AbeBooks UK Seller Help

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:

1. Bookseller Details & the AbeBooks Agreement
2. Acceptable Payment Methods
3. Banking Information
4. Shipping Rates
5. Credit Card Information for fees
6. Welcome to AbeBooks

Step 1. Enter 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".

Step 2. 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

Step 3. Enter 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.

Step 4. Review 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.

Step 5. 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]

Step 6. 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.

What requirements need to be met to participate in your service?

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.

How much do we charge?

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

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.

How much do we charge?

Monthly Subscription Rates:

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:

The first €400 of the total item amount incurs a 5.5% processing fee
The remaining €100 of the total item amount incurs a 3.5% processing fee

What are the benefits of becoming an AbeBooks bookseller?

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:

AbeBooks is the worldwide number one among new, used and antiquarian book platforms and marketplaces
In total, between 20,000 and 25,000 books are sold daily via AbeBooks
A considerable amount of these sales are foreign customers ordering from British bookseller members
The most important international markets for British booksellers are, amongst others, the USA and Pacific Rim as well as neighbouring European countries
By participating in international trade you are not restricted to such profit limits as experienced at a national level

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.

I am unable to sign on.

AbeBooks operates several regional websites for buyer usage. All bookseller accounts can only be accessed via AbeBooks.com as opposed to AbeBooks.co.uk

Also, the email address you registered with and your password are both case-sensitive; please ensure that the CAPS LOCK is not on when you are attempting to sign on.

If you continue to experience difficulty please check the following:

To enable Browser Cookies:

1. Open a browser window
2. Select [Tools] from the menu bar and then [Internet Options] from the drop down menu
3. Select [Advanced]
4. Select [Cookies]
5. Tick the "enable" box

To enable JavaScript:

1. Open a browser window
2. Select [Tools] from the menu bar and then [Internet Options] from the drop down menu
3. Select [Advanced]
4. Select [Microsoft VM]
5. Tick the "enable" box

If you have a Firewall and/or Anti-Virus software installed 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 website do charge for technical assistance, please check for charges before requesting support:

Click here is you use: Microsoft - Windows XP Firewall, ZoneAlarm, Norton AntiVirus

How can I update my Personal Information?

Your personal information can be updated at any time. It is important to keep your personal information up-to-date so we can contact you easily. Some of the information such as terms of sale and shipping terms can also be seen by buyers and will help to promote your business. Your personal information includes:

· Your name and address

· Your address and telephone number

· Your email address and website URL (if you have one)

· Your county

· Your terms of sale and shipping terms

All of your account information can be easily updated from the Members Menu:

1. [Sign On] to your AbeBooks.com bookseller account
2. Select [Your Personal Information] in the Members Menu
3. Then click [Update your account information]
4. Scroll down the page to locate the information field you wish to update

Please note: The Book Info field and the Store Description field are no longer used

5. Once all your changes have been made, click the [Update Details] button at the bottom of the page

Depending on which fields you have updated, it may take only a few minutes to apply the changes; however, some fields can take several days.

If you enter in your county code abbreviation in the state/province field of your address, your bookstore will then be searchable by county in the [Bookstores] search facility.

For information on customising your AbeBooks Storefront, click here.

How can I change my bank account and credit card information?

AbeBooks uses Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) to make payments to you for your AbeBooks Ecommerce orders via weekly bank transfer or monthly bank transfer. The way in which we can credit you depends on the country in which your bank resides.

Belgium - France - Germany - Ireland - Italy - Netherlands - Spain - Switzerland - UK

If your bank is in one of the above countries, we can credit you for your AbeBooks Ecommerce orders via weekly bank transfers. To add or update your banking information:

1. [Sign On] to your AbeBooks.com bookseller account
2. Click [Your Personal Information] in the Members Menu
3. Click [Add or Update Your Banking Information] in the Personal Information menu.

4. Select a location from the Bank Country list and enter bank account details
5. Click the [Add Bank Details] button

New Required Information

Bank ID: Please enter in the first 4 characters of the BIC code

SWIFT: Please enter the BIC code

IBAN: An International Bank Account Number is the international standard for identifying bank accounts across national borders. Please contact your bank if you do not know this number.

Notes:

Payments for the current week are created every Friday and then are released to your bank the following Friday for deposit into your account.
If a payment has already been generated but not sent, it will be sent to the banking information that was on your account when the payment was created.

If your bank account is not in one of the above countries listed 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

Your Credit Card Information

If you need to make any changes to the credit card that we use to charge you for your monthly subscription fees, or if you need to provide us with an entirely new card, you can do so by using a link on the Members Menu.

To View Your Credit Card Information:

1. [Sign On] to your AbeBooks.com bookseller account
2. Click [Your Personal Information] from the Members Menu
3. Click [Add or Update Your Credit Card Information](for fee payments only)

To update the Account Information:

1. Enter the last four digits of your credit card
2. Click the [Continue] button
3. Type your credit card information in the appropriate text boxes and select the expiry date from the lists
4. Select a [Payment Status] option
5. Click the [Add Card] button

To Remove the Card:

1. Click the [Remove This Card] button
2. Verify that you would like to remove this card by clicking the [Remove This Card] button

You will then have the option to add a new card.

To Add a New Card:

1. Enter your credit card number (with no spaces between the numbers) in the space provided
2. Select the expiry month and year from the pull down lists
3. Enter the Card holder name
4. Click the [Add Card] button to save the information

Your credit card information is entered through our secure server and is encrypted for security. You must be signed on in order to use this function.

How do I set up or edit my shipping rates and speeds?

Your Shipping Matrix:

The shipping matrix contains the recommended shipping rates that a book buyer is charged on an order. The rate charged depends on the book buyer’s country and the shipping speed that the book buyer selects. The recommended shipping rates can be increased or decreased. The rates are based on a 1kg or 2.2 lb parcel for the first item and 0.5kg or 1.1 lb for each additional item.

The priority and standard shipping speeds are primarily an expectation of the time it will take for an order to get to the buyer from the time you ship the parcel. Different jurisdictions use various terminologies to describe fast and slow shipping methods. We leave it open to you to select the method of shipment, as long as the order reaches the buyer within the stated time-frame for the stated shipping cost. We do notify book buyers that delays from customs processing are not included in the shipping time estimates.

While the shipping rates in your matrix can be altered for an entire country, you can still reduce shipping rates or request additional charges when you process an order.

Adjusting Your Shipping Matrix:

Tip: Increase your sales! 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.

To add a country to your shipping matrix:

1. [Sign On] to your AbeBooks.com bookseller account
2. Click [Adjust Shipping Rates] in your Quick links menu
3. Select a country from the list in the top-left corner of the matrix
4. Click the [Add to matrix] button

To adjust the rates and speeds in the shipping matrix:

Buyers see your shipping rates and speeds in the search results and shopping basket.

1. Locate the country you would like to adjust rates or speeds for.

2. Select your desired rates and speeds from the appropriate lists*
3. Click the [Save Changes] button

* The values entered cannot exceed the maximum defaults. Please enter only numbers, decimals or commas (for example, 1.00 or 1,00).

