Amazon versus Ebid

[billsstamps]

I have a couple of thousand books listed on Amazon, and it ticks along nicely selling a couple of books a day.
I hear the complaints about Feebay, but if you think Ebay is expensive, just check out the amount of money Amazon takes off you!

But Amazon is reliable, low maintenance, and does clear the books from my shelves because so many people look there for the books they want.
What I don't like about Amazon are the high fees, and the flat postage - buyer is charged £2.76 for postage, of which I receive £2.24, no matter whether it is pamphlet or 2Kg coffee table book.

Ebid has low fees, and my scales are right by the computer so I weigh the book as I list it so I can charge the right postage. Buyers like this because they often pay less than from Amazon.
What I regret about Ebid is that few people come to the site to look for books, so sales are sluggish.

[Tiskets]

Hi billsbooks,

Peeps do find us eventually. A book I sold was from a buyer looking via Google. Yes, he was looking for a particular genre, found it on the river but looked here as well and found mine cheaper.

[TiasTreasures]

We've just started adding books to our store (and sold a couple of them already). This category is a very good example of why we want as many sellers as possible ... it helps everyone who is selling the same kind of item.

Note to everybody: If you have old books sitting around that you're not going to read again, and you don't know what to do with them, list them here. I've found they're very easy to pack away after they're listed, it doesn't cost anything to let them run, and it would help eBid build a reputation as another place for book lovers to browse.

[Tiskets]

We've just started adding books to our store (and sold a couple of them already). This category is a very good example of why we want as many sellers as possible ... it helps everyone who is selling the same kind of item.

Note to everybody: If you have old books sitting around that you're not going to read again, and you don't know what to do with them, list them here. I've found they're very easy to pack away after they're listed, it doesn't cost anything to let them run, and it would help eBid build a reputation as another place for book lovers to browse.

Absolutely!

[crafters_corner]

I sell quite a few books on the river and on feebay. But on here, I have had to diversify as they were just not moving.
Not a problem though: I am quite enjoying my diversification

[Naturelady]

I have sold a few books on here. Hope word gets out and can sell even more!

[booksntings]

I only list here, because it's only a spare time thing. Even so I sell books on a regular basis.

[tonyreddevil]

sold many things on the river but people dont give feedback

[alleluiashop]

sold many things on the river but people dont give feedback

That's been my experience too. Only about 15% of the buyers ever leave feedback, which is unfortunate for a seller trying to get their feedback rating to increase a bit faster.

[deltadelta48]

I have a couple of thousand books listed on Amazon, and it ticks along nicely selling a couple of books a day.
I hear the complaints about Feebay, but if you think Ebay is expensive, just check out the amount of money Amazon takes off you!

But Amazon is reliable, low maintenance, and does clear the books from my shelves because so many people look there for the books they want.
What I don't like about Amazon are the high fees, and the flat postage - buyer is charged £2.76 for postage, of which I receive £2.24, no matter whether it is pamphlet or 2Kg coffee table book.

Ebid has low fees, and my scales are right by the computer so I weigh the book as I list it so I can charge the right postage. Buyers like this because they often pay less than from Amazon.
What I regret about Ebid is that few people come to the site to look for books, so sales are sluggish.

But remember that those searching on google for the books, follow our listings back to ebid. That is how most of our traffic comes in. How well that workds depends on how well we use the necessary keywords in titles/descriptions. After that, it is our job to close the sale with good listing, clear photos, good description etc. So while ebid downloads for us, it is up to us to stand out, shine, and make the sale.

With books, I suspect there are lots of them, which makes competition fierce. To make it worse, there are many local sources for inexpensive books, charity shops, overstocks, auctions. We lose lots of sales because the buyer finds it easier to go to a rummage sale and pick up their favorite books for 50 cents or $1 than to buy on line and pay postage on heavy items.