Amazon may be a marketplace for everything now, from electronics to home goods, but books still remain at the heart of its legacy. Launched in 1994 by Jeff Bezos as an online bookstore, Amazon started with a simple idea, offering what traditional shops couldn’t – a limitless book catalog.
Books were the perfect product to begin with: easy to store, non-perishable, and incredibly diverse. Fast forward to 2025, and selling books on Amazon is still a thriving business model, whether you’re flipping secondhand finds or launching your own novel.
And with World Book Day 2025 landing on April 23, there’s no better time to dive into the world of online book selling.
In this guide, we break down the process of selling books on Amazon: what works today, what tools to use, and how to stay ahead of the competition.
Is Selling Books on Amazon Still Worth It?
Yes, and here’s why. Books remain one of the most beginner-friendly and profitable categories on Amazon. The startup costs are minimal: you can often source books for free or under $2 from thrift stores, garage sales, library clearances, and donation bins. Yet, many resell for $15, $25, or even over $100, depending on demand and rarity. That kind of profit margin is hard to beat, especially for new sellers.
Beyond that, books are evergreen. Unlike seasonal gadgets or viral fads that come and go, people always need textbooks, self-help guides, children’s stories, cookbooks, and more. Whether it’s a college student hunting for a cheap used textbook or a reader looking for a specific niche title, the demand is consistent.
Specifically, the U.S. books market is expected to reach $9.57 billion in 2025, with a CAGR of 5.02% from 2025 to 2029. With more people shopping online and prioritizing affordable learning or entertainment, books are a reliable bet.
So, if you’re looking to start an Amazon business without dealing with saturated niches, complicated sourcing, or risky trends, books offer a perfect entry point.
It’s not just “still worth it”, it might be the smartest way to start.
What Kind of Books Can You Sell?
Not all books are created equal. These are the top categories:
- New books. These often come with higher demand and cleaner listings, especially if you’re tapping into trending genres, academic textbooks, or recent bestsellers. However, sourcing new books usually requires more upfront investment, working with wholesalers or distributors, and staying compliant with Amazon’s brand and condition policies.
- Used books. This is where most beginners start, and for good reason. Used books are cheap, everywhere, and often come with surprisingly high resale value. Scan barcodes at garage sales, thrift shops, or even your own home. Look out for textbooks, rare editions, niche non-fiction, or out-of-print titles, these can turn a $1 find into a $50 sale. Used books also allow you to experiment with Amazon selling without much risk.
Example: A used hardcover textbook bought for $3 at a library sale could sell for $25 on Amazon, depending on demand and edition.
- eBooks (Kindle Direct Publishing). If you’re a writer, teacher, or content creator, publishing your own eBooks through Amazon KDP can be a goldmine. There’s no shipping, no inventory to manage, and once your book is live, it can generate income passively for years. Popular niches include self-help, short how-tos, children’s books, or even low-content books like journals and planners.
Learn more about selling digital downloads on Amazon’s platform.
Pro tip: Some sellers combine all three strategies, flipping used books for quick cash, investing in select new titles, and publishing eBooks for long-term royalties.
How to Start Selling Books on Amazon in 2025
Step 1: Find Profitable Books
Before buying anything, do your research. Use tools like AMZScout to filter profitable books by:
- Category (e.g., “Books” > “Romance”);
- Estimated sales (100+ per month);
- Average rating (4.0+);
- Reviews (100+ is a good sign);
- Exclude Amazon as a seller to avoid tough competition.
Step 2: Set Up Your Amazon Seller Account
Before you can list your first book, you’ll need an Amazon Seller account. This process is straightforward, but there are a few choices to make upfront. Head to Amazon Seller Central. This is the dashboard you’ll use to manage everything, from listings and orders to payments and performance.
Choose your selling plan:
- Individual plan. Best for beginners or casual sellers. No monthly fee, but Amazon charges $0.99 per item sold. Ideal if you’re just testing the waters or plan to sell fewer than 40 books per month.
