How to buy and sell books on Amazon

It goes without saying that Amazon has long had its day as an online book retail platform. Today, the mega-retailer offers everything from skincare and clothing to big-name electronics and even groceries, serving more than 100 million customers in the United States alone.

However, the online retailer continues to sell new and used hardcover, paperback and e-books, both online and through the Amazon Kindle. In fact, Amazon is still considered the largest book retailer in the world with over 33 million titles available. As such, it’s also one of the best platforms for those looking to sell used books, or for authors looking to self-publish their own content.

Want to learn more about how to get started buying and selling books on Amazon or Amazon Kindle? Read on to learn more about buying, selling and self-publishing at the world’s largest bookseller.

How to Buy Kindle Books on Amazon

Nothing will ever beat the smell of a newly published novel or a decades-old second-hand book, but there’s no denying the ease and convenience of carrying hundreds of books around in your pocket. Buying Kindle books from Amazon allows readers to work through multiple books at once, pack dozens of beach reads for their next vacation, or simply adjust the text size and font for easier reading.

Kindle books are also very easy to buy and download to your Kindle or smartphone, and they’re usually relatively less expensive than buying a printed edition of the same book. To buy Kindle books, all you have to do is open Amazon in your favorite browser (you cannot buy Kindle books through the Amazon app), select the book you want, and click the 1-Click Buy Now button. This will automatically send the Kindle book directly to your Kindle or smartphone in seconds.

How to sell used books on Amazon

If you have a collection of rare books you’re looking to sell, or just want to free up some space on your bookshelf for new paperback releases, selling used books on Amazon is a great way to make some extra money while also making sure your books are in good condition sold are enjoyed by someone – and it’s surprisingly easy.

In order to sell books on Amazon, you must first register as an individual seller or professional seller. Then you have to decide how you want to fulfill your orders. You can either choose to stock, list, and ship books yourself, or you can ship your books to an Amazon fulfillment center for an additional fee and let Amazon handle shipping, handling, reviews, and more. The latter is a particularly good option, as many Amazon shoppers prefer to take advantage of Amazon Prime (which individual sellers can’t offer).

After you have your account logistics up and running, the next step is to list and price your books. Find the ISBN code for each book and do some research to see what each used book is selling for before making the listing. When you list each book, you should also be absolutely honest about the condition the book is in to ensure happy customers and good reviews.

How to self-publish a book on Amazon

When you have a story that just needs to be told, sometimes self-publishing is the best way – and Amazon Self-Publishing is one of the best platforms for authors looking to get their book published. The first step is to create an Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) account. From there, click the “+ Kindle eBook” button, set your book’s primary language, and follow the prompts to add your book title, subtitle, author name, and description. Remember, your book description will captivate your reader, so consider this first step as important as the book content.

From there, you’ll need to go through a series of questions and confirmations to ensure you have the rights to your book content, the audience age range, keywords, and desired book release date. Then you can upload your book content and cover and preview your book. It’s recommended to take this step slowly and go through your content with a critical eye, as once published there is no going back to correct a typo or grammatical error.

Finally, you will be prompted to select the publisher name (optional) and ISBN code, set the selling price, and save your draft until you are ready to publish.