tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83735497218166036032024-02-18T21:57:47.623-08:00Zen and the Art of BooksellingWhite space is goodearthmomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06021352839022135978noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373549721816603603.post-30344085201872571842009-05-14T22:58:00.000-07:002009-05-14T23:02:30.128-07:00Grading and Listing Books<span style="font-weight:bold;">Grading Your Books</span><br /><br />You’re holding the first book in your hand, getting ready to list it for sale.<br /> <br />First you have to grade it. (If you’ve been selling on other venues or dealing with booksellers offline, one thing you’ll notice is that the word “Fine” doesn’t appear anywhere!) Amazon provides a list of Condition Guidelines that you must follow. The Condition Types are: New, Used: Like New, Used: Very Good, Used: Good and Used: Acceptable and Collectible. In addition to selecting one of those Conditions, you have a Comment field that is free text. It is ALWAYS better to grade a bit lower and let the customer be pleasantly surprised that the condition is better than expected rather than grade higher and let them be disappointed once the book arrives.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Here’s Amazon’s Condition Guidelines explanation, with my comments in parentheses:</span><br /><br />· <span style="font-weight:bold;">New</span>: Just like it sounds. A brand-new, unused, unread copy in perfect condition. (This is a debatable term and one that gets abused the most often. New does NOT contain highlights or marks, or wear, and the book has not been opened. New actually means New. As in - out of the box that was shipped from the publisher. If you pick up a book and it appears unread and looks New to you, go on to the next condition, which is Used: Like New. New does not mean that you bought it from the local Barnes and Noble bookstore and didn’t read it. An interesting exercise is to stroll through your local brick and mortar Barnes and Noble store and look at the books on their shelves. Few would pass as “New” online. Books get opened, thumbed through, many even are taken to seats and read. The covers lift on many books as they sit on the shelf. Once they are paid for and taken home, many would already qualify for “Used: Very Good” condition.)<br /><br />· <span style="font-weight:bold;">Like New</span>: An apparently unread copy in perfect condition. Dust cover is intact; pages are clean and are not marred by notes or folds of any kind. Suitable for presenting as a gift. (The last part about being suitable for presenting as a gift is very important and a good thing to keep in mind It should appear unused. Unopened, unmarked, pages not turned. No damage.)<br /><br />· <span style="font-weight:bold;">Very Good</span>: A copy that has been read, but remains in excellent condition. Pages are intact and are not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. (This condition also is regularly abused. It’s seen often that a book will be listed as Very Good with a comment that the spine is creased. NO. The spine remains undamaged – this means the spine is not creased. Many times the spine is uncreased from a very gentle reading, the front cover may lift a little, there are no marks and no damage. That’s a good example of a Very Good condition book)<br /><br />· <span style="font-weight:bold;">Good</span>: A copy that has been read, but remains in clean condition. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact -including dust cover, if applicable. The spine may show signs of wear. Pages can include limited notes and highlighting, and the copy can include "From the library of" labels. (Not only can Good condition include the “From the library of” labels but it’s also the proper category for former public library books. In the comments area you still need to explain there are stamps and stickers and that the book is an ex library or former library book, but any former library book with markings should not be listed in a higher condition than Good)<br /><br />· <span style="font-weight:bold;">Acceptable</span>: A readable copy. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact - the dust cover may be missing. Pages can include considerable notes--in pen or highlighter--but the notes cannot obscure the text. (It’s important to note for this condition that the cover is intact. Even on the worst copy you can legally list on Amazon, the cover must be intact. You may come across books with the covers ripped off. And you may never have noticed this text, written on the _______ page of most paperbacks – “If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property.” When bookstores return unsold books to publishers for credit, they tear off and return only the covers and guarantee the publisher that the books themselves have been destroyed. If you come across some that have been salvaged, don’t buy them or accept them if you plan to try and sell them.) <br /><br />· <span style="font-weight:bold;">Unacceptable</span>: Moldy, badly stained, or unclean copies are not acceptable, nor are copies with missing pages or obscured text. Books that are distributed for promotional use only are prohibited. This includes advance reading copies (ARCs) and uncorrected proof copies. (Although not spelled out here, Teacher’s Editions of textbooks are not allowed. In the Help section ‘Marketplace Seller Offenses & Prohibited Content you’ll see this rule spelled out:<br />· Solutions manuals. Manuals or teacher's editions that provide answer keys to student textbook editions are prohibited. )<br />A rather new addition to these rules are changes to the Collectible category:<br />Items priced at or above the list price (MSRP) or $10, whichever is greater, are eligible for "Collectible" designation. Items priced below this may be listed under "Used" or "New , but will not be eligible for "Collectible" designation. <br />These additional guidelines, although not mandatory, may be used to determine whether to list a book as Collectible. To be considered collectible, books should be unique in a way that increases value for a collector, for example: <br /> First edition and first printing, signed, inscribed or scarce <br /> Not ex-library, a remainder or a book club edition<br /><br />Be sure to list your book on the exactly matching page in Amazon’s catalog. If one doesn’t exist that matches your item, you can Create a Page if you’re a Pro Merchant – which involves paying a flat $39 fee per month. Perks of being a Pro Merchant are the ability to Create a Page and the fact that the .99 per sale fee is waived. If you sell more than 39 items per month, it’s a cost savings to become a Pro Merchant.<br />If you are not a Pro Merchant, and the only listing is for, let’s say, the hardcover edition. You have the softcover edition. Should you list your softcover on the hardcover page and put in the comments “This is the softcover edition” ? Amazon says no – that’s a violation and if the buyer receives the wrong edition they can complain. They can also file an A-z Guarantee Claim with Amazon under the complaint of “Materially Different” and they would win. Amazon would remove the funds from your account and refund the customer while allowing them to keep the book in question.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Comments</span><br /><br />In addition to selecting the Condition, you are encouraged to write something in the Comments field. It’s your only free text area and the only place you have to communicate what is different, unique, special, or damaged about your particular copy. Mention rips, tears, bends, creases, markings, highlighting, etc. Remember that your buyer is purchasing from you sight unseen. They really don’t want to know that you’re “A great seller with a wonderful rating and excellent return policy!” That doesn’t tell them what may be wrong with your copy of the book. If it smells a little smoky, disclose it. If there is a remainder mark (usually a slash or dot made by a marker on the outer edge of the book) then disclose it. Be honest. Of course you want to make the sale but it is not a good idea to glaze over defects and only say glowing, positive things. Your buyer will more than likely be disappointed and upset when they get surprised with the damaged book. Paint an honest picture. <br /><br />I like to start at the cover and go to key areas that I mention in a book description: “Covers lay flat and are shiny, Spine is uncreased, Text is clean and unmarked.” That sort of gives a virtual 360 degree turn of the book. If there is an image provided on the listing by Amazon, I usually state “Exactly as shown”. Be truthful. <br /><br />I sold a book that appeared to be unread, the spine was uncreased, the text pages were crisp and clean, but inexplicably the front cover was bent back and a clear tire tread went across the title page. How would you list that book for sale? I mulled it over for a bit and then listed it as “Used: Good” with the Comment – “This book was new and unread when it was tragically run over by a car tire. It has survived to tell the tale, but the front cover is bent and creased, and there is a clear tire tread mark on the title page. Spine is uncreased, all text pages are clean and unmarked.” The book sold and there was no complaint. It was discounted and my buyer knew exactly what to expect so there was no confusion.<br />There was a listing spotted once that read “Looks like this book fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down.” Humor can be good way to get noticed and communicate with your potential buyer, but make sure you also describe what exactly makes that book so ugly. After reading that, I might expect creases and a general wear and it may actually have water damage or worse. Be clear and be honest.earthmomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06021352839022135978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373549721816603603.post-76369323011793139292009-05-02T22:36:00.000-07:002009-05-03T12:13:11.072-07:003.2 - How to Make Your Own Air Pillows for PackingAir Pillows are those little plastic pouches inflated with air that are put into packages to protect the contents. Why should you want to use them in your own packages? <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Save Money</span><br /><br />That's the Number One reason. They help you to save money on postage costs. Especially if you're shipping a Priority Mail box and the weight is 15 ounces or more. Add some scrunched paper or packing peanuts and you're most likely going over that one pound mark - and adding alot more to your postage cost. If you add one or two air filled pillows, you're most likely going to stay under the one pound mark.<br /><br />If you're like me, you hang onto any packing supplies that come to you with incoming shipments. But if you start shipping quite a bit you'll quickly run out of your own supply of recycled materials and need to find more. I decided for myself that I wanted to use Air Pillows as often as possible, but once I started shopping around to buy them new, I was shocked at the prices. I kept saying "These are basically just air!" and I wanted to find them cheap! I also wanted to be able to decide if I needed fully inflated ones, small ones, large ones. If I bought a whole batch of tiny ones and then had a really large void to fill in a box, I'd just be filling that box with a LOT of little air pillows.