Books on Amazon: how to sell them… where it all began!

In what now seems like a distant July of 1994, Jeff Bezos founded Amazon.com. Initially conceived as an online bookstore, Bezos’s project gradually took different forms until reaching its current scale and significance: the world’s most important marketplace.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Articles, mini-guides and updates on Amazon world from leading insiders.

I accept the privacy policy

The choice to start with books, in fact, was well suited to the company’s goals. For Bezos, books represented an ideal product for e-commerce thanks to their standardized format, ease of shipping, and vast existing catalog.

With this premise in mind, Bezos launched his website in July 1995, operating from a simple garage in Seattle. From the very beginning, the vision was clear: to offer the widest possible selection of books at competitive prices, overcoming the physical limitations of traditional bookstores, which could only display a few thousand titles.

From online bookstore to everything store

In its early years, Amazon focused exclusively on books, strengthening its position as a leader in the sector. The model proved so effective that in 1997 the company went public, further fueling its growth. In 1998, Amazon began expanding its catalog to include CDs, DVDs, electronics, and other products.

Especially in its early days, and despite growing diversification, books remained a key category at Amazon, pushing the company toward significant innovations. In 1999 it acquired Bibliofind, a marketplace for rare and used books, while in 2007 the Kindle was born, revolutionizing the e-book market. Two years later came Audible, with the acquisition of the audiobook leader.

>>> Also read our article How to Sell on Amazon USA: The Complete Guide for European Sellers. <<<

How to sell books on Amazon today: effective strategies

The long introduction above gives us a good opportunity to ask how to sell books on Amazon today. And, with that in mind, take part in what is one of the most interesting businesses on the marketplace.

Well, selling books on Amazon is very simple. You just need to create a seller partner account on Seller Central, choose a selling plan, provide the required information, and upload the books for sale.

But let’s go step by step.

Create a seller account

The first step, if you don’t already have a seller partner account, is to create a new one on Seller Central. Go to the homepage and click on Sign Up. Enter all the required information such as

• Email address
• Password
• Phone number.

A short video verification will follow. If successful, you will receive a confirmation email notifying you of the successful account creation.

>>> Find out How to avoid tax errors when selling on Amazon.  <<<

Choose a selling plan

Once logged into a seller partner account, you can choose between an individual or professional account based on your needs.

In summary, a professional account requires a monthly fee of 39 euros (excluding VAT), regardless of the number of units sold, plus sales commissions. An individual account is free but has a cost of €0.99 per unit sold, plus sales commissions.

So, the professional selling plan is certainly more convenient if you plan to sell many books per month. In addition to the economic advantage, you also get access to feeds and spreadsheets to manage inventory, detailed reports, and the chance to be listed as the featured offer.

Enter your payment information

The next step is to enter the payment information needed to receive your book sales proceeds. Click on Settings -> Account Info and in the Payment Information section, assign your payment methods.

Publish your listings

Now it’s time to publish your books on Amazon. Click on the top left menu on the Seller Central homepage, then select “Catalog” >> “Add Products.” Here you’ll find a search bar where you can search for your book by entering the title or ISBN, making sure to select “Books” as the category filter. Once you find the book, click on “Sell this product” to create your listing.

Set a selling price

Once the listing is created, choose the price at which to sell the book by entering the value in the corresponding field. In the book’s description, enter the book’s “condition,” as you can sell both new and used books, along with a brief description of the condition and whether a hardcover is included.

In this regard, remember that the conditions of a used book are:

• Like New: appears to have never been opened. The exterior must be intact and undamaged. The cover should not have creases. Pages must be clean and intact.
• Very Good: pages and cover are intact and clean. The binding is not damaged. Pages may show slight signs of wear.
• Good: pages and cover are intact. The binding may show slight wear. Pages may include some underlining.
• Acceptable: pages and cover are intact. Pages may include notes and underlining that don’t obscure the text. The binding may have creases but must be sturdy and intact.

A book can only be sold as “New” if it has never been touched or read.

Finally, specify the offered shipping method.

>>> Learn more about International Shipping, everything you need to know to do it with Amazon and profitably. <<<

How to ship books on Amazon

Once the above steps are completed, you must choose how to ship them to your customers. A common and often convenient method is to use FBA. To do this, convert your listing into an FBA listing by following these steps:

• On the Seller Central homepage, select “Manage All Inventory” (under the “Inventory” section of your account).
• Choose the book to convert to an FBA listing.
• In the “Edit” dropdown menu, select “Convert to Fulfilled by Amazon.”
• On the conversion page, click “Convert” to change the listing.
• Amazon will provide a list of fulfillment centers. Choose the nearest one and follow the instructions to ship the book there.
• Amazon will generate PDF shipping labels for your books. Print and attach them to the shipping package.

Alternatively, you can of course continue shipping your books independently, even if the products are listed on Amazon.

But remember, in that case, you’ll need to make sure you always have suitable space for storing the books.

With Amazon Fulfillment, however, once the books are in the warehouses, Amazon staff will handle packing, shipping, and customer service.