Category: Sales

Amazon Prepaid Return Label Enrollment

June 17, 2020

Amazon will begin enrolling professional sellers into the Prepaid Return Label program on June 15, 2020.

The Prepaid Return Label program will issue prepaid return shipping labels for qualifying returns. Sellers are charged for return shipping.

Many sellers are already participating in this program. Sellers can also self-enroll in the Prepaid Return Label program in the Manage Seller Fulfilled Returns tool.

Sellers who are not part of the program should see a message in their Manage Returns page that reads “Get access to faster returns by taking advantage of the Prepaid Returns Label program.” Click on it to enroll in the program.

What does that mean for sellers?

Amazon will automatically authorize all returns that fall into its returns policy, and Amazon will provide customers with prepaid return shipping labels through the Buy Shipping Services. Seller accounts are charged for the return shipping cost when the label is scanned by the carrier.

As of this time, sellers don’t have the option to specify a carrier or issue their own prepaid labels.

Customer return requests that fall outside of Amazon’s return policies or that are usually exempt from returns are sent to sellers for review.

All returns, including automatically-authorized returns, can still be tracked via the Manage Returns page.

What do sellers need to do to enroll?

Before Professional sellers can enroll in the Prepaid Return Label program, they’ll need to verify and confirm a few settings on their accounts.

Set up or verify that the default return address on the account is correct. Amazon requires a US domestic address for returns
Make sure return addresses are set if there are multiple marketplaces
Ensure that the weight and size information for products are accurate since return shipping costs are calculated with the provided information

What categories are exempt from prepaid returns?

Not every return is automatically allowed. Per Amazon’s policies, some categories are exempted from the prepaid returns program. Those categories are:

Amazon Custom
Business, Industrial & Scientific Supplies > Professional Dental Supplies
Business, Industrial & Scientific Supplies > Professional Medical Supplies
Certified Preowned Watches
Handmade
Sexual Wellness

In addition to the categories above, Amazon allows sellers to request exemptions for SKUs that:

have special shipping or handling requirements (like dangerous goods)
are non-returnable by law
are high-value (greater than $100) items need special shipping (like shipping insurance)
are non-physical (like warranties or digital software)

Request exemptions for SKUs in bulk by going to the Return Settings and Return Attribute Overrides link.

Other important information

Sellers can still set returnless refunds, and customers who request a refund will get a full refund as soon as they submit their request
Sellers are charged only when the customer returns the package to the carrier (when the label is scanned)
Sellers can also appeal an Amazon-authorized refund or return if they believe that the refund or return should not have been authorized
- Reimbursements for customer-damaged products are limited to 50% of the order value of the product
Sellers are responsible for filing a claim with the carrier if the return is lost in transit
FBM or MFN sellers can unenroll from the Prepaid Return Label program by contacting seller support

For many sellers, this program will streamline customer service and save time. However, returns should still be monitored and claims filed if packages are lost in transit or if products are damaged by customers.

The Prepaid Return Label program will encourage more customers onto Amazon’s marketplace, and easier returns generally eliminate customer obstacles to purchases. Indeed, the ease of returns will likely encourage more customers to shop on Amazon.

Walmart Adds Fulfillment Services for Third-Party Vendors

March 4, 2020

What is Walmart Fulfillment Services?

If you’ve ever used FBA, then you’ll be familiar with what Walmart is rolling out to its third-party vendors with its Walmart Fulfillment Services, or WFS.

WFS handles order fulfillment, customer service, and provides sellers with a dashboard to track inventory and other account-related metrics.

Like Amazon’s FBA, Walmart Fulfillment Services, or WFS, will enable third-party sellers to not only gain more visibility on the ecommerce site, but sellers will also be able to streamline their operations for Walmart further.

Those sellers who are expanding out of Amazon and onto other marketplaces will be able to reduce their own warehousing and logistical needs.

Learn more about Walmart Fulfillment Services from their website.

Here are some other benefits of Walmart Fulfillment Services:

Improved customer service with faster delivery, easy returns, and good customer service
Save money with simple pricing and no hidden fees
Track inventory, orders, and shipments with Walmart’s Dashboard
Get higher search placement and visibility with Buy Box and Two Day tags, along with more control over item page
Streamline returns and omnichannel free and easy returns (return online or at the store)
Personalized support from a WFS expert
Nationwide coverage with 2-day delivery

Why use WFS?

Sellers who use FBA know why a fulfillment service can be powerful: it reduces the need for employees to spend time handling support and order fulfillment.

Many sellers look to diversifying their marketplaces so that an incident, like a suspension, on one marketplace won’t drastically affect their business. But one obstacle to Walmart was the need to handle order fulfillment and customer service, aspects of a business that can be extremely labor-intensive and costly.

WFS provides roughly similar benefits to FBA, and just as importantly, WFS will allow sellers with limited warehouse space and technology to expand to a big marketplace like Walmart.

WFS and FBA are very similar in that both programs offer sellers the ability to offload their customer support, allowing Walmart and Amazon to handle customer service (questions, refunds, and returns).

