online Sites

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

If you have your heart set on opening a bookstore of your own, read this book first. It will save you the $25,000 or more that you WILL lose in that bookstore. How? By showing you how to sell books and actually make money doing it. I know I've visited many a bookstore that have only hung around a few years until they went under. But now with Amazon these same bookstores are staying in business longer by doing what you should do, selling their books on Amazon. I just went into a small bookstore the other day and the owner said they sell 30% of their books on Amazon. From the looks of the empty store, I thought to myself that they should sell 100% of their books on Amazon. It would make them more money.

This book not only tells you why you should sell books on Amazon, it tells you which books you should sell, where to get those books and even how to sell them. There are no glossing over on the amount of work needed to make money doing this. I know after reading this any dream of making big money selling books online was pretty much beaten out of me. But that is what you want in an honest book; a no-holds-barred look at the work necessary to be successful.

I completely enjoyed reading this book, finally somebody who relates to me with a great sense of humor! Windwalker offers a lot of great advice and suggestions. A must read for any bookseller A++++++++

Very good resource on many bookselling topics. Especially good if considering a tool like www.fillz.com

I am so happy I bought this book. I have been considering jumping on the "Amazon bookselling bandwagon" for a while, and this book has given me not only the push, but also loads of practical information on exactly how to do it.
This was money well spent. Buy this book....you will not regret it.

Stephen Windwalker has written a very good how-to guide on selling used books online, specifically on Amazon.com's own website. He begins with a brief section that must be required for any author to write if they are writing about something entrepreneurial - is this business for you? and continues with a brief overview of the bookselling business in general. Then he walks the beginners through setting up an account online so that you can begin selling. The middle section was one of the strongest with sections on suppliers & sources (who to buy from, how to find suppliers, mailing materials, etc.), building your inventory: where to get your books, which contains some interesting ideas as to where to go to buy the books (libraries, garage sales, dumpster diving, local churches, etc.), and what books to get, which provided some excellent advice, especially for beginners, on what books to avoid purchasing because they do not sell well or there is a big glut in the market for ($0.01 book, anyone?). I feel that these chapters in the middle would be a great reminder and resource for anyone who is already selling, as well. Still, take the author's advice with a grain of salt because I have been quite successful doing some of the things that the author encourages sellers to avoid. The author then continues with basic selling advice including where to sell your books, grading & describing your books, and posting and pricing your books, all of which are pretty obvious to the experienced seller, but may be of use to newer sellers. Probably my favorite section was on book repairs, which was by no means extensive, but did provide some good, basic tips on what to do with books that are slightly damaged so that you can maximize your profit from them. The end section is mainly for serious sellers, as it contains sections on business organization, taxes, dreams of getting bigger, and some fulfillment & customer service advice.

Again, I would recommend this book to beginning sellers as it does answer quite a few questions that they may have and experienced sellers will find some value in there as well, but it is a pretty expensive trade paperback so if you already know what you are doing, you may not feel that you are getting your money's worth. My only complaint with the book is that the author doesn't deal with a few issues that I feel are very important if you are going to be selling on Amazon.com's marketplace. The number one thing that he didn't deal with is the shipping charges issues, as in Amazon keeping $1+ per transaction as "shipping charges" that the seller never sees, but the buyer is always complaining about. It would have been nice for him to go over this, or at least mention it, as it is one of the most difficult things for new sellers to understand. A few more specific tips would have made this book a 5 star instead of a 4.

Mr. Windwalker is knowledgeable, and shares it in a fashion worth reading, especially for beginners like me. The author does not claim all knowing and recommend other books and websites to further your knowledge. Touches major aspects of Amazon selling, short and to the point. Simple Bookkeeping basics, packaging, customer service, book scouting,etc. The book feels like a conversation with a fellow bookseller who's sharing tips of the trade,. The rank of this book speaks for itself, one wonders why "so called know it all major booksellers" find time to write not so positive reviews, instead of writing their own book. It is absolutely the book to have if you are starting a bookselling venture with Amazon. What can go wrong? You can always resell it, it is quite in demand!

As a beginner, this book was a real disappointment. I'm sure Mr. Windwalker had better advice but kept it to himself. If you're just curious, go for it. But I certainly did not find $17 worth of information it in--nothing I didn't already know that is.

If you're a beginner looking to get started in online selling then this is the book for you. But if you're experienced this book won't be very insightful.

If you are serious about selling books on Amazon and the other online stores you must read this book. If you consider online bookselling to be a hobby you should read this book. Even if you only sell the occasional book every few months or so you can still get some excellent information.
Mr. Windwalker didn't just write a textbook, he gives the reader something that is well written, entertaining and amusing.

This is a very comprehensive book that goes into more detail than I need but will be perfect for others.

Every aspect of selling books online is looked at carefully. The language is simple and easy to understand for just about anybody.

The author, a successful bookseller, gives a lot of good tips on what and how to sell. There is a section on this topic that is a real eye opener as to just how little so many book are worth.

But, if you are hoping to unload a few old books to clear off a shelf, or go whole hog and start a full-time business, you will find a lot of helpful advice in this book.