How to offer free shipping with your books!

Shipping rates and speeds play an important role in many buyers' purchases. In order to attract more buyers to our website, AbeBooks offers a Free Shipping Room where buyers can search the inventory of booksellers who offer this discount.

Booksellers who have set their domestic shipping rates in their shipping matrix to zero will automatically be included in the Free Shipping promotion within one week of updating their matrix.

To set your shipping rates to "0," please use the AbeBooks Shipping Matrix using the instructions below:

1. [Sign On] to your AbeBooks.com bookseller account
2. Click [Adjust Your Shipping Rates]
3. Locate the country you would like to adjust rates or speeds for. Select your desired rates and speeds from the appropriate lists
4. Click the [Save Changes] button

As soon as you update your matrix, buyers will see the new shipping rates and speeds in the shopping basket. However, the [Shipping Rates & Speeds] link in the search results may take up to 2 - 3 days to reflect the changes. When the search results update, the orange Free Shipping logo will also appear in the search results with your books.

Please Contact Us once you have changed your shipping rates so that we can add your books to any current promotions we are doing.

Notes:

· If you would like to offer free shipping in any country, simply adjust the first item shipping rate and the extra item rate to 0.00. Then please do Contact Us we can ensure that you are included in free shipping promotions when we advertise this to AbeBooks buyers.

· If you no longer wish to participate in the free shipping promotion, we suggest that you add the shipping rates to your shipping matrix on a Friday and then Contact Us so we can ensure that you are removed from general free shipping promotions.

· Where a second AbeBooks account is used to offer free shipping, the inventory must be different within the two accounts. You may offer the same books only if you have multiple copies available. (ex: If you have only one copy of a book, you may not offer it through both AbeBooks accounts.)

· If you have multiple copies of individual titles, you must ensure that books offered in the free shipping account are priced at least £1 cheaper than those in the non-free shipping account (including shipping).

· Requesting extra shipping charges is not permissible unless these are for tax purposes or the buyer has requested insurance or a shipping upgrade.

How can I adjust my accepted payment methods?

All credit card payments are processed by AbeBooks on your behalf. We provide fraud protection against chargebacks for credit card orders that have the payment processed by AbeBooks. Currently buyers can pay the following credit cards:

Visa - MasterCard - American Express - JCB - Carte Bleue

You can easily add additional payment options such as cheque, money order or PayPal for your buyers from the Members Menu:

1. [Sign On] to your AbeBooks.com bookseller account
2. Select [Your Personal Information] in the Members Menu
3. Click [Acceptable Payment Methods]
4. Select the types of payment you accept and click [Save & Continue]

Buyers see your acceptable payment methods on the Book Details page for each of your books, as well as in the shopping basket.

Please make sure to carefully check the buyer details before you ship your orders, and only ship once you have received payment.

How can I customise my AbeBooks Storefront?

AbeBooks provides free basic Storefronts for all member booksellers. Your Storefront is accessible through AbeBooks, and provides you with a link that you can send to buyers to direct them back to your store and your inventory. You can easily customise your Storefront to fit the needs of your business.

Storefronts Features Include:

· A few options for colour and style to distinguish your store

· Choices of images and a personal image upload facility

· The choice to display your contact information

· Promotion of your catalogues, which you can update as you desire

To customise your AbeBooks Storefront:

1. [Sign On] to your AbeBooks.com bookseller account
2. Click [Your Storefront] in the Members Menu
3. Then click [Change / Update your Storefront]

4. Select the contact information you would like displayed, add information about your business and select the catalogues you would like to feature:

5. Next choose your template colour style and your Storefront image.

If you would like to upload your own image to display, simply choose the [Browse] button to locate the file and then click [Upload].

Once the above success message is displayed, refresh your screen to see your image and select it.

6. Finally, click the [Save & View Storefront] button to finish customising your Storefront

7. Your storefront is displayed for review. If you would like to make any changes, click on the "Edit this page" link at the top of the page to return to the Storefront wizard

Note: If you would like to update your contact information, this can be done through the [Your Personal Information] link on your Members Menu.

Remember that you can update your Storefront at any time to feature different catalogues. Promote your newest books, holiday books, or even your most unique ones.

AbeBooks Bookseller Agreement

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.

AbeBooks Bookseller Guidelines

To ensure that both booksellers and book buyers can trade on our website to their satisfaction AbeBooks has issued some guidelines. Being familiar with our policies will assist you in making your AbeBooks experience and that of your customers a successful one.

v Your Bookstore Information

AbeBooks offers you several locations to enter key information that will assist with book sales. We ask that all information listed in these fields be true and accurate to the best of your knowledge. We ask that all contact information be included only in the designated fields and that all booksellers refrain from redirecting buyers to other websites or any alternative means of placing their orders.

Ø Bookstore Name – your bookstore name, which is the name you will trade under on AbeBooks may be any name you choose. It is also allowed to be a website name only if that is your registered business name.

Ø Terms of Sale – you may use this field to state your business policies such as payment options, Return policies, and other important information potential buyers should know. The terms of sale are viewable on the book details pages and on your AbeBooks Storefront.

Ø Shipping Terms – you may use this field to communicate your shipping information to buyers throughout the checkout process. This can include average weight of a book, how items are packaged, if pricing includes insurance, etc.

AbeBooks reserves the right to review and edit any information fields to remove unacceptable content.

For further details on the above, see the full policy online.

v 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 a summary of the listings that are only permitted when certain conditions are met and also unacceptable listings.

Ø Acceptable Listings on Condition:

§ Print on Demand Items – should clearly state, "this item is printed on demand" in the description and have the current year as the publication date. Your shipping matrix should be adjusted to reflect the actual shipping times to give an accurate estimated delivery date.

§ Ebooks – should clearly state the actual file format in the description along with having "this is an ebook" clearly written in the description.

§ Audio Books - should clearly state the format in the description and have "this is an audio book" written in the description.

§ International Editions – must be clearly identified with “International Edition” in the description, no abbreviations of this are allowed.

Ø Unacceptable Listings:

§ Pre-listings - items for sale may not be listed if they have not yet been made available to the public.

§ DVD’s & VHS Films – Films and movies should not be listed.

§ Music CD’s – Music CD’s should not be listed.

§ Multiple Listings – up to 2 copies of the same exact listing are allowed. A quantity field should be used to list many copies of the same title.

§ In Copyright Violation – this includes listings whereby another bookseller’s description has been directly copied.

We reserve the right, at discretion, to remove any listing, which include requests from rights holders and items deemed defamatory or illegal.

For further information on the above, see the full policy online.

v Your Completion Rating – Bookseller Ratings

The aim of AbeBooks Bookseller Ratings is to help to 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.

Ø Minimum Requirement

§ All booksellers are encouraged to work on keeping the highest Bookseller Rating possible.

§ We do have a minimum requirement of 85% for a 6 month period.

§ Booksellers who fall below this minimum requirement are contacted by our Sales and Account Management Team.

