Selling books online can be a great way to bring in income and build a flexible business. Whether you’re planning to sell historical fiction, specialise in retro comics or ship the latest bestsellers out to your customers, there are a few key reasons why book selling can be an amazing business venture..

A book selling business can often be started with whatever you have on hand. Books can generally be sourced cost-effectively from a range of sources. These low startup costs can help minimise your risk as an online seller.

Book selling online can be a rewarding business with the right products and target audience. It’s also the type of business that can often scale according to your level of investment and goals for growth, and suit your ambitions over time.

What’s not to love about getting more people to read and enjoy books? Whether you’re selling non-fiction or fiction books, schoolbooks or Sci-Fi, you can be proud knowing you’re contributing to a better-read world.

Relaxing holiday reads, or gripping murder mysteries? Language guides – or bright and lively kids’ books? There are endless options when you’re choosing which books to sell, so here’s a rundown of the possibilities for your business.

Note: Selling options vary by region. To learn more about options on the Amazon Australia store, please visit Condition guidelines: Books.

It’s worth considering these key tips to maximise interest and appeal for the books you’re selling online:

• Check existing listings of the same title or author as you invest in new stock, so you can gain a clear idea of demand and pricing

• Research the most popular book categories and themes so you can identify any selling patterns or upcoming trends

• Consider when demand for certain books might be higher – for example, lots of people might look for books around gift-giving dates and summer holidays

• Monitor and adjust prices according to what’s available

And now, let’s explore some of the day-to-day elements of how to start an online bookstore business in Australia.

Before you sell books online, it’s worth setting out your objectives and strategies for growth.

While you might test and try different methods in the early days of your business, it helps to have a plan in place to guide your direction. Spend some time defining your customer segment and who your target audience is likely to be. Perhaps it’s university students, Sci-Fi fans, Young Adult fiction readers or history buffs. Ask yourself:

• Where would your customers learn about books to buy?

• How do they like to share book recommendations with friends?

• Where do they turn first if there’s a particular title they’re seeking?

Determine how you’ll be sourcing and selling books online. Will you work with wholesalers, distributors and direct with publishers?

TIf you’re selling books on Amazon Australia, there are two types of selling accounts to choose from.

1. The first option is an Individual plan, which can suit first-time sellers and occasional sellers. The pay-as-you-go structure of this plan provides flexibility if you’re not selling on a regular basis, or if you won’t need advertising or bulk-listing options.

2. The second is the Professional plan, which is ideal if you plan to sell over 50 items a month or build a full-time book selling business. The Professional plan gives you advanced selling tools such as APIs and reports, the ability to create bulk listings and access to Amazon’s advertising and promotional tools.

Compare pricing for selling plans >

Now to equip yourself with the knowledge you’ll need to sell books and deliver quality service for your customers. Learn how to accurately comply with Amazon’s book condition requirements, and familiarise yourself with common book selling terminology.

A Stock Keeping Unit, or SKU, is a number that’s unique to a type of product and helps you keep track of inventory.

An International Standard Book Number, or ISBN, is a barcode that’s unique to each published book. An ISBN is a type of SKU.

An Amazon Standard Identification Number, or ASIN, is a unique alphanumeric code that’s automatically assigned to every Amazon product listing.

Will you focus on consistent pricing, or grow sales through regular advertising and promotions? Will you plan to connect with customers through a social media presence? If so, which social media platforms do your customers love using?

Don’t forget the value of a compelling product description and high quality product photos. Blurbs and customer reviews can both be powerful customer touchpoints when selling fiction and non-fiction books.

Your book pricing may vary depending on a number of factors. There’s a balance to be found between offering a competitive price and maintaining a successful profit margin for your book selling business.

How will you get books into customer’s hands? Think about whether you’ll want to fulfil orders yourself for your book selling business online, or if you’ll use a fulfilment service for some or all products.

Fulfilment by Amazon is an optional service that can help you automate and streamline many of the essential business tasks involved in running an online store. Many sellers use a mix of fulfilment by seller and Fulfilment by Amazon. Once you ship your products to Amazon’s fulfilment centre, Amazon can store, pick, pack and ship your FBA orders for you – as well as handling returns and 24/7 customer service for your FBA products. FBA listings are also eligible for premium delivery options, including free expedited shipping on Prime-eligible orders for Amazon Prime members.

Nobody wants to miss out on potential sales if a certain title starts to trend because of social buzz or a seasonal trend. Maintaining healthy inventory levels will help you to make the most of demand and deliver to happy customers. Amazon’s Inventory Performance Index helps you to gauge your inventory performance over time and is available for sellers using the Professional selling plan.