<br /><br />I researched on the web and saw lots of very expensive machines that churn out air pillows quickly. Way out of my price range. I decided to make my own. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Here's what you need to make them my way:</span><br /><br />- <span style="font-weight:bold;">Impulse Sealer</span> - (previously mentioned under the post 'Impulse Sealer, Bags and Bflute'). If you don't have one, at the bottom of this post is information on how to make them without an impulse sealer.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtJ_btl6pXQ5o3PTXjk1DDegrKkEmlSzcKv_KQD5ihjMZQIszmAJeM-1Zdf0VgxDprZbKbm6zUTuF2xkezogrt4ykfnlsaI7SgRigjQNTxbrnKCCnyoxis9c0PfAIha5ngMR_xmiFbTiY/s1600-h/balloon-pump.gif"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 130px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtJ_btl6pXQ5o3PTXjk1DDegrKkEmlSzcKv_KQD5ihjMZQIszmAJeM-1Zdf0VgxDprZbKbm6zUTuF2xkezogrt4ykfnlsaI7SgRigjQNTxbrnKCCnyoxis9c0PfAIha5ngMR_xmiFbTiY/s200/balloon-pump.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331474818117377378" /></a><br />- <span style="font-weight:bold;">Plastic</span> - Either bags (clear poly bags) pre-sealed on one end, or a roll of 2, 3, or 4 mil plastic. The smaller numbers are thinner and cheaper and make good air pillows.<br />- <span style="font-weight:bold;">Pair of scissors</span> <br />- <span style="font-weight:bold;">Small hand pump for balloons</span> (these are very cheap and found in party stores or maybe even Walmart and cost less than $5. I bought mine for a prank I did on my Director of IT at my former job when I filled her office with balloons for her birthday. Really filled it - approx waist high. Took me and two helpers many hours.... late into the night... but it was really worth it! Ah but I digress.) <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd1026BKMD4Qok-LBbqvC2kInH2iguhsmC9cBmhA-1-bcVyR17E7VOHCDSdVX4MtzW2NwugZHdYB3prI2PWf5mz2RfULg3w6W-HBvJgdrtYKZE6lSSWUHaCXySbyCinrsE25yQ4iSF4G0/s1600-h/AirPillow1.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 260px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd1026BKMD4Qok-LBbqvC2kInH2iguhsmC9cBmhA-1-bcVyR17E7VOHCDSdVX4MtzW2NwugZHdYB3prI2PWf5mz2RfULg3w6W-HBvJgdrtYKZE6lSSWUHaCXySbyCinrsE25yQ4iSF4G0/s320/AirPillow1.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331471189836501298" /></a> <span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">1 - Seal both ends</span></span>. <br /><br />For this size I'm using up some small clear poly bags that I bought by mistake. They're too small to put anything in for shipping, and I never thought I'd use them. Turns out they make nice air pillows. One end was sealed when I bought them. I just sealed the other end here. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz7ADRsyqtqk48685dXclbIa9Vz020KgZIecHBezk_FmpskGSJyw-smw3EsHfZwMSrHK4XNRJHDABC4tTmYYNsJEmPuThZFW7dzja8K1i9be-Cy0y5D7U24thYlc-PHeQeCV_1lAE8Nwo/s1600-h/AirPillow2.gif"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz7ADRsyqtqk48685dXclbIa9Vz020KgZIecHBezk_FmpskGSJyw-smw3EsHfZwMSrHK4XNRJHDABC4tTmYYNsJEmPuThZFW7dzja8K1i9be-Cy0y5D7U24thYlc-PHeQeCV_1lAE8Nwo/s320/AirPillow2.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331471974599612658" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">2 - Snip off one corner. </span><br /><br />Just like that - take a sharp pair of scissors and snip off the corner making a small opening.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwfglDfqw-ax3znY3ucgKnMTtRgBwGmesa5Rl2pOIloH2ChgRNYipBGCAo_qf3GB0DPxg15rmH5x7cSw8a54zJ13HJVFxYxCyeHsjFvE8MIN6pf4E1oSfA1wuyC5XgHP9J9AVc_W-07ws/s1600-h/AirPillow3.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwfglDfqw-ax3znY3ucgKnMTtRgBwGmesa5Rl2pOIloH2ChgRNYipBGCAo_qf3GB0DPxg15rmH5x7cSw8a54zJ13HJVFxYxCyeHsjFvE8MIN6pf4E1oSfA1wuyC5XgHP9J9AVc_W-07ws/s320/AirPillow3.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331472400990536114" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">3 - Inflate with balloon pump.</span> (this size air pillow only takes one full pump or a couple small ones)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmNz8GeTlMEVvUfCsZ7w8JUG97YUeATzcRGI0voKQese_ahsj_fdqbabdcsVbtUHpEcFq19IIdN8y6IhyphenhyphenG_JrOuwA2SBBZvVazM1-HomxaTrLEN9VNOzxFj89mucKFuFMpmL1w_Exc_jw/s1600-h/AirPillow4.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmNz8GeTlMEVvUfCsZ7w8JUG97YUeATzcRGI0voKQese_ahsj_fdqbabdcsVbtUHpEcFq19IIdN8y6IhyphenhyphenG_JrOuwA2SBBZvVazM1-HomxaTrLEN9VNOzxFj89mucKFuFMpmL1w_Exc_jw/s200/AirPillow4.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331475674157091682" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI6GVhhDJ59ucHqaonARnT8iUn3wQ-KHwQkWxsiaT5QiCjWVNwq1EggwW17Lhr71RVpoEV-9mizAWUWzF6aZ9r4wwJOIzNAIiCxO7gizwi9EPqoh7fNl67eGqUHplVVork3e3iMbstEXU/s1600-h/AirPillow5.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI6GVhhDJ59ucHqaonARnT8iUn3wQ-KHwQkWxsiaT5QiCjWVNwq1EggwW17Lhr71RVpoEV-9mizAWUWzF6aZ9r4wwJOIzNAIiCxO7gizwi9EPqoh7fNl67eGqUHplVVork3e3iMbstEXU/s200/AirPillow5.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331475902724598530" /></a>4 - Seal the corner. You'll lose a tiny bit of air as you let go of the fingers holding the corner closed and move it onto the impulse sealer and seal - but it works and you can seal it easily and still have a firm air pillow.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW3vrak0R-cdSL5GH1CP7Ou1wTgpB2s1cxiguLhwF0COYAd7bYtd-ny3SpNZ29D89vHDJdkFNMRWnNFOjWdQRetKLB9sw09pkB5Z7wFtvQD_Z5S5qknaAAg_QDlr9l8ViduYynkNjMy64/s1600-h/AirPillow6.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 270px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW3vrak0R-cdSL5GH1CP7Ou1wTgpB2s1cxiguLhwF0COYAd7bYtd-ny3SpNZ29D89vHDJdkFNMRWnNFOjWdQRetKLB9sw09pkB5Z7wFtvQD_Z5S5qknaAAg_QDlr9l8ViduYynkNjMy64/s320/AirPillow6.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331476496250122770" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">That's it! </span>Finished air pillow that's ready for packing!<br /><br />I set my first couple of experimental air pillows under a heavy book and left it overnight to see if the seal was good. Next morning they were fine and still inflated!<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />How to Make Air Pillows Without an Impulse Sealer</span><br />I found this handy dandy kit at <a href="http://www.airfil.com/pages/airfil_handypak.htm" target="_blank">www.airfil.com</a> You can buy pre-sealed plastic pouches with a small circle cut out in them. You use the included pump to inflate the pouch, then put a label over the hold to seal. There is an instructional card to download on the site - here's what it looks like:<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh03FU2fLPJa_cjBsa_l-Z9BHdGUI52fzo8WLrcpehlWv4BcFI0a_Bp6xrgpLAUqLrVqnOM4i0V7Hl3bqA8s1m7YVASFaS1mGlKlvZFfoAnIZXCpSQsWZmympSqXM73ZSCNjJpH96vOtLA/s1600-h/airfil.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 283px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh03FU2fLPJa_cjBsa_l-Z9BHdGUI52fzo8WLrcpehlWv4BcFI0a_Bp6xrgpLAUqLrVqnOM4i0V7Hl3bqA8s1m7YVASFaS1mGlKlvZFfoAnIZXCpSQsWZmympSqXM73ZSCNjJpH96vOtLA/s400/airfil.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331677201291914690" /></a><br /><br /><br />This is helpful in learning the process, but if you have an impulse sealer you'll realize quickly that you can do it yourself at a greatly reduced cost.earthmomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06021352839022135978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373549721816603603.post-36888920015710334202009-04-15T20:25:00.000-07:002009-05-02T23:24:01.282-07:00Impulse Sealer, Bags and B-fluteYou'll notice on the <a href="http://www.earthmombooks.com/PackaBook.aspx" target="blank">PackaBook page</a> that I use an impulse sealer and just love it. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i17.ebayimg.com/03/i/001/1a/5e/9f9b_35.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 280px; height: 148px;" src="http://i17.ebayimg.com/03/i/001/1a/5e/9f9b_35.JPG" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />I bought the first one from Pac N Seal and paid too much for it. I was excited so I bought the sealer and the starter pack - one impulse sealer and an assortment of bags and replacement kit. Half of the bags were so small I've never used them for anything so that was a bit of a waste. I had problems with that sealer burning through the teflon layer and when I called to ask them about it they were very rude and told me it was my problem and to contact the manufacturer. That was a big learning experience for me - both about that company and about the equipment because I did more research on my own to figure out what to do.<br /><br />The bottom edge of the sealer has a wire that heats up and it's covered by a teflon strip. The one I got was not calibrated correctly, so if I turned it way down it sealed okay. I had to replace the teflon strip every few days while figuring out the problem, and I discovered <a href="http://tinyurl.com/c6f7kp" target="_blank">teflon spray</a>. It comes in a can <a href="http://tinyurl.com/c6f7kp" target="_blank"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31S1QN23HCL._SL500_AA280_.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 280px; height: 280px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31S1QN23HCL._SL500_AA280_.jpg" border="0" alt="" / target="_blank"></a></a> and I got it on Amazon for about $6. One can lasts for a year or more - you just put a little squirt on the corner of a paper towel and wipe it across the teflon strip each day before you use the sealer. It makes the teflon strip last forever (I haven't replaced one in 4 years now. BIG difference from replacing it every other day at first!).<br /><br />The sealers can usually be found on ebay for around $25 - $30 plus shipping (they're heavy).<br /><br />Some sellers offer 'free kits' or extra kits - those are the replacement wires and teflon strips. You're supposed to have to replace them every month or two but I found that with the teflon spray you don't need to replace them at all. It's good to have some on hand regardless - if you need to replace a strip you'll be glad you have one.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br /><br />The Plastic Bags</span><br /><br />The type you'll need are called 'Flat Poly Bags' and should be at least 3 mil (preferably 4 mil). <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.fastpack.net/Products/photos/2659_1.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 220px; height: 220px;" src="http://www.fastpack.net/Products/photos/2659_1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />The first ones I bought were overpriced so I started searching the web. I was able to find some for .20 each and then a sale on one site for .09 per bag (including shipping). Always search and compare and don't forget to add in shipping costs.<br /><br />I'm seriously cheap - and not just because I like to be but out of necessity, especially when I was first starting this business. I simply had no budget for shipping materials and felt I should be able to get the whole package down to under .20 if I tried. <br /><br />After some more brainstorming I wondered why it had to be a plastic bag, why not buy the plastic in big rolls and just make bags? That led me to buying and experimenting with painter's plastic, window sheeting, all sizes and kinds. My favorite is the Clear 3.5 mil plastic sheeting that comes on a roll at Walmart. It's in the Paint Section. 