Click here to see our Top Tips on how to improve your Bookseller Rating.

v Your Customer Service

Providing the best customer service possible is key in ensuring that buyers return to you 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:

Ø Responding to Enquiries: Simply responding to buyers greatly helps build buyer trust. If you use an email service such as Microsoft Outlook or Google Mail, you can filter or search your AbeBooks emails to help differentiate between order emails and buyer enquiries.

§ Buyer Enquiries – we ask that you respond to all buyer pre- and post-order enquiries in a polite and professional manner within 2 business days.

§ AbeBooks Complaints – if we receive a complaint from a buyer, we will send you an AbeBooks Complaint notification email, we expect that these will be treated with a high priority and be answered within 2 business days.

Ø Order Processing & Refunds:

§ Shipping Orders – all orders should be shipped within 2 days of processing the order. If the order is for a Print on Demand item you should ensure the shipping method you choose corresponds to the shipping speeds shown during checkout.

§ Processing refunds for the buyer – you have up to 90 days past the order processing date to refund a buyer. If a buyer contacts you regarding a refund, you can simply process the refund. If the order is more than 90 days old, simply contact us and we will process the refund on your behalf.

§ Completing Returns – When you receive a book back, ensure to complete the return so the buyer is refunded. If you leave the refund to automatically complete, it can take up to 77 days to refund the buyer.

§ Disputes – If a disagreement arises with a buyer occurs, we expect that you will work toward a mutual resolution that is also in agreement with our policies.

What information and format for book data is required for your service?

Book data information and format:

We can handle just about any file format to upload and display your books on our web site 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:

1. The data must be consistently arranged in a file. All book records must contain exactly the same number of fields, in exactly the same order; each field must be separated with the same type of delimiter. If you are using a database or spreadsheet package then this is quite easy to accomplish.

2. It is essential that each book record has a unique identifier. These can be numeric or alphanumeric, as long as they are unique. When you delete or sell a book, it is necessary to "retire" the associated ID number and use only new numbers for your new books. AbeBooks cannot guarantee the accuracy of a listing if a book number is re-used. A re-used book ID is any ID number that was previously assigned to a different book. Re-using book ID numbers may result in discrepancies. If you have more than one copy of a single you can include a quantity field in your book data to state how many copies of the title you have.

3. You will need to remove the books when they are sold (through other venues). You can do this by sending a file containing only the books you want to remove, by using a link on our Members Menu, or by adding a status code or a quantity field to your database or spreadsheet. For example: you can indicate that you have a book for sale with the number 1, and then when the book has been sold you can update the quantity to 0.

We can manipulate your data just about any way to fit into our database, so please feel free to set up your database to suit your needs. We will make your data fields flow in an appropriate fashion when viewed on AbeBooks.

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.

[Click here] to see a description of the file and a link to download it.

Book terms and attributes:

If your book data does not have separate fields for attributes and only use the description field then AbeBooks searches this field of the book data you send to us. This is known as parsing. We check for the specific attributes that can be searched for using the Advanced Search function. This helps buyers to find your books on AbeBooks! These attributes and their various abbreviations are listed below. 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.

The description field of your book data file is checked for the following terms:

1. Jacket Condition: New, As New, Fine, Very Good, Fair, Poor
2. Book Condition: New, As New, Fine, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor
3. Book Type: Hardcover, Paperback
4. Edition: First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth or later
5. Inscription Type: Signed by Author, Inscribed by Author, Signed by Illustrator, Inscribed by Illustrator

Note: It is necessary to distinguish between signed books and inscribed books as both will be searchable using the Signed attribute. If you do not wish to have inscribed books displayed as signed by the author, we kindly ask that you reword the book description to either “inscription in ink” or “hand-written note” instead
of “inscribed” or “inscription”.

Please review the AbeBooks Glossary for help with book terms.

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. Example

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 [Download HomeBase]

For further information see Using HomeBase or download our HomeBase 2.3 User Guide.

If you are using the new Beta HomeBase™ 3.0, click here for the online help.

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. Example

For further information see Using your own data format.

[View 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.

[Click here] to see a description of the file and a link to download it.

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.

How can I update my inventory on Abebooks?

The method in which you regularly update your AbeBooks listings depends on how you provide us with your data. Please use the appropriate link below to find further information on updating your inventory:

1. Online Inventory Management - Ideal for beginners who would like to enter their books directly online. ISBN Look-up feature is also available. Example

2. HomeBase - AbeBooks free inventory management software, makes it easy to list and maintain your books, clients, invoices and wants.

If you are using the new Beta HomeBase™ 3.0, click here for the online help.

3. Individual conversion of your book data – For booksellers who 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.

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.

[Click here] to see a description of the file and a link to download it.

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.

Using Online Inventory Management

If you do not have your own database or do not use inventory management software such as HomeBase, you can use our Online Inventory Management facility to easily add, update and categorise your listings via your AbeBooks bookseller account.

Adding a Listing:

1. [Sign On] to your AbeBooks.com bookseller account
2. Click [Your Books] in the Members Menu
3. Select [List and maintain your books]
4. The "Inventory Management: Find Listing" opens. Click the [Add listing] link located on the upper right corner of the screen
5. Enter the ISBN into the ISBN field and click the [ISBN Lookup] button. When the ISBN Lookup has been successful, you will receive a confirmation message.
Note: Please verify all information automatically entered when using the ISBN lookup feature
6. In the mandatory fields (those fields marked with an red asterisk *) that are not automatically filled in, enter the appropriate book details
7. Click the [Add] button to add the book to your inventory

You will see a confirmation message when the book was been added. If you would like to see how the listing will appear in the search results, click the [Preview Listing] link.

Tip: You can use the [Compare Prices] link located below the book price field. A new window will open and you will see our Price Comparison page, which will display the 10 highest and 10 lowest priced copies of that title on AbeBooks, allowing you to price your copy competitively

Editing a Listing:

Once you have clicked [List and maintain your books], you can search for the book you would like to edit. This can be done by using the criteria in one of the 3 blue boxes titled 'Online inventory', 'Deleted or Recently Modified Items' or 'Inventory by book number'.

1. Located the listing you wish to edit
2. Click the [Edit Listing] link below the listing
3. Edit your listing using the fields and drop-down lists available. Ensure that all of the required fields (those marked with an asterisk) are filled in
4. Click the [Save Changes] button

You will receive a confirmation message when the changes have been saved. If you would like to see how the listing will appear in the search results, click the [Preview Listing] link.

Deleting/Restoring a Listing:

Search for the listing you would like to delete using the instructions above.
1. Click [Delete/Restore]
2. Review the screen that shows which books will be deleted
3. If the selections are correct, click the [Yes, Delete] or [Yes, Restore] button

Deleting Multiple Listings:

From the main screen, "Inventory Management: Find Listing", you can use the 3rd blue box: 'Inventory by book number' to easily delete up to 100 books at a time. Simply:
1. Enter the book id numbers (one per line or separated by commas) for the listings you would like to delete and click [View Items] to see a list of those books
2. Click [Select/Deselect All] and then [Delete/Restore]
3. Confirm that you wish to delete these items by clicking [Yes, Delete]

Please Note: If any of the books that you have listed are already deleted, then this process will not work. Simply remove the book number of the listing that has already been deleted and try again.

