Date: Sat, 11 Aug 2001 02:39:23 -0400
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Sender: The Internet TourBus - A virtual tour of cyberspace
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Comments: Originally-From: Patrick Douglas Crispen
From: Patrick Douglas Crispen
Subject: TOURBUS -- 11 AUG 01 -- AMAZON MARKETPLACE
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TOURBUS Volume 7, Number 06 -- 9 Aug 2001
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SIX YEARS of Searchable Archives at http://www.TOURBUS.com !!
TODAY'S TOURBUS STOP(S):
Amazon Marketplace
TODAY'S TOURBUS ADDRESS(ES):
Yep ... we've got some addresses.
Howdy, y'all, and greetings once again from beautiful Tuscaloosa,
Alabama, the intellectual capital of the Renaissance.
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On with the show ...
Today's TOURBUS post introduces you to just one of a squillion
Different ways that you can sell your old books, CDs, and other stuff
on the Internet. With over 100,000 people on our little bus of
Internet happiness, I am sure that I am going to get a BUNCH of emails
that say something like "you rotten vicious bozo ... why didn't you
mention way number 3,753,492?" And that is exactly the type of
response that I *HOPE* to receive.
Over the next couple of weeks, TOURBUS will -- with the help of our
fellow riders -- introduce you to a BUNCH of different ways that you
can sell your old junk on the Internet, ways that don't require you to
hire a Web designer, rent space on a server, or even pay any money out
of your pocket.
Today's TOURBUS post is just the first of what I hope will be MANY
stops. :)
------------------
Amazon Marketplace
------------------
If you are like me, your home is filled to the rafters with old books,
compact discs, cassette tapes, DVDs, videos, video games, and other
commercial what nots. You don’t actually USE any of these things; all
they do is take up space and gather dust. Every couple of months you
tell yourself that you really should get rid of all of this junk.
And, of course, you don't. And the pile gets bigger.
Why not sell your old stuff on the Internet? It isn't a difficult as
you might think. In fact, if you live in the United States or its
protectorates, you can sell your old books and other commercially-
purchased stuff ... on Amazon ... for free!
Well, kind of for free.
Amazon.com has a service called "Amazon's Marketplace," it is
currently available to US residents, and here is how it works:
1. Find something that you want to sell -- a book, CD, DVD, or
anything else that Amazon sells. Then go to Amazon's Web
site, describe the condition of your used thingy, set your
price, and register to collect online payment from your buyer
via Amazon.com Payments.
For example, if you have a copy of David McCullough's really
thick book on John Adams that you want to sell, go to Amazon,
describe the condition of your copy (from "Used - Like New"
all the way to "Used - Acceptable"), and set your price.
Amazon even helps you set your price, showing you the maximum
allowable price, recommended price, current lowest price, and
so on.
How much does Amazon charge you to list and sell your used
thingy on their site? Nothing. The service is free. [Well,
sort of free. You'll see how Amazon makes its money in step
3.]
2. Once you have keyed in the information about your used thingy,
Amazon will list your used thingy alongside the new version of
that thingy that Amazon is selling. For example, check out
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0684813637/
This (hopefully) shows you Amazon's page for McCullough's
"John Adams." Amazon is selling McCullough's book for
US$21.00. But, scroll down the page and you'll see that you
can also purchase used copies of this book for under US$17.
These used books are being sold by people like you and me
using Amazon's Marketplace.
3. Here is how Amazon makes its money. The moment someone buys
your used thingy, Amazon collects the money from the buyer,
pockets US$0.99 plus 15% of the sale price, and credits the
rest to your account. For example, if someone buys your used
McCullough book for US$20.00, Amazon keeps US$3.99 for their
troubles and give you the remaining US$16.01.
I'll admit that Amazon takes a pretty sizable chunk. But
remember that Amazon posts your used thingy on their site (a
site that is visited by MILLIONS of people each day), sells
it, collects the money, and then sends you some cash when the
whole transaction is complete. The only work that you have to
do, besides listing your used thingy on Amazon in the first
place, is that ...
4. You have to ship your used thingy to the person who buys it.
Amazon sends you the postal address of the buyer. They also
give you a US$2.23 shipping credit to cover book rate postage
at any United States post office, although you won't actually
receive this credit until AFTER you ship the book. In other
words, you pay to ship the book and Amazon then gives you
US$2.23.
That's it. If your used thingy sells, you go to the post office, ship
the thingy to the buyer and Amazon sends you some money. If your used
thingy doesn't sell, Amazon closes your listing and you pay nothing.
I tried Amazon's Marketplace last month, listing about 10 books that I
no longer wanted. In the end, I sold five and made about $75. Not
bad for a bunch of books that were otherwise taking up space on a
closet shelf. :)
---------------------------------------
How to Sell Stuff on Amazon Marketplace
---------------------------------------
Interested in selling some old books and other stuff on Amazon's
Marketplace? Here's how to do it ... I think.
First, go to Amazon's homepage at
http://www.amazon.com/ .
Scroll to the very bottom of Amazon's homepage and click on the "Sell
Items" link. This should take you to a public relations page that
tells you why Amazon is "the Internet's best place to sell":
http://s1.amazon.com/exec/varzea/ts/announcement-list-zshops/slp .
This page has five sections, the second of which is "Amazon
Marketplace: It's All About Location." In that second section, click
on the "Get Started Now" link next to the big, bold words "Individual
Sellers." If the Internet gods are smiling down upon you, this should
take you to
http://s1.amazon.com/exec/varzea/subst/selling/sdp-sai-identify.html/ .