Here are some possible advantages to WFS over FBA:

Customers can return their purchases to a Walmart store
- As of March 2020, there are roughly 4 times more Walmart stores (4,769) than Kohl’s stores (1,158), making returns more convenient for customers
Fixed monthly storage fee and fulfillment price based on shipping weight alone (with exceptions for apparel and hazmat items)
Customer support for sellers from WFS associates

WFS Restrictions

Like FBA, there are some restrictions for WFS that will turn away some sellers. Those are:

Products must ship from within the US
No perishable or regulated products
Maximum product weight is 30 pounds
Maximum product dimensions of 25″ x 20″ x 14″

The biggest of these restrictions is the first one: sellers won’t be able to ship from their factory out of the country straight into Walmart as they can with Amazon. This may help curb some of the rampant listings of Chinese products on Walmart.

Conclusion

Ultimately, sellers on Amazon will find it easier to migrate to an additional platform like Walmart. Previously, the need to handle warehousing, customer support, and other fulfillment logistics made selling on Walmart an obstacle, especially for the millions of smaller Amazon sellers.

Businesses will have to manage two different fulfillment services, so there’s likely room for mistakes and confusion, but once the confusion from adoption is resolved, sellers are likely to increase their sales with less work thanks to WFS.

Sellers who are already using FBA can easily expand to Walmart’s marketplace, and considering how ubiquitous Walmart is in the United States, the appeal to sell on Walmart through WFS will be very strong for all sellers if Walmart can make it work.

5 Top-rated Portable Bluetooth Barcode Scanners for Flippers

July 18, 2019

A lot of resellers and flippers use their smartphone and some kind of app to scan for profitable items, but smartphones don’t always make the best scanners.

They’re just not very convenient when it comes to scanning since phones generally aren’t the best at picking up barcodes. Dedicated barcode scanners can be faster, making you more efficient at sourcing.

Try out these portable bluetooth scanners instead. These are some of the top sellers on Amazon, and we’ve included some overview of the comments to help you make a decision.

You’ll also want to keep an eye out for compatibility. While most people will pair it with their iPhones or Android phones, there may be some issues with specific brands like Samsung.

Take a look at the product page for more details about compatibility.

Arkscan ES301M

This bluetooth barcode scanner is a little bit on the pricier side, but it’s highly reviewed and has a tiny footprint.

It measures only 1″ x 2.56″ x .71″ compared to its competitors. To give you a point of reference, that’s a bit larger than those ubiquitous rectangular pink erasers you used to carry around in grade school.

Some features of this bluetooth scanner are:

1D barcodes only
2MB of memory to store up to 20,000 barcodes
Wireless
USB connection for data transfer and charging
Supports Apple, Android, PC, and Linux, including phones and tablets
5,000 reads per charge
CMOS sensor

Many of the reviewers criticized the device for its lack of instructions. The webite is also a bit sparse with any support, so you’ll want to be sure to keep the documentation the unit ships with.

It’s not a laser barcode scanner, but those are a little pricier if you need something with more precision and power.

Eyoyo Portable Bluetooth Barcode Scanner

This Eyoyo bluetooth scanner is similar to the many other generics with the exact same look. For instance, symcode and Alacrity have very similar pictures with the exact same unit.

But the good news is that they all have positive reviews from users. You may want to run some of the reviews through Fakespot just in case.

Not only are these units fairly inexpensive, but they’re also packed full of features more expensive branded bluetooth barcode scanners have.

1D barcodes only
Numerous customization options like adding prefixes and suffixes and sound and vibration notifications
Supports Apple, PC, Mac, Linux, and Android devices
1000mAh for up to 720 hours standby or 15 hours continuous use
16MB of memory for up to 50,000 barcode storage
3.9″ x 0.8″ x 1.8″
CCD sensor
Bluetooth and 2.4GHz wireless connectivity

KDC200i Laser Barcode Scanner with Bluetooth

Unlike other bluetooth scanners on this page, the KDC200i is a laser scanner, giving it much more precision and speed than your standard CCD or CMOS sensor.

While pricy, laser scanners can increase your scanning speed and reduce frustrations about having to get the right distance or scan angle. Having an uninterrupted time scanning can really speed up your sorting, and this reason alone may make investing in a laser scanner worthwhile.

Features for this laser bluetooth scanner include:

1D barcodes only
Android, iPhone, and Tablet compatibility
Rate of 100 scans per second
190mAh

While the product page doesn’t list as many features, this bluetooth barcode scanner has customizable options like a mute function.

Nadamoo Wireless Barcode Scanner Bur3076

This wireless barcode scanner has fewer features than the ones on this list, but reviewers seem to like it. Features include:

1D barcodes only
Over 300 customizations
Bluetooth, 2.4Ghz wireless, and wired connectivity
Built-in memory stores up to 5,000 barcodes
3 trigger modes
1200mAh for 20 hours of continuous use or 100 days standby
Compatible with Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and Linux
- Not compatible with Chrome OS, Samsung, Square POS, and Amazon Fire devices
CCD sensor

Nadamoo also has a 2D barcode scanner if you need that.

Opticon OPN-2006 Laser Bluetooth Barcode Scanner

Like the KDC200i on this list, the Opticon OPN-2006 is the only other laser barcode scanner on this list. That means your scanning should be faster since laser imaging is more precise.

