Sell your books via AbeBooks!
Our mission at AbeBooks is to help people find and buy any book from any bookseller anywhere. We provide you with essential services and opportunities not available to booksellers through any other listing service – AbeBooks is the best venue in terms of price and value for selling books on the internet.
You will first need to set up an account on AbeBooks if you do not already have one. If you have an account, please click [Sign on] at the top of the website to sign on to your existing account. After signing on, simply click [Sell Books].
To create a new account:
1. Click [Sell Books] located in the red bar at the top of our website
2. Read about the advantages of becoming an AbeBooks seller
3.Click on [SIGN UP NOW to become an AbeBooks Bookseller]
4. Go through the Registration Check-list
5. Click on [SIGN UP NOW to become an AbeBooks Bookseller] at the bottom of the page again and you will be directed to the Registration form
6. Enter the required information in the fields indicated by an asterisk *
7. Click on [Save & Continue] at the bottom of the page
Once you have created your account or signed on, you may continue to our online application. The online application follows the steps outlined below:
Entering your Details & Read and Accept the AbeBooks Agreement
Please enter your information in the fields indicated by an asterisk '*'.
This includes your contact information, your preferred currency & terms of sale, shipping terms and inventory management software. After entering your information, click [Save & Continue].
You will then be presented with the AbeBooks Agreement, which has two components:
The Bookseller agreement and the AbeBooks Guide, which has three sections:
How AbeBooks Works - an explanation of how AbeBooks Web Sites work
Code of Conduct - outlines the standards expected of booksellers
Performance Standards - the criteria upon which your participation will be measured
We encourage applicants to read the entire agreement and review the "Fee Schedule" before clicking the [Yes, I Agree With The Above] button. You can now enter your VAT registration (click [Skip] if you are not VAT registered) and then move on to the next step to "Choose Payment Options".
Choosing Your Acceptable Payment Methods
In addition to credit card payments, which are processed by the AbeBooks Payment System, you can select other payment methods you wish to accept. These will be displayed as possible payment options to buyers when they purchase from you.
To select your Acceptable Payment Methods:
1. Select the payment methods you accept such as cheque, money order or PayPal
2. Click the [Continue] button at the bottom of the page
Entering Your Banking Information
In order to facilitate timely payment of funds to our booksellers, we require current bank account information. There is no risk involved when entering your bank details as we will only credit you and never charge your bank account, as we do not have such facilities for direct debits. To add your bank details:
1. Select the [Bank Country] from the drop-down list
2. Enter the [Sort Code]
3. Enter the [Bank Account Number]
5. Enter any additional banking information you wish to provide
6. Select your choice of Payment Currency
7. Click [Add Banking Details]
Note: The sort code and account numbers are located on the bottom of your cheques. If you are unsure as to which information is required, please contact your financial institution for clarification.
Reviewing and Accept the AbeBooks Shipping Matrix
These are the rates that buyers will see and the amounts that AbeBooks will reimburse to you. You will need to accept these rates in order to complete your registration as a bookseller. Once your account is opened the rates can be adjusted. Once you have viewed the AbeBooks shipping matrix click on the [Accept] button.
Entering Your Credit Card Information
On the first Friday of each month, you will receive by email a statement from AbeBooks detailing applicable fees. If a balance is owing, this will be charged to the credit card you have saved to your account. (If you do not have a credit card, please skip this section).
To enter your credit card details:
1. Click [Credit Card Details]
2. Enter your account details
3. Click [Add Card]
Welcome to AbeBooks!
Once all of the above information is submitted, we will review your application and send an email to confirm receipt. Once we have received your application we will contact you to finalise the registration.
Thank you for your application! We look forward to welcoming you to our online bookseller community soon.
Whether you are a professional bookseller with a shop or a private individual selling your collection you can list on AbeBooks. As long as you accept the bookseller agreement and adhere to the standards that we strive to keep on AbeBooks, we are happy to have you on board.
If you are a European bookseller located outside of the UK, click here for the AbeBooks fees in Euro.
Monthly Subscription Rates:
For a reasonable monthly subscription fee, which is calculated according to the amount of books you list, your books will be listed worldwide on AbeBooks.co.uk, AbeBooks.com, AbeBooks.fr, AbeBooks.de, AbeBooks.it and IberLibro.com (our Spanish website):
|
Number of Books |
Monthly Fees |
|
0 - 500 |
£17 |
|
501 - 4,000 |
£25 |
|
4,001 - 10,000 |
£28 |
|
10,001 - 20,000 |
£35 |
|
20,001 - 30,000 |
£53 |
|
30,001 - 50,000 |
£83 |
|
50,001 - 100,000 |
£120 |
|
100,001 - 150,000 |
£175 |
|
150,001 - 500,000 |
£250 |
|
500,001+ |
£350 |
Transaction Fees
Upon a successful sale via the AbeBooks shopping basket, a sales commission of 8% on the total item amount (book price + shipping + extra charges) is incurred. The minimum sales commission is 30p per book; the maximum sales commission is £22 per book. When processing credit card payments, AbeBooks will charge an additional processing fee as follows:
For orders placed on the AbeBooks.co.uk and AbeBooks.com websites, a 5.5% fee is charged on any total item amount below £275. If the total item amount exceeds £275 a 3.5% fee applies to the remaining total item amount.* Orders placed on the AbeBooks.de, AbeBooks.fr, AbeBooks.it and IberLibro.com websites will be charged at 3.5% for the total item amount.
*E.g. For an AbeBooks.co.uk or AbeBooks.com order totalling £500:
The first £275 of the total item amount incurs a 5.5% processing fee
The remaining £225 of the total item amount incurs a 3.5% processing fee
The minimum processing fees are based on the transaction currency of the website via which orders are placed, and are applied to each item in the order, as follows:
Please Note: The prices quoted above do not include VAT. According to EU regulations, AbeBooks charges German VAT (19%) on sales fees and commissions. If you are VAT registered please enter your VAT registration number in the appropriate field when applying for a bookseller account in order to be exempt from the VAT charge.
How can I pay AbeBooks?
We are flexible in your payment method; we can accept Visa, MasterCard cheque or bank transfer. When you pay us via credit card you enter in the details online and we automatically charge your card each month. This is the quickest payment method. If you prefer you can also pay us via cheque or bank transfer. You will need to await the first Friday of every month and then send us the amount due on your email invoice.
If you wish to pay by Visa or MasterCard, you can set up your payments by entering your credit card information online via our secure server:
1.[Sign On] to your AbeBooks.com bookseller account
2. Select [Your Personal Information]
3. Select [Add or Update your credit card information (for fee payments only)]
To pay via bank transfer please quote your account number as a reference. Your account number can be found at the top of your AbeBooks statements. Our bank details are also contained in your AbeBooks statements.
To pay via cheque please quote your account number on the reverse, make payable to "AbeBooks Europe GmbH" and post to:
AbeBooks Europe GmbH
Ronsdorfer Str 77a
40233 Dusseldorf
Germany
Thank you in advance for your payment. Contact us if you have any questions about how to pay.