Adding a Catalogue:

You can add new catalogues to your inventory the same time that you add a new book into that catalogue. Follow the instructions to add a new book, above. On the right side of the screen, enter the new catalogue name in the "Or New Catalogue" field. When you add the new book, the catalogue will be created at the same time.
Editing a Catalogue Name:

1. From any of the List and Maintain screens, click the [Manage Catalogues] link in the top-right corner
2. Click the [Edit] link for the catalogue name you would like to update
3. Edit the name
4. Click the [OK] button

Viewing online inventory:

To view your complete online inventory:
1. Without entering any details select "100" from the "Results/page" drop-down menu
2. Click on [View Items]

Associating Your Listings to the AbeBooks Categories

While many buyers use the search function to find the books they looking for, many buyers also use browsing to find books. You can categorise your listings to make them browse-able by AbeBooks buyers:

1. [Sign On] to your AbeBooks.com bookseller account
2. Click [Your Books] in the Members Menu
3. Select [List and maintain your books]
4. Enter criteria to search for some of your books and click the [View Items] button
5. Select a book (or several) and click the [Categorise] button

The category list is displayed on the right side of the page. You can click any of the [+] symbols to expand the list to view sub-categories, or click the name of a sub-category to assign it to your listing(s). If you already assign catalogues to your listings, you can map each of them to one of the AbeBooks Categories. In step 4, above, select one of your catalogues from the drop-down list when you do your search. Use the [Select/Deselect All] button to select all of the listings in that catalogue, and then categorise them to the corresponding category. You could use a similar system to categorise all books by a specific author, or listings with a particular keyword.

To remove a category from multiple listings, you can use the Remove Categories tool:

1. Locate and select the listings you would like to update
Tip: You can use the categories refinements on the left side of the page to find the listings assigned to that category.
2. Click the [Remove Categories] button
3. Select the category you would like to remove
4. Finally, click the [Remove Selected Categories] button. You will receive a Success message at the top of the page.

If there are no other categories shared with the listings, you will see a note on the right side of your screen.

Further information on the AbeBooks Categories.

Using HomeBase 2.3

HomeBase 2.3 is our free inventory management software. You can work with it offline to catalogue and manage your books. It is easy to install HomeBase 2.3 and everything you need to know about how to use HomeBase 2.3 can be found on our HomeBase 2.3 User Guide. This includes how to add and edit books, how to manage catalogues, how to send your data to AbeBooks and much more. Below are our FAQs for HomeBase 2.3.

We also have HomeBase 3.0 Beta online help available.

How do I send my book data to AbeBooks?

Once you have you have registered online and your bookseller account has been opened, you will need to enter your User ID and account password into HomeBase 2.3 before you send your first book list to AbeBooks. If you are not sure what your User ID is, you can check by signing onto your AbeBooks account and selecting [Your Personal Information] and then [Update Your Account Information].

Entering your User ID & Password into HomeBase 2.3:

1. Select [View] from the grey menu bar at the top
2. Then select [Options…]
3. Enter your User ID and re-enter password to ensure that it is correct
4. Click [Apply]
5. Then click [OK]

Once you have done this you will be able to send your book data to AbeBooks and update your online inventory.

Sending a full file to AbeBooks:

The first file that you send to AbeBooks should include all the books you have added to HomeBase 2.3. To send a file that includes all your books:

1. In the grey menu bar click [File] and then [Import/Export] and then [Export/Send to AbeBooks]

2. In the Send Data to AbeBooks box, select [Upload Books]

3. Clear the [Changes since last load date] option*

4. Select the [All Books] option*

5. Click the [Send] button

6. Click the [Save] button. A summary of the number of books sent to AbeBooks is displayed

7. Click [OK]. The data is exported to a saved file

8. Click [OK] in the export summary box

9. Click the [Connect] button. A message is displayed stating that "Connection to ftp.abebooks.com successful"

10. Click the [Send File] button

11. Click the [Exit] button when the message "Transfer complete, closing connection" is displayed

* To send only your updates, ensure the [Changes since last load date] option is ticked and skip step 4 above.

* To purge your books follow the steps above, during step 4 also tick the box “Purge”.

This will ensure that the full file you send us replaces everything that you have online. This will correct any discrepancies and help keep your data up-to-date.

Once you have uploaded a file to AbeBooks, you will receive an email confirming the file has been received and additional details about the file. If you find that the number of books is not exactly as you uploaded, this may be due to the fact that our system counts the lines in your file as opposed to the books. With certain file types this may cause the number to be inaccurate, so please do check the changes online.

To check the details of your file:

1. [Sign On] to your AbeBooks.com bookseller account
2. Click [Your Books] in the Members Menu
3. Select [Yesterday's billable listings]

As you can see below, you can use this page to check that we have received your file. You can see how many books were in the file and when the file's status was last updated.

How can I manage sold books in HomeBase 2.3?

It is important to ensure that your online inventory is up-to-date, especially after your first orders have been processed. A book ordered via AbeBooks will automatically be removed from your online inventory. It is however; very important to update this also in HomeBase 2.3, marking that book as sold to ensure that in your future uploads the book is not accidentally re-uploaded.

Managing Sold Books:

To remove books from the AbeBooks online system using HomeBase 2.3, you are required to change the status of your sold books to [Sold] and then send these changes to AbeBooks.

Note: It is very important that you do not delete books in HomeBase 2.3. Your books will only be completely removed from your AbeBooks inventory if you have marked them as [Sold].

When you send a file of sold books, AbeBooks matches those book numbers against the ones already online. When our system reads that book #1234 is marked as sold it removes the listing from the AbeBooks websites. It is imperative that you send your sold book records to AbeBooks on a regular basis.

To mark books as sold in HomeBase 2.3:

1. Click [Books] in the red bar. The [Find Books] screen is displayed
2. Select the book you wish to update
3. Double click to open the book record
4. Select [Sold] from the Status list
5. Click the [Save] button and then click [OK]

Note: There is a shortcut for marking books as sold. On the [Find Books] screen, select the sold books. Right-click and select [Mark Selected Books as Sold].

The best way to keep track of sold books in HomeBase 2.3 is to create a "Sold" catalogue and move all of your sold books into it.

To create a Sold catalogue and move books into it:

1. Click [Catalogs] in the red bar. The [Catalogs] screen is displayed
2. Click the [Add] button . The [Add Catalog] box is displayed
3. Enter the catalogue name as "Sold" and enter a description (optional)
4. Click the [Save] button
5. Click [Books] in the red bar
6. In the Tools menu, select [Move all sold books to]
7. Select the "Sold" catalogue from the list. Click the [OK] button

All books marked "Sold" will now be moved into your "Sold" catalogue. You can now send your books to AbeBooks as you normally would.

Note: There is a shortcut for marking books as sold. On the [Find Books] screen, select the sold books. Right-click and select [Move all Sold books to] and complete step 7.