1D barcodes only
1.3″ x 2.4″ x 0.7″
Bluetooth connectivity
Android, iOS, PC, Mac, and Blackberry compatibility
Free SDK and RX compiler for custom applications

Some sellers may be wondering why purchasing a dedicated bluetooth scanner is worthwhile. Indeed, if you’re just scanning a few items a day, then it’s not really necessary.

But if you’re searching through hundreds of items a day looking to list on Amazon or eBay, then having a dedicated bluetooth scanner can seriously save you time.

Scanning with a dedicated device makes capturing barcodes much easier, and it reduces the need to awkwardly shift your phone around to capture the barcode image.

While these scanners are 1D only, most barcodes you’ll scan at the stores will be 1D. 2D barcodes (and 3D ones) haven’t really caught on yet with manufacturers, and we’re only beginning to see 2D ones make more of an appearance.

Even if these scanners save you a five or ten minutes a day from scanning, that time can really add up over the course of a month or the course of your reselling career. At the very least, it’ll keep you from being frustrated about futzing around with your phone to be able to recognize a barcode label.

Read other related articles on SellerZen about barcodes and UPCs:

Sell on these online marketplaces that are eBay alternatives

July 11, 2019

Looking for eBay alternatives to sell your products or household goods?

Check out these marketplaces and see if they’re a better fit for your business, or list on these marketplaces to expand your audience and sell your stuff faster.

If you list an item on multiple marketplaces, remember to remove them once they sell or you’ll get a performance hit on your seller metrics.

One benefit of some of these marketplaces is they’ll allow you to connect to Amazon or eBay and import your items. This will save you time and allow you to expand your customer base without putting in that much more effort.

Check out the seller guides for more information.

Bonanza

SimilarWeb estimates the number of visitors to Bonanza at 5.54 million visitors in the previous 6 months, or a little under 1 million visitors per month.

The modern, clean layout, combined with marketing and media coverage means that Bonanza is becoming a recognized marketplace.

The site is growing, and as more sellers sign on and marketing increases, Bonanza looks to be a promising platform and competitor.

Bonanza’s fees start at 3.5% and go up to 30% depending on the type of service you want. Higher rates mean that your products will be advertised through Google.

One benefit of Bonanza is that direct referral links from your blog or social media will have 0 referral fees.

eBid

eBid’s visitors are split between the UK and the US. SimilarWeb estimates the number of visitors at 415,000 in the previous 6 months.

eBid boasts a gross listing value of over 8.7 billion dollars with over 4.2 million listings worldwide.

There’s a 3% fee to sell on eBid. A current lifetime SELLER+ subscription with additional benefits is on sale at $49.99, down from $99.98.

eCrater

SimilarWeb estimates 2.26 million visitors in the previous 6 months. That comes out to over 350,000 visitors per month.

Unlike other marketplaces, eCrater gives you your own free online store. While you’ll get a subdomain, it’s great for small sellers or sellers of handmade goods. As you grow, you may want to consider your own website.

Listings are free on eCrater, and there are no fees unless a purchase was made through eCrater’s marketplace. In cases of referrals, there’s a 2.9% fee.

That means direct links to products in your store will cost you nothing.

Facebook Marketplace

It’s free to list on Facebook Marketplace, but you may have to pay for third-party integrations for services you want, like setting up inventory.

Relatively new, Facebook Marketplace is becoming popular quickly because of the number of users who are on Facebook and the ease with which customers can communicate with sellers.

Facebook Marketplace also allows buyers to check out with shipping. So it’s not necessarily a local marketplace.

Many people use Facebook Messenger, and the ability to communicate with customers in real-time through social media can be a boon for businesses.

But that also means you may need to devote more people to customer service, as customers are more likely to chat with you through Messenger than through email.

Mercari

Most people may know Mercari as an app, but anyone can browse product offerings on any browser.

No traffic data is available on SimilarWeb since many customers interact with Mercari through the app.

Listings are free, and there’s a 10% fee if the item sells.

One unique aspect of Mercari is that buyers and sellers rate each other for the transaction. This helps keep the marketplace more honest, though that doesn’t mean there will be fewer scammers.

Other Marketplaces

These other marketplaces didn’t quite make the list since they specialize in specific categories of goods, but if you so happen to sell these products, then these marketplaces may be a better fit for you.

Craigslist – anything
Etsy – handmade and vintage products
Poshmark – fashion
Ruby Lane – vintage products

The more marketplaces you sell on, the broader the audience you’ll reach. But remember too that managing listings from various marketplaces can become tedious since you’ll have to add and remove them individually as products sell.

You’ll also risk running into the issue of selling more than what you have if you’re not careful. This can affect your seller performance metrics if you also sell the same products on Amazon or eBay.

That’s no problem for sellers who stock and sell manufactured goods, but for casual sellers or people selling household items they no longer want, the effort of managing multiple listings may not be worthwhile.

Every seller knows that diversification can help ease account suspensions. Amazon sellers are especially prone to suspensions, as one prolong suspension can easily take down the business.