Monthly Subscription Rates:
For a reasonable monthly subscription fee, which is calculated according to the amount of books you list, your books will be listed worldwide on AbeBooks.co.uk, AbeBooks.com, AbeBooks.fr, AbeBooks.de, AbeBooks.it and IberLibro.com (our Spanish website):
|
Number of Books |
Monthly Fees |
|
0 - 250 |
€15 |
|
251 - 500 |
€25 |
|
501 - 4,000 |
€37 |
|
4,001 - 10,000 |
€42 |
|
10,001 - 20,000 |
€53 |
|
20,001 - 30,000 |
€80 |
|
30,001 - 50,000 |
€125 |
|
50,001 - 100,000 |
€200 |
|
100,001 - 150,000 |
€275 |
|
150,001 - 500,000 |
€350 |
|
500,000+ |
€450 |
Transaction Fees
Upon a successful sale via the AbeBooks shopping basket, a sales commission of 8% on the total item amount (book price + shipping + extra charges) is incurred. The minimum sales commission is €0.40 per book; the maximum sales commission is €32 per book. When processing credit card payments, AbeBooks will charge an additional processing fee as follows:
For orders placed on the AbeBooks.co.uk and AbeBooks.com websites, a 5.5% fee is charged on any total item amount below €400. If the total item amount exceeds €400 a 3.5% fee applies to the remaining total item amount.* Orders placed on the AbeBooks.de, AbeBooks.fr, AbeBooks.it and IberLibro.com websites will be charged at 3.5% for the total item amount.
*E.g. For an AbeBooks.co.uk or AbeBooks.com order totalling €500:
Please Note: The prices quoted above do not include VAT. According to EU regulations, AbeBooks charges German VAT (19%) on sales fees and commissions. If you are VAT registered please enter your VAT registration number in the appropriate field when applying for a bookseller account in order to be exempt from the VAT charge.
The benefits of listing with AbeBooks are:
Your books will be listed worldwide - just one subscription and one upload.
With just one upload your titles will be listed on all AbeBooks web sites worldwide - AbeBooks.co.uk, AbeBooks.com, AbeBooks.de, AbeBooks.fr, AbeBooks.it and IberLibro.com (our Spanish website) - thereby reaching customers worldwide in a very simple way!
The world is your customer:
Secure credit card processing:
AbeBooks will process all credit card payments on your behalf and carry the cost of fraudulent purchases made using credit cards. We will credit you weekly for these sales by Electronic Funds Transfer to your bank account. For this service we charge a 5.5% processing fee per transaction, which is included on your monthly invoice statement.
Access to the AbeBooks international affiliate network:
Alongside operating its web sites, AbeBooks has an ever-increasing network of partner web sites over which your books are sold as well. Known names such as Addall.com and WHSmith are just some to mention.
We are sorry that you are having difficulty signing on to your account.
AbeBooks operates several regional websites for buyer usage. However, all bookseller accounts can only be accessed via AbeBooks.com as opposed to AbeBooks.co.uk for example.
To sign on go to AbeBooks.com and click on [sign on] at the top right of the page.
Please note that because both the email address and your password field are case-sensitive; please ensure that the CAPS LOCK is not activated on your keyboard when you are attempting to sign on.
If you continue to experience difficulty please check the following:
To enable browser Cookies:
For Mozilla Firefox
For Safari
To enable JavaScript:
For Mozilla Firefox
For Safari
If you have a Firewall and/or Anti-Virus software installed on your PC you may need to adjust the privacy control. The option for enabling web browser privacy needs to be switched off. Should you need assistance, we have provided links below to major providers. As some providers do charge for technical assistance, please check for charges before requesting support:
Click here if you use: Microsoft - Windows XP Firewall, ZoneAlarm, Norton AntiVirus
If you forgot your password:
If you do not remember your password, you will need to reset it, please follow the next steps:
- Click the [Forgot Your Password] button
- We will then send an email to the address you provided. This email will provide a link to a secure password reset page.
- Simply click the link or copy/paste it into your browser's address bar to create a new password and log into your AbeBooks account.
If you did not receive the email, please check your Spam or Junk mail folders. Please note that the link in the email expires after 2 hours, and you will then need to click the [Forgot Your Password] button again.
When creating your new password, please keep the following rules in mind:
- Your password must contain at least 8 characters and include no spaces or single quotes
- Your password must include at least 1 lower case letter (a–z)
- Your password must include at least 1 upper case letter, a number, or any special character (e.g., A-Z, 1-9, !@#$%^&*~)
- Your password can not be the same as your email address
- Your password can not be the same as your previous AbeBooks password
You can easily view the English version of the AbeBooks European Bookseller Agreement [here].
If you wish to print and read the agreement and proceed with the registration at a later date you may of course do so. After registering, we will email you a copy of the agreement and once we have opened a bookseller account you will be able to view the agreement at any time via your bookseller account.
The Bookseller Agreement can be terminated at any time. Please contact our Customer Service with your reasons for the closure request. We will then review your account and address any of your concerns. If you decide that the account needs to be closed, we will confirm this by email and close the account at the end of that calendar month. You will receive a final invoice at the beginning of the following month.
To ensure the satisfaction of both booksellers and book buyers on our website AbeBooks has issued some guidelines. Upon registration, all booksellers declare that they accept these guidelines and policies. Being familiar with our policies will assist you in making your AbeBooks experience and that of your customers a successful one.
Your Bookstore Information
AbeBooks offers several fields to enter key information that will assist with your book sales. We ask that all information listed in these fields be true and accurate to the best of your knowledge. All information should be included only in the designated fields and all booksellers should refrain from redirecting buyers to other websites or any alternative means of placing their orders.
AbeBooks reserves the right to review and edit any information fields to remove unacceptable content. Should any restricted information be found, the bookseller will be notified. If the issue persists the bookseller account may be suspended or even closed. For further details on the above, see the full policy online.
Your AbeBooks Inventory
AbeBooks is a global marketplace for books; however, booksellers may also offer ephemera such as maps, sheet music, greeting cards, bookmarks, letters, posters, and other such printed collectables. Below you will find the mandatory requirements for listing your books, a summary of the listings that are only permitted when certain conditions are met, as well as unacceptable listings.
Listing Requirements:
Acceptable Listings and Conditions:
Unacceptable Listings:
We reserve the right, at our discretion, to remove any listing, which includes requests from rights holders and items deemed defamatory or illegal.
Your Customer Service
Providing the best customer service possible is the key to ensuring that buyers return again and again. It is also a great source for word-of-mouth business growth. As a minimum requirement, we ask that you follow our Customer Service guidelines:
Order Processing & Refunds:
The following chart outlines the various return reasons available to buyers and booksellers as well as the compensation amounts based on the situation.
|
Return Reason |
Description |
Reimbursement |
|
Item did not Arrive |
The order did not arrive and is past the estimated delivery date |
Full refund = Book price + shipping charged
|
|
Order Accepted in Error |
The seller agreed to send a book, but then found the book condition was not as described on AbeBooks, or that the book had been previously sold |
Full refund = Book price + shipping charged |
|
Buyer Cancelled before Shipping |
The seller agreed to send a book but was contacted by the buyer prior to shipping. Buyer requested order cancellation |
Full refund = Book price + shipping charged
|
|
Item was Damaged |
Item was damaged in transit For advice on packaging click here |
If initiated by buyer: Full refund + return shipping = Book price + shipping charged + return shipping equal to original shipping If initiated by seller: Seller can choose whether to refund the return shipping costs. For instance if the buyer is to keep the book as well as a full refund
|
|
Incorrect Item Delivered |
The book sent to the buyer was not the item the buyer ordered |
If initiated by buyer: Full refund + return shipping = Book price + shipping charged + return shipping equal to original shipping If initiated by seller: Seller can choose whether to refund the return shipping costs. For instance if the buyer is to keep the book as well as a full refund
|
|
Item not as Described |
The book is shipped to the buyer and buyer claims it does not match the description on AbeBooks. If the seller does not agree that the item was "not as described" they are not required to refund Return shipping, but must accept the Return. |
If seller agrees: Full refund + return shipping = Book price + shipping charged + return shipping equal to original shipping If seller disagrees: Full refund = Book price + shipping charged
|
|
Partial refund* |
The buyer and bookseller have agreed to a partial refund amount. The buyer is refunded only the amount specified |
Specified by bookseller
|
|
Buyer does not want item** |
Buyer received item, but does not want the item |
Full refund = Book price + shipping charged Credit Card Payment |
|
Incomplete Sale*** |
Buyer failed to pay for item |
Refunds commissions charged to bookseller
|
Reimbursement amounts are for Ecommerce orders only.