- Professional plan. Costs $39.99/month but removes the per-item fee. You also gain access to bulk listing tools, promotions, and eligibility for Buy Box placement. Recommended if you’re serious about scaling your book business.
Remember to get more about 2025 Amazon FBA & Referral Fee Updates and regularly check out the Amazon fees section.
You can upgrade or downgrade your plan at any time, so don’t stress too much about this choice in the beginning.
Submit your details:
- Your full name and contact info;
- A valid bank account for receiving payments;
- A credit card for verification and fee billing;
- Government-issued ID (passport or driver’s license);
- Tax info, like a Social Security Number (SSN) or EIN for businesses.
Make sure all documents are clear and match your account information to avoid delays during verification.
Complete ID & tax verification:
- Amazon may ask for a quick video call to confirm your identity, usually within a few minutes. Once you pass the verification stage, your account will go live and you’re ready to start listing books!
Once approved, you’re ready to list!
Step 3: Source Your Inventory
When your Amazon seller account is set up, it’s time to stock up. Sourcing the right books at the right price is key to building a profitable book-selling business.
Where to find new books:
If you’re aiming to sell brand-new titles, you’ll need to buy in bulk, but the margins can be worth it.
- Publishers. Buying directly from publishers often gets you the lowest unit cost, but expect high minimum order quantities (MOQs). This route is best if you plan to scale and have capital to invest. You’ll also need to register as a business and possibly provide resale certificates.
- Wholesalers & distributors. These are more accessible for small-to-mid-size sellers. Companies like Ingram or Baker & Taylor offer bulk pricing without the steep MOQs of publishers. You’ll still need to apply for an account, but the process is simpler.
Where to find used books:
This is where most Amazon sellers get their start, and the good news is, you don’t need a big budget to build your first batch of inventory.
- Local thrift stores & library sales. These are goldmines for profitable used books. Use a scanning app like ScoutIQ to check current selling prices on Amazon before buying.
- Yard, garage & estate sales. Bring cash and go early. Look for boxes of books that sellers are willing to let go for cheap, or even for free if you offer to take everything.
- Craigslist, eBay & Facebook marketplace. People often list entire collections for a fraction of their value. Focus on textbook bundles, homeschool sets, or niche nonfiction (like health, business, or tech).
- Book sale finder (U.S. only). This site aggregates upcoming book sales at libraries, schools, and community centers across the U.S., perfect for finding bulk deals.
- Your inner circle. Ask friends, family, coworkers, or neighbors if they have old books they no longer need. You’d be surprised how many people are happy to donate a shelf of books just to clear space.
Step 4: List Your Books
Now when you collect your inventory and your account is active, it’s time to get your items live on Amazon.
How to list a book on Amazon (manually):
- Log in to Seller Central;
- Go to Catalog → Add Products;
- Enter the ISBN (International Standard Book Number), if your book already exists in Amazon’s catalog, this auto-fills most details;
- Choose the book’s condition:
- New – factory sealed or never opened;
- Used – check Amazon’s condition guidelines carefully;
- Collectible – for rare, signed, or first-edition books;
- Set your price, quantity, and SKU (stock keeping unit);
- Click Save & Finish.
If your book doesn’t already exist in Amazon’s catalog (common for older or obscure titles), you’ll need to create a new listing manually, including uploading images, writing a product description, and selecting relevant categories.
Use listing automation
If you’re running a store on platforms like Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Ecwid, Shopware or Salesforce, manual listing can become time-consuming fast. Instead, use M2E Multichannel Connect to sync your catalog directly to Amazon. It automates the listing process, pricing, and inventory updates, so you don’t have to juggle multiple dashboards. Discover how to list simple products on Amazon with our guide.
Meanwhile if you are selling with BigCommerce check out how you can import Amazon products to BigCommerce with M2E Cloud. Still, if you are using Shopify find the 7 best Shopify Amazon integration Apps.