So take the opportunity to explore other marketplaces and see if they’ll fit your business.

Like this article and want to read more? See the following related articles:

Understanding Amazon Current Reserve or Unavailable Balance

July 2, 2019

Are you wondering what the current reserve or unavailable balance is on your settlement report?

Learn more about how the previous and current reserve balance and how they work in this article.

You may see these on your settlement reports as previous unavailable balance and unavailable balance. We’ll use previous reserve and current reserve instead.

The reserve balance is withheld from your account to cover potential issues like

A-to-z claims
Chargebacks
Low seller performance metrics
Account review
Pending order delivery

Previous Reserve Balance is the amount that was withheld from your previous settlement and released on your current one.

For instance, if your current reserve balance is $100 on January 1, then your Previous Reserve Balance (and your beginning balance) will be $100 on January 15 so long as there were no problems with orders.

Current Reserve Balance is the amount withheld from orders until 7 days after the latest estimated delivery date.

Using our example earlier, if your disbursement is on January 15 and you have an order that nets $100 on January 14 with a delivery window of January 16-20, then that $100 won’t be available to you until January 27.

For many sellers, this $100 will carry over to the next settlement period. Sellers who request transfers daily won’t be able to request the $100 until January 27.

In addition to recent orders, you’ll also see funds held in reserve for chargebacks and A-to-z claims.

This running reserve balance ensures that your account has enough to cover any claims from customers.

Amazon may also keep funds in reserve for other reasons.

New sellers have a longer reserve period, so they may not receive their first disbursement until a month after their first sale. This reserve balance may be withheld for a longer period from sellers who have a long delivery window.

Sellers with low seller performance metrics may also see a longer reserve period. That’s because low seller performance metrics can mean higher instances of returns and A-to-z claims.

A combination of chargebacks, A-to-z claims, and low seller performance metrics may mean that funds are held in reserve for longer than expected.

Even sellers who have a sudden increase in sales may be put under account review because of the sudden spike in account activity.

Why have any reserve balance?

One reason for a rolling reserve is fraud. In the past, fraudulent sellers took advantage of the absence of a rolling reserve to scam customers and Amazon.

This worked because they were able to upload a large amount of inventory at low prices, set long delivery windows, collect money from sales, and then disappear. Amazon would be left with angry customers and the cost of the refunds.

How can I change my reserve period?

There’s no really no way to change how Amazon handles your reserve balance. If you have low seller performance metrics, then work on improving those metrics.

See if you can reduce your shipping window by using FBA or improving fulfillment processes. Getting your orders to customers quickly means you’ll get your money sooner.

Not interested in FBA? Look through our list of third-party Amazon service providers to find another solution.

If you’re getting a large number of returns and A-to-z claims, then look into what’s causing the issues.

Do your products have a flaw or defect that can be fixed? Is this defect across all products or just some? Consider inspecting your products at the factory or upon arrival.
Are your products getting damaged during shipping? If so, then improve the packaging.
Getting a lot of return fraud? Consider implementing some security measures like tamper-evident seals on packaging

You’ll want to improve your performance metrics regardless of the reserve period since low metrics can lead to account suspensions. Taking some proactive steps to improve your metrics can save you from the stressful process of writing appeals and waiting.

Minimize any risk to your account by fulfilling orders on time, entering tracking information, and providing excellent customer support.

Learn more about these other Amazon topics below.

Amazon to suppress ASINs that do not meet title requirements

June 25, 2019

Amazon will suppress from Amazon Search ASINs that do not comply with product title requirements starting July 22, 2019.

Ensure that your products follow these product title requirements from Amazon and make any necessary changes before July 15, 2019.

Sellers should have received an email from Amazon announcing the change, but if you haven’t, then see the announcement on the seller forums.

Clear, consistent product titles make shopping much more convenient. As an Amazon shopper, you may have been overwhelmed in the past by sellers who spammed keywords into the titles, cluttering up search results and making shopping for products a bit of a chore.

Amazon has category-specific requirements as well as general requirements. Make sure to check Amazon for the latest product title requirements if you sell in a variety of categories.

For instance, 200 characters are generally the maximum for product titles, but some categories may have a lower limit.

Below are some commonly ignored requirements:

Capitalize the first letter of each word except for articles (a, an, the), conjunctions (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so), and prepositions fewer than 5 letters (with, in, on)
Do not use all caps
Use numbers instead of spelling them out: 2 instead of Two
Spell out measurements like 3 inches instead of 3″
Do not use symbols like ! @ ? ~
Do not use subjective comments like “Best Seller”
Do not include a price or promotional messages like “Free Shipping” or “Sale”

Examples of listings on Amazon

Here’s an example of a product title for a popular nut milk bag.

This listing ignores a few of the requirements:

It contains sections of all capital letters
Measurements are not spelled out
Possibly contains subjective comments like “PRO QUALITY”
Possibly violates promotional messages requirement by offering free recipes and videos

With some careful revision, this product title can be optimized to meet title requirements and its length reduced significantly.

How might a cleaner product title look like?

Compare the difference between the AmazonBasics listing for a keyboard and mouse combo and listings from third-party sellers.