For Bookseller Direct orders, the buyer must be refunded directly.
*Orders where payment is processed by AbeBooks (Credit Card) only
**Orders placed on AbeBooks.com will be refunded only the book price
*** Orders where payment is processed by the bookseller only
Bookseller Ratings
The aim of AbeBooks Bookseller Ratings is to help increase customer satisfaction and in turn increase the number of repeat buyers, which generate more sales for you. A large majority of booksellers have an excellent completion rating, between 85-100% and therefore a Bookseller Rating of 4-5 stars.
Completion Rating - All booksellers are encouraged to work on keeping the highest Bookseller Rating possible. We do require that booksellers maintain a minimum completion rating of 85%, or 4-stars, over a 6 month period. Booksellers who fall below this minimum requirement will be contacted by our Sales and Account Management Team.
Tips for improving your completion rating:
Return Rate - Booksellers are also required to keep returns below 5% of orders. Booksellers whose return rates go above 5% will be contacted and will be required to improve their service to buyers. Click here for a full overview of returns which affect your bookseller rating.
Tips for improving your return rate:
Click here to see more Top Tips on how to improve your Bookseller Rating.
For further information on the above policies, see the full policy online or visit our full help pages here.
With AbeBooks you can use a variety of file formats and software to upload your books, including: Access, Excel and FileMaker Pro.
We recommend that you use our free inventory management software HomeBase.
However, if you have your own book list already or you wish to use your own inventory management system we can set this up for you. The data must be tab or tilde (~) delimited, and must be saved as a text file (file type = .txt).
There are 3 things that we require in order to convert your book data to our format:
We can transform your data just about any way to fit into our database, so please feel free to set up your database to suit your needs.
If you do not yet have an inventory management system, you may wish to use the AbeBooks Inventory Template that we have already set up for you.
For further information please contact us.
Book terms and attributes
If your book data has separate fields for attributes you may wish to review how our BSA parsing works.
If your data does not have separate fields, but only uses the description field, then AbeBooks searches this field of the book data you send to us. This is known as description parsing. We check for the specific attributes that can be searched for using the Advanced Search function.
For more information on description parsing please click here.
If you are not sure if parsing is switched on or off for your account please contact us.
Note: If you are using HomeBase to manage your inventory, you have the option of including attributes in the description field or by using the drop down menus. Please do not add attributes using both the description field and drop down menus. Adding information to both places may result in the attributes being displayed incorrectly. If you use the description field then we will switch on parsing for your account.
Related subjects
How can I improve my listings for the AbeBooks Advanced Search?
How can I list my books on your platform?
Depending on your specific needs, AbeBooks offers many options to help you list & upload your books:
1. Online Inventory Management - Ideal for beginners who would like to enter their books directly online. ISBN Look-up feature is also available. To view an example please click here
For further information see Using Online Inventory Management.
2. HomeBase - Our free inventory management software for cataloguing books, maintaining a customer database and creating invoices. Technical support included. With HomeBase you can keep a detailed list of your inventory, print your catalogues and easily export your book data. Features exclusive to AbeBooks member booksellers: Use of ISBN Look-up and Price comparison tools! Example
You can download HomeBase 2.3 or 3.0 here.
For further information see Using HomeBase or download our HomeBase 2.3 User Guide. For assistnace with HomeBase 3.0 please click here.
3. Individual conversion of your book data - Should you already have a customised inventory system such as MichaelCole, Booktrakker, Amazon, BookRouter - or use a program such as Excel, Access or Filemaker to list your books, we can create a conversion specifically for your data format. Simply send a copy of your first file together with a field description (1 = book ID, 2 = author, 3 = title, 4 = publisher etc.) to conversions@abebooks.com - please remember to mention which software you use. We will check your data and get back to you if we have any questions. To see an example please click here.
For further information see Using Your Own Data Format.
For detailed information of possible formats please view our list of possible formats.
If you do not yet have an inventory management system, you may wish to use the AbeBooks Inventory Template that we have already set up for you.
4. XML-Interface (API) - For those with a high volume of sales we also offer a special XML-interface (API) that allows direct communication with the AbeBooks Server. The system ensures seamless integration of your AbeBooks-Business into your own order and inventory management system. Please contact us directly for further information on this service.
Details on how to upload your book data can be found here.
Subject related posts:
What information and format for book data is required for your service?
You can easily update your inventory.
The way in which you update your inventory depends on the software and format you use to send AbeBooks data. Please use the appropriate link below to find further information on updating your inventory:
If you are using an individual conversion for your book data click here.
Subject related posts:
What information and format for book details required for your service?
For those booksellers with a high volume of sales we also offer a special XML-interface (API) that allows direct communication with the AbeBooks Server. The system ensures seamless integration of your AbeBooks-Business into your own order and inventory management system. Please contact us directly for further information on this service.
If you would like to try out our free inventory management software then you just need to download and install the software on your computer. You can complete the download 3 easy steps:
1. Click [Download HomeBase 2.3]
2. Then click on the red [Download HomeBase] button located in the middle of the page
3. Click on [Save File] (Download should be complete within 60 seconds depending on your connection
Now simply follow these steps to install HomeBase 2.3 on your computer:
1. Go to your computer [Desktop]
2. Double-click on the [HomeBase23EN.EXE] icon
3. Close any programs you have open and click [Next]
4. Read through the HomeBase Software license agreement and select the [I Accept the terms in the HomeBase Software license agreement] option. Click the [Next] button
5. To install HomeBase 2.3 to the default folder, click the [Next] button
6. Select the [Yes] option button and then click the [Next] button
7. Click the [Next] button
8. Click the [Next] button to begin the installation
9. Click the [Finish] button
Note for Windows Vista users: Unfortunately, the “Home Basic” version of Windows Vista does not support FTP (File Transfer Protocol) uploads. To use FTP in these Windows Vista environments you will need to acquire addition software. Please consult Microsoft support for further details. Only Windows Vista Ultimate Edition supports FTP.
However, you can create an export file in HomeBase and upload your books via your Members Menu once you have opened an AbeBooks bookseller account. Contact us and let us know which version of Windows Vista you are using, we will be happy to let you know how you can upload.
Note for Mac users: Unfortunately, version 2.3 of HomeBase cannot be run on the Mac system. Some Mac users have acquired and installed Virtual PC software, enabling a Virtual PC environment in which software such as HomeBase 2.3 can be run.
Illustrated instructions on how to add books and mange catalogues can be found in the HomeBase 2.3 User Guide.
By uploading images you can potentially increase your sales by up to 30%!
Buyers are more likely to purchase a book with an image provided and are less likely to return an item that was listed with a supplied image.
AbeBooks allows sellers to provide up to 5 images per listing. Once your image has been processed, it will be associated with the corresponding listing and will be displayed in search results.
There are three ways to upload your images:
|
What is my best option? |
|
|
I only have a few images to upload |
Online Inventory Management System (OIMS) |
|
I am unfamiliar with FTP, .zip files and/or image URLS |
|
|
I already have a number of images saved on my computer |
|
|
I have images online on my website |
Add a URL field to your book file Online Inventory Management System (OIMS) |
Image Upload Requirements:
Once you have uploaded your images
Once your image has been processed, it will be associated with the corresponding listing and will be displayed in search results. Buyers can also filter their searches for books with Bookseller-supplied photos so the more images you upload the better visibility your books will have in the search results.
If you have uploaded your images via FTP or through the Members Menu you will receive a 'Error image report' if there is an issue with any of your images. Should this issue continue please contact our Customer Service team.
Occasionally, you may need to contact your AbeBooks buyers once they have placed an order with you. This may be to discuss shipping their order or processing a bookseller direct payment.
You can find their email address on the order notification message and also on the order update page in your bookseller account.
Should you come across a language barrier in your communications with the buyer, you can use an online translator such as Google Translate, Bable Fish or PROMT to assist you in understanding the buyer's enquiry or reply.
AbeBooks processes credit card order payments on behalf of our member booksellers. We in turn credit booksellers for these orders via weekly bank transfer, monthly bank transfer or via monthly cheque. The way in which we can credit you depends on the country in which your bank resides.
We can credit you for your orders where the payment was processed by AbeBooks, via weekly bank transfers if your bank is in one of the below countries. Please enter your banking details in your AbeBooks account.
Belgium - France - Germany - Ireland - Italy - Netherlands - Spain - Switzerland – UK
Every Friday, you will receive an advance email notification of payment for the sales of the previous 7 days. The payment is transferred to your bank by EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer) one week later, on the following Friday. Depending on your bank's own procedures, it can take from 1 to 7 days for the payment to reach your account.
This period is due to individual bank procedures and processing times.
Payments below USD 1.00, GBP 1.00 or EUR 1.00, will not be issued. Instead, the balance due to you is carried forward and added to your sales the following week.
Subscription fees are offset against sales on the first Friday of the month. If sales for that week are insufficient to cover the amount owing to AbeBooks, the balance due will be charged to the credit card you have on file with us.
If your bank account is not in one of the above countries (Belgium - France - Germany - Ireland - Italy - Netherlands - Spain - Switzerland - UK ) but is still within the European Union, we can make monthly bank transfers to you at no cost. Please contact us with the following details:
- Bank name & address
- BIC / Swift Code
- IBAN (International Bank Account Number)
- Name & address of account holder
If your bank is outside the European Union, we can send payment via monthly cheque or monthly international bank transfer.
It usually takes up to 2 weeks after you receive your payment notification to issue monthly cheques. Payment cheques more than 2,000 Euros will be sent by courier to ensure prompt delivery. Payment cheques less than 2,000 Euros will be sent by standard mail. To shorten your waiting period, you can choose to have your cheque sent via courier at a maximum cost of 23 Euro. Please contact us if you prefer shipment by courier for your cheques.
Alternatively, you can receive payment by monthly international bank transfer. If you would like payment via monthly international bank transfer, please contact us with the following details:
- Bank name & address
- BIC / Swift Code
- IBAN (International Bank Account Number)
- Name & address of account holder
Please Note: You will need to bear the cost of the international bank transfer. It will be deducted from the gross amount before payment is sent. Unfortunately, fees vary and we do not know how much they will be in advance. Please keep in mind that your bank may also charge you for receiving an international bank transfer.
Your statement is a summary of the previous month's sales and payments. It contains the monthly total of your gross payable sales, offset against the monthly totals of commission, payment service fees and subscription fees charged. If you look at your weekly summaries, the totals together match the figure that you see on your monthly statement.
Sample statement with explanatory notes:
A general outline of the payment process is as follows:
Every Friday, we send you a payment notification email that includes all sales for that week. From those sales, we offset your commissions and credit card payment service fees
On the first of each month, we apply your subscription fees to your account. On the first Friday of the month, your payment is therefore offset by that weeks commissions and payment service fees as well as your subscription
Should the amount that you owe us be greater than the payment for your sales, we will charge your credit card to make up the difference. As long as your sales are greater than your fees, we never need to charge your card
Please note that all EU sellers are charged 19% German VAT (location of AbeBooks European head office) on subscription fees, processing fees and sales commissions in accordance with EU regulations. If you are VAT registered and did not enter your VAT number during the registration process, please contact our customer service team in order to update your account and be exempt from the VAT charge in future. Please ensure to include the following information when contacting us: Name of the VAT registered company, Address of the company and Company status (Ltd., PLC, etc.)
Payment notification emails are advanced notice of your deposit; the funds will be transferred to your bank one week later, and then deposited by your bank within a few days.
Related subjects:
How and when do I receive my payments from AbeBooks?
Where can I view details for payments and fees?
It is always important to ensure that your listings are being promoted in the best possible way. To offer our support, we have created a list of tips to help you increase your sales. Sometimes only small changes are needed to make to your book data more unique and appealing to buyers. Whilst buyers may be looking to save either on book prices or shipping, they certainly will want to know that when buying they are making a good investment. By giving them all the information they need you can help with their purchase decision and make buying books online worth their while, in turn improving your sales and increasing your returning customers:
Upload Pictures
A picture says more than a 1000 words and pictures of your inventory can help increase your sales considerably. Buyers like to see what they are buying - especially if a book is quite expensive or rare. Having pictures of your books online also allows you to participate in other special promotions throughout the year. You will also be able to showcase your books in the Rare Books Room, which we promote regularly in buyer newsletters.
For further information on uploading pictures click here!
Expand Your Book Descriptions
Ensure you have described your inventory accurately and have used the description to its fullest, offering buyers all the information they need to know. A more extensive description, along with a good picture, can really make a difference to a buyer when deciding whose book to buy. Additionally, your books will then receive more search hits as not only titles and authors are matched but also words within the book descriptions. The more information you include, the better chance you have of your books being found. This is especially true of books with no ISBN or whose titles do not always reflect their contents. You can give a comprehensive overview of the bibliographic information, the condition of the book and also part of the synopsis, for example.
Why is synopsis information important? For those buyers who do not know exact book titles, and where the title of a book does not really reflect the contents, buyers will be searching by keyword for a genre, a character, or the topic of the book. They will only find your books if you have that information available. By including part of the synopsis, a buyer will be more likely to find your books in their searches. You can add information to your book descriptions at any time!
Keywords - are another tool for making your books more visible in the search results. Keywords should be as book specific as possible. Using generic words, like 'history' for example, will mean that your book(s) appears as one of several million in the search results and it becomes difficult to find your book(s). By being more content specific, for example - 18th century history Devon Cornwall - you will greatly reduce the number of search results and help the buyer get to your books more quickly. As the search runs a full text search you should use words different to those used in your book description.
You can even add French, German, Spanish and Italian keywords to your book data; by doing so you will reach many more buyers abroad. You can make use of our translated Key Words Facility for tips on German and French keywords.
Signed Books, First Editions etc. – Ensure that in your book descriptions you have also included special features, such as signed or first editions, so that buyers looking for these kind of books can find yours in the search results. Buyers can refine their searches using certain attributes - whether first editions, a hardback or a copy signed by the author. You can view an example of this here.
Include publisher information (Publisher name, place, year). Your books will then appear in search results where buyers filter down to year of publication.
For new books always enter the ISBN - We can then expand on your book data using our stored bibliographic data and recommendations.
