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New Self-Publisher’s FAQ
Amazon Marketplace: Myths and Making Money With It
I see these questions a lot:
"Why is Amazon allowing people to sell used books on my selling site?"
"How did these people get my books when they've just been released?"
"One of my review copies (galley
or finished copy) is being sold on
Amazon--what can I do about it?"
Well, I think I can answer those, and a couple more.
First, let's define terms. A "Marketplace" seller is someone who is
selling just a few items on
Amazon. They don't do a lot of business. A
"Z-Shop" is a dedicated on-line and/or brick and mortar store with an
Amazon presence (and probably Half.com and eBay as well). For ease of
use, we'll refer to all of these sellers as "Marketplace sellers."
Now, say you sell some books to a bookstore that retails used and new
books. You drop by one day and discover they have a worn copy of your
book at a discounted price shelved right next to a shiny new one being
sold at full price. That doesn't bother you, does it? You know that
people who like new books are going to buy the new one. Folks who like a
deal will buy the slightly scuffed one. At one point or another, the
scuffed one got paid for, so you aren't out any money. You could wish
everyone bought new, but they don't.
Same thing with the Marketplace system. Yes, we'd all prefer that
Amazon
hadn't done this, but there's a brisk business in used books--always has
been, always will be. This is a situation where they are fulfilling a
market demand. This works out even better for you than the bookstore
example above: you get paid twice for every used book sold. Somewhere
along the line you sold the book--perhaps directly to that
Marketplace
seller. If the buyer goes through your website link to buy your book from them
(you have to be an Amazon Associate to do this) you'll get 2.5% of the
sale of that book.
Now, how did those little devils get your book new? It is with 98%
surety that I tell you they got the book through
Baker & Taylor or
Ingram. Some booksellers specialize in new release books on the
internet. They subscribe to one or both wholesalers' new releases
program; when a new book comes out, they buy it or simply list it,
opting to purchase the book only when they have an order. They can sell
for lower because they aren't paying the 55% you are. BUT, they paid for
the book. It's sold and you got the money! Don't worry about it. And, as
I said, you often get a percentage of their sale. You really do get the
last laugh.
What about those galleys,
advanced reading copies and
review copies that
show up on the Marketplace? Well friends, those are flat illegal in the
Amazon
scheme of things. When
Marketplace vendors sign the contract to
sell on Amazon, one of the things they promise is never to sell galleys
or review copies of books. You have every right to zip off an e-mail
demanding that the book is withdrawn or you will report the violation to
Amazon (perfect security is not an Amazon hallmark). Don't write an
angry righteous letter—they probably don't even know what they're doing
is wrong. Compose a businesslike e-mail calmly explaining the
consequences of their actions. Nine times out of ten, the offending book
will disappear from your
Amazon
page within a day, sometimes sooner.
(See this part of the website
for what to quote in your letter.)
Now, let's make some money! I don't know about you, but I end up with a
small percentage of my books getting dinged in transit, sometimes I get
returns that are scuffed and once I had a fair amount of books left over
from a previous edition. Shazam! I became an
Amazon
Marketplace
seller!
Instead of filling up a landfill with unwanted books, I turned my trash
books into cash!
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