While some of the details may be useful to customers in the second listing, like “6-Button Mouse,” having redundancy like “Wire Corded” in the third listing just makes the title more cluttered.

Instead, consider putting information into the bullet points or descriptions instead of the title. Details like device and OS compatibility in the third listing can be moved to bullet points.

Customers generally base their decisions on pictures, reviews, and price, but long and messy titles may make customers scroll past listings.

Long titles require more effort to read and process, and many people don’t want to put any extra effort into shopping. Don’t forget to take a look at your listing on a mobile device to get a sense of how your listing comes across to customers.

Review your listings and revise them to ensure that your product titles meet Amazon’s guidelines before July 15, 2019. Take the opportunity to revise your product detail page to ensure that bullet points and descriptions meet Amazon policies as well.

If your listing is suppressed from search results, you’ll not only lose revenue, but you’ll also lose your sales ranking.

This has the potential to push your listing further down in the search results, making it more difficult to recover once you’ve revised your product titles.

Use Shopify Fulfillment Network to Fulfill Orders!

June 21, 2019

Shopify store owners will now have more fulfillment options when it comes to fulfilling their customer orders!

Shopify is allowing select merchants access to the Shopify Fulfillment Network, which is powered by machine learning to identify the nearest fulfillment centers and ideal inventory levels to get orders to customers faster.

To apply for Shopify Fulfillment Network, simply click on the Shopify link to log into Shopify and apply. You’ll receive an email about your application within 48 hours.

Is Shopify Fulfillment Network better than other fulfillment options?

No doubt you’re wondering if Shopify’s network of fulfillment centers is better than alternatives like Amazon FBA or third-party fulfillment centers.

It’s likely that Shopify’s fulfillment centers will get orders to customers faster than other networks because of Shopify’s native integration and technology.

And with the network of fulfillment centers powered by machine learning, customers will receive their orders faster than any private third-party fulfillment service can provide. That’s because Shopify has access to critical metrics and data that may not be available to other parties.

Sellers who use Amazon FBA to fulfill Shopify orders know that Amazon sometimes takes days before shipping out multichannel fulfillment (MCF) orders.

Not only does Amazon take a bit longer to fulfill MCF orders than its own marketplace or Prime orders, but they also charge more for MCF.

Delays in order fulfillment can drive customers away from marketplaces, including your Shopify store if customers are waiting too long for their products.

With Amazon’s move to 1-day shipping, customers will now, more than ever, expect to have their orders within a few days, if not sooner.

Here are some of the benefits of using Shopify Fulfillment Network instead of another service:

Faster delivery times because of technology maintaining inventory levels and identifying nearby fulfillment centers
Improved customer satisfaction due to faster delivery
Possibly lower fees compared to other service providers like Amazon FBA

If you’ve stayed away from third-party fulfillment services or Amazon FBA for your Shopify store because of inconsistent service, then consider Shopify’s fulfillment services.

You may be able to reduce your own labor and storage expenses while increasing your customer satisfaction and loyalty metrics. The result? Lower operating costs and increased sales.

Even if you’re not going to use Shopify’s fulfillment centers and technology, having increased competition will keep prices low and increase customer satisfaction. As a seller on Shopify and potentially other marketplaces, you’ll only benefit from a new competitor to the field.

Learn more about the announcement from Shopify.

Like this article and want to read other related articles?

10 Flippa Alternatives to sell your Amazon or Ecommerce Business

May 30, 2019

If you’re thinking about selling your Amazon FBA or ecommerce business, then take a look at these platforms or services to help market or facilitate the sale of your business.

Selling an ecommerce business that sells through Amazon FBA or other marketplaces can be tricky, and it’s likely to cause buyers more anxiety because they’re not buying a tangible business like with a brick and mortar store.

Check out these websites and brokers to see if one will help you sell your ecommerce business, including Amazon, eBay, and Shopify store.

Some questions you’ll want to consider:

What other assets are included with the sale (inventory and social media)?
How long do you want to be available to answer questions or provide training for buyers?
Are suppliers, employees, or contractors willing to remain after the sale?

SellerZen is not affiliated with any of these services, nor does SellerZen endorse any of these services. We’ve created this list only for informational purposes, so do your own due diligence before you sign up with any services listed in this article.

BizBuySell

BizBuySell is part of the CoStar group, which includes Apartments.com.

The website boasts over 45,000 businesses for sale across a vast range of categories. This includes physical locations as well as ecommerce businesses.

Buyers can sort by several factors including location and business type.

BizBuySell is not a broker. Sellers pay for an ad and are contacted by interested buyers. Ads start from $49.95 per month.

BuySellEmpire

This brokerage firm states it has helped broker sales of over 300 websites with a combined total of 25 million dollars.

The selling point is that they have a 95% success rate with their team of brokers.

No pricing is readily available on the website, so you’ll have to contact them for the fee schedule.

Digital Exits

Digital Exits acts as a broker to sell your ecommerce or Amazon business. You can get a valuation and browse through the businesses they’re currently selling to get an idea of how much your business is worth.

Fees aren’t posted, but most brokers will charge you a percentage of sale price once your business sells.

eBay Business & Industrial

You can sell almost anything on eBay. This includes businesses, though gaining visibility may be difficult due to all the spam.

