It’s simple to get started selling on the Amazon Marketplace. The majority of these goods are likely already in your home. If money is scarce, start with minimal quantities (envelopes, tape, and shipping bubble wrap) to save money during the start-up period. You can buy in bulk later and save money. You’ll need the following items:

A computer with Internet access - If you’re reading this, you very certainly already have one. You’ll use it every day to check for email notifications, study book pricing, and post books for sale.

Shipping envelopes - 9” x 12” and 10” x 13” large brown manila envelopes work nicely for shipping most books.

Bubble wrap - Protects books in the mail from harm. To begin started, you can obtain a small roll of transparent bubble wrap for approximately $5 at most bargain stores these days. This will save you money over buying bubble wrap envelopes and will make it easier to send products that you could sell on eBay or other online marketplaces.

Confirmation Delivery Slips from the United States Postal Service are available for free at your local Post Office. The green and white slips with the peel-and-stick glue on one end are what they’re called. To begin, request a stack of 50-100 cards.

Black ink pens - Keep a supply on hand for addressing packages, completing Delivery Confirmation slips, printing shipping labels, and taking notes.

Pencils with erasers - Before beginning their sale, many libraries and thrift shops would mark the inside front cover of the book with a price in pencil. This price is normally $1, $2, or $3 - and you’ll need to erase this proof that you got a great deal on this book when you sell it for ten times what you paid for it!

Scissors - Used to trim mis-taped shipments and cut down cardboard packaging protectors to support thin booklets or paperbacks. You’ll also need these to tear apart the bubblewrap that will protect the books during shipping.

If you don’t want to spend $5 on a tiny package of new file folders, use some old manila file folders you were going to get rid of anyhow. Once you place the book inside the shipping envelope to provide extra protection to your cargo, cut these into two pieces, one to protect the front of the book and the other to protect the back cover of the book.

Clear heavy-duty shipping tape and tape gun – To get started, you’ll need the tape gun and 2-3 rolls of clear tape. If you’re tight on cash, the smaller plastic tape dispensers can be purchased for around $3 each.

Cleaning supplies- You probably already have paper towels, a tiny clean brush, and warm water in your kitchen. Cleaning sprays should not be used to remove stains from books or dust covers. You may usually restore a clean shine to the book dust cover by swiping a tiny quantity of warm water across the glossy dust cover with a paper towel.

Bookshelves - Needless to say, this company inventory takes up a lot of space, so set up a separate bedroom or a cool, dry area in your home with low humidity, away from windows that sweat to prevent damage to the paper in the books, and purchase or build shelving to hold your books.

Yes, you can use your dining room table, but having a dedicated work table, such as a large folding table that can be packed away in a utility closet, is a great way to set up an assembly line for (a) listing books and (2) packing books for shipment.

Smartphone - OK, I’ll confess that this is a personal preference. The majority of cellular handsets will eat up a significant portion of your monthly money. When you utilize the phone’s internet web browser to pull up competitive prices while out shopping, you’ll know right away if you’ve found a winner or not, so there’s no second guessing.

Account Setup - To have funds direct deposited from your book sales, you’ll need a business checking account. You won’t need to write many checks out of this account if you ask your bank for a free debit card to go with it. You can use your debit card to make the purchases you’ll need to get your bookselling business up and running. Other business requirements include:

You’ll need a credit card - you’ll need one to validate your seller account on Amazon the first day (it won’t be charged again after that).

When setting up an account, you’ll need a phone number - either your home phone number or a mobile phone number that Amazon will use to contact or text you to authenticate your identification (this phone number isn’t public on your online storefront unless you want it to be, which I wouldn’t recommend). In any case, your consumers will need to contact you via email).

You’ll need a valid email address to send messages and receive book sale notifications, as well as to check email notices about returns. I’d suggest creating a new Gmail account and keeping your work and personal email accounts separate.

Consult your city’s zoning department - While it baffles me that some communities prohibit home businesses, it does happen. In your town, you might need a business license. Customers and supplier sales reps won’t come to your house, and unless you have UPS pick up big amounts of your books to transport to the nearest ‘Fulfilled by Amazon’ (FBA) distribution facility, your neighbors are unlikely to notice unless you tell them. Find more information about how to buy amazon feedback.