Is it legal to sell international edition textbooks in Ebay and Amazon?
Hi, everyone, I have an international editon textbooks and would like to re-sell it online either on eday or amazon. However, after I have done some book searches, I didn’t find any post selling international edition textbooks anymore? Have it become illegal or these websites try to discourage this kind of sale?
The truth is that it is illegal to purchase international books and bring them to the US to sell. The publishers would argue that you are advertising a false product when you list the book for sale as the ISBN of the US edition is different than the International one.
In a recent survey done by Campusbooks.com, a textbook price comparison engine, they noted that over 75% of responding students do not have interest in International editions.
This doesn’t mean you can’t sell it, it just means you should be up front and honest that it is an international edition. If you clearly state it in your description then the site you are selling through will post it if they want.
eBay and Amazon have deals with the publishers so they crack down on international copies. You can try Valorebooks.com or AbeBooks.com, you might have better luck.
It’s perfectly legal, but make sure you offer international shipping… at least to where the people you think are going to buy them will be!
The sale of used books isn’t exactly high on the government’s regulation list…
References :
It is illegal to sell international edition textbooks in US and Canada, but Ebay and Amazon is online sale, so I think this created a gray area.
As Ebay and Amazon.com targeted to US customers, if you sell your book in those website, there are high chances that the book would be bought by US customers (even though your international shipping option is on).
If you really want to sell your international edition books on those website, I suggest you to add a comment saying that you will not ship the book to US or Canada avoid ambiguity. Of course, a better method to resolve this is to sell your book on Amazon.co.uk instead of Amazon.com.
References :
by experience
The truth is that it is illegal to purchase international books and bring them to the US to sell. The publishers would argue that you are advertising a false product when you list the book for sale as the ISBN of the US edition is different than the International one.
In a recent survey done by Campusbooks.com, a textbook price comparison engine, they noted that over 75% of responding students do not have interest in International editions.
This doesn’t mean you can’t sell it, it just means you should be up front and honest that it is an international edition. If you clearly state it in your description then the site you are selling through will post it if they want.
eBay and Amazon have deals with the publishers so they crack down on international copies. You can try Valorebooks.com or AbeBooks.com, you might have better luck.
References :