Browse the categories or of businesses sold to get an idea of the interest, sales velocity, or price of the most recent sales.

Make a note of those businesses that have sold and what they did well. You’ll want to copy successful features of the listing, like good pictures, clear descriptions, or other characteristics.

Fees for some categories, like food trucks, are only 2% up to a maximum of $300 instead of 10% with a maximum of $750.

Empire Flippers

You may have seen this business featured on Forbes and Business Insider.

Empire Flippers vets sellers to provide buyers with authenticated information. This prevents sellers from making up numbers, and it allows buyers to make informed decisions.

Potential buyers can browse the marketplace and see details such as gross monthly revenue and net profit, both factors that may be confirmed by Empire Flippers.

For this service and the marketplace, Empire Flippers takes a listing fee of $297 for first-time sellers and an additional 10-15% of the sale.

Exchange (Shopify)

Exchange is a marketplace where you can buy and sell Shopify stores. Potential buyers can sort by major cities if they want a local business.

Potential customers may prefer this marketplace if they’re looking specifically for a Shopify store with established social media accounts.

This may be easier than starting a Shopify store from scratch if customers are looking to enter a specific niche.

Like Empire Flippers, the listings have a good amount of detail for potential buyers, and some of the financials are verified by Shopify.

It’s free to list your business, but there’s a service fee based on the sale amount. You’ll see this fee once you decide to accept an offer from a buyer.

FE International

FE International is a broker that helps businesses sell. They have a high success rate for sales because of their advisors and the support provided.

A quick glance reveals ecommerce businesses are selling for $175,000 to $10,000,000.

There’s a fee charged only when the business is sold.

Flippa

We’ve added Flippa in case some of our readers want to visit the site to compare selling prices of Amazon or ecommerce businesses.

Flippa claims to be the #1 platform to buy and sell businesses.

In addition to businesses, you can buy domains on this website. There are other websites that sell domains, so if you’re looking for domains only, you may want to shop around.

It’s $15 per month for a subscription and a success fee if you sell your business. The success fee is anywhere from 5% to 15% depending on the final sale price.

Quiet Light

This brokerage firm is similar to FE International with over 600 businesses sold at the time of writing and more than an 87% closing rate.

You’ll have to contact the business for pricing.

ValleyBiggs

This business specializes in purchases and sales of mid-sized websites and tech companies with gross sales between 1 and 250 million dollars.

WebsiteClosers

WebsiteClosers claims to have over $750,000,000 in ecommerce and website sales.

A quick glance at websites or ecommerce businesses for sale on their website shows some Amazon FBA businesses selling in the tens of millions of dollars.

Conclusion

Whether you’re looking to raise capital for another business venture or you want to exit the business, using a marketplace to list or a broker to help sell your business can minimize your stress and save you a lot of time.

Having a broker doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get less for your business. On the contrary, they may be able to get more for you even after their fees because of their connections and reputation.

Even if you’re not currently interested in selling your business, check out the websites to get an idea of how much you can expect to get for your business.

Like this article and want to read other related ones?

Best Places and Websites to Sell Used Books Online

May 14, 2019

Check out these top websites where you can sell your books.

Chances are you won’t get rich selling your personal used books, but you’ll get some extra spending money you didn’t have before.

Or if you’ve moved over to the digital format, selling your physical books can give you more storage space at home.

We’ll go over the best marketplaces you can use to sell your books. You’ll have to fulfill orders and handle customer service, but you’ll generally get more money for your books than selling it to a service.

Don’t want to deal with the headache of listing, customer service, and shipping? We’ll include a list of popular book buyback websites below as well.

Get a stack of your books ready (or a list of their ISBNs) and see how much you can get for your books today!

Used Book Marketplaces

Some general tips before you decide where to sell your books:

Be honest and transparent about the condition of your books to avoid refunds and returns
Take good, detailed pictures, especially if there’s some defect or damage
Ship using media mail when possible to save on shipping
Make sure to enter tracking information to reduce fraud
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AbeBooks

While AbeBooks was purchased by Amazon in 2008, it still operates independently.

In addition to books, AbeBooks sells collectibles. It’s an excellent place to find vintage or rare books as well.

The downside to AbeBooks is that you’ll have to pay a monthly fee on top of an 8% commission and a payment processing fee. Fees are determined by the number of listings.

Alibris

This marketplace is a favorite for international buyers and sellers. In the US, frequent book buyers may be familiar with the name.

You can also list other media, like DVDs and music. International buyers will pay more for shipping, but you’ll want to be sure you price your book properly.

Some considerations with selling on Alibris:

There’s a non-refundable $19.99 annual fee on top of a 15% commission, so it’s not free to get started
You may want to go with free marketplaces like Amazon or eBay unless you have a lot of books to sell

Amazon

Amazon really needs no introduction. It’s the largest online marketplace in the US, and your books are likely to reach a broader audience through here than any other book marketplace.

There’s no cost to sell on Amazon if you’re on the Individual plan, but you’ll still have to pay a 99¢ per-item fee for each item you sell on top of other fees.

