Back-to-School Selling Guide AMAZON

I received this email and thought I would share ....

Dear Seller,

Textbook season is upon us!

Textbook season can be one of the busiest and profitable times of the year for
our Marketplace sellers. To help you get the most out of it, Amazon has compiled
a list of the business practices of our top textbook sellers. These
recommendations will help you to provide the best buyer experience possible
during the back-to-school season.

Tip 1: Be prepared for a sudden increase in orders.
â?¢   Keep on top of orders by checking your Seller Account daily (On the top of
the Amazon.com home page, click "Your Account," then click "Your Seller Account"
on the right side of the page). This will permit you to ship on time even if you
miss our "Sold, ship now" e-mail notification.
â?¢   If you sell through multiple sales channels, you will want to avoid
disappointing customers by updating your inventory daily during the peak period.

Tip 2: Ship within 2 business days.
-   Do not list textbooks that you do not have available for same day shipping.
All textbook sales must ship within 2 business days. Delayed shipments usually
end up affecting your performance ratings. Refund promptly if you cannot fulfill
the order.

Tip 3: Allow for multiple shipping options.
-   Students need their books ASAP and will pick listings that offer expedited
shipping. During back-to-school season last year, over 25% of Marketplace
textbook buyers requested expedited shipping.

Tip 4: Provide Delivery Confirmation Service.
-   Your customers are anxiously awaiting their textbooks. E-mail a shipment
confirmation to the buyer with date shipped, method shipped, and estimated
arrival date.
-   You may also want to consider shipping with delivery confirmation or tracking;
however, if you choose to use these options we encourage you to set the price of
the item with the cost of these services in mind.

Tip 5: List your textbooks condition accurately and under the correct ISBN.
-   Decrease returns by making sure your buyer gets exactly the product described
on the detail page where you place your listing.
-   Students will search for a textbook by ISBN (a unique 10 -13 digit code). Make
sure your item has exactly the same code.
-   Pick the appropriate condition and add condition notes about marks and
highlighting.
-   Watch out for different versions and editions. For example, do not list a 3rd
edition textbook on the Amazon.com product page of the 4th edition.
-   Make sure you do not list international editions of textbooks.

Tip 6: Do not list or sell prohibited items.
-   Manuals or teacher's editions that provide answer keys to student textbook
editions are prohibited; listings for these materials will be cancelled.

Tip 7: Be prepared for increased returns.
-   Students often need to return textbooks because of course cancellations. All
Amazon.com sellers must accept returns even if the order is fulfilled correctly.
-   Differentiate your business by expediting returns. Consider including a return
address and instructions in your package.
-   Request that your buyer pack up the item and return it to you. In cases where
the seller is not responsible for the return, return shipping costs should be
paid by the buyer. Upon receipt, immediately issue the appropriate refund to
your buyer.

In addition, as part of our continued effort to improve the selling experience
on Amazon.com, we have launched a new version of our seller help pages. Click
"Need Help? Contact Us" on the right side of your Seller Account page. The
information has been restructured to highlight the most common categories of
selling activity in order to better help you find the answers you need. We will
continue to make improvements to our help pages over the coming months. We hope
you find the changes useful.

Thank you for selling with Amazon.com!