If you would like to find out more read the HomeBase 2.3 User Guide.

Associating Your Listings to the AbeBooks Categories

While many buyers use the search function to find the books they are looking for, many buyers also use browsing to find books. If you assign categories to your listings, your books will be more visible to those buyers who browse. If you do not, our system will attempt to match your books to the appropriate category. Please note that when you assign your own categories we will not add further categories to your listings

HomeBase 2.3 does not contain the AbeBooks Categories, however, you can easily categorise your listings via our Online Inventory Management system.

An alternative option for categorising your listings would be to use the latest version of HomeBase 3.0, where each book can be assigned up to 10 AbeBooks Categories.

HomeBase 3.0 uses different technology than HomeBase 2.3, so it is not an upgrade. This means that if you would like to download and install HomeBase 3.0 to take a look around before deciding whether to use it, it is safe to do so.

Further help with categories in HomeBase 3.0.

Using your own book list

It is important to ensure that your online inventory is up-to-date, especially after your first orders have been processed. If you are using your own data format you can update your AbeBooks listings by sending us a file containing the changes to your stock. Please ensure that the file is in your usual format.

You can easily upload your files through your Members Menu:

1. [Sign On] to your AbeBooks.com bookseller account

2. Click [Uploads] from the Members Menu

3. Then click the [Upload your book file now!] button

4. On the Upload and List Client Pending Files, you will see the following: "What file would you like to send us?" Press the [Browse] button - this will allow you to search your computer and select the file you wish to upload

5. Choose the file to send

6. Finally, click the [Send File] button to transfer a copy of your file to our system

If you have any trouble using the AbeBooks Web Upload Facility there are other upload options, some of which have been listed below:

Netscape Web Upload

WS_FTP

Fetch (For Macintosh Users)

Removing Sold Books

A book ordered via AbeBooks will automatically be removed from your online inventory. It is however, very important to update your inventory management system by marking the book as sold. This will ensure that in your future uploads the book is not accidentally re-uploaded to AbeBooks

a. If you have a status or quantity field in your database or spreadsheet, you could send a file named delete.txt and include exactly the same fields as you do when you upload a regular (for sale) file. The books included in this file will then be removed from your online inventory.

b. Alternatively, you can send a file simply containing a list of the book numbers you want to have deleted. Each book number must be on a line by itself and the file should be named delnum.txt or delnum.tab. The file's extension should match the custom conversion we have set up for you.

To check the details of your file:

1. [Sign On] to your AbeBooks.com bookseller account
2. Click [Your Books] in the Members Menu
3. Select [Yesterday's billable listings]

As you can see below, you can use this page to check that we have received your file. You can see how many books were in the file and when the file's status was last updated. Additionally, you can review your current book count and your book count history.

Associating Your Listings to the AbeBooks Categories

While many buyers use the search function to find the books they looking for, many buyers also use browsing to find books. You can categorise your listings to make them browse-able by AbeBooks buyers:

To categorise your listing to the Abebooks categories, you can simply download a copy of the Browse Categories list and then use the Category IDs in a Category field in your inventory program.

Important: Ensure that you contact us prior to uploading a file with the new field!

1. [Sign On] to your AbeBooks.com bookseller account

2. Click [Downloads] from the Members Menu

3. Then click [Download Abebooks Browse Category List]

4. Follow the on-screen instructions to download the file

The file includes the following fields in this order: Abebooks Category ID, Parent ID, Category Name, Category Path, BISAC code, Muze code, and "is leaf." You can't assign listings to top-level categories, so "is leaf" will be False (F) for these categories.

You can assign up to 10 Category IDs to each of your listings.

Further information on the AbeBooks Categories.

Using XML-Interface (API)

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.

Bookseller Catalogues vs. AbeBooks Categories

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 by Bookseller Catalogue:

Bookseller Catalogues, the catalogues you have assigned your books, are available to buyers through your AbeBooks Storefront and on the Listing Details of every book on the [Browse this Seller's Books] link.
AbeBooks Categories, also referred to as subjects, are available through your AbeBooks Storefront, through the Browse feature on the homepage and through the Browse link in the red banner on every webpage.

Your Bookseller Catalogues are the catalogues you have created in your inventory management system to classify your books. They may be used for your sales and inventory specials or may be topical by subject. You can continue to attach a maximum of 3 catalogues to your listings and buyers can browse your unique catalogues as outlined above.

The AbeBooks Categories are based on bookseller specialties or subjects and are the topic headings buyers see when using the Browse feature. For example, there are categories for Art and Health. This makes it easy for buyers to find books relating to specific subjects. Each category includes all booksellers' listings.

The browse list contains approximately 3,500 categories, which are stored in a tree structure with 50 top level categories. A plus sign (+) next to a category indicates that there are sub-categories. Listings can only be assigned to the lowest level sub-category heading and you can assign each listing to up to 10 categories.

If you have many Bookseller Catalogues, you can easily associate these to the AbeBooks Categories. We have a categorisation tool in our Online Inventory Management System to assist in making your books browse-able by category. Please see further information on categorising your listings under the appropriate inventory management section for you.

Note: While we have not yet launched the new browse feature to buyers, we have made the categorising feature available to booksellers so that you can prepare your inventory in advance.

The list of AbeBooks Categories is available to you as a reference tool. You can view the list online through your AbeBooks Bookseller account or you can download a list to your computer.

Viewing the Browse Categories List:

1. [Sign On] to your AbeBooks.com bookseller account

2. Select [Downloads] from your Members Menu

3. Then click "Download AbeBooks Browse Categories List". The page will display the list of category headings on the left side of the screen

4. By clicking on the "+" next to a main category heading, you can see subcategory lists

Downloading the Browse Category List:

The AbeBooks Categories list is also available in a pipe-delimited text file for download. You can use this as a reference tool or you can import it into your inventory management system.

Note: AbeBooks is unable to support individual inventory management programs (other than HomeBase) so you will need to be familiar with the program you use before importing the file.

Important: If you are using a spreadsheet or third party database software, you can use the category IDs from the downloaded file in your listings. If you do use the downloaded file in this manner, please contact us before uploading your first file so we can make the necessary updates to your account.

The list includes the AbeBooks Category names, IDs, as well as the associated Book Industry Standards and Communications (BISAC) and Muze categories.

The option to download is available on the right-side of the screen:

1. Right-click the "Download Category List" link

2. Click the [Save] button to download a copy to your computer

If you're using the file for reference purposes, the saved file is in text format and can be opened in a word processing program or in Microsoft Notepad. If you are familiar with a spreadsheet program such as Microsoft Excel, you can import the file to view it there as well.

Information in the File

Each line in the file corresponds to one subcategory. The file includes the following fields:

· AbeBooks Category Group ID: This is the number assigned to each category in our database. Use this number in your Category field to categorise a listing.

· Parent ID: This is the ID of the top-level category for a sub-category.

· Category Name: This is the category or sub-category name as it appears on the Web site.

· Category Path: You can tell which top-level category a sub-category is in by reading this path.