Cataloguing your books correctly, not only makes it easier for buyers to find your books in their searches, but also allows us to include your books in any buyer communication that we do. We send newsletters to various different buyer groups and we are always interested in bookseller content that we can promote to attract buyers. Don't forget that we can only promote books where a good picture of the book is available.
For further information on optimising your book data, see our book data information and format recommendation post here.
Create Catalogues & Categorise Your Books
While many buyers use the search function to find the books they looking for, many buyers also use browsing to find books. Buyers have two ways to browse on AbeBooks by AbeBooks Category or Bookseller Catalogue. By creating catalogues for your books, buyers will not only be able to search your books but also browse your books by subject. You can thereby help them to find and buy more of your books.
The appearance of a book within a category provides search engines with a path through which that book can be found. This means that if a buyer searches for the book on a search engine such as Google, your listing will be able to be found. Taking the time to categorise your listings will give you a strong competitive edge against those booksellers who do not.
Keep Your Inventory Updated
Keeping your inventory up-to-date is essential in helping your bookseller account to achieve its best performance. Not only does this prevent buyer dissatisfaction but it also helps you maintain a high Bookseller Rating. Keeping your inventory up to date includes:
For further information on updating your inventory, please choose the method you use here.
Competitive Shipping Rates & Speeds
Regularly check to ensure that your shipping rates and speeds remain competitive.
Buyers will want to know exactly when they are likely to receive their orders. Ensure that your shipping rates and speeds really reflect the services you can offer. If you do not include a buyer's country in your shipping matrix, the buyer is then shown your International Rate, which could be higher than what they would need to pay. Adding neighbouring countries, such as Ireland or other European countries, to your matrix will give buyers the correct shipping rate and speed and you will have an advantage over other sellers who have not added those countries to their matrix.
Free shipping - You may wish to consider offering Free Domestic Shipping - giving buyers an added incentive to order from you. Your books would then be included in our Free Shipping Room where buyer can search exclusively through those books.
Customise your Storefront
Personalising your Storefront can really help buyers to gain a deeper insight into your bookselling business and through this gain trust and loyalty that will lead them back to your shop time and time again. One of the Storefront features is the ability to upload your own photo, image or logo to the page. This could be your business logo, a photo of your shop, your books or even yourself... It's entirely up to you.
Add the URL of your Storefront in all your email communication. By doing this you provide the buyer with quick and easy access to your book offers.
Further information on how to customise your storefront please click here.
Provide Professional Customer Service
Buyers on AbeBooks return time and time again when they have had a positive experience. They also return to the same booksellers, when they receive great customer service directly from that bookseller. Providing high quality service will not only improve buyer satisfaction but can also increase your number of repeat customers. As a minimum requirement, we ask that you follow our Customer Service guidelines:
More Tips
Review Your Book Count - Your book count is usually an important factor in terms of visibility. The more books you have online, the more chance you have of buyers seeing your books. If you have the inventory to do so, we always recommend uploading at least 200 books. You can also optimise your book count for the monthly subscriptions rate you pay. For example if you are paying £25 to list 2,000 books, you could double your inventory for the same monthly rate.
Payment Methods – By offering buyers a wide range of payment methods, you can reach more buyers who prefer to not pay via credit card. Your accepted payment methods will be displayed on the book details pages.
Promotions - By holding a book sale you can promote your store and your inventory, which will increase sales. For more information about the requirements and advantages please click here.
It may well be that you also have a free buyer account with AbeBooks.co.uk. However all bookseller accounts can only be accessed via AbeBooks.com
If you have checked that you are on AbeBooks.com and that your password and email address are correct you should be able to sign in. If you are still experiencing difficulties please contact us. It is important that you can access your account to ensure that orders are processed and that your inventory is up-to-date.
If you previously had your books listed in HomeBase and your computer has crashed, you can recover your information. Simply download and install HomeBase, if you no longer have it, and then download your online listings by following the instructions provided below. Please be aware that only the online listings will be downloaded, any internal information you had had (such as sold books, customer data & invoices) will be lost as this was only stored in your computer.
There is a two-part process for copying your book inventory from the AbeBooks system to your HomeBase program: Downloading and Importing.
STEP 1. Downloading:
This begins the process for creating the book data file - it may take 30 minutes to complete. You will then be sent the following email note stating the book data file is ready for download:
"...As per you recent request, a HomeBase import file called HBImport.txt has been created for download on the AbeBooks website. Please download the file via a link on our Members Menu titled 'Download Pending HomeBase Import Files'."...
STEP 2. Importing:
ZAP - deletes your existing books and replaces them with the book data from AbeBooks.
Merge - adds the books from AbeBooks to the books you already have in HomeBase.
Note: HomeBase will process the file and display the number of books transferred.
The HomeBase will now list the current number of books for sale contained in your database. The count should include the books imported from the AbeBooks system.
If you would like more information on HomeBase, see Using HomeBase or download the HomeBase 2.3 User Guide
Bookseller Ratings are based on your completion rate only which is defined as orders that have been completed without cancellation or return/refund. This is generally calculated in the following manner: Completion Rate = (Total Number of Order Items – Unfulfilled Order Items – Returned Order Items) / Total Number of Order Items The Completion Rate Percentage is shown as a percentage. So, for example if you had a total of 75 orders, cancelled three of them and had two returns, your completion rate would be 93%. (75 - 3 - 2) / 75 = 93% The completion rate percentages are translated into a 5-star rating system.
Displayed Rating and Ratings History:
The star rating shown on the search results is based on a bookseller's 6 month completion rate.
A more detailed Ratings History for the bookseller (previous 1, 3, 6 and 12 month ratings.) is available through the Book Details page.
1. From the search results click on the title of the book you are interested in.
2. Click on the "Bookseller & Payment Information" tab.
3. Click on the "Ratings History" link.
4. A small window pops up displaying the ratings history for the previous 1, 3, 6 and 12 months.
Updates to Bookseller Ratings: The star ratings for each time period are updated at the beginning and middle of every month to show the most recent order history. New Booksellers:
For new booksellers a default 4 star rating is granted until your first 4 orders are processed. Once four or more orders have been established, the star rating will then be based on the calculated completion rate as detailed above.
We understand that there are certain situations beyond a bookseller's control when it comes to the successful completion of orders. For that reason, we have made exceptions when calculating Bookseller Ratings. The following chart outlines what is included in the calculation and what is not included:
* Extra charges rejected: Once the buyer has rejected the order you will have the opportunity to process the order. We understand if you wish not to ship the book with a loss of postage in which case you can reject the order. Any orders that are rejected after the buyer rejects the extra charges request will not count against your Bookseller Rating.
Note: Please do not let orders expire, even if the buyer has rejected the shipping these will count against your Bookseller Rating.
If you have an order that you feel should not be included as part of your Bookseller Rating, you have the ability to exclude it from the calculation. Up to 3 orders within a 12 month time period may be excluded by you.
To exclude an order from your Bookseller Rating:
Note: An exclusion does not change the counts against your Bookseller Rating (i.e. It will not increase the number of fulfilled orders.) rather it changes the number of orders used to calculate your Bookseller Rating. For example, if you had 100 orders with 3 unfulfilled orders and submitted an exclusion for one of the unfulfilled orders, your rating would be based on 99 orders and 2 unfulfilled.
One of the best ways to attract new buyers is with a high Bookseller Rating. We encourage all listing booksellers to work on improving their Bookseller Rating, which is displayed to buyers on each listing.
