This great little book makes a great companion to my book, How To Make Money Selling Used Books on eBay, Amazon and the Internet. In this book Steve lays out his recipe that shows step by step how he went from $0 to $2000 per month selling used books part-time on Amazon.

Making money selling used books on Amazon

Some of the things he includes are:

• Where you can find LOTS of profitable books, CDs, and DVDs consistently
• How to find thrift stores wherever you go
• How to choose what to buy and what to leave on the shelf
• How to use Amazon’s Sales Rank to determine the likelihood of a sale
• What to do if you find products with no barcodes or ISBNs
• How to improve your chances of a sale
• Why you should charge a little more than your competition – and still beat them to the sale
• How to clean and repair books, CDs, and DVDs to pull higher prices

There’s a lot more. Steve calls it “quick and dirty” because he didn’t spend a bunch of time on a website or fancy graphics. It’s pretty much just “meaty” stuff that can help you make money in a short time. This is all new stuff. There is little if any overlap between Steve’s book, Selling on The River or my book, How To Make Money Selling Used Books on eBay, Amazon and the Internet.

Here is the link to read about Amazon – The Quick and Dirty Guide

If you wonder if Steve’s methods work, I was speaking with him on the phone today and he told me about a book he found in the trash pile outside of a thrift shop that sold on Amazon within 2 days for $120 and another old Golf book, he bought for $4.00 and sold for right around $100 within 2 or 3 days.

The used book market on both eBay and Amazon is a great way to get started on the internet. It is low cost, low risk and has high profit potential.  If you want go learn the basics, get my book: Make Money Selling Used Books on eBay, Amazon and The Internet.

Then get Steve’s book  Amazon – The Quick and Dirty Guide and you will be fully armed to make money in this profitable and fun marketplace.

Colin Sebastian, Digital Media & Internet analyst at Wall Street firm Lazard Capital Markets, estimates that Amazon.com’s third-party sellers will generate nearly $9 billion in gross merchandise sales in 2009. This is up from roughly $7 billion in 2008.This may be why more and more eBay sellers are expanding their business to Amazon. Why sell on just one channel?

If you want to learn more about selling on Amazon, a great jumping off point is the SCOE – Sellers Conference for Online Entrepreneurs: The Independent Conference for entrepreneurs who utilize Amazon as a sales channel

The dates are July 10-13 2009 and the event will be held at the Seattle Airport Marriott and Amazon Headquarters (transportation will be available from the hotel to Amazon).

This conference is presented to allow sellers to network, learn, and grow their online businesses. Executives from Amazon.com will be on hand to lead sessions, answer questions and receive feedback and there will be a visit to Amazon headquarters.

I will be speaking on a panel led by Cindy Shebley about expanding your eBay business to sell on Amazon. Here’s the line-up:

Monsoon’s CEO, Kanth Gopalpur http://www.monsoonworks.com/

Alice Rudolph – eBay PowerSeller and Amazon Pro Merchant, from aliceinstitches http://www.aliceinstitches.com/

Michael Levit, EVP of Marketing and Business Development from Vendio http://www.vendio.com/

Cindy Shebley – eBay PowerSeller and Amazon Pro Merchant/FBA seller  http://www.websellerscircle.com

Here is the website for more information and where you can register: http://www.scoe.biz

If you can’t attend but would still like to learn how to sell on Amazon, grab a copy of Selling on The River by Steve Lindhorst.

See Also

• Learn How To Sell Information Products on eBay, Amazon and The Internet
  Complete course on selling real information products for profit and long-term income

It is no secret that state budgets are under pressure.  States get their revenue form many sources but income tax, property tax and sales tax are the big three. As people lose their jobs there is less income tax. As proper values fall and homes are foreclosed on, then the property tax falls and of course as people buy less the income from sales tax falls.

When our income falls like it has this year, we spend less. But governments can’t seem to do that. So rather than tighten their belts they just look for new sources of revenue.

Some brilliant bureaucrat in North Carolina discovered that several of their citizens were earning affiliate commissions from Amazon. So they decided to change the law so NC could collect sales tax on those affiliate commissions.

Here is the text of the email that Amazon sent

We regret to inform you that the North Carolina state legislature (the General Assembly) appears ready to enact an unconstitutional tax collection scheme that would leave Amazon.com little choice but to end its relationships with North Carolina-based Associates. You are receiving this e-mail because our records indicate that you are an Amazon Associate and resident of North Carolina.

Please note that this is not an immediate termination notice and you are still a valued participant in the Associates Program. All referral fees earned on qualified traffic will continue to be paid as planned.

But because the new law is drafted to go into effect once enacted – which could happen in the next two weeks – we will have to terminate the participation of all North Carolina residents in the Amazon Associates program on or before that same day. After the termination day, we will no longer pay any referral fees for customers referred to Amazon.com or Endless.com nor will we accept new applications for the Associates program from North Carolina residents.