· BISAC Category Code: If there is a corresponding BISAC category code, we list it here.

· Muze Category ID: If there is a corresponding Muze category, we list it here.

· Is Leaf: This field is filled in with either "T" for true or "F" for false. You can assign your listings to "T" categories, but not to "F" as they are on the top-level.

For example:

3109|44|Camping|/Sports & Recreation/Camping|SPO009000||T|

The "Camping" category is a sub-category under "Sports & Recreation." If you would like to assign one of your listings to this category, add "3109" to your Category field.

How can I install your software HomeBase 2.3?

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

Download the User Guide (PDF)

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.

How can I upload pictures?

Adding pictures to your inventory on AbeBooks is one of the best things you can do to help increase your sales. Buyers still like to see what they are purchasing and AbeBooks customers are much more likely to purchase a copy of a book with a picture over one without.

Once a picture file has processed through our system, it will be linked to the corresponding book listing and the image will be displayed next to it on the search results. Buyers can also filter their searches by Bookseller-supplied photos so your books will appear when buyers use this option:

Picture File Guidelines:

· Only one picture file can be associated with a book listing. If you have 2 photos to display, please merge them into one image file.

· Pictures files must be .gif or .jpg format.

· Maximum file size is 100 KB. A graphics editor can enable you to manipulate the files and adjust various features, including size.

· The given picture file name must be exactly the same as the unique book number of the corresponding book. (For example, when sending a picture of book number 000674, the picture file must be named "000674.gif" or "000674.jpg").

Uploading Your Picture Files:

There are three methods you can use to send us your picture files depending on how many pictures are already uploaded to your account and how many pictures you are uploading:

· Upload through your Members Menu (single pictures files; booksellers with less than 200 pictures)

· Upload through your Members Menu book upload (multiple pictures)

· Upload via using FTP (multiple pictures; booksellers with more than 200 pictures)

To upload single pictures through your Members Menu:

If your account has less than 200 pictures files uploaded to it, you can easily add more pictures through your Members Menu following the steps below:

1. [Sign On] to your AbeBooks.com bookseller account
2. Click [Uploads]
3. Then click [Upload your book pictures (gifs and jpgs)]

4. Click [Browse…] to locate the file you wish to upload
5. Finally, click the [Send File] button

When the file has successfully transferred, you will see a confirmation message on the screen - "file name.gif was uploaded to ABE!". The file name will also appear under the heading "Current contents of /pictures/".

To Upload Multiple Pictures:

If you are uploading multiple pictures files, you can compress these into a ZIP file (ex: pictures.zip) and upload them all at once. To compress your files into one ZIP file: Highlight all the files you wish to send, then right-click to choose:

Send To > Compressed (zipped) Folder

You can upload these compressed files through the book upload function in your Members Menu or by FTP.

To upload multiple pictures through your Members Menu:

1. [Sign On] to your AbeBooks.com bookseller account
2. Click [List and Maintain your Books]
3. Then click [Upload your book file now!] button

4. Click [Browse…] to locate the file you wish to upload

5. Finally, click the [Send File] button

To upload multiple pictures using FTP:

If you have previously uploaded more than 200 picture files to your bookseller account, we recommend that you use FTP to upload further picture files. Please ensure to set up your FTP software with the following details:

· Profile Name: ABE

· Host Name: ftp.abebooks.com

· Host Type: Automatic Detect

· User ID: Enter your AbeBooks Bookseller account USERID

· Password: Enter your AbeBooks Bookseller account password

I am going on holiday. How can I temporarily remove my books from AbeBooks?

If you are going to be away from your book shop for three days or more, you should set your account to vacation status. When you set your book shop to vacation status, your books are temporarily removed from all AbeBooks websites.

To remove your inventory while on vacation:

1. [Sign On] to your AbeBooks.com bookseller account
2. Click [Your Books]
3. Click [Manage Vacations]
4. Enter the date on which you will be leaving and click [Temporarily Remove Inventory] You may alter or cancel a vacation request at any time before the start date by returning to this screen
5. You may also enter the return date, but it is not necessary. You may return any time before this date as well by returning to this screen

When vacation status becomes effective, your account is set to "Inactive" status and your online book total is set to "0". Your inventory is removed until you restore it.

To restore your inventory from vacation status:

1. Click [Your Books] in the Members Menu
2. Click [Returned from vacation? Restore your inventory] in the [Your Books] menu
3. Click the [Restore Inventory] button

Have a good holiday!

Notes:

The minimum subscription fee (0-500 books) is applicable for the duration of the "Vacation".
Please do not upload any inventory files to us while your account is set to "Vacation."
If you would like to permanently remove your book listings from the AbeBooks websites, please contact our Customer Service and we will be happy to assist you.

How do I receive notifications for ordered books?

AbeBooks sends booksellers an email confirming every order placed for one of your books. Depending on our order volume, the delivery time for these emails can vary slightly. We recommend that you process your orders via our online system to ensure that all orders are processed promptly.

Email is an indispensable tool, but it is fallible. Changes made by your ISP, spam filters, and virus protection software can all contribute to problems receiving your AbeBooks email. Our order notifications are convenient reminders, but should not be solely relied upon to inform you that you have orders, therefore we kindly ask that you check your orders online.

To check and process your orders online:

1. Sign on to AbeBooks.com and sign on to get to the Members Menu, then click the [Bookseller Programs] link
2. Click the [AbeBooks] link
3. Click the [Review and/or process your orders] link. A list of unprocessed orders will appear

How can I process my orders?

When one of your books is ordered from AbeBooks you are sent an email notification with the book information and a link to process the order. You need to process book orders online in order for your book buyers to be charged and notified that the order has been updated. The order processing procedure differs between Ecommerce and Bookseller Direct orders.

Ecommerce Orders: are those orders that the book buyer paid by credit card

Bookseller Direct Orders: are those paid by any method that can be processed by the bookseller

Processing an Ecommerce Order:

1. [Sign On] to your AbeBooks.com bookseller account
2. Click [Process Your Orders] from the Quick Links on the right of the Members Menu
3. Locate the order you would like to process and click [Process Order]
4. Select the appropriate status from the Status column to process the order and click the [Save Order Changes] button

Once an Ecommerce order is marked as Shipped, the payment will be attempted. If the payment is successfully taken the [View Shipping Manifest] button will appear and you will be able to view the buyer’s full contact details.

If you need to request extra shipping that can be done by choosing [Extra Charges] as opposed to [Will Ship]. Click here for further information.

PLEASE NOTE: Ecommerce orders must be updated within 4 days, this includes weekends. If you do not work weekends, please ensure that you process your orders every 2 days. Orders that are not processed within that period will expire and we will automatically inform the customer that their order has been cancelled.

If an order has been processed in error it can be cancelled and the buyer refunded. Click here for further information.

Processing a Bookseller Direct Order:
Follow steps 1 – 4 above. Note the statuses to choose from are different between Ecommerce and Bookseller Direct orders.

If you have the book available, select [Availability Confirmed] and click the [Save Order Changes] button. You will find the buyer’s email address beneath the order information. Contact the buyer and confirm the details of payment – cheque details, paypal account etc.

