Frugal Friday: Selling on Amazon

I recently have been on an organization quest and this quest led to me finding some stuff we definitely don't need laying around anymore. One such example is my engineering textbooks that haven't been cracked open in over 2 years. Didn't know I have a bachelor's in civil engineering? :) Another story, soon, I promise! I will be starting an all about "you" series soon. Anyway...

I decided that since I loved Amazon for buying my textbooks when I was in school, it would be the perfect place to sell them. I'm not selling all of them, just the ones I know I never want to see again. My Calculus book is falling apart and very beloved to me and I can't imagine parting with it. My Geotechnical Engineering book, on the other hand just brings back horrible memories of a horrible class, so the soon I can get rid of it, the better. Don't sell things you'll regret later! You may feel like you're "purging" but be careful what you get rid of!

You can go to Amazon.com and click "Sell Your Stuff" on the left-hand side, near the bottom. They want you to sign up for a plan, but you don't have to. You can sell a few individual items by starting out here. You'll need to sign up for a seller account if you're new, which is easy. You'll fill out your info, including a phone number, then they'll give you a quick, automated call to confirm that it's your real number.

Once you're all signed up, listing items is easy. Simply log into your account, click "your account" at the top, and go to "your seller account" on the right hand side. Click on list single items. You simply type in an ISBN or search by the type of item you want to sell. You need to list it's condition, what price you're asking (they'll show you the current going prices for comparison) and what shipping type you want to do. Amazon will take a chunk out when it sells as their commission (it was about 15% for textbooks). When you list the item, it'll tell you what your profit (including shipping charges) will be minus their fee.

I listed 6 or 7 of my books and less than a day later, I've already sold 2 of them, probably because I competitively priced them. Amazon sends you an email when it sells and another when it's paid for and you need to ship within 2 business days. Log into your seller account again and click on your orders on the right hand side. You can print a packing slip which contains the person's address. I put the first book that sold into a box I already had from an Avon order, stuffed newspaper around it, put the packing slip inside and taped it up really good. I sent it by media mail and it cost $3.16 (which was covered by the $3.99 shipping charge I received).

The first book sold for $56.01+$3.99 for shipping!! After Amazon's commission and shipping, I made $46 off of a book I doubt I'll ever think of again. I'm loving this!! I'll think I'll go around looking for more stuff to sell now. Hopefully I don't get addicted to selling stuff or we may not have anything left! :)

For more frugal ideas and tips, check out Life as Mom's Frugal Friday!