4.0 mil is just a bit too thick for the sealer to seal well and anything less than 3.5 will tear and lose the contents. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/productImages/300/d2/d2671e3e-59e1-48b3-b78a-6ab06a6b9d65_300.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/productImages/300/d2/d2671e3e-59e1-48b3-b78a-6ab06a6b9d65_300.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> The rolls have gone up recently in price from $7 a roll to just over $8, but even so it's a good deal. I had the figures all broken down on how much per package this was costing - of course some packages are larger and some are smaller but it come out to pennies each. I had totalled the whole thing up - the wrapping paper, sticker, b-flute, plastic, colorful packing slip and it came out to .20 or .25 per package. When you consider that you'll receive $2.64 from Amazon for shipping (that includes the packing materials and postage and everything) - you have to be wise and inventive to provide a good, sturdy, cost effective package. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://pinknpurplelizard.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/empty-pockets.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 425px; height: 282px;" src="http://pinknpurplelizard.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/empty-pockets.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Postage for a one pound book (Media Mail) is $2.23 (it's $2.41 if you use <a href="http://www.endicia.com/default.cfm?referredby=a07b" target="_blank">Endicia.com </a> and that's including Delivery Confirmation at a greatly reduced price of only .18 At the post office counter it's .60 or .70 now) so that leaves me only .23 per package left of that postage allowance before I have to dig into my own pocket and come up with my own money. <br /><br /> <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br /><br /><br />And Then There's B-flute</span><br /><br />B-flute is just basically one side of corrugated cardboard. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.fast-pack.com/images/BfluteTop.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 280px; height: 221px;" src="http://www.fast-pack.com/images/BfluteTop.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>I only recently in the past 2 years have started buying it. Before that I scrounged it. I am not proud - if I can find clean packing materials that are being discarded, I grab them. You can ask some stores to save materials for you, or just do some dumpster diving. Furniture stores can be good - they throw out sheets of bubble wrap and b-flute that were used to cover entire dressers and other pieces of furniture! I've gotten bubble wrap that was 10 feet wide and over 40 feet long! Clean, used once to transport some furniture and then tossed. I process it when I get it home - cut it up into manageable sized strips and roll it up and it's ready to use.<br /><br />I had a friend who worked for a little store that did picture framing and she saved me lots of b-flute and some bubble wrap for nearly a year. <br /><br />If you buy b-flute, realize again that a big part of the cost is shipping. For that reason check your local phone book for paper suppliers and packaging companies and make some calls to compare prices. I found a company 2 hours away that delivers to this area 3 times a week, so there is no shipping charge. I pay now for the big wheels of b-flute (4 at a time) and the truck from the company delivers them to my door. The cost of the b-flute is a bit higher than what I found online, but less than the overall cost I'd pay including shipping.earthmomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06021352839022135978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373549721816603603.post-39029485076821136652009-03-30T13:37:00.000-07:002009-05-02T11:21:49.051-07:005 Ways to Get Shut Down on Amazon<span style="font-weight:bold;">SELLING ON AMAZON</span><br /><br />You’ve taken the plunge and opened your Amazon seller account. You’ve seen the “Sell Yours Here” buttons on Amazon’s website, and you’re thinking to yourself, “How hard can this be?” so you grab a book off your overcrowded bookshelf, turn it over and enter the ISBN number - and a couple of minutes later your Amazon business has officially begun.<br /><br />Now, how to do manage to survive for the first month, the first 6 months, the first year, without being eaten alive or shut down? Let’s talk about some things to consider and some ways to keep your head above water.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">5 Fastest ways to get shut down by Amazon</span> <br /><br />· Open more than one Seller Account. This is a huge no-no and Amazon doesn’t want to listen to your reasons why. You can have multiple Buyer Accounts, but don’t get them mixed up and accidentally list something for sale from your Buyer Account (thus converting it to a Seller Account). You’ll get shut down quickly and without prejudice. <br /><br />· Buy inventory from a seller who has had their account on Amazon shut down. The inventory itself can get recognized and Amazon will tie you to that bad seller and you’ll also be shut down. Remember, Momma told you that birds of a feather flock together. Amazon believes that and acts on it.<br /><br />· Break the Participation Agreement by selling banned items. It’s important to read up on what is and is not acceptable to be listed for sale. Obvious prohibited items like firearms, explosives and Cuban cigars may not be a big surprise, but ARCs (advance reading copies) of books are also prohibited, along with copies of media (burned CDs or DVDs or photocopies of books), and even solutions manuals can get you in trouble. Be sure to familiarize yourself with what is not acceptable: Follow these breadcrumbs on Amazon’s site: Help > Selling at Amazon.com > Policies & Agreements > Community Rules > Marketplace Seller Offenses & Prohibited Content<br /><br />· Neglect to fulfill your orders or check your email. (It’s been known to happen.) A seller gets all excited and lists a dozen books then goes off and gets busy with life and doesn’t check email for a week. During that time the orders roll in, the orders don’t get fulfilled, and the inquiries from customers go unanswered. This will result in bad feedback, customers filing A-to-z claims against you and Amazon closing your account. Amazon sellers are required to ship within 2 business days.<br /><br />· Divert traffic away from Amazon.com. This can be attempted by putting your own URL in the comments section of your books, or by using the email addresses of customers to sell or to send your own advertisements to. Sellers on Amazon are forbidden to contact their buyers except to discuss a transaction that has been made. No other marketing or spamming or selling of names is allowed.<br /> <br />Let’s take a closer look at what Amazon measures and what will get noticed and get an account suspended and possibly closed. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Feedback</span><br /><br />You want good feedback, obviously. At first you’ll have none, so how can buyers know if they can trust you? It’s always difficult to do your best and wait for a few nice “5s” to roll in. If you grade your items honestly (we’ll discuss Amazon Marketplace grading in Part II of this series), put up clear comments about any flaws, pack well to prevent damage and ship quickly, you will most likely see some good feedback very soon. If your feedback percentage drops, you’ll get a warning from Amazon to get things straightened out - or else. <br /><br />On Amazon, leaving feedback for buyers is practically unheard of (and it is being phased out entirely). It’s definitely a one-sided thing. A buyer places an order and does or, more often than not, does not leave feedback. Pretty cut and dried.<br /><br />If a seller is doing all the right things and feedback is slow coming in, there are ways to encourage buyers to leave more. Amazon sends out a reminder email at 21 days asking your buyer to leave feedback for you. In addition, many sellers put a line across the bottom of their packing slips asking for feedback, or a line in their confirmation emails. Beyond that it’s advised to not contact the buyer or ask for feedback. Remember, good feedback is what you’re after. Bugging a customer or intruding on their privacy may result in the other kind of feedback you really don’t want!<br /><br />Finally, Amazon calculates your feedback score on the basis of the percentage of positive feedbacks you receive. If you receive, for example, one positive and one negative feedback for your first two sales, your feedback score will be a horrific 50% - a percentage that had better be improved quickly. If you’ve already accumulated hundreds of positive feedbacks, however, the effect of a single negative feedback will be comparatively minimal. As a new seller, a good strategy for accumulating feedback quickly and insulating yourself against the effects of early negative feedback is to list absolutely flawless copies of low-value but sought after paperbacks (based on sales rankings) at whatever it takes to get them sold quickly, even if you have to price them at a penny. Package orders with exceptional care, ship them the same day you receive them, upgrade to First Class or Priority (if you can afford it), and, on your packing sheet, politely ask the buyer to leave appropriate feedback. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">A-to-z Claims</span><br /><br />If you make a mistake on an order, the customer should contact you first and give you the chance to make it right. That would mean refunding them, either partially or fully, and possibly sending them a postage-paid mailer so they can return the item. Some customers won’t contact the seller first and will file an A-to-z Guarantee Claim instead. If this happens, Amazon contacts the seller and asks for your side of the story. If you apologize and refund, all will be well. If it’s a bogus claim and you reply explaining why, Amazon may or may not honor it. And they may or may not take the funds out of your account to refund the customer. They make a judgment on each case. (Note that while they’re reviewing the claim against you they will hold your money in the amount of the transaction. So if a claim gets filed on a $20 book, you will see $20 of your account balance be held by Amazon until the claim is settled.) If you get too many claims that have ruled against you, this can result in suspension or account closure. There are no hard and fast rules about how many are too many. There’s nothing in the participation agreement that states you can’t have more than three per year or anything of the sort. It’s a judgment call that Amazon makes. Your best bet is to try and steer clear of any A-to-z claims against you.