Should you need to change the shipping costs, you can discuss this with the buyer directly. As soon as you have received payment for the order, click the [View Shipping Manifest] button for the buyer’s full contact details and send the book.

Should you not be able to receive payment from the buyer you can cancel the order. Click here for further information.

PLEASE NOTE: If a Bookseller Direct order is not updated within 4 days, the status will automatically change to Availability Confirmed

Tracking Information: When you process orders, you have the choice to ship via a trackable method. If you choose to use a trackable method, the tracking information should be added to the order information after processing.

What is Tracking Information?
Tracking information is purchased from the post office upon shipping orders. When you purchase tracking information, you receive a tracking number that can be used to ensure the book arrived to its destination. Please contact the post office for the exact cost of purchasing tracking information.

Why Should I Use Tracking Information?
When you process orders, you have the choice to send the books using a trackable method. The use of a trackable means of shipment is highly recommended by AbeBooks for two reasons:

* Using a trackable means of shipment reassures the buyer that the order has been shipped. Should the order not arrive by the estimated delivery date, the buyer may initiate a refund for the book. Having tracking information does not allow the buyer to initiate a return for the reason "Item Did Not Arrive".

* Tracking information acts as insurance for you. Should a book not arrive by the estimated delivery date, you can provide tracking information to the buyer and track the package yourself on the USPS Web site to determine why it did not arrive to the buyer.

What do I do with the Tracking Information Once I Have it?
After you process an order, and are provided with a tracking number by the Post Office, sign in to your AbeBooks account and insert the tracking number.

To enter tracking information to a previously processed order:

1. [Sign On] to your AbeBooks.com bookseller account
2. Click [Process Your Orders] from the Quick Links on the right of the Members Menu
3. Locate the order to which you would like to add tracking information and click [Review Order]
4. In the Order Information Box, you can enter the shipping company and tracking number
5. Click [Update] to save the tracking information

Tip: Many AbeBooks buyers will need a receipt/invoice with their order, especially if you receive an order from another European country. Remember to check the special instructions field, as the buyer will often indicate if a receipt/invoice is needed. The invoice can be included in the order or sent via email. AbeBooks can only provide the buyer with the confirmation of the order and not an official invoice as the buyer is your legal trading partner. If a buyer asks for a receipt/invoice please do provide one as they may be ordering on behalf of a company or library where they need to reclaim the purchase amount. If you have any questions about what should be included in an invoice please Contact Us.

How do I increase or reduce shipping charges for an order?

At AbeBooks, we have learned that happy customers frequently become return customers. Often, book buyers 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 books. We have developed guidelines to encourage timely shipping speeds and fair shipping prices in order to keep our, and your, book buyers happy. We require you to pack your parcels well to prevent damage and to send your books within two days of receiving the orders.

When you receive an order you can further adjust the shipping charge if needed. Extra charges can be requested for a heavy/oversized books or multi-volume sets, to pay applicable taxes, or to purchase insurance for a valuable book. 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.

For instructions on adjusting your overall shipping rates and speeds, Click Here!

To request Extra Shipping Charges for an Ecommerce Order:

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
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 are rejected after a buyer declines an extra shipping charge do not count against your Bookseller Rating.

Note: Booksellers who accept additional payment methods are required to contact the buyer directly after processing the order, to arrange extra charges.

To Reduce Shipping Charges for an Ecommerce Order:

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 automatically reduced and the order is processed. A confirmation of the new amount is sent to the buyer. However, you do not need to wait for the buyer to respond to the shipping reduction. We assume that buyers are happy with any reduction.

To Reduce Shipping Charges for a Multiple Item Order:

To reduce the shipping on multiple books in one order, you will need to reduce the shipping for each book in the order; you cannot reduce the shipping cost of any one book 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 books in it. The shipping on the first book is £7 and for the additional book it is £3. If it would cost you only £5 to ship both books, then you can reduce the shipping cost of the first book by £3 and the second by £2 when you process the order.

To Reduce Shipping Charges for a Bookseller Direct Order:

1. Process the order by selecting the [Will Ship] option in the Status column

2. When requesting payment from the buyer you can simply, deduct the appropriate amount for the reduced shipping. You may want to send the buyer an email explaining the reduction in shipping charges.

Please Note: We are unable to reduce the commissions for the adjusted shipping price for a Bookseller Direct Order. This is also the case for increased shipping costs.

What payment methods may I offer my AbeBooks buyers?

All credit card payments are processed by AbeBooks on your behalf. Currently buyers can pay the following credit cards:

Visa - MasterCard - American Express - JCB - Carte Bleue

You can select additional payment methods such as cheque, money orders and PayPal that you will process through your AbeBooks account.

To select your acceptable methods of payment:

1. [Sign On] to your AbeBooks.com bookseller account
2. Click [Your Personal Information] in the Members Menu
3. Click [Acceptable Payment Methods] in the Personal Information menu
4. Optional: Select additional payment methods that you will accept
5. Click the [Submit] button

For all payment methods other than credit card you are required to contact the book buyer directly to arrange payment for the order. The book buyer's contact information is supplied to you when you process the order online.

Do I need to supply an invoice?

AbeBooks bookseller members should supply buyers with an invoice. For most buyers within the UK one is not needed, but please ensure that for all international orders an invoice is included when the book is shipped. Even if AbeBooks processes the payment on your behalf, an invoice can be given from you directly to your trading partner, the buyer. You can use your own system to supply an invoice or you can use a feature in our free software HomeBase. Click here for information on installing HomeBase.

How can I contact the buyer should I have any questions?

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, Babel Fish or PROMT to assist you in understanding the buyer’s enquiry or reply.

Security Tips

We encourage all of our booksellers to be informed of the potential risks that exist in the world of Internet commerce.

Indicators of fraud:

Although the majority of our buyers are undoubtedly honest and responsible individuals, the occasional order may prove to be fraudulent. We advise booksellers to carefully review all orders before processing, particularly those that display the following traits:

Orders from African and former Eastern Block countries
Orders placed by buyers with free email accounts (such as hotmail, yahoo, etc) or suspicious email addresses
Large volume of orders
Expensive orders
Large volume orders for popular items
Buyer's contact information, including name and phone number do not seem to correlate with the client's geographic location (i.e. Henry Smith, Nigeria)
Invalid shipping address (i.e. Nigeria, Denmark)
Invalid contact information

What you can do:

Check Shipping addresses: Does the zip code/postal code match up with the billing address? The post office of the jurisdiction you are sending to often has a list of zip codes or postal codes. See:

USPS: www.usps.com
Canada Post: www.canadapost.ca
Royal Mail (United Kingdom): www.royalmail.com
La Poste (France): www.laposte.fr
Deutsche Post (Germany): www.deutschepost.de

If you are not familiar with the name of the city, check that the city name exists in the country. Additionally, unless it is a gift purchase, the shipping address and billing address (if provided by the buyer in "Special Instructions") will be identical. Some fraudulent buyers will use obviously fake shipping addresses. Please take the time to check that the address is valid.

