No sales in a week!
What is going on? Normally about 10 sales per week - none for 7 days now. Worst week in 15 years of selling books and magazines on Amazon. Isn't anyone reading?
No sales in a week!
What is going on? Normally about 10 sales per week - none for 7 days now. Worst week in 15 years of selling books and magazines on Amazon. Isn't anyone reading?
37 replies
Seller_MyXY4Myx9zVcR
Long-time bookseller here: Sales have been erratic for the past few years. Fewer and fewer Americans read books anymore. Young people believe everything they need to know is freely available online and have no need for books.
Especially since the pandemic, fewer books have been purchased by college students, which used to be a good part of the sales I made. Almost everything is online for current college and graduate students.
Obscure books still sell to graduate students and university libraries, but that is a shrinking market.
I was cheered during the past few weeks with the sale of a few expensive FIrst Edition books to collectors, but I think these buyers are likely members of a fading demographic.
Seller_5nXRwidbIOI4q
i have had no sales of books for two months.
Seller_rGcQW1yb6ZWbC
It has been slow, but not stopped. Mid-spring has never been a good book-selling season. How are your numbers this year compared to this time last year? For me, they stunk last year and stink this year, too, but at least they are consistent.
Have you checked your metrics? Have you lost buy box eligibility?
Keep stirring the pot. Even if you don't have any new inventory to list (best way to get more sales), do a little bit of repricing, get rid of dead wood, etc. Keep on stirring, keep on stirring, keep on stirring. . . . .
Seller_caxg0X2SvxRpR
It’s very concerning. I have way more listings/products this year than last year, but I have less sales this year than last year. It’s just getting worse since the start of this year. And I am selling essential products (baby clothing).
Seller_EGAYxdv2MmpO0
Sales are up and down, mostly down. Adding new inventory regularly helps me keep sales going, can't coast too long.
Seller_w6aLwkKdfu3L0
Books will always be available, but the direction of consumers purchasing has shifted and will continue to shift more and more as people age out and the next generation of consumers start purchasing.
Books in the traditional format are going to be luxury items while younger readers will using purchasing digital versions whether kindle or audio books. I've seen content young creators (in their 20s) talk about "reading" X amount of books monthly when they actually mean listening to audio books. Magazine, newspaper, CDs, DVDs/BluRays industry have all shrank in the past 10 years and to assume books will not is way too hopeful.
Amazon itself is going to pushed more and more used and second hand goods off their platform in favor of higher volume sale new product that can be replenished and reduce clutter in search results. AI will make it so that more and more new books and content can be published by people with less resources as well as creativity and substance in favor of volume, where selling a new book will be cluttered with thousands of cheaply made AI stories.
It will not get easier to sell books especially used ones on Amazon.
Seller_HSvuKgkMn6xEz
You are right, all the categories are slow these days, and PPC is eating the budget without delivering sales. I am in Home & Kitchen, even sales are there, but not as expected. PPC is not worth it these days. Now I am getting better sales by using off-site marketing, but PPC is not worth it. Try to increaes your store awareness and also try new marketing methods.