<br /><br />Amazon has had its share of scammers who have opened Seller Accounts, listed lots of high priced items, collected the money and taken off, never to be seen or heard from again. They never had the merchandise nor ever intended to ship and just ripped the buyers off. For this reason, there is a policy in effect whereby a new seller’s funds are held for something on the order of 30 to 45 days. It’s very important to be aware of this possibility, because during that time, even if they hold your money, you are still responsible for shipping all orders that you receive. That means you’ll need money to stay afloat and to spend on shipping materials and postage. <br /><br />When I started selling on Amazon, I just listed a couple of books I wanted to get rid of, they sold, and I shipped. There was no holding of funds. A few months later I listed another book or two and on and on. Time passed in between my hobby selling experiences and several years later when I went full time I had an established account. If possible that is a good way to begin, but if you are leaping in and listing a lot of inventory at once, or high dollar items, know that you’re most likely going to face a withholding period.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Customer Service</span><br /><br />Your momma told you to “Be nice to people, and they’ll be nice to you.” That’s still a good rule of thumb to keep in mind. And as basic as that advice is, it’s amazing how many sellers are rude to their customers. <br /><br />Time and time again a new seller who is just trying to clear out an overflowing bookcase or sell off his textbooks will state, “I’m not a business, I don’t know what to tell these people!” But that’s not true, as soon as you enter into the agreement to take on the role as Seller, you have to assume that you are responsible and you are The Business. If a Buyer contacts you with a problem, the easiest way to figure out how to deal with it is to put yourself in that person’s shoes.<br /><br />Imagine that you order a book that is listed as “New,” and it arrives with a creased spine and highlighting in the text. What would your reaction be? Well that’s the same reaction your Buyer is now having! What would you want to happen when you complained about the error? <br /><br />Customer Service is a topic that can fill entire books but it boils down to being polite, helpful and non-intrusive. <br /><br />The old adage “A rising tide lifts all boats” absolutely applies to selling on Amazon. One new seller can make many people angry enough that they never want to trust another Marketplace Seller again, and this hurts business for everybody. For this reason it’s a good thing to keep in mind that by being a good Seller you’re not only adding to your wallet and your online reputation but you’re helping to build the entire community. That’s a pretty cool side-effect from just starting out wanting to clear off that overcrowded bookshelf.earthmomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06021352839022135978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373549721816603603.post-31092949945984127722009-03-30T13:05:00.000-07:002009-03-30T13:32:54.832-07:00Pricing Your Book For SaleThe Price is Right<br /><br />You’re holding that book in your hand and here’s the big question – “How much can I get for it?”. After all, that is the point of the exercise. How much is it worth? How much will someone pay? <br /><br />If there are other listings for your book, then it does have a market and the going price has been set by the old rules of Supply and Demand. If the lowest priced listing is $8, is it wise to price yours lower, say $7.95, just to be the lowest priced and therefore the next sale? One thing that has to be considered to make that pricing decision is condition of the item – is yours better? If so it certainly deserves to be priced higher than that lowest listing. Next to look at is ratings of other sellers, if they’re all brand new or have bad ratings and yours is good, you should be able to price a bit higher and rely on people trusting your product more and being willing to give you a bit more money. <br /><br />One thing that new sellers are regularly warned against is “lowballing” or pricing below the lowest. It’s not a good practice because you’re leaving money on the table, and also because of auto repricing software that many sellers use. This software is run anywhere from daily to hourly and reprices inventory to always be the lowest. So if you price your book at $7.95, the auto repricer will drop to $7.94 or $7.90 very soon after, and other repricers will follow. Each racing to be lower and lower until that book is selling for a penny. It’s a downward spiral in a race to ruin the market of that book. One way to not become involved in that race is to price yours even with the lowest, or just higher. That will put you in the 2nd or 3rd slot of the page, easily visible when the item is looked at by a buyer, and you won’t be competing with auto repricers. It’s usually easy to see when there are several auto repricers on one listing. You’ll see prices like $15, and $14.95, and $14.20 and then a group of $5.40, $5.41, $5.42 all clustered together. Each time the software runs it’s lowering the price and those 3 are leapfrogging down and down. Best to let them go, ignore those and price yours even with the higher priced listings. Hopefully they will sell off quickly and yours will be waiting to go next at a more sensible price.<br /><br />How in the world do books end up selling for a penny? That’s the most frequently asked question on the Amazon New Seller’s board. How does anyone make money that way? In a nutshell:<br />A seller lists a book for $.01<br />Amazon collects $3.99 from the buyer and gives $2.66 ($.01 + $2.64 shipping allowance) to the seller. (The $1.35 'closing fee' is subtracted from the shipping allowance by Amazon)<br />The seller is a ProMerchant, so doesn't pay the $.99 fee (but does pay $40 per month to be a ProMerchant).<br />The 15% fee on 1 cent is zero.<br />The seller pays $2.31 or $2.65 in postage for a 1 or 2 pound package (or less, if it is very light weight and can go First Class. Much less if the penny seller is high volume and uses Bulk Mail).<br /><br />The seller cost for the book is zero, because he got it for free somehow (or buys in great volume so the price per item is nominal).<br /><br />The seller used recycled packing materials, so those cost nothing, too.<br />The seller ends-up with $.35 (if it's 1 pound media mail) profit in a domestic shipment (a bit more if it's mailed using Bulk Mail).<br />The seller is happy with his "profit".<br />Amazon ends up with $1.35 from the shipping.<br />Amazon is even happier than the seller.<br />The Penny Selling Business Model is only one of many. Hopefully you have scoped out what kind of seller you wish to be and created some sort of business plan or business model that you’re following. Are you going for the High Brow market – antiquarian, collectible tomes that are scarce and fetch high prices? Maybe you hope to sell just one of those each month or each quarter and that will meet your business needs. Or maybe you’re hoping to turn over thousands of those penny books each month. Do you have plenty of shelf space and lots of patience? You may wish to list in large volume, price higher than most, and wait for each sale. Or are you a flip it, move it kind of person? Get it listed quick, lowest price possible, move it out the door. It’s necessary to make those kinds of decisions well in advance. That way you’re aware of what items to buy and how to price them. <br /><br />On the opposite side of the pricing spectrum from penny books is the over-inflated pricer. When every other seller offers the title for $5, there’s one who has his listed for $175. What kind of crackhead is going to pay that price, you may ask? Possibly that seller hopes to price incredibly high and wait until all other copies are gone, no matter in what century that may happen. Or maybe the seller made a typo and left out a decimal point when he listed. There are also some who go on vacation or need to take some listings offline for a bit and instead of delisting them, they just increase the price to a crazy number to make sure it won’t sell. If you’re a conspiracy theorist you may want to consider that maybe that seller is money laundering …. Hey anything is possible! Sun spots, contrails, little green men being held at Roswell and money laundering on Amazon. <br /><br />Usually those crazy high prices are easy to spot because there will be a dozen or more other listings in a certain range – say $5 to $8 and then that one incredibly high listing. But what if there is only 1 copy available and it’s priced at $175? Is it a real value or is it one of our crackhead listings? You need to cast a wider net at that point and look beyond Amazon. Check out your book on www.addall.com or www.fetchbook.info, or www.bookfinder.com. Those sites will check other bookselling venues all over the Internet and come back with the offerings and prices. You can tell quickly if your copy is truly worth the high price or not. If it’s available in abundance on other sites for a much lower price you may want to split the difference, list yours lower to stay competitive. Some will argue that many people look only on Amazon and you should keep the price high but I believe if a person buys at that extremely high price and later finds so many other copies for a great deal less, they will be unhappy and asking for a return. Amazon’s policy requires that sellers take a return within 30 days, and no one enjoys those boomerangs, especially the high dollar ones. I try to avoid those by pricing sensibly and fairly from the start.<br /><br />Once your inventory is priced and listed, the next decision is if you should use a repricer yourself. There’s a lot to be said for manually repricing – you get to look at the other listings and make the same informed decision that you did when you first listed. Has the market dropped (or gone up)? Should you now change your price? The most important question to ask at this point is, “If I wanted to buy this book, would I choose my copy?” If not, something may be wrong and you need to adjust your price. <br /><br />If you have many items in your inventory, manually repricing can be very time consuming and possibly impractical. You may need repricing software. The latest versions and services are usually discussed on Amazon’s Third Party board. They all basically do the same thing – once you set your preferences the software runs and adjusts prices according to what you’ve set. Some are intelligent to raise prices also to adjust to the current market value, but many only lower. The software is only as good as the person driving it. That means if you don’t know exactly what you’re doing you could run the program and awaken the next morning to find your inventory all priced at .01 and selling like hot cakes. Hot, cheap cakes. There will be much cursing and gnashing of teeth at that point so save yourself the pain and agony and take the time up front to really understand how to use your software.<br /><br />One thing to always keep in mind, when Jeff Bezos named this company Amazon it was really a perfect decision. He may have been thinking something big, something enormous, and that word came to mind. But more accurately the Amazon is alive and fluid. That describes the river as well as the website. It fluctuates like the stock market. Up and down, rankings change, prices change, supply and demand. There is a pulse and a current, it is alive and always moving. Learning the art of pricing and repricing is a big part of the game and it’s what makes the whole thing very exciting.earthmomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06021352839022135978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373549721816603603.post-23501752472441720502009-03-16T20:31:00.001-07:002009-03-16T21:22:18.259-07:002 - How to List a Book on AmazonStart by picking up a book you'd like to sell. <br /><br />Go to Amazon.com and search for the exact same book. Don't just search by the title, it is critical that you find an exact match in Amazon's catalog. Instead, search by ISBN number. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVM2MkrvEXZJjDHUG1IWo32ExFFG2-ckUla5HJAlmfGD_-LpV_b_41jKrDoJKOe6cn7viJU-NYhUY9quV2hkzQer0AZQpik2vHYUAOrsVw6bz2QpDvNvnwDPX_2k6jO3XpIy2IqqQBOAU/s1600-h/isbn.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 327px; height: 244px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVM2MkrvEXZJjDHUG1IWo32ExFFG2-ckUla5HJAlmfGD_-LpV_b_41jKrDoJKOe6cn7viJU-NYhUY9quV2hkzQer0AZQpik2vHYUAOrsVw6bz2QpDvNvnwDPX_2k6jO3XpIy2IqqQBOAU/s400/isbn.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313995210241091090" /></a> ISBN is short for <span style="font-weight:bold;">International Standard Book Number, </span>it is a unique number much like a book's own Social Security number. You'll find it inside on one of the first pages along with the publisher's information, or on a barcode on the back of the book. <br /><br />Enter the ISBN number into Amazon's search. When that book comes up, click to enter the product details page and compare that copy with yours. Is it the same? If so, look to the right of the screen for a button labeled "Sell Yours Here". <br /><br />On the following page, you'll see two places where you can describe your copy of the book. One is the Conditon drop down box and the other is the Comments box (where you input text).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSBDP80UcdpFTqQTa18mDEIe1kYIru382qTCgKCbFm6VwPksYWNGlPuf2E5qFydmNkcVWA7y9axoQ5V-n-mAEOCZXolSgUJpELVRJOKmYiDlwNNdodSwxf8jHzkqoI1uxrZXztg6QlouY/s1600-h/List-the-book.gif"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 261px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSBDP80UcdpFTqQTa18mDEIe1kYIru382qTCgKCbFm6VwPksYWNGlPuf2E5qFydmNkcVWA7y9axoQ5V-n-mAEOCZXolSgUJpELVRJOKmYiDlwNNdodSwxf8jHzkqoI1uxrZXztg6QlouY/s400/List-the-book.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313992069758849954" /></a><br /><br />1 - the Condition dropdown. What condition is your book in? New? Used? Very Good? Acceptable? Amazon has provided condition guidelines to help you in grading your book. It is important that you are honest and grade correctly so your buyer won't be shocked or unhappy when he receives his purchase.<br />These are Amazon's condition guidelines:<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Guidelines for New and Used Books items:<br /><br /> * New: Just like it sounds. A brand-new, unused, unread copy in perfect condition.<br /> * Like New: An apparently unread copy in perfect condition. Dust cover is intact, with no nicks or tears. Spine has no signs of creasing. Pages are clean and are not marred by notes or folds of any kind. Book may contain a remainder mark on an outside edge but this should be noted in listing comments.<br /> * Very Good: A copy that has been read, but remains in excellent condition. Pages are intact and are not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.<br /> * Good: A copy that has been read, but remains in clean condition. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact (including dust cover, if applicable). The spine may show signs of wear. Pages can include limited notes and highlighting, and the copy can include "From the library of" labels.<br /> * Acceptable: A readable copy. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact (the dust cover may be missing). Pages can include considerable notes--in pen or highlighter--but the notes cannot obscure the text.<br /> * Unacceptable: Moldy, badly stained, or unclean copies are not acceptable, nor are copies with missing pages or obscured text. Books that are distributed for promotional use only are prohibited. This includes advance reading copies (ARCs) and uncorrected proof copies. <br /><br />Be sure to describe your books in an accurate manner. An accurate product description increases buyer satisfaction, helps sellers build a loyal customer base, and ensures positive feedback ratings. Should a book have an obvious cosmetic flaw, sellers are strongly encouraged to make a note within the comments field. The presence of a remainder mark should always be noted in comments. Advance reading copies and uncorrected proofs are not permitted.</span><br /><br />2 - The next field for you to enter information is 'Comments'. Here you'll note any flaws or things of interest about your copy. Typical comments are "Small crease on front cover, text is unmarked" I like to mention that my copy is exactly the same as the one shown. If there's an edition (as there often is with a textbook) it's good to mention it here just to ease the potential buyer's mind that you're selling the right book. The thing to keep in mind is - be honest, be clear, be concise and try to limit the comments to a description of the item being sold.<br /><br />Here are some real examples of seller descriptions found on Amazon. These are good examples of what NOT to say:<br /><br />Comments: PICK ME, PICK ME, OH, PICK ME! <br /><br />Comments: I plop your item into a cozy, cushiony bubble mailer as soon as I receive your order and shlep them to the post office every weekday afternoon<br /><br />Comments: Condition: VERY GOOD. (Book may have one or a combination of the following characteristics: former library book, cover wear, name written inside cover, light underlining/highlighting, remainder mark, etc. Overall, the book is in solid shape. This is a blanket description. Please email us if you require a specific, detailed description of the book condition. We will typically respond within one week of your request). <br /><br />Comments: dirty book<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">(hmmm, did they forget to clean it or does the book cover a naughty subject?)</span> <br /><br />Comments: HEAVILY LIQUID DAMAGED WITH STAINED WAVY PAGES (some stuck together and not readable) AND MUSTY ODOR! <br /><span style="font-style:italic;">(yikes - how about just not listing that one? It's not even 'Acceptable'!) </span><br /><br />Let's assume that you've read the condition guidelines, identified your book's correct condition and then typed in some details in the comments field. Click "Continue" and the next page asks you what price you want to put on your listing. It shows Amazon's price, and on the right side of the page you can also see the other New and Used listings. You can click on them to review what other sellers are asking for their copy. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjynruCU6iJrJNxne2Z81_B54YswTXxcCgXLAVfn_nvF6yrdtOgfIlb0F_081d9uIlSEDfTGU2wRalEUZU3BrEUDd1GvNjRuz1yhcQPJPl_nGB3uRCFtPqdkVNDz1ariSU8PTGd78oM23A/s1600-h/Enter-price.gif"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 219px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjynruCU6iJrJNxne2Z81_B54YswTXxcCgXLAVfn_nvF6yrdtOgfIlb0F_081d9uIlSEDfTGU2wRalEUZU3BrEUDd1GvNjRuz1yhcQPJPl_nGB3uRCFtPqdkVNDz1ariSU8PTGd78oM23A/s400/Enter-price.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314001885365000258" /></a>Enter your price, the quantity (how many copies you have of this book). You may enter a Seller SKU number next (or leave it blank for now), it's just a number that you give to the book so you can find it later when it sells. It's necessary for larger inventories but not needed for just a few books. <br /><br />Next is the Shipping Methods available. You have to offer Standard Shipping - $3.99, but it's your decision if you offer Expedited or International Shipping. Standard shipping gives a timeline of 4 - 14 business days for delivery, so it's wise to use Media Mail. Expedited orders have a timeline of 2 - 6 days to arrive, and the buyer expectation is that you'll ship by Priority Mail. It's true that nearly every Expedited order should ship Priority, but First Class Mail actually is Priority Mail. First Class packages go up to 13 ounces, after that they become Priority Mail. They are handled nearly the same way and travel at the same rate. For Priority Mail, it's a good rule of thumb to keep a Flat Rate Priority Mail envelope at your desk while listing a book for sale. If it fits into that flat rate envelope, then offer Expedited Shipping. If not, don't. (exception is a more expensive book that you won't mind springing for the extra cost)<br /><br />International shipping is best determined in the same way - see if it fits comfortably into a Flat Rate Priority Mail envelope. A very heavy or large book that won't fit into a flat rate envelope will be much too expensive to try and send outside of the country.<br /><br />After selecting your shipping, Click on 'Continue' and then 'Submit Your Listing' and you're done! Your book is listed for sale. Wait about 10 - 15 minutes and then go back to that page and look for your listing.earthmomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06021352839022135978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373549721816603603.post-55317975220691218062009-03-16T20:00:00.000-07:002009-03-16T21:09:37.558-07:001 - Start Your Own Bookselling BusinessWho can successfully work an online business? I used to say "anyone!" as the answer to that question, but over the years I've changed my mind. I've taken several people by the hand and guided them through starting their own business and I learned that not everyone can do it. <br /><br />You will NOT be able to run your own online business IF:<br /><br />- you are afraid or terribly intimidated by technology. If you hate the computer, hate sending emails, this is not the right business for you.<br /><br />- you are easily distracted by every shiny object that comes into view, or you plan to 'try this out' and then disappear and not check email for weeks. (There is a certain level of focus you must be able to maintain - being around to respond to customers and fill orders is critical.)<br /><br />- you are broke right now and need some way to earn hundreds of dollars by tomorrow or else you get evicted from your apartment. Nope, this won't be the thing that bails you out of an immediate jam. It will take just a little longer to build up a successful business.<br /><br />Barring those cases mentioned above, anyone else who can operate a computer and has the tenacity to stick with this absolutely can sell online. You may not make it your life's work, but even if you have some books gathering dust on your bookcase, you can sell them online and make a few extra bucks if you want to.<br /><br />There are many bookselling venues online (more on the different ones later) - but the biggest site that has the most traffic and the most book sales is, of course, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/?tag=earthmombooks-20&camp=1&creative=373897&linkCode=ur1">Amazon.com</a> <br /><br />For the purposes of most of this bookselling blog, we'll focus on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/?tag=earthmombooks-20&camp=1&creative=373897&linkCode=ur1">Amazon.com</a>. <br /><br />There is a certain level of work on your part that has to be done like creating an account on Amazon, entering your information including bank/credit card info, and reading and signing the Participation Agreement. Find these plus Community Guidelines and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=hp_navbox_lnsell_pa?nodeId=1161272">other great information here</a>.earthmomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06021352839022135978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373549721816603603.post-13985085236072980232009-03-01T14:50:00.000-08:002012-05-28T15:34:39.275-07:00Looking for SignsThe Celestine Prophecy is not a current book, but it's a powerful one. I read it many years ago and think a reread would be useful. What stuck with me in that book is the magic that is all around us. The signs that are visible, to those who look.<br />
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In this book, many times the person was wondering about the next move they should make. No matter if you're literally walking down a road and come to a split in the road and a decision is forced - go to the right or go to the left - all of us find ourselves making some sort of decision on a regular basis in our lives. No one wants to be wrong. Many times there is no additional information to follow, and always there is no guarantee.<br />
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We tend to try and gather more information, ask other people what they did in that case, or maybe just follow along with what our parents did or the most well worn path because it's familar and we feel the others before us must have known more. <br />
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In the book, when the person is faced with a decision but is very still and quiet, he just wonders and waits. Suddenly one or the other of the options become lit up and 'shiny'. One option just appears more attractive to them suddenly. In the book it's a visible thing, like which path to choose? The traveler looks at one, then the other, and is still. He just wonders. That's the magic. The magic is in the stillness and the wondering. Normally our minds race and our thoughts are loud and we keep lots of external stimulus going - the music, tv, talking, people. With all of that noise we don't allow ourselves to hear the other voice. That voice is our 'gut feeling', our intuition, our guardian angel. We call it all kinds of things but it all points to the same spirit that does lead us and will guide us IF we listen and look for it.<br />
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Meditation has long been used by people who want to be closer to God or to the Higher Power. It centers and calms the mind and stills the noise, so that inner voice can be heard. It is the Power of Now. Eckhart Tolle speaks of this - Roy Masters has spoken of this for some 50 years at the Foundation for Human Understanding (http://www.fhu.com/) - the space between the seconds. The now. The present. It's where God is. If you find yourself ever crying out wondering where God went - He didn't go anywhere. More than likely we went somewhere and that was off in the churn - off in the swirl in our heads and off in the swirl of the world and into the loud, noisy, confusing vortex. It costs no money and takes no more than a few seconds or short minutes to just stop it all and be very aware of right here, right now. In the moment - where God is. <br />
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It doesn't only work for Big Things. Some of these concepts seem huge and eternal and biblical in nature. Maybe things you would draw on for times when you're life is in danger, but that's not so. Small things, even trivial things, are all part of our lives. The appreciation for life and all it contains starts in every little thing.<br />
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I'm typing on a keyboard connected to a computer that's connected to the Internet. I am grateful for this connection. I'm grateful for the actual physical hardware and devices and electronics that make up all the parts and pieces of this system. I'm grateful to every person who touched this system and the associated software every step of the way in the manufacturing process, testing, development, sales, installation, and ongoing maintenance. Stopping to think about the enormity of this connection and all that it contains and how much work and time has gone into making it possible - it's like contemplating the stars on a clear night. It's mind boggling and truly a wonder. Something I could never duplicate. I send each of the people involved my gratitude and thanks and a bit of silent prayer. How often do we feel that gratitude and that wonder for such an ordinary part of our life?<br />
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When I began my bookselling business, I went from being a kept animal in the zoo who was fed regularly and fat and lazy to suddenly being set loose in the wild. I had sat at my desk and got my paycheck, no matter if I worked hard that week or not. Sometimes I was off all week on vacation and not working at all but I still got that paycheck! In the wild, everything changed. My entire mindset had to change, and it wasn't easy at first. If I sat around killing time chatting with friends, guess what? I didn't make any money! There was no automatic pilot. No safety net.<br />
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Going out into the world to look for inventory, I felt my wits come back to life, the dulled intuition changed. Consider this - if you drive along the street and come upon a church rummage sale by chance and stop. You didn't know it was going on today, you could have been on your way in the other direction, what are the odds that you see this and it's going on now and you stop. You walk up on a table of books for sale. You pick up one and buy it. Someone had to donate that book, make the decision to give it away, take the time to physically take it to the drop off area, and you walked up - not 30 minutes or even 10 minutes later after someone else had bought it - but right then, and you bought it. Taking it home, you list it for sale online.<br />
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Someone in another state, across the country or even across the world in another country wants that book. They just heard about it maybe, or they've had the title scrawled on their To Do list for months and only now are getting around to sitting down at the computer to search for it. They find it, not on a different website, but on the one where you listed your book for sale. There are lots of other listings - some better condition, some more expensive, some less expensive. So many things to take into consideration - do they want the seller to be closer geographically so the book may arrive faster? Or is the seller's feedback the most important thing? <br />
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After all of the decisions and timing go into it, that person chooses your book. They click on it. Because of a lot of other factors, they have the money to pay for it and the transaction is completed. You receive this order and you ship it out.<br />
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What seems like such an ordinary, non-spectacular thing is actually a small miracle. The odds of that book finding its way to you - the odds of listing it on that day and for that person somewhere far, far away to suddenly desire it. The odds of that particular book being chosen out of all the others. <br />
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Having your income and your livelihood attached to this type of miracle is like eating directly out of God's hand each and every day. To be less than thankful for each transaction and in awe of the entire process would be a shame.<br />
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Being still is the first part. Being aware of this magic and this miraculous existence is next. When you are in awe and wonder you can't help but feel grateful and amazed each day. Going out into the world, I've found that when I'm mentally prepared and in that grateful and awed sense of mind, magical things happen. I have gone into a store and looked around, having no idea where to go or if there's anything I should look for and something stands out. Something is 'shiny' - like in the Celestine Prophecy. One book catches my eye and holds it. One area of the store looks inviting and open, but not for any specific reason. It just looks brighter somehow.<br />
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Watching carefully and quietly for those clues, you can follow and discover wonderful things. I ask my angels before every scouting trip to please keep me safe and well and show me items they'd have me find that I can resell for a good profit for my family as well as provide things to others who need them. <br />
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Times when I'm hurried or anxious or feel desperate, I come home frustrated and empty handed. <br />
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Times when I feel that deep peace and quiet and know I'm being led by my angels, I have found abundance. <br />
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It seems at first that praying for resale profits is a wrong thing to do. I ran into that so often for years. I felt that being spiritual translated directly to poverty. Praying for money was crass and ridiculous. I should be altruistic and monklike, right? But not so. My realities in my life are that I must have money to live and to support my family. Money itself is not evil. The LOVE of money is the root of all evil. Money is necessary, and what you do with it can be good or evil. I have found peace in asking my angels for guidance to be directed to the best items I can find, so I can do my best that day and provide my best for my family. <br />
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If you have that gratitude and that stillness, it's not just about finding inventory. You'll be kinder to people who cross your path during the day as you scout. You'll be more aware as you drive. You'll be slower to anger and much quicker to offer help to others. At those times I find myself offering a steady stream of Thanks to God and to my angels - one thing after another. Thanks for that book or that one, Thanks for that parking space, Thanks for that lovely person I met, Thanks for that incredible opportunity, on and on. And aren't we tasked in scripture to pray without ceasing and to be thankful always? It's something we can't keep in our busy minds with all the other noise, but in a certain state, in a certain frame of mind, it is natural and effortless.<br />