If you’re using Magento (Adobe Commerce), the best option is the M2E Pro Amazon extension. It gives you full control over your listings from within your Magento backend, and supports bulk actions.
Discover how to list variational products on Amazon using M2E Pro.
With the right tool in place, listing hundreds (or even thousands) of books becomes quick, scalable, and stress-free.
Step 5: Fulfillment Options – FBA vs. FBM
When selling books on Amazon, you can choose how to fulfill your orders: FBA (Fulfilled by Amazon) or FBM (Fulfilled by Merchant).
With FBA, you send your inventory to Amazon’s warehouse. Amazon takes care of storage, packing, shipping, customer service, and returns. This option is great if you’re scaling up or want to reach Prime customers without handling logistics yourself. Keep in mind that Amazon offers additional FBA storage options with benefits in select EU countries.
Remember, that you can connect Shopify, BigCommerce, and eBay to Amazon FBA with M2E Cloud. Automate shipping and inventory across all channels.
Learn more about the 5 best Amazon FBA inventory management software in our blog.
Remember to check out our documentation about fees for Amazon FBA (US).
With FBM, you keep the books and handle shipping when someone places an order. It’s a good choice if you’re just starting, selling rare or valuable books, or want to stay hands-on with packaging and delivery.
Still, there is one more option – Amazon MCF (Multi-Channel Fulfillment). This is Amazon’s fulfillment service for orders that come from other platforms, like Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, or your own website. You store inventory in Amazon’s warehouses (just like FBA), but Amazon will ship the order even if the customer buys it outside Amazon (for example from TikTok Shop, eBay etc.).
Meanwhile, you can connect your Ecwid or WooCommerce store to Amazon MCF with M2E Cloud. This lets you automatically fulfill orders from your store and marketplaces like eBay, TikTok Shop, and Kaufland, while Amazon takes care of packing and shipping. You focus on growth, not logistics.
To learn more about how to use Amazon MCF to fulfill orders from TikTok Shop, read our blog. And discover how to expand your brand’s reach with Amazon multi-channel fulfillment.
Step 6: Track, Optimize, Scale
Once your books are listed, your job isn’t done. To keep making sales and grow your Amazon book business, you need to stay active and strategic.
- Adjust book prices frequently. Prices for used and collectible books change all the time. Want to stay competitive on Amazon without constant manual price adjustments? The M2E Repricer for Amazon is a perfect fit, a smart tool that automatically adjusts your prices based on market conditions, taking into account both B2C and B2B offers.
Learn more about top 5 Amazon analytics tools to gain a competitive edge.
- Watch the Buy Box. If you’re using FBA or selling new books, winning the Buy Box is key. Monitor which listings are eligible and adjust your pricing, condition, or shipping method to stay competitive.
- Respond to messages & feedback. Book buyers may ask about edition, condition, or shipping. Answer quickly and professionally. Good reviews improve your seller rating and build trust with future buyers.
- Keep your account healthy. Amazon tracks late shipments, order defects, and customer complaints. Whether you use FBA or FBM, staying within their performance targets is critical to avoid penalties or suspensions.
- Test Amazon PPC for certain titles. If you have high-demand books (like textbooks, bestsellers, or niche non-fiction), running small Pay-Per-Click (PPC) campaigns can help boost visibility and drive more sales.
Example: If your used textbook isn’t selling, check your price history, see what similar sellers are charging, and consider dropping the price slightly. Still no traction? Try bundling it with another book from the same subject.
Still, if you face some issues with your item’s popularity, discover the 10 key reasons why your product is not selling on Amazon.
Ready to Turn the Page?
Selling books on Amazon in 2025 is still one of the smartest, low-risk ways to break into eCommerce. Whether you’re flipping thrift store gems or self-publishing as an indie author, the opportunity is wide open.
Just remember: research smart, track your profits, optimize your listings, and use the right tools.
Want more eCommerce tips and tricks? Check out the M2E Cloud blog for the latest insights!
Happy World Book Day, and happy selling!
