Limitations on Book Listings | Book Sellers

axcess06 · 2023-02-15T00:31:25.726000Z

I've noticed that for book sellers, we're extremely limited... in fact, there are only two; antiquarian and collectables and books and magazines. Why is that? No straight answer can be found... however, let's look at that a moment and see why... I often have to select a second category other than 'books and magazines' or 'antiquarian and collectables' (I sell old US History books). If the book is about Robert E. Lee, or Abraham Lincoln I often have to drill down through collectables>civil war> or 'US Presidents' as a second category. That means higher payouts to eBay and the buyer has the choice of whether they want to accept media mail or something else. I have found, that it costs me much more, especially if its from a 'promoted' link, which better than 25% are (for me). So my total costs with all the bells and whistles and second non-book category runs on average 45%+. Combined, it eats into my return a lot, but on the other hand, I sell more books. I guess it all depends on the pricing you give them (remember to be honest about the book's condition; poor, poor+, good-, good, good+, etc. In your headline its important to include the condition, I use abbreviations. Book buyers 'get it'. As a a rule of thumb, I try to add 8 images of every book. Pictures sell, trust me on that one. Add a decent description, don't copy what it says from the back cover. Look at it, read the Preface.. It tells you a lot about the book. Its to your advantage, really. Add a keyword or two at the end of the headline, it helps in searches, if there's room.I hope you don't find my suggestions off topic. They're not. Its what you have to do because book sellers dont' have category choices, yet book buyers can search deeply. I think that's unfair. Its certainly to eBay's advantage if it pushes you to choose a 2nd category that's not 'books and magazines'. I wish they would take this issue more seriously and give book sellers more choices. It would improve book sales overall and help book buyers find what they're looking for. One last suggestion. Two ways to price a book, look at what others are offering it for on eBay, but most of all, use bookfinder.com and search by the author's name, then select the book and see what its really selling for, mostly by condition. Find the price range that matches your book's description and list it just under that. Believe me it helps buyers, especially collectors, find your book. Thank you for giving me a few minutes of your time. Good luck selling! And look me up, I'd gladly give you my two cents worth on any questions you may have. axcess06 Eric!

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Limitations on Book Listings | Book Sellers | eBay Community