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<br />earthmomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06021352839022135978noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373549721816603603.post-53341731866203334802009-02-27T19:18:00.000-08:002009-04-15T21:14:35.851-07:004 - Print Postage From Your ComputerThis is a very cool and relatively new thing to come along. You don't have to wait in line at the post office, you can stay in your home and print out your shipping labels with complete postage on them. Priority, Media Mail, First Class, Parcel Post, International - you can do it yourself! (Unless you really like those long lines at the post office!)<br /><br />The two main services at this time that you subscribe to and print from your own computer are Endicia.com and Stamps.com I've been a subscriber to both - I switched from Stamps.com to <a href="http://www.endicia.com/default.cfm?referredby=a07b" target="_blank">Endicia.com</a> and am very very happy. This describes what I found out about both services based on my experience:<br /><br />Both are excellent services - for about $15 a month you can print out your postage (you buy postage online that's extra through them - the $15 is a monthly fee) with bar codes, professional label, and .14 delivery confirmation. They both do Media Mail, and after the label is in place on your package you can drop it off in any blue mailbox instead of going to the Post Office.<br /><br />Differences:<br /><br />Layout<br /><br />Stamps.com has one shipping label that is very ink usage heavy. If you're using an ink jet printer you will go through cartridges fast!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.endicia.com/default.cfm?referredby=a07b" target="_blank">Endicia</a> - Really nice layout/design tool (called Dazzle) that lets you move things around on the page and make the label look the way you want it to. You can add words, images, etc. My ink is going at least 3x as far.<br /><br />Postage Discount<br /><br /><a href="http://www.endicia.com/default.cfm?referredby=a07b" target="_blank">Endicia</a> gives a postage discount on International shipments. Select "Small Priority Mail International" as your label and get a .55 discount on the postage.<br /><br />Stamps does not.<br /><br /><br />Stats<br /><br />Stamps.com will pull up the individual scans from the USPS on delivery confirmation.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.endicia.com/default.cfm?referredby=a07b" target="_blank">Endicia</a> pulls up the scans too - but also gives you statistics on how many packages you've sent, how many were priority, how many were first class, how many got scanned. You can see on their webpage a whole listing of all your items and when they were delivered, like in spreadsheet form.<br /><br />Email confirmations<br /><br />Stamps.com will send a generic "a package was sent to you" type email.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.endicia.com/default.cfm?referredby=a07b" target="_blank">Endicia</a> will let you customize your confirmation email message.<br /><br />Sign up period<br /><br />Stamps.com says it's first 30 days is a "Free Trial" but it's not really. It only is free IF you cancel on or by the 29th day. If you continue after the 29th day, you pay for the last 30 days. So there is not a free moment in there. They make it nearly IMPOSSIBLE to cancel - leave you waiting on the phone for an hour and then their rep either refuses to cancel the service or worse, tells you it's cancelled but you continue to get billed! <br /><br /><a href="http://www.endicia.com/default.cfm?referredby=a07b" target="_blank">Endicia</a> says the first 30 days are free. From what I can tell it means they are actually free and you start paying on Day 31 for the next month.<br /><br />Integration<br /><br />Stamps.com - didn't integrate with anything that I use<br /><br /><a href="http://www.endicia.com/default.cfm?referredby=a07b" target="_blank">Endicia</a> - whenever you copy an address to the clipboard in Windows while having Dazzle open, your address automatically gets placed into your label and gets verified as a valid USPS address. Nice - one click and it's ready to print.<br /><br />Customer Service<br /><br />Stamps.com - I wrote to them in January and again in February asking if the email confirmation messages could be customized. Never to this day did I get a reply of any kind, not even an automated one.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.endicia.com/default.cfm?referredby=a07b" target="_blank">Endicia</a> - wrote asking a question about email confirmation setup the day after I signed up and within 6 hours got a reply from an actual human that answered my question very well. <br /><br />Perks/extras<br /><br />Stamps.com gives you $25 in free postage. Plus a scale. You have to send in a post card with a current Stamps.com stamp on it. One post card per month. $10 in postage one month, $10 another month, $5 the third month, the scale on the fourth month. It will take you 4 months to get all of your freebies, but you do get them. You have to remember to mail each in at the right time, they can't be mailed in the same 30 days and can't be mailed in all at once.<br /><br />Stamps.com has a <a href="http://happyningnow.blogspot.com/2007/06/stampscom-no-more.html">class action lawsuit</a> filed against it at this time that you may want to read about.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.endicia.com/default.cfm?referredby=a07b" target="_blank">Endicia</a> has no offers or gimmicks. Their service is reliable and upgrades to always be current with the postage rates and regulations.<br /><br />Do yourself a favor and go with <a href="http://www.endicia.com/default.cfm?referredby=a07b" target="_blank">Endicia</a>, and please do me a favor and use my number as a referral when you sign up - 544553 (I get a free month if you do!)earthmomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06021352839022135978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373549721816603603.post-81131600459373109522009-02-27T19:06:00.000-08:002009-03-18T11:44:42.067-07:003 - How to Pack a Book to ShipYou receive a "Sold! Ship Now!" email from Amazon letting you know the good news - YOUR BOOK SOLD! YAY!! It's always a thrill (even years and years after the first) to see that email show up in my inbox! Now you need to get the book packaged up and off to your buyer.<br /><br />There are many many ways to pack books for shipping! <br /><br />I started with the traditional bubble mailers and went on from there - at this time I use a method that I learned from another seller named Fiziwig. I have changed the method to suit me, and I like the finished result. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.earthmombooks.com/PackaBook.aspx" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight:bold;">See pictures of the process.</span> </a><br /><br />I really love packing books. So many people love to scout or love other aspects of this biz but I love to pack and ship. This step says your work has been successful - you got paid, your book is ready to go to its new home and you get to make that impression and that presentation to your customer.<br /><br />I figured out early on that since I can't make my used book any newer (I can clean it up, but frankly it is what it is) I can make the packaging as nice as possible for a good presentation. If my customer bought from me in a brick and mortar store, I would place the book into a bag, hand it over with a smile and a thank you. So all of those elements needed to be in my delivery.<br /><br />I giftwrap every book. I use a nice heavy brown recycled kraft paper but it has designs on one side - gold stars, or white lace, or flowers, or butterflies, or doggie paws, etc. This started because I felt it held the book well and protected it better, didn't let the covers flap or bend, etc. And it's really pretty. I also buy big bright smiley stickers to put on each wrapped item. I seem to sell quite a few books related to dogs, so the doggie paws paper and doggie stickers go together. I get a LOT of great comments from dog owners who receive those.<br /><br />The stickers are the smiling face handing you your purchase, and they're also a way to be creative and to entertain myself while packing, frankly. :)<br /><br />Okay, book is wrapped and has a big bright sticker on it. I print out the packing slip on paper that has a design on one side. Flowers, nice border, something colorful. Those get cut in half (two packing slips to a sheet). The other side is plain white, so I turn it over and print the label and postage on that side. But I'm getting ahead of myself.<br /><br />Book is wrapped. If it's softcover it goes into a plain cardboard sheet that wraps around it. If it's light cardboard or b-flute, I make a book burrito. That's a strip wrapped around it end to end, and a larger strip wrapped around it side to side and taped. It's all protected that way.<br /><br />If it's hardcover it gets wrapped in foam or in bubble wrap and sealed at the edges with the impulse sealer.<br /><br />That wrapped book now goes into a clear plastic bag (water resistant, tamper resistant), the label and postage get printed, and the label slips inside the bag. Bag is then sealed and trimmed.<br /><br />That's if it's Media Mail or First Class Mail. Priority that's small enough to go into a flat rate envelope gets wrapped, stickered, then reinforced with cardboard, slipped into the envelope and sealed with tape across the top and the bottom corners.<br /><br />Pricey items get wrapped, padded, sealed in bubbles and placed in a box.<br /><br />My daughter is also a bookseller and I taught her to pack this way. She has a great recent feedback that pretty much sums it up:<br /><br />5 out of 5: "The books arrived right on time, <span style="font-weight:bold;">packaged within an inch of their lives</span>. Each book was individually wrapped with star-printed craft paper and little star stiickers. Thanks for the great books in better than advertised condition and for taking the time to package the books so well."<br /><br />I usually say a small prayer along the way thanking my angels for this book coming my way and for the sale of it and that it's on the way to the next person. I ask that it will be safely delivered, quickly, and that the person receiving it is very happy to get it, and is able to learn something or find something they need or find direction or comfort or joy in this purchase. Not a big deal, just a small thing I think about as I'm working that applies to all of the books.earthmomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06021352839022135978noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373549721816603603.post-77501942157325547252009-02-27T18:53:00.000-08:002009-05-10T22:36:42.266-07:00Why Do Books Sell for a Penny On Amazon.com?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVXzPLK7hh9IiEADbI9T-kiF7moJeVARILEhnLbq6Rn_37susu-0ks3AScEHAWIiO3j8I3xg5CzYaRZn6tgeCZRMnSowIkm_2aUO8aP41pDQoX38xNFQ2czjYumLzW00E-RC6CEg2_8xc/s1600-h/penny.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 309px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVXzPLK7hh9IiEADbI9T-kiF7moJeVARILEhnLbq6Rn_37susu-0ks3AScEHAWIiO3j8I3xg5CzYaRZn6tgeCZRMnSowIkm_2aUO8aP41pDQoX38xNFQ2czjYumLzW00E-RC6CEg2_8xc/s320/penny.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334426562762737346" /></a><br />(Updated to reflect changes 05/11/09)<br /><br />In brief:<br /><br />A seller lists a book for $.01<br /><br />Amazon collects $3.99 from the buyer and gives $2.66 ($.01 + $2.64 shipping allowance) to the seller. (The $1.35 'closing fee' is subtracted from the shipping allowance by Amazon)<br /><br />The seller is a ProMerchant, so doesn't pay the $.99 fee (but does pay $40 per month to be a ProMerchant).<br /><br />The 15% fee on 1 cent is zero.