Another way to check the validity of the buyer's address is to research the phone number (if provided) with the address. To do so, you may find the following links helpful:

Track or Insure Your Packages:

Tip: Insuring or tracking your shipments will protect you against buyers who falsely claim their books have not arrived. Some booksellers consider it a small price to pay compared to the value of the potential loss. You may also have to contact the buyer to request additional charges to cover the cost of insurance. Many people committing fraud will not reply to the email.

Expensive Orders:

If you receive an order for an expensive book, you can contact the buyer using the email address displayed on the right-hand side of the order screen before you confirm availability of the item. Personal contact with the buyer also gives you the opportunity to make arrangements for special shipping and handling procedures. Again, if a buyer not responding to your queries may be indicative of a fraudulent purchase.

Notify AbeBooks Customer Support:

If you believe you have received a fraudulent order, please send the details to AbeBooks customer service. The AbeBooks Security and Trust team will investigate the issue and put steps in place to prevent future fraudulent incidents. Booksellers are financially responsible for the outcome of the order if they processed payment themselves.

To assist us with our investigation, please be sure to include:

The AbeBooks purchase order number
A description of the problem. (Why you think the client and order is fraudulent? For example, the credit card name doesn’t match the name of the person placing the order; the shipping address doesn’t match the billing address.)
The steps you have taken to investigate the order. (Have you verified the address/phone number and if so, how? Have you attempted to contact the buyer by email or phone? Did they respond to you? If so, what did they say? How did you verify the credit card number?)
Any relevant correspondence including faxes or e-mails that contain important details

Process a Refund for your Commissions:

If you have received a fraudulent order, you can process a refund for the commissions using the Returns process.

To request a return or refund:

1. [Sign On] to your AbeBooks.com bookseller account
2. Click [Process Your Orders] from the Quick Links
3. When the Order List appears, locate the order by either AbeBooks purchase order number
4. Click [List Orders]
5. Click [Request a return/refund]
6. Select the return reason [Incomplete Sale]
7. Click the [Initiate Return] button
8. Click the [Confirm] button to confirm that the details of the return are correct

Because the return reason is "Incomplete Sale", no action is required on part of the buyer. An email will be sent to the buyer including any comments you have entered.

Tracking Information:

What is Tracking Information?

Tracking information is purchased from the post office upon shipping orders. When you purchase tracking information, you receive a tracking number that can be used to ensure the book arrived to its destination. Please contact the post office for the exact cost of purchasing tracking information.

Why Should I Use Tracking Information?

When you process orders, you have the choice to send the books using a traceable method. The use of a traceable means of shipment is highly recommended by AbeBooks for two reasons:

* Using a traceable means of shipment reassures the buyer that the order has been shipped. Should the order not arrive by the estimated delivery date, the buyer may initiate a refund for the book. Having tracking information does not allow the buyer to initiate a return for the reason "Item Did Not Arrive".

* Tracking information acts as insurance for you. Should a book not arrive by the estimated delivery date, you can provide tracking information to the buyer and track the package yourself on the USPS Web site to determine why it did not arrive to the buyer.

What do I do with the Tracking Information Once I Have it?

After you process an order, and are provided with a tracking number by the Post Office, sign in to your AbeBooks account and insert the tracking number.

To insert tracking information to a previously processed order:

1. [Sign On] to your AbeBooks.com bookseller account
2. Select [Process Your Orders] from the Quick Links
3. You will see the Order List. Insert the AbeBooks Order Number in the space provided, or change the Status field to "Processed" and click "List Orders"
4. Locate the order you would like to review. Click [Review] in the Review/Process column
5. In the Order Information box, there is a space provided to insert the tracking number
6. Click [Update] to save the inserted tracking information

How can I cancel an order?

To cancel an order:

The cancellation procedure differs between ecommerce and bookseller direct orders:

Ecommerce orders are those orders that the book buyer paid by credit card.

Bookseller Direct orders are those paid by any other method that can be processed by the bookseller.

To cancel an Ecommerce order:

1. [Sign On] to your AbeBooks.com bookseller account
2. Click [Process your Orders] from the Quick Links menu
3. Enter the AbeBooks purchase order number
4. Click [List Orders]
5. Click [Request a Refund] for the book that requires a refund
6. Select the Reason for Return from the menu provided. You may also add comments for the return
7. Click [Initiate Return/Refund]
8. Using the option buttons, select whether you want to have the refund processed immediately, or to wait until you receive the book back from the buyer (If applicable)
9. Select whether return shipping will be refunded (if applicable)
Click [Confirm] or [Edit Return/Refund] to make changes to the return

To cancel a Bookseller Direct order:

1. [Sign On] to your AbeBooks.com bookseller account
2. Click [Process your Orders] from the Quick Links menu
3. Enter the AbeBooks purchase order number
4. Click the [List Orders] button
5. Click [Cancel Order] for the order you need to cancel
6. Select the appropriate reason for the cancellation
7. Enter comments for the buyer
8. Click [Cancel Order] to complete the cancellation

Cancelling the order ensures that you are refunded the AbeBooks commissions as the order was not successful.

When cancelling an order, if you are unsure what reason to select click here.

If you would like further information about refunds and returns click here.

How can I refund a buyer?

On occasion, you may be required to initiate a refund or return on an order. "Returns" collectively refers to refunds and returns, and the returns procedure is also used to process a refund for an order that has been accepted in error. A buyer may also contact you to request a return, in which case you can initiate a return on the buyer's behalf.

To request a return or refund:

1. [Sign On] to your AbeBooks.com bookseller account
2. Click [Process your Orders] from the Quick Links menu
3. On the Order List screen, enter the Order Number and click [List Orders]
4. Click [Request a Refund] or [Cancel Order]
5. Select Appropriate Reason and Comments (see definitions below)
6. Click [Initiate Return/Refund]
7. Using the radio buttons, you can choose to have the refund processed immediately, or to wait until you receive the book back from the buyer. (This is a mandatory field.)
8. Select whether return shipping will be refunded or not. (This is a mandatory field.)
9. Click [Confirm] to confirm the return or [Edit Return/Refund] to make changes to the return

An email is sent to both you and the buyer as notification of an initiated return.

Notes:

AbeBooks requires booksellers to accept all returns. The price of the book, as well as original and return shipping costs should be returned to the buyer upon receipt of the book except in the case of buyer changed mind. In addition, booksellers may dispute "Item not as Described" returns, in which case return shipping will not be refunded to the buyer.

Extra charges or changes to the shipping amount (this may also be reduced via our "reduce shipping" option) are included within the shipping costs and will be returned to the buyer. There is no separate category for these adjustments.

Books are deleted from the AbeBooks inventory after purchase, but are not re-listed when a return is requested. Please, remember to re-list your returned books through your inventory management software after you have received the book/books back.

When you process refunds the reason code that you select determines the amount refunded to the buyer. Please view the table below for further information on the reason codes and how they alter the refund.

Definitions of Return Reasons and Corresponding Reimbursement Amounts:

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	Full refund + