Selling on Amazon

When I first started selling books, CDs, and movies on Amazon, there were a few things I wish I had known. There are a few other articles on this topic floating around, but here are the top five things I wish I had known when I started trying to make money by selling my stuff on Amazon.

1. Utilize media mail. Media mail is designed for books, DVDs, and CDs. It's great for heavier books that would normally cost more to ship, which can result in losing money. I made this mistake once before I figured it out. Now, when I ship I make sure to say, "Media mail or whatever's cheapest," because on lighter items sometimes First Class is cheaper.

2. Make sure you charge enough. Yes, there are books on there for a penny. I don't know who these crazy people are, but you will not make any money that way. I wouldn't price a book below three bucks, and no CDs or DVDs for less than two. 

3. Keep your packaging costs down-I use brown grocery bags to wrap most of my items, which makes sure I'm not cutting into my profits buying envelopes. 

4. Update your prices daily. You'll sell much more when yours are the cheapest on the site. So, check each day and lower your price to a penny below the current lowest price. I check mine at least once a day, and have been able to sell most items by consistently updating.

5. Search your shelves every few months. I noticed that initially I wanted to hold on to more things, but every time I thought, "Maybe I'll read/watch/listen to that" and still hadn't a few months later, I was willing to sell more.