Improvement Opportunities
The first step to improving your Bookseller rating is to identify the most common reasons for your unfulfilled or returned orders. If you notice a pattern, you can determine which steps to take to reduce those types of unfulfilled or returned orders. It is best to try to ensure that the following occur as seldom as possible:
You can easily check the reasons for your unfulfilled or returned orders through your Ratings Tracker:
1. [Sign On] to your AbeBooks bookseller account
2. Go to "Your Sales" on the Members Menu
3. Click [View Your Completion Rate]
Select the 3, 6 or 12-month rating period from the Order Period drop-down list. Click the order count under [Unfulfilled Items] or [Returned Items] to view the order counts for the unfulfilled and return reasons
Top Tips When Dealing With Returns
Here are some tips to best help you reduce the overall number of your returns:
Top Tips For Improving Your Return Rate
Top Tips For Keeping Your Inventory Up-To-Date
Ensuring that your online inventory is up-to-date and accurate will help to keep your Bookseller Rating high. Below you will find our top tips:
We hope these tips are helpful for you! If you are not sure of the correct return reason, or if you are having trouble with your inventory or account, please do let us know so that we can immediately help, and keep the negative affects to your Bookseller Rating to a minimum.
Our Customer Service team is available from Monday to Friday 8am - 5pm GMT and can be contacted via our online contact form. Registered bookseller members can also use the call-back option in the Members Menu to ask for a telephone call during our business hours.
We will not be available on the following bank holidays in Germany:
2012
Friday 6th April Good Friday
Monday 9th April Easter Monday
Thursday 1st May Labour Day
Thursady 17th May Acsension Day
Monday 28th May Whit Monday
Thursday 7th June Corpus Christi
Wednesday 3rd October German Unification Day
Thursday 1st November All Saint's Day
Monday 24th December Christmas Eve
Tuesday 25th December Christmas Day
Wednesday 26th December 2. Christmas Day
Monday 31st December New Years Eve Day
2013
Tuesday 1st January New Years Day
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06.04.2012 (friday) |
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09.04.2012 (monday) |
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01.05.2012 (tuesday) |
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17.05.2012 (thursday) |
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28.05.2012 (monday) |
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07.06.2012 (thursday) |
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03.10.2012 (wednesday) |
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01.11.2012 (thursday) |
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25.12.2012 (tuesday) |
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26.12.2012 (wednesday) |
To recover your book data from backup, follow these two simple steps.
A. First you need to rename the HomeBase file. To do so:
1. Right mouse click on Windows [Start] button
2. Select [Explore]
3. Select your “C” drive
4. Select [Program Files] on the left hand side
5. On the right-hand side select [HomeBase Folder] and locate your hbdata file
6. Right mouse-click on the file and select [Properties]
7. Change the file name from hbdata.hbd to hbdata.old
B. Then you can recover your book data:
1. Place the backup file back in the HomeBase [backup] folder
2. Open HomeBase
3. Click on [File] (on toolbar)
4. Select on [Recover]
5. Click on [OK] and new window appears
6. Click on [Desktop] symbol (to left of window)
7. Click on [Open] button
8. Click on [OK]
9. Confirm whether you wish to have HomeBase generate unique book numbers
For further information see Using HomeBase or download our HomeBase 2.3 User Guide.
It is possible to catalogue in HomeBase on more than one PC without a network connection by transferring the data via disk or email.
1. The main concern with this method is that the book numbers do not clash. So before you proceed, you need to set aside a group of numbers to use in HomeBase on the other PC(s). For example, for working at home on a laptop bookseller Smith started his numbering at 10000 and has allowed up to 20000 for this purpose, so the allocated batch is 10000-20000.
To set the numbering to start from a certain number you first need to switch off the auto-numbering under [View] > [Options] > [Editing], then when you add the first book you will be able to enter the starting number in the Book# field. Once you have entered the first book with the appropriate number, you can then turn on the auto-numbering feature again to ensure that the numbers correspond accordingly.
2. Once you have added books or updated existing entries, you then need to proceed with the export of a data file. To do this select [File] > [Import/Export] > [Export] (Not to AbeBooks!), then select to save the file on your PC Desktop and follow through the displayed messages until the export is complete.
Now you can save the file on disk or to CD (if you have a burner installed). If your main PC has an Internet connection, then you could send the file as an email attachment to your email address.
3. The final step is the import of the data file. In HomeBase select [File] > [Import/Export] > [Import], you then locate and open the file for import (via the window provided), then select [Merge] (Please note that if you select [ZAP] then the file for import would replace everything already stored in HomeBase on your main PC!). You will be asked ‘Would you like to do a backup’. Click [Yes], HomeBase will then back up your current data and import in your new data
When the import is complete locate the last book added in your main database (not the imported book entries) click to highlight the entry and then switch the auto-numbering back on. Upon closing HomeBase you will be asked if you would like to do a backup, which we recommend you do then.
If you possess advanced technical knowledge or have a technician, you can also setup and run HomeBase on a network of computers. Simply let us know if you would like more information about networking HomeBase.
For further information see Using HomeBase or download our HomeBase 2.3 User Guide.
There are five main steps for you to complete: 1. Make a backup of your inventory on the old computer 2. Save the backup file to a portable device, such as a CD, disk or USB stick 3. Insert the device into the new computer 4. Start HomeBase 2.3 on your new computer 5. Recover the file from your storage device The full instructions for each of these steps is below. While the instructions may look long, the process is actually quite easy and you should not have any problems. Please note that you can also use any type of storage to transfer the file, including CD, disk or USB stick. If you do not have those options available, you could email the file to yourself and open the attachment on the "new" computer.
If you have not downloaded and installed HomeBase on your new computer yet, please Download HomeBase and install before proceeding.
To create a backup file on a disk:
1. Open HomeBase and select [File] from the menu bar
2. Select [Backup]. The "Backup HomeBase Data to" dialogue box is displayed
HomeBase automatically generates a backup name and places the file in the backup directory of HomeBase. Change the "Save in" location so that the file will be saved to floppy disk, CD or USB key. A progress window shows the progress of the backup. When the backup is complete, the "Backup Data" dialogue box is displayed. Click the [OK] button.
Your backup file has now been saved. Now, you just need to recover the backup file on the new computer.
Note: If you receive an error message when you save the file to the CD, disk or USB stick, it likely means that there is not enough room to save the file. You may need to try saving the file to your desktop first so that you can check the file size and then move the file onto a larger storage device.
Recover the backup file:
When you recover your backup file, any information you have in HomeBase already will be overwritten with the data in the backup file:
1. Start HomeBase
2. Insert the CD, floppy disk or USB stick into the new computer
3. Click [File] from the HomeBase menu bar and then select [Recover]. The "Recover HomeBase Data to" dialogue box is displayed
4. Select the file on your CD, disk or USB stick
5. Click the [Open] button. A progress window shows the recovery process. When the recovery is complete, the "Recover" dialogue box is displayed
6. Click the [OK] button. The Auto-Generate Book Numbers screen is displayed. If you would like HomeBase to generate book numbers for you click [Yes]. If you do not want to use this feature, and would rather generate the book numbers manually, click [No] (AbeBooks recommends using the auto-numbering feature in HomeBase.)