<br /><br />The seller pays $2.38 or $2.77 in postage for a 1 or 2 pound package (or less, if it is very light weight and can go First Class. Much less if the penny seller is high volume and uses Bulk Mail).<br /><br />The seller cost for the book is zero, because he got it for free somehow.<br /><br />The seller used recycled packing materials, so those cost nothing, too.<br /><br />The seller ends-up with $.27 (if it's 1 pound media mail) profit in a domestic shipment (a bit more if it's mailed using Bulk Mail).<br /><br />The seller is happy with his "profit". <br /><br />Of course there's overhead and taxes to consider in this equation. Ink and paper to print a packing slip and shipping label, computer, connection to internet, gas to the post office, etc.<br /><br />And the time spent working to scout, transport home, clean, store, pull, pack, mail, will pull that "profit" number into the negative real quick.<br /><br />Amazon ends up with $1.35 from the shipping.<br /><br />Amazon is even happier than the seller.<br /><br />An add'l money saver for the large volume sellers is to use Bulk Rate Mail, which can lower their shipping cost to approx .80 per package. That is for *large* operations though, the number of pieces mailed at one time are in the hundreds.earthmomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06021352839022135978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373549721816603603.post-77711715236262107742009-02-25T20:01:00.000-08:002012-05-28T15:34:08.588-07:00Beginning - The LayoffI worked in IT and sat in cubicle after cubicle. Then I really moved up in the world and I got an office, with a window. Then a bigger one. With several windows. I used to sit and stare out the windows at the sunny world and the cars going by and the people who were out doing things, not stuck sitting in an office staring out the window.<br />
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I was paid well, had great health insurance, a big job title, dreaded getting up every morning, detested the hour long drive, disliked many of the people around me, was bored to tears with the 'work' I was paid to do. I was 60 pounds overweight and making good use of that great health insurance. It paid for the daily asthma medication, daily high blood pressure medication & visits to several different doctors regularly.<br />
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Then I got laid off.<br />
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People have different reactions to being laid off. There are training classes for the HR staff to teach how to lay people off, what to say, how to phrase it. They are instructed to be sympathetic but firm, to have a box of tissues nearby, to get all of the security clearances deleted before the axe is dropped and to watch for danger signs that the layoffee is not taking it well. <br />
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I had no problem with it. My reaction was relief - excitement, no less than joy. I felt released from bondage. Released from prison. Like a weight had been lifted. I was almost giddy.<br />
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They say you can leave right away but I asked for permission to clean my office, give files and information to others, hug everyone and wish them well and write some thank you cards to my managers for the time we'd spent together. All in all, it was a wonderful learning experience. I was very thankful for the entire thing and very excited to see What Came Next.<br />
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As I was leaving I asked if I could please take my little tech library with me. I was well known for being the book person. I begged for book money rather than money to take classes (and usually got it). Books last far longer than a class and you can buy a dozen great ones for the cost of one class sometimes. You never know if the instructor will be any good, if you'll feel well that day and be able to learn what you're supposed to, etc. But with a book you can go at your own pace and revisit parts that you have trouble with. Books have always been good friends. I was very happy that my good friends were allowed to go home with me.<br />
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Once home, I felt that same giddiness. Just outright joy, a rebirth feeling. I was free at last! My first decision was to not make any decisions. I gave myself one month of total vacation time. I had some severance money, I could pay the bills, I wasn't going to run out and look for the next prison.<br />
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The next few days were freefall - they felt like vacation or holiday time at first, but then were just strange. No set routine, nothing really DRIVING me. I hadn't ever realized before how I depended on some force outside of myself driving me. That force MADE me get to bed by a certain time because I HAD to get up by a certain time because I HAD to be in the car by a certain time and HAD to be at work and HAD to be in my chair at my desk whether I was working or not and HAD to go to lunch at a certain time whether I was hungry or not. All day long. When that outside driving force was no longer there..... I actually found myself not knowing what to do. There were just too many possibilities.<br />
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I started into my natural circadian sleep pattern. Do you know yours? Most don't. We are forced into the external one that's set up for us. We have to be up by this time so that's when we set the alarm and hit snooze several times and groan and cuss and drag ourselves out of bed and head for the caffeine.<br />
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I stayed up until dawn, just because I wanted to. I slept when I was tired, ate when I was hungry, walked slowly around my own home during daylight hours and realized I rarely spend any time in my own home during daylight hours. I'm always gone - at work - working to make the money to pay for the home that I don't spend time in.<br />
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My natural sleep pattern is to be in bed by 2 am and up by 10 am. And starting with that empowering knowledge, I get 8 hours of sleep every night. Not 5, or 6 or anything squeezed in to try and cheat and work around the Driving Force that makes my alarm clock go off. But 8 real, healing, restful hours of sleep. <br />
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I started walking every day with my little dog. This layoff was the best thing to ever happen to her. We have a beautiful city park only a block away from this house that I bought that I never spend any time in during the day. I walked to the park and had a great time walking around it, feeding the ducks and walking the dog and realized I never spend any time in that park. What a shame to live this close and never be home during the day to see and enjoy the park.<br />
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I started preparing my own food instead of eating from vending machines and instead of stress eating. A book found me - fell right at my feet in fact at the local library one day - The Okinawa Diet. I read it - ate it up actually - and started preparing my meals based on that book. They were delicious, fulfilling, and that combined with the walking allowed weight to drop off. Fifty pounds worth. <br />
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No more medication needed for asthma. No more asthma. No more medication needed for high blood pressure. No more high blood pressure. No more doctor visits needed, not for years in fact. Odd how that valuable health insurance was needed the most when I was in the false environment that made me the sickest.<br />
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So where does bookselling come in to this?<br />
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The hard facts are that money is needed to live and walking in the park and eating stir fry and rice is great, but it doesn't create any money. By the second day I started hearing my Type A voice going off in my head trying to work on the next job, but I shushed it. I journaled instead. Writing about what I wanted in life - life scripting they call it. Writing, in detail, about what you really want. More on that later - there's a great book on this that I devoured that helped me a great deal.<br />
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The second week I started unpacking my office stuff and looked at all those tech books. Just the sight of them turned my stomach. That's when I realized the chapter was closed. That part of my life was over. I wasn't saving the books to take to my next programming job, or as reference. I needed to take a stand and prove to the universe that I was closing that door and ready for The Next Big Thing in my life. The thought came to me - sell the books. Get rid of them. Release them into the wild - let them go.<br />
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I went onto Amazon.com, where I'd sold a book here or there from my own library in the past, and I sat and listed 16 tech books. Within an hour one had sold! I saw the Sold! Ship Now! email in my inbox and my heart skipped several beats! I was so excited! I realized I had no idea what to do next! <br />
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Scampering out to the office supply store, buying up some bubble mailers, hastily refreshing myself on the Amazon shipping guidelines, printing out the packing slip and cutting off the address portion and driving to the post office to wait in line and pay for postage and voila - my book was on its way to the new owner. Someone who needed it. Someone who was still in The Game and needed to know which commands to use in Cold Fusion and how to hook up their database to their website. I was hooked.<br />
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More books sold.<br />
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earthdad suggested that I go around the area looking in stores and at garage sales for books to sell but I thought that was ridiculous, who would want old books found in those places. What I didn't realize is that books are everywhere, all around us. It takes study and experience and knowledge to start seeing the ones with value and understanding which ones you want and which you don't want.<br />
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This is the nuts and bolts part. There is much more that is nuts and bolts. Many good people have written books and blogs and posts describing their own process and their nuts and bolts approach to business. That's not what this blog is about, essentially. It's about what I've learned that goes beyond the business model, beyond the process, beyond the physical actions. Selling online or any other job or any other part of life has another dimension to it - a spiritual one. An unseen one. One that involves energy and mystery and coincidence and signs that point us in the right way if we're willing to watch for them. That's what I want to write about - <a href="http://earthmomzenbookselling.blogspot.com/search/label/The%20Magical%20Side">that mystery</a>.earthmomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06021352839022135978noreply@blogger.com0