The unfortunate consequences of this legislation on North Carolina residents like you were explained in detail to key senators and representatives in Raleigh, including the leadership of the Senate, House, and both chambers’ finance committees. Other states, including Maryland, Minnesota, and Tennessee, considered nearly identical schemes, but rejected these proposals largely because of the adverse impact on their states’ residents.

The North Carolina General Assembly’s website is http://www.ncleg.net/, and additional information may be obtained from the Performance Marketing Alliance at http://www.performancemarketingalliance.com/.

We thank you for being part of the Amazon Associates program, and we will apprise you of the General Assembly’s action on this matter.
Sincerely,

Amazon.com

Well, Amazon is of course fighting this but if they lose they have already told associates (affiliates) that they will have to stop paying affiliates in North Carolina. So the action by the legislature will not raise any money but will kill a viable income stream for their residents.  Since that income could be used to purchase products that would generate sales tax for the state, passing this law will actually hurt revenues.  But governments generally don’t care about unintended consequences.

If laws like this pass, it will not only affect Amazon. You can be sure that major affiliate companies like eBay, Wal-Mart and even affiliate management firms such as ClickBank, Commission Junction and Sharasale will also be affected.

See Also

• Ten Highly Profitable eBay Niche Businesses Anyone Can Do
  Make quick extra money with one, two or all ten of these great little eBay niche business. Local products, easy to source and sell for high markups.

According to comScore, Amazon had 60 million visitors to its site compared with 50 million a year ago. By comparison, eBay had 70 million visitors, down from 80.1 million a year ago. Amazon clearly has the potential to overtake eBay unless eBay can rebuild its visitor count.

eBay also announced today that it would be closing its customer service center in Vancouver, BC cutting 700 jobs.

There is a strange dichotomy going on with eBay. One one hand eBay is cutting costs as most companies do when their profitability falls. eBay has virtually eliminated its advertising. On the other hand eBay is sitting on billions of dollars of cash that is being underutilized and they will be raising more cash with the sale of Stumbleupon and Skype. Meanwhile their market share is eroding. It looks like eBay is more worried about Wall Street’s reaction to a bad quarter than doing what is right for the long-term health and success of the core business.

Amazon, who has growing sales but far less cash, is still investing in their growth. There are rumors that they will soon acquire the Seattle based online jewelry seller, Blue Nile –and some have even speculated that Amazon could buy Netflix.

Meanwhile Amazon continues to court eBay and other online sellers. An independent group, the Seller’s Conference for Online Entrepreneurs will hold an event in Seattle. The event which will feature speakers from Amazon is called The  Independent Conference for Entrepreneurs who utilize amazon.com
as a sales platform.

Dates = July 10-13 2009
Place – Seattle Airport Marriott and Amazon HQ

This conference is presented to allow sellers to network, learn and grow their online businesses. Executives from amazon.com will be on hand to lead sessions, answer questions and receive feedback. 

The Website for information is: http://www.scoe.biz

The cost is $250 per person, but that is not so much is you really want to be a serious seller.

See Also

• Selling on the River – The handbook for eBay sellers who want to sell on Amazon
  This is a great book by Steve Lindhorst, a former eBay University Instructor who now sells on Amazon
• How to Make Good Money Selling Used Books on eBay, Amazon and The Internet
  Learn my complete methods for making money selling used non-fiction books on major online venues. Complete instructions.

Are these the "series of events" eBay promised when they cancelled eBay  Live?

Last month eBay held a meeting in Long Beach, CA for selected sellers (mostly large sellers) and last week they held another one in Miami.  All sellers who attended the meeting were required to sign a non-disclosure agreement.  eBay told one seller this was so everyone could talk freely and not worry about misinformation leaking out.

Actually i get that. But what I don’t understand is why the meetings are limited to very large sellers.  When eBay cancelled eBay Live this year, they promised to replace it with a series of events around the country.  Is this the "series of events?" If it is, I am not impressed.

eBay continues to suffer bad PR from the larger community of smaller sellers (Bronze, Silver and Gold). The Platinum and Titanium Power Sellers see eBay as just another venue along with their own websites, Amazon, Overstock and the major shopping engines. But smaller sellers are mostly eBay-only.  It is these thousands of small sellers who bring the product diversity, uniqueness and consumer interest to eBay. And, it is these same small to medium-sized sellers eBay keeps ignoring.  The recent annual meeting was another example of this. eBay dealt solely with plans and issues for mega sellers –ignoring small sellers altogether.

I happen to know that eBay knows how important the thousands of small and medium sellers are to their success –they just seem to be incapable of letting them know and of introducing programs, policies and promotions targeted at them.