Check out our tips for selling used books on Amazon for more information.

If you don’t care how much you get for your books, then Amazon may be a good choice to sell them, and you’d get more than from a buyback service.

Some drawbacks to selling books on Amazon are:

Some textbook publishers may be restricted because of the rise of counterfeit sellers
If you’re not careful, you can actually pay more in shipping supplies and shipping costs than you receive from the sale

Some advantages of selling on Amazon versus other platforms:

Books are more likely to sell quickly compared to other marketplaces
If you use FBA, you won’t have to deal with customer service or shipping each order

Barnes & Nobles

Barnes & Nobles allows sellers to list their books alongside its own offerings. Marketplace sellers are charged the standard commission rate of 15%.

Biblio

This marketplace specializes in working with independent booksellers. The business also has a commitment to social responsibility. You’ll find used rare, out-of-print, and collectible books here.

It’s free to sign up and list your books, but the free option has higher commissions (12% instead of 8%).

If you have a large collection of rare and out-of-print books, this is also a good site to consider.

eBay

eBay may be a good alternative if you have niche or rare books. You’re likely to get more since these books can be offered at auction instead of a set price on other marketplaces.

One good note about eBay is that new sellers are usually given 50-100 free listings per month. That’s more than enough for most people who just want to sell some books from their own library.

You’ll only pay eBay fees when the sale happens (unless you’ve listed more than your free listings).

You’ll need a PayPal account to receive your funds unless you’re on Managed Payments.

The marketplaces listed above represent the majority of websites where you can sell your used books, but if you’re not interested in listing, fulfilling, and providing customer service, then there are faster ways you can sell your books.

Book Buyback Websites

These popular websites will ask you for the ISBN of your book and give you a quote on the spot.

If you accept the quote, they’ll provide you with a shipping label. You’ll send in your books, they’ll inspect it, and then you’ll receive the payout in the form you specify.

While there are many book buyback websites, we’ll list the ones that will accept paperbacks as well as textbooks.

If the majority of your books are textbooks, then going to a specific textbook buyback service like Chegg may be a better option.

Some considerations for buyback businesses:

You’ll get a lot less for your books compared to selling them through online marketplaces like Amazon
You may get less than what was offered if your book isn’t in good condition
You’ll get rid of your books much faster this way if they’re worth anything
Look into who pays for return shipping if the offer changes or they refuse the book based on condition

BookFinder

This website works by getting a list of all the offers from other book buyback websites. Then it displays them to you for convenience.

This is a great tool if you don’t want to search through multiple websites to get the best offer on your books.

BookScouter

Check out how much you can get for your books online at this popular book buyback website.

Decluttr

If you’re looking to get rid of media like DVDs, books, and music, check out this website. The offers may not be as high as other websites, but they’ll take things from various categories.

Half Price Books

If you have an HPB store near you, then this can be a good method of getting rid of books you no longer want.

You may not get as much as you’d like, but at least you’ll get rid of a good number of your books at one time.

Powell’s Books

You can enter the ISBN of your books online to get a quote or bring your books to a physical store to get 50% more in store credit. This works out extremely well if you’re already a frequent shopper there!

SellBackYourBook

Like other book buyback businesses, you’ll enter the ISBN into the search bar and the service will give you a quote.

Local Marketplaces

If you don’t want to deal with the hassle of looking up prices and shipping or payment options, then selling your books locally may be an option.

It’s probably not worthwhile to list individual books (unless they’re textbooks and you’re near a college), so consider grouping them by genre or author.

You’ll find it difficult to sell older books through these marketplaces, but they’re usually free to list. And you’ll get paid in cash.

But be prepared to deal with hagglers, no-shows, and other issues that usually accompany local sales.

College Campus

If you’re a student, then consider selling your textbooks to other students who are taking the course. You can simply ask them before class begins, and you’ll get a lot more than selling the textbook online.

There’s also the option of selling your textbook back to the campus bookstore. You won’t get much as you would from another student, but you won’t have to hunt down where the class is being taught.

Craigslist

It’s free to list here, but avoid leaving your phone number and email address off the listing unless you want a lot of unsolicited calls and emails.

Facebook Marketplace

This marketplace is quickly becoming more popular in some regions than Craigslist. But the ease of browsing the site may mean you’ll be handling a lot of messages from window shoppers rather than serious buyers.

Instead, consider joining a Facebook group for specific genres or authors. You may be able to find more serious and interested buyers.

Independent Used Bookstore

If you’re lucky enough to be in an area with a lot of used bookstores, then consider this option. You may be able to get more in store credit so that you can get books that you want.

Apps like LetGo, Mercari, OfferUp, etc.

The success of these apps will depend on the region. In some places, marketplaces like Mercari or LetGo may be more popular than Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace.

Conclusion

Use the money you’ve earned from selling books you no longer want to fund other fun activities. Or go out and buy more books!

Consider donating books you don’t want to your local school, library, or non-profit to reduce waste. Your discarded books can kindle a love of reading for someone out there!

Check out these other related articles:

Free and Paid Alternatives to Adobe Photoshop

May 9, 2019

Check out these free and paid alternatives to Adobe Photoshop that you can download and use to edit your images.

