Any Other Booksellers' Sales Tanking?
Could sure use some help from fellow veteran booksellers. According to Amazon our sales are down a whopping 30% year-to-year. Our inventory levels are consistent with the past and we have a 99% customer approval rating for the past 12 months and a 99% approval rating since we began in 2005, nearly twenty years ago. Our buy box percentage is less than 1% and we appear to be locked into an Amazon Algorithm Death Spiral. Advice? Thanks. While we’re at it, Amazon likes to boast that they are all about the customer buying experience. What? A 99% customer feedback rating doesn’t make the grade?
28 replies
Seller_nRFmxiQg4EGrw
It's not just you. Even the very experienced booksellers who are on another forum for Sellers ask Sellers have a thread about how dismal book sales have been lately.
The only reason that I'm not down more than I am is that I just did a cleanout that resulted in hundreds of very good books, so that's given a bump to my sales. But even with that, only matching last year.
Seller_MyXY4Myx9zVcR
You have probably already done this, but try searching for one of your books as an Amazon customer.
What shows up first is any Amazon Kindle edition.
Then the paperback, if available, and after that the hardcover, if Amazon sells them.
Buried 5-8 screens later, if the buyer has not already purchased, and is quite persistent, are the books of Amazon 3rd party sellers, many of whom have been selling books here for10+ years.
Good luck selling any used books on Amazon now.
This scheme has been in place for several months, and you are not the only suffering bookseller.
Seller_xwzQL0khly72e
I just tried looking at pricing for a hardcover Angela's Ashes to see if 1st printings are still worth anything and the already hideously awful slide-in panel just opened with the pointless "suspenseful music" message and a spinning spiral, then slid closed. I cleared my cache and rebooted to ensure it wasn't my computer and tried again 6 times; opened then slid closed without information. The paperback one works fine.
Basically, no one can buy the hardback because they will never see the offers. Just another reason sales may be miserable now, people can't even see the offers.
Seller_XYKzyGM1mZEhX
The 'DEATH SPIRAL' is evidently contagious. We are suffering not from a lack of book sales, but AMZ taking down our listings for violating prices! Our inventory has been decimated, but the prices they require will not even begin to cover our original costs to purchase them. We are now receiving 'snail mail' asking us to sell our AMZ account as well. Citing slow sales, they offer to buy our account for $1k to $2k. What is going on? Anyone else having this experience?
Seller_O6YWkDReQ90FK
List your entire inventory on another site, like Alibris or Biblio, but MAKE SURE you list your books on those sites for a dollar LESS than what you are offering on Amazon. Book buyers will eventually start leaving this pathetic site and buying on more professional bookselling platforms.
Seller_BeWo5Xt3t43rn
Next AMAZON will gate all publishers and ask for invoices for all your used books!
Seller_CRAHk6FHN1cLe
I don't like it anymore than you do but almost every book is covered by either Amazon or an FBA seller. More often than not they will dominate all buy boxes and get all the sales. As a customer why would I buy a used book for 7.00 when I can get a brand new one in a day for 15.00? I would rather sell FBM any day of the week but our FBA sales are 40X our FBM sales if you factor in number of listings for both. Sadly I cannot cut off my nose to spite my face. I am currently pursuing other ventures in an effort to leave this behind me forever.
Seller_Fj8BGFk6ivq5u
We feel your pain! Some of it is lower prices due to a variety of reasons (repricers tanking price, Amazon high price alerts, invalid list prices, etc.), as well as a changing marketplace.
However, another thing to consider: I assume many discerning buyers have done as we have; we rarely buy books on Amazon anymore for our own personal collections unless we only want a reading copy. To do so, it has to be a seller we recognize because some of the stuff we've received in recent years was horrible quality, or packed terribly and received somewhat damaged. We refuse to buy a book via Prime; the oversized boxes and lack of adequate packing ensure a book will be received damaged somehow. The many thrift stores selling on Amazon need to learn how to grade or pack books properly, and the replication of useless repetitive condition comments that don't match the item is atrocious. Although more expensive, we have migrated back to brick-and-mortar stores and have noticed those have more traffic again.
Danny_Amazon
Appreciate you starting this discussion @Seller_rwKHDZc1TrDw7- and thanks to the community for offering some feedback as well.
I do know that this is an interesting time of the year with Prime Day having just ended, which might be impacting consumer behavior. The forums team did just post these optimization tips in case there is anything useful in there for your business.
Have you contacted our support team around the Featured Offer Eligibility issues? If so, can you share that case ID so I can take a look?
Thanks in advance!
Seller_ToPPYvOWlyp9j
We're a bit over last year, mainly because June/July have been surprisingly excellent for us-and they're usually our slowest times. Why? Have been cudgeling my brain for the reason. We're also at 99% FB-we've worked hard at it as I'm sure you have...but do FB rates matter anymore?
Luck? Maybe. But increased our inventory by 2500 ASINS-and just this year hit over 15,000 titles in inventory-almost at our storage max. Could be because we're more searchable/buyers are more familiar w/ our name?
We're selling quite a few graphic novels/Manga this summer.
We're shifting to different focuses. Culling self-help, health/romance/fiction, except vintage. Want to cull children's/teen but as a mom who read to her kids till they begged me to stop, can't bring myself to do it.
This year, we also began selling ephemera on the advice of a well-known OSFE dealer who is now found on Sellers ask Sellers. Jumped in, not knowing much; learning as we go. We scout the border southwest, probably one of the most illiterate(and poor) areas in the country. It's tougher to find good-condition items like booklets/pamphlets. But we're selling what we locate-and for often surprising prices!
Good Luck!!
