Increased restricted inventory for used book sellers
What's the deal with the increase in restricted books for used book sellers? I've been selling for years and I am encountering more restricted books than I ever have. Yesterday, in fact, I think I had more restricted hits at one store than I have total in a week or even month. You could always expect it to happen with textbooks, but it's happening with just random books now. Even some books I had here for myself to read are now coming up as restricted. This is ridiculous.
Increased restricted inventory for used book sellers
What's the deal with the increase in restricted books for used book sellers? I've been selling for years and I am encountering more restricted books than I ever have. Yesterday, in fact, I think I had more restricted hits at one store than I have total in a week or even month. You could always expect it to happen with textbooks, but it's happening with just random books now. Even some books I had here for myself to read are now coming up as restricted. This is ridiculous.
33 replies
Seller_kNAboD6kRgVt7
Amazon is trying to get us small third party book sellers off their site. They are blaming the publishers, rather than just give us the shove. Yes, some publishers ARE actually restricting sales on Amazon, but I have books that some are fine, some are deactivated unless I provide an invoice for "new" copies. Same publisher for both instances. So typical Amazon "logic" at play. Sell more and more of them elsewhere.
Seller_XSqPquQH4FvW1
Yes, and think about how Amazon has buried used copies. Collectible won't even show up unless the shopper jumps through hoops. I don't understand this - Amazon makes money when we sell a book, more money if it's an expensive collectible book.
Seller_TDbWayCWaB52Y
I had one desisted because they wanted the 21 digit serial number. I will get right on that!
Seller_VQbP3pHGEgs6f
Yes, it clearly doesn't matter how long you've been selling, what your performance rating is, or whether in fact the publisher is pushing the restrictions.
In the days when Amazon just sold books, I would tell people it was arguably the perfect marketplace. Open to all who had books to sell, regardless of how they were acquired. Performance was feedback-driven and there was lots of feedback! The more you knew about books and how to ship them, the better you would likely do.
But this is, make no mistake, a different company. I don't begrudge them their success, but small sellers are now a critically endangered species. At some point I suspect they'll shut down all but the biggest sellers, as they won't find it cost-effective to keep the smaller fry on their books.
Glenn_Amazon
Greetings @Seller_QcKYmed0Q8prQ,
I'm sorry for the frustrations you have had with your listings. Amazon requires approval and documentation for many products, including books, and Amazon has a focus on ensuring that products are authentic and have appropriate sourcing. I'm happy to review your specific instances, however I may not be able to provide additional details.
Please reply with your most recent Case ID with your impacted ASINs and I will review further. Thank you for your understanding.
-Glenn
Seller_KrIZiAqW5Ddf0
I don't see how it is legal for a publisher to stop someone from selling a used book. They've probably donated enough to everyone in Congress/the Justice Department that they're above the law.
Seller_5tHvyB7e5ELWT
I sell mostly sets of Christian fiction, and all of a sudden I am finding that I am not eligible to sell sets that I have sold for years.
Seller_YBfUTeoG971hG
Not only that, they are removing thousands of original out-of-print copies from the Amazon catalog leaving only PODs and cheap reprints. And if a book is not already in the Amazon catalogue it is virtually impossible now to add it. How this satisfies customers who want original copies of things is beyond me. You would think that Amazon would want the catalogue to offer customers as many options as possible. (And it's not, in these instances, the publisher. In a good number of these cases the original publisher has gone out of business long ago.)
Seller_ToPPYvOWlyp9j
SIGH!! @Seller_SJRMV3s4mNrFA can quote FIRST SALE doctrine till turns blue-it's been quoted on this forum many times. Not helpful because that's exactly what AMAZON is doing, particularly in books. As @Seller_kNAboD6kRgVt7 states, TPTB blame the publishers whom they are hand-in-glove with. The situation won't change till the FEDS take action-which they may/ may not, depending on the political climate.
AMZ gets way with these restrictions because they are not only a seller platform but every seller's competitor. Ten years ago or more, they made a deal w/ publishers who craved AMAZON's volume but balked at their below-wholesale prices. Since then, the platform has become more and more restrictive IN ORDER TO SELL/SHIP at a PRICE no OTHER SELLER CAN MATCH!! In the last two months, we're been pre-approved on our(excellent) record three times-and told we must buy at least 10(assumedly new) copies from a distributor/publisher 5 times. (As a used bookseller, who doesn't sell NEW, we aren't/won't).
If all used booksellers aren't out of business here in a year or two, don't despair!! Never thought the courts would decide Google is a monopoly-the big new business news! To misquote a 17th century German poet who quoted a Roman philosopher: the wheels of bureaucracy grind slowly...(the original's not in the Bible, I looked it up.)
Seller_Gek9O3A1l2ygW
Unfortunately, the only conclusion is that Amazon is no longer a viable platform for third-party booksellers. I would strongly advise against even trying to sell on Amazon, and to look to other book-selling sites.