There may be occasions when you need to de-install and re-install HomeBase on your computer. First you will need to move the backup file as a safety measure:
1. Right mouse-click on Windows [Start] button
2. Select [Explore]
3. Select your “C” drive
4. Select yellow folder [Program Files]
5. Click on yellow folder [HomeBase]
6. Click on the yellow [Backup] folder
7. Right mouse-click on “.bkp” file
8. Select [Copy]
9. Scroll up to top of yellow folder list
10. Click on [Desktop] symbol
11. Right mouse-click
12. Select [Paste]
NOTE: If there is no backup file then go the “hbdata.hbd” file from the yellow [HomeBase] folder. Right mouse-click on file > Select [Rename] > Change “.hbd” to “.old” > Continue with above steps.
To de-install HomeBase:
1. Left mouse-click on Windows [Start] button
2. Select [Settings]
3. Select [Control Panel]
4. Select [Software]
5. Double click on [HomeBase]
6. Click on [Delete/Remove] button
To delete the HomeBase folder:
1. Right mouse-click on Windows [Start] button
2. Select [Explore]
3. Select yellow folder [Program Files]
4. Right mouse-click on yellow folder [HomeBase]
5. Select [Delete]
Now Download HomeBase and re-install.
To recover your book data:
1. Place the backup file back in the HomeBase [backup] folder
2. Open HomeBase
3. Click on [File] (on toolbar)
4. Select on [Recover]
5. Click on [OK] and new window appears
6. Click on [Desktop] symbol (to left of window)
7. Click on [Open] button
8. Click on [OK]
9. Confirm whether you wish to have HomeBase generate unique book numbers
NOTE: If you had to rename and move the hbdata.hbd file then it needs to be returned to its original folder:
1. Right mouse-click on Windows [Start] button
2. Select [Explore]
3. Select your “C” drive
4. Select yellow folder [Program Files]
5. Click on yellow folder [HomeBase]
6. Right mouse-click on the file “hbdata.hbd”
7. Select [Delete]
8. Scroll up to top of yellow folder list
9. Click on [Desktop] symbol
10. Right mouse-click on “hbdata.old”
11. Select [Copy]
12. Right mouse-click on Windows [Start] button
13. Select [Explore]
14. Select your “C” drive
15. Select yellow folder [Program Files]
16. Left mouse-click on yellow folder [HomeBase]
17. Right mouse-click and select [Paste]
18. Left mouse-click on “hbdata.old” file
19. Select [Rename]
20. Change to “hbdata.hbd”
For further information see Using HomeBase or download our HomeBase 2.3 User Guide.
Our New Bookseller Guides are just the thing to get a good start selling on AbeBooks and provide an overview of the important functions available in your AbeBooks bookseller account! Please select the appropriate guide below based on how you send your book data to AbeBooks:
New Bookseller Guide for booksellers using our Online Inventory Management System.
New Bookseller Guide for booksellers using HomeBase 2.3.
New Bookseller Guide for booksellers using HomeBase 3.0.
New Bookseller Guide for booksellers using their own book data format.
On the following links we have provided resolutions to some common technical issues.
If your issue is not mentioned or if you are unable to resolve the issue, you can contact us to further assistance.
When a buyer first places an order with a credit card, it is not immediately charged. Instead, when you update the order to "Will Ship" the charge is attempted.
If the credit card is declined the status will update to "credit card rejected" and you will not be able to access the shipping manifest. This is to prevent books from being shipped without payment. The buyer is notified by an automated email of the order cancellation and your book is restored online. The buyer is asked to check their card details and to place their order again. Most credit card rejections are due to a simple mistake when the buyer enters their credit card details. Please note that these orders will not count against your Bookseller Rating.
Reasons for credit card rejections can be as follows:
• The credit card number or the expiry date the buyer provided us was incorrect
• During the transfer of funds, there was an Internet connection problem
• The buyer's bank or credit card company was having technical issues
• The company that processes credit cards on our behalf was having technical issues
• There were insufficient funds on the buyer's credit card
• The credit card expired
Further information on processing your orders please click here.
Are you a collector, author or independent publisher? Do you have less than 150 books to sell?
You may find that a more direct approach to selling your books can reap better rewards. According to the type of books you wish to sell, consult the options below and take advantage of what AbeBooks can offer.
Valuable Books
You may wish to contact booksellers using AbeBooks. They may be interested in listing your particular books through their account or buying them directly from you. Find yourself a specialist dealer or one of your local booksellers through our Bookseller search page.
Second-hand books
If you have a number of second hand books you can try our BuyBack Programme. Our partner bookseller buys back over 1,000,000 titles including textbooks, trade books, best sellers, cookbooks, coffee table books, and even out-of-print books, and shipping is FREE!
Writing/Publishing your own books?
We recommend contacting your local AbeBooks bookseller to see whether they may be interested in selling your books on your behalf or buying them directly. You may consider referring your publisher to AbeBooks to propose putting their entire catalogue online, including your book/s.
Managing your own AbeBooks bookseller account
We would be happy to welcome you to the community! To ensure you are prepared and to give your business the best possible start on AbeBooks, please read through our information pages before starting the bookseller registration form.
Need more information?
At AbeBooks, we have learned that happy customers frequently become return customers. Often, buyers who are satisfied with the service and products of one bookseller will do business with that bookseller again in the future. Good service includes a low postage fee and speed for ordered items.
When you receive an order you can adjust the shipping charge if needed. Extra charges can be requested for a heavy/oversized items or multi-volume sets, to pay applicable taxes, cover trackable shipping, or to purchase insurance for a valuable item. Likewise, if a book is light or if the shipping charge is too high, you can also reduce the shipping charges when processing the order.
Instructions on adjusting your overall shipping rates and speeds can be found here.
To request extra shipping charges for a single item Order
The request for extra payment for shipping charges varries depending on whether payment is processed by AbeBooks or by the bookseller.
Payment processed by Abebooks (Credit Card)
If payment is being processed by AbeBooks, you can request extra charges by following the steps below:
1. Select the [Extra Shipping] option in the status column
2. Click the [Save Order Changes] button
3. Enter the extra charge in the "Increase By" text box. We also strongly encourage you to enter an explanation in the ‘Comments’ field. Buyers are more likely to accept extra changes if they understand them
4. Click the [Save Shipping Details] button
If you add a charge, an email message is sent to the buyer notifying them of the request. The buyer then has 4 days in which to accept or decline the extra charge request. If the buyer rejects the request or does not respond at all, then you still have the choice whether to process it at the original shipping quoted or to reject the order. Orders that you reject online after a buyer declines an extra shipping charge do not count against your Bookseller Rating.
For payment methods other than credit card (not processed by AbeBooks)
You need to contact the buyer directly after processing the order, notifying the buyer of the total order value (to include any increase or reduction in shipping costs) and payment instructions. Such orders should not be shipped until payment has been received. If payment is not forthcoming then the order should be cancelled.
To reduce shipping charges for a single item order
If payment is processed by Abebooks (Credit Card) you can easily reduce the shipping charges when processing the order. To do so please follow the instructions below:
1. Select the [Reduce Shipping] option in the status column
2. Click on the [Save Order Changes] button
3. Enter the reduced amount in the "Decrease By" text box
4. Click the [Save Shipping Details] button
The shipping charges are then automatically reduced and the order is processed. A confirmation of the new amount is sent to the buyer, but for information only as we assume that buyers are happy with any reduction. Therefore you should immediately proceed with printing the shipping manifest and posting the order to the buyer.
Note: If an order is placed on an Abebooks domain where the buyer's purchase currency is different to your data upload currency then it may not be possible to reduce the shipping cost to £0.00, but £0.01 should be possible in such cases.
For further information on reducing or increasing shipping for multiple orders click here.
