Customer Support Tip:
Uploading Photos
Buyers consistently ask us to see more book photos, so we’ve launched thumbnails in search as a new permanent feature. Pictures are an easy way to increase buyer confidence in your listings as buyers can confirm the condition and edition of a book, and see any special features like an author’s signature. You can upload your pictures from the Members Menu.
- Sign on to your Abebooks account.
- Click [Uploads].
- Click [Upload your book pictures (gifs and jpgs)].
- Click [Browse] and locate the file you’d like to send to us.
- Click the [Send File] button.
You can upload any picture as long as its file name is the same
as your unique BookID for the listing and the size is less than
100 KB. To make the process even faster, zip multiple photos into
one file, and upload that file to us in one click! [Learn
more about pictures in Help]
Customer Support Tip:
Updating Your Shipping Matrix
Abebooks is the only marketplace that lets you set your own shipping rates and speeds and reimburses you 100% for the shipping fees charged. You can update your matrix to reflect your costs, or use your matrix as a promotional tool. Buyers compare shipping costs in addition to the book price and description – your shipping matrix is part of your selling package.
To adjust your shipping rates:
- Click [sign on] and enter your E-mail Address and Password.
- Click [Bookseller programs] in the Members Menu.
- Click [abebooks] under the Program Information heading.
- Click the [Update your shipping rates] link.
- Locate the country you would like to adjust rates or speeds for.
Select your desired rates and speeds from the appropriate lists.
- Click the [Save Changes] button.
Security & Trust Tip
Always make sure that your payment has been received before shipping
a book. If you use Abebooks Payment Services, you can ship the book
as soon as you’ve confirmed the order; your payment will be added
to your account balance right away. If you accept credit card payment
on your orders, make sure all the charges go through. When a buyer selects
to send you cash, money order or check, the book shouldn’t be
shipped until the payment has been deposited and cleared by your bank.
Check with your bank or credit card processor what types of fraud protection
they have in place. Abebooks covers all fraudulent charges for you if
you’re using APS. [Read
our Security and Trust Tips]
List Your Bookstore on the Abebooks
Map
The Abebooks.com 10 year anniversary is coming and to celebrate we
have set up an online interactive map that will list our community
of booksellers, and their locations, around the world. Abebooks booksellers
are wide ranging and far reaching and you are what makes us successful
and unique.
Add your bookstore to
the list and see your store’s name and address
indicated on the map that will be posted on our website this spring.
Users will be able to navigate the map, click on your name and
zoom in to street level to see your location. Help us list each
bookseller on Abebooks.com and flood the chart with our vast community
of booksellers around the world!
Make sure customers can find your store! Be sure to visit the Abebooks
interactive map on Frappr.com and add your bookstore and location
to the list. [Visit
the Map]
Share Your Story
Abebooks.com will celebrate its 10th anniversary in May and we will
be creating an online gallery of real-life stories from our booksellers.
So if you’ve got a story about how bookselling has changed your life,
let us know and you could be featured in our celebrations. Just e-mail
us at features@abebooks.com. (Don't
forget to include your bookstore name and Client ID.)
***
 Dawn Glasson, from Missouri, has been an Abebooks’ bookseller since 1999 – this
is her story.
Becoming an online bookseller didn’t just change Dawn Glasson’s lifestyle for the better, it changed her sleeping habits too.
Today, Dawn runs Sleepygirl’s Used Books, a bricks and mortar store that also sells furniture, in Joplin, Missouri. She began online bookselling in 1998 while still a nurse – a nurse suffering from a stressful job and sleep deprivation.
“I found nursing very stressful,” said Dawn. “Money and paperwork had become more important than the patients.
“That’s where my ‘Sleepygirl’ handle comes from – I’d come home and not be able to sleep. I started selling on eBay as a hobby and it was hit and miss, then I ran into someone who sold on Abebooks and that’s when I joined Abebooks. I put the nursing on hold and became a full-time online bookseller in 1999.
“I sold books for about three and a half years out of my home. I learned the business by reading and doing research. When I couldn’t sleep, I would often go online and learn more about the business. I started by offering young adult books like Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys, and I picked up books at garage sales and auctions. I heard about a local library that was dumping lots of unsold books after a sale and I bought those cheaply and there were many gems.
“In February 2003, we moved the books to a small house and opened my first brick and mortar store, and then, a year later, I moved into a larger store along with my fiancé who wanted to start selling furniture out of the same location. Then in August 2005, the building next door to our store caught fire and we were forced to relocate to another, larger building just seven blocks away because the walls were no longer safe after the blaze. We had a bit of smoke damage to a few books but moving was the best thing we ever did.
“Online bookselling helped me to leave nursing and eventually become a bookstore owner. I love my job, I love going to work in the morning. When I started online bookselling, I was always amazed to receive orders from places like India and Russia. Those orders no longer surprise me but our online business accounts for about half of my book sales so it’s a very important part of what I do.”
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