Download and use these apps today, or check out our article on free online image editors!

Many ecommerce owners or product photographers don’t need all the advanced tools and features that Adobe Photoshop provides.

If you’re just using basic features of Photoshop, then try out these alternatives to Adobe Photoshop.

These alternative applications offer most of the features available in Photoshop, and in some instances, they may even be better. For most people who take and edit their own photos, these alternatives will work absolutely fine.

And the best part? They’re completely free to download and use or they have a one-time cost instead of a subscription fee.

Free Apps

Some of the apps here are targeted toward illustrators, but they also include good editing tools.

FireAlpaca

This free software is from a Japanese company. It’s available for Mac and Windows. While it’s more of a paint tool, you can use it to edit your images as well.

The application is lightweight, so you won’t need a fast processor or large amounts of memory to run.

Some highlighted features on the website are:

Pen, Pencil, AirBrush, and Watercolor tools
Mac OS X compatible (10.7 or later)
Comic templates available
3D Perspective
Brush effects

GIMP

GIMP stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program.

Many users will be familiar with GIMP since it has been around since the late 1990s. Today, it supports multiple platforms.

It’s available for both Mac and Windows.

This open-source software is often included in many Linux distros, and it’s often a favorite because of the community support.

Highlighted features include:

Supports Mac OS X (10.9 or later) and other Unix-like platforms via Flatpak
High-quality photo manipulation
Original artwork creation
Graphic design elements
Multi-language Programming algorithm support

Krita

Similar to FireAlpaca, Krita is marketed as a free and open-source paint program. It’s still great if you’re looking to use it to edit or manipulate your images.

It’s available for both Windows and Mac.

Features include:

Intuitive user interface
- Customizable dockers and panels
Brush stabilizers
Pop-up palette
- 9 brush engines
Wrap-around mode for seamless textures and patterns
Resource manager to import brush and texture packs

MediBang Paint

MediBang Paint is also available for iPhone, iPad, and Android devices, as well as Windows and Mac OS (10.9 or later).

Like other paint applications on this list, MediBang Paint is targeted toward artists and illustrators rather than editors. But the suite of tools available through this app is still great for image manipulation or photo editing.

Features include, but are not limited to:

Layers support
Snap guides
Brushes
Lightweight
Free fonts
Free pre-made tones and backgrounds
Group project feature

Paint.net

This app is only available for Windows. Paint.net is a lightweight app that can even run on older computers, requiring only a 1 GHz dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM.

That’ll likely mean that computers manufactured around the mid-2000s or earlier can still run this application provided they’re still running Windows 7.

Features of this software include:

Intuitive user interface
Layers support
Online community support
Automatic updates
Powerful tools
Unlimited history of edits

PhotoScape X

Photoscape X is an offering from a Korean company. The free version is available with both Windows and Mac OS (10.12 or later).

This app is perhaps the most feature-heavy of the free apps available, though some of those features may be locked unless you purchase the Pro version.

Below is a screenshot of the features.

Paid Image Editors (One-Time Cost)

If you’re looking to get rid of ads or you want to unlock more features, many of the free alternatives above have a Pro purchase available.

Still not happy with those free alternatives? The following image editors below have a one-time cost and may work better for your needs.

Adobe Photoshop Elements

If you’re accustomed to Photoshop but don’t want to pay a subscription, Adobe’s Photoshop Elements may be an option for you. A lightweight version of Adobe Photoshop, Elements may be able to do everything you need for your product photos.

At the time of this article, Photoshop Elements has a one-time fee.

Affinity Photo

Affinity Photo is available for desktops and iPads. If you’re looking for a software bundle like the Creative Suite, Affinity has Designer and Publisher available.

Click here to see the full feature list of Affinity Photo.

CorelDRAW Graphics Suite

CorelDRAW is available for both Windows and Mac.

This graphics suite includes several apps. You’re likely to use PHOTO-PAINT and AfterShot if you have RAW files to edit.

Here are some other paid image editing applications that didn’t quite make the list above.

Acorn (Mac OS 10.11 or later)
Luminar (Mac OS and Windows)
Pixelmator Pro (Mac OS 10.13 or later)

When it comes to ecommerce, a picture is worth a thousand words. Your product image is one of the most influential factors in a customer’s decision-making process.

Convince customers to purchase your products with fantastic, flawless images.

Use one of the free online image editors to quickly spruce up your product photos or download one of the free or paid Adobe Photoshop alternatives to improve your images today!

Check out these other articles on SellerZen:

What does that mean for sellers?

What do sellers need to do to enroll?

What categories are exempt from prepaid returns?

Other important information

What is Walmart Fulfillment Services?

Why use WFS?

WFS Restrictions

Conclusion

Other Marketplaces

Examples of listings on Amazon

Is Shopify Fulfillment Network better than other fulfillment options?

Conclusion

Used Book Marketplaces

Book Buyback Websites

Local Marketplaces

College Campus

Craigslist

Facebook Marketplace

Independent Used Bookstore

Apps like LetGo, Mercari, OfferUp, etc.

Conclusion

Free Apps

Paid Image Editors (One-Time Cost)

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