At AbeBooks, we have learned that happy customers frequently become return customers. Often, buyers who are satisfied with the service and products of one bookseller will do business with that bookseller again in the future. Good service includes a low postage fee and speed for ordered items.
When you receive an order you can further adjust the shipping charge if needed. Extra charges can be requested for a heavy/oversized items or multi-volume sets, to pay applicable taxes, or to purchase insurance for a valuable item. Likewise, if a book is light or if the shipping charge is too high, you can also reduce the shipping charges when processing the order.
You can find instructions on adjusting your overall shipping rates and speeds here.
To request Extra Shipping Charges for a multiple item order
The way that you request extra shipping for a multiple item order depands on the payment method.
Payment processed by Abebooks (Credit Card)
If payment is being processed by AbeBooks then please follow the instructions below:
1. Select the [Extra Shipping] option in the status column
2. Click the [Save Order Changes] button
3. Enter the extra charge in the "Increase By" text box. We also strongly encourage you to enter an explanation in the ‘Comments’ field. Buyers are more likely to accept extra changes if they understand them
4. Click the [Save Shipping Details] button
If you add a charge on multiple items in one order, you will need to add the shipping amount for each item in the order. Therefore you should divide the extra shipping amount by the amount of items and enter the appropriate amount in the extra charge field for each item.
For payment methods other than credit card (not processed by AbeBooks)
If you need to request extra charges for orders where payment is NOT processed by AbeBooks, you need to contact the buyer directly after processing the order, notifying the buyer of the total order value (to include any increase or reduction in shipping costs) and payment instructions. Such orders should not be shipped until payment has been received. If payment is not forthcoming then the order should be cancelled.
To reduce shipping charges for a multiple item order
If you wish to reduce the shipping charges for a multiple item order when payment is processed by yourselves, then you will need to agree on this when arranging payment with the buyer.
Alternatively please follow the instructions below on reducing shipping charges when payment is by credit card.
Payment processed by Abebooks (Credit Card)
You will need to reduce the shipping for each book in the order; you cannot reduce the shipping cost of any one item to zero. If you attempt to reduce the shipping to zero, an error message will appear and you will be asked to insert shipping changes again. For example: you receive an order with two items in it. The shipping on the first item is £7 and for the additional item it is £3. If it would cost you only £5 to ship both items, then you can reduce the shipping cost of the first item by £3 and the second by £2 when you process the order.
For instructions on increasing or reducing shipping costs on single item orders please click here.
Important: For your upload to be successful, the structure of the file must be preserved and the headings should not be modified.
We recommend that you refrain from using abbreviations, which are not generally understood by most buyers when searching for books.
To optimise the way your inventory appears in the search results, certain fields require exact terms, which we have provided in the Notes section of the table below. These fields are marked with an asterisk (*).
The fields in red are compulsory.
Any additional descriptive information should be added to the Description Field.
|
Field Header |
Maximum Characters |
Description |
Notes |
|
listingid |
40 |
Unique code for each item |
Important: this code should never be reused for a different item |
|
title |
750 |
Title (and sub-title) |
|
|
author |
750 |
Name of the Author |
Recommended Format: Surname, First Name |
|
illustrator |
255 |
Name of the Illustrator |
Recommended Format: Surname, First Name |
|
price |
10 |
Price (numeric value) |
Enter the price in numeric format (without text or currency symbols) |
|
quantity |
Qty max.: 999 |
Number of available items |
Qty > =1: available for sale Qty = 0: unavailable (will be deleted from the site) Important: an empty field will be interpreted as a field with the quantity of 1 |
|
booktype |
30 |
Type of book |
This field allows you to define the type of listing, for example: book, e-book, audio book, postcard, journal, print-on-demand item |
|
description |
4000 |
Description of the item |
Can include all of the information that could not be entered into the other fields (Notes on the condition of the book, the binding, etc.) Please note that if you sell international editions you need to add the term: "International Edition" at the start of the description text. Additionally, if you sell print-on-demand books you must add "Print on Demand" at the start of the description text. |
|
bindingtext* |
30 |
Binding of the item |
Terms to use: Hardcover / Hardback Softcover / Paperback No binding (eg. If the item is an e-book) |
|
bookcondition* |
30 |
Condition of the book |
Terms to use: New As New Fine Very Good Good Fair Poor |
|
publishername |
750 |
Name of the publisher |
|
|
placepublished |
80 |
Place where the item was published |
|
|
yearpublished |
4 figures |
Year of publication |
This field should only contain the year in a 4 digit format (eg. 1989). Any other date format should be added to the description field. |
|
isbn |
13 |
10 or 13 digit ISBN, without spaces or hyphens |
|
|
sellercatalog1 -- sellercatalog2 -- sellercatalog3 |
100 |
Name of the catalogue which the book belongs to. Each listing can be associated with up to 3 catalogs and each catalog should be entered in it's own unique field. |
The catalogues are visible on the AbeBooks bookseller Storefront. To help buyers navigate catalogues easily, the maximum number of catalogues should be 100. |
|
abecategory |
10 |
Number of the AbeBooks category which the book should be associated with. |
The categories are visible on the AbeBooks bookseller homepages. These categories can be downloaded from the Members Menu. Further explanation of the AbeBooks Categories. |
|
keywords |
2000 |
Keywords to help buyers to find the book |
Try to use words that are not already included in any of the other fields but which buyers may be using to search for the book. |
|
jacketcondition* |
30 |
Condition of the dustjacket |
Terms to use: New As New Fine Very Good Good Fair Poor No Jacket |
|
editiontext* |
50 |
First edition, second edition, etc. |
Term to use: First edition 2nd edition 3rd edition 4th edition 5th or later edition |
|
printingtext* |
20 |
Printing of the item |
Terms to use: 1st printing 2nd printing 3rd printing 4th printing 5th or later printing |
|
signedtext* |
50 |
Signed book, inscription… |
Terms to use: signed by author signed by authors signed and inscribed by author inscribed by author signed by illustrator inscribed by illustrator |
|
volume |
50 |
The volume of the book, if applicable |
|
|
size |
|
The size of the book |
|
|
imgurl |
|
Link address of image |
Please use the link below to download the AbeBooks Inventory Template:
Note: Before you send your invetory data to us, you will need to save the file in tab delimited text (.txt) format:
1. Open the Excel sheet
2. Select [File]
3. Select [Save as]
4. From the [Save as type] menu select "Text (Tab delimited)(*.txt)"
Important
If you are already using images on your own website you can choose to add the image URLs to your book file. By adding a URL field to your book file, you can include the URLs in this field and the corresponding images will be displayed.
Some inventory management software supports the use of image URLs within the book records. If you use such a software, you can also to send your images to AbeBooks using this method as well.
Alternatively, if your bookseller account has a custom file conversion and you would like to add a URL field to your file, this can also be arranged.
To send your image files using Book file Upload
Before sending your book file containing URLs, please contact our Customer Service team.
We will need to update your account mapping rule accordingly to ensure that your new file format can be received and the images processed correctly.
URL Requirements
You can upload up to 5 image URLs per listing. If you choose to do this please specify this in your enquiry, as we will need to know the exact delimiter you are using to separate the URLs in your file.
The first image which will be displayed is the first URL for that listing.
URLs must end with .jpg or .gif
Blocked Images
Please note that booksellers are required to own the copyright of all images uploaded to AbeBooks. There are a number of websites where the likelihood of a bookseller owning the image copyright is extremely low. For this reason, images from certain sites are automatically blocked.
If you experience difficulty please contact our Customer Service Team.