I have objected to some of eBay’s policies and supported others –but I have consistently supported the long-term success of the eBay platform.  The large sellers have a voice with groups like PESA, IMA and ECMTA, but the only voice for small sellers has blogs like this.  About all small sellers can do is vote with their feet as many have.  So far its a trickle but unless eBay starts paying some attention, it could become a river (pun intended).

Come on eBay –Reach out!  We are eager and willing to help you grow the platform and bring some of the fun back to eBay.

See Also

• Learn How To Make Extra Money Selling Used Books on eBay, Amazon and The Internet
  Low risk, low startup costs. This is a very easy and profitable eBay business to start.

Earlier this week, two bills were introduced in the House of Representatives and one in the Senate that were written by lobbyists of the Big Retail Chains.  All three bills target small eBay, Amazon and Website sellers.  Supporters of the bills claim that shoplifters steal merchandise and then sell it on eBay and other venues. So the legislation would force eBay to force you to prove you purchased your merchandise legitimately.

Here is an example. Late last year Karen and I were at Costco and we saw Nautica track suits selling for $49. They still had the $119 original price tag on them.  So we bought a few and tried them out on eBay. They all sold quickly at an average price of $90. So we went back and bought a few dozen more and continued to sell them.  Now under this new legislation, a retailer (any retailer) could see my listing and direct eBay to investigate me to determine where I got my merchandise. And of course, eBay would have to terminate my listings until the investigation was complete.

So under the guise of preventing “shoplifting” the big retailers make life miserable for small sellers who compete with them. The bill is mostly supported by Democrats but some Republicans have signed on too.

eBay is leading the charge against this.  If you go to eBay Main Street you can register and send a letter to your Senators and Congressperson.  Here is a copy of the email eBay will send under your name if you agree:

eBay and the Internet connect hard-working, small business sellers with savvy consumers across America and around the world. Unfortunately, the biggest retailers in America don’t like competition from small online retailers. The big retail industry is lobbying now to pass discriminatory, anti-Internet, anti-small business legislation. As your constituent, I am asking you to oppose any effort to discriminate against online sellers.

Organized retail theft has been a problem for many decades – long before the advent of the Internet – but now big retailers claim that Internet marketplaces are to blame for shoplifting. Of course, stolen goods are a problem. In fact, no Internet company is more committed to fighting online fraud and crime than eBay. But big retailers are pushing for legislation that targets small online competition, not criminals.

H.R. 1173, H.R. 1166 and S. 470 are all examples of legislation that would create new barriers to selling online. They place onerous new burdens on Internet marketplaces, reduce competition from small Internet sellers, and hurt consumers who benefit from lower prices.

Do not allow the big retail industry to threaten small competitors in the name of fighting retail theft. Instead, please support balanced efforts to fight retail thieves without discriminating against online competition.

Sincerely, (Your name)

You can also print this letter out and mail it, or you can send your own email. If you don’t know your congressperson’s name or contact info you can find it at this link.

The other thing you can do is let the big retailers like Macy’s, Target, The Gap and others know they are trying to hurt you and you will refuse to shop there if this bill passes. Just go to their websites and use the customer service contact forms to express your feelings.

See Also

• IMC Releases new 2009 Interenet Marketing Course with a $90 discount for my readers
  The oldest and largest internet marketing training course (and the best in my opinion) has just been released and you can save $90 if you act quickly

See Also

• Ten Little-Known Highly Profitable Niche Markets on eBay – by eBay PowerSeller, Skip McGrath
  Here are ten great little niche markets that require little investment or risk and can make some very nice extra income

Steve Lindhorst has just released his latest book: The Niche Book –How to pick a niche for profit.  Picking niches and finding ways to make money from them is something everyone struggles.  Steve has a lot of expertise in this area and has consistently made money doing it.  His new eBook, lays out all the steps in plain language that explains how anyone can quickly and easily find a niche and set up a quick and dirty small website to make money from it.

Steve is the author of Selling on The River, probably the best book about selling on Amazon.com. He is also an eBay University Instructor, former eBay Motors Guru and all around good guy.  His books are easy to follow and his methods are very easy to implement.  NO Get-rich-quick stuff or hype here –just good step-by-step directions that almost anyone can follow.

Here is what Lisa Suttora, eBay Powerseller and founder of What Do I Sell said about The Niche Book:

"The Niche Book takes the mystery out of finding profitable niches!  Steve lays out the process of finding a niche in a step-by-step fashion, showing you the tools and resources you need to start finding your niche online today. 

Whether you want to sell physical products or build a business through affiliate marketing, The Niche Book gives you the knowledge you need to find a niche that’s right for your business!"

In addition to the basic book, Steve also gives you two videos that show you the steps to setting up your instant niche websites –and it all comes with a money back guarantee.

Check out The Niche Book –How to pick a niche for profit.

Cheers

Skip McGrath

See Also

• FREE EBook – The Future of eBay by Skip McGrath
  Where is eBay Going and how can sellers cope with all the latest eBay changes