This is the page where you start entering information about the used
thingy that you are selling. On this page key in the International
Standard Book Number (ISBN), Universal Product Code (UPC), or Amazon
Standard Identification Number (ASIN) of the thingy. Then click on
the "Go" button.
Amazon will search its database looking for that particular ISBN, UPC,
or ASIN. If it finds it, you'll be taken to a page that asks you the
condition of your item. The appraisal is completely up to you, but
Amazon has created a pretty helpful set of condition guidelines at
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/537878/ .
Once you have selected the condition of your item, you'll be taken to
a new page where you are asked to:
1. Add a short comment about the condition of your item. [If
truth be told, I've always left this part blank.]
2. Enter the price for your used item. Amazon will show you the
maximum and recommended prices, but the price is completely up
to you. Remember, though, that if your item sells Amazon will
automatically keep $.99 plus 15% of your sale price. [I
usually just go with the recommended price.]
3. Enter your zip code.
4. Decide if you are willing to ship internationally or only to
US addresses. Your shipping credit for addresses within the
United States will be $2.23. If you indicate you will ship
internationally and your buyer is outside the United States,
you will receive a $12.00 international shipping credit.
Sounds pretty simple, huh? Well, don't celebrate. All you have done
is enter your used thingy into Amazon's database of thingies. The
next step is for you to tell Amazon who you are and how they should
send you your money. And, unfortunately, Amazon could not have made
the registration process more complicated if they had tried.
There is some good news, though: you only have to go through the
registration process *once* ... and I'm about to take you through the
registration process step by step. :)
Once you have entered the information about your used thingy, you will
be taken to a page that asks you to enter your email address and
Amazon password.
------------------------------
If You Have an Amazon Password
------------------------------
If you have ever ordered from Amazon, you should already have an
Amazon password. Just key in your email address and Amazon password
in the appropriate boxes and click on the "Continue" button.
This should, hopefully, take you to Amazon's Registration page (see
below).
------------------------------------
If You Don't Have an Amazon Password
------------------------------------
Key in your email address in the appropriate box, click on "I do not
have an Amazon.com password," and click on the "Continue" button.
This takes you to a page that asks you to enter your first and last
names as well as a password that you would like to use. Key in the
appropriate information and then click on the "Continue" button.
The next page asks you to enter your credit card number. Amazon won't
charge anything to your credit card. Rather, Amazon is going to use
your credit card information to verify that you actually exist. This
is a great way to cut down on the fraud that has plagued other sites
like eBay.
Key in your credit card information and then click on the "Continue"
button.
The next page asks you to enter your US billing address and phone
number. The stuff you type on this page will also be used to verify
that you are who you say you are. After you key in all of your
information and click on the "Continue" button, Amazon will contact
your credit card company. If your name, address, or telephone number
do not match exactly what your credit card company has in its files,
you won't be able to sell anything on Amazon. This is another safety
measure designed to cut down on fraud.
Once you have entered all of your personal information and Amazon has
verified that you are who you say you are, you will be taken to
Amazon's Registration page.
--------------------------
Amazon's Registration Page
--------------------------
We're almost finished. :)
The registration page shows you your credit card and billing
addresses, daytime phone number, and nickname. There is also a
participation agreement that you must read and agree to. Read the
agreement -- you can find it by either clicking on the "Participation
Agreement" link or by pointing your browser to
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/537790/
-- and then click on the checkbox next to the sentence "I have read
and accept the Participation Agreement."
The final step (YAY!) is to tell Amazon how they should pay you.
Amazon will automatically deposit your Marketplace earnings into your
checking account, but you need to give Amazon your checking account
information before they can do that. You can do this now, or you can
come back and do it later. As long as we are here, let's do it now.
Click on "Enter my checking account information now" and then click on
the "Continue" button.
The next page asks you to look at one of your checks and to then enter
the check number and all the numbers from the bottom of your check.
[A little aside: is this safe? YES! To find out why, check out
http://payments.amazon.com/exec/help?r=checking_account . Oh, and
this might ease your mind a bit too: over 29 million customers have
safely shopped with Amazon without a single instance of credit card
fraud. In other words, your information is *SAFE*.]
Key in your check number and other stuff and then click on the
"Continue" button.
This takes you to a page that shows you the name of your bank and asks
you to enter your checking account number. Yes, I know that you
entered your checking account number on the previous page. For some
reason you have to enter it again. Then click on the "Continue"
button.
--------
FINALLY!
--------
This takes you to "List Item for Sale" page. Click on the "List item
for sale" button and your used thingy will be ready to be sold on
Amazon! Yay!
Now for the *REALLY* good news. Remember all that garbage you just
went through to get to this point? YOU NEVER HAVE TO DO IT AGAIN!
One you are registered with Amazon's Marketplace, all you have to do
to list more used thingies for sale is to:
1. Go to
http://s1.amazon.com/exec/varzea/subst/selling/sdp-sai-identify.html/
2. Key in the ASIN, ISBN, or UPC of your item.
3. Choose the condition of your item.
4. Enter your comments, price, and location.
5. Click on the "List item for sale" button.
Amazon will remember you from now on and you will NEVER have to go
through that bloody registration process again. Yay! :)
That's it for this week. I hope this has helped. Have a safe and
happy weekend and we'll talk again soon.
TODAY'S TOURBUS STOP(S):
Amazon Marketplace
TODAY'S TOURBUS ADDRESS(ES):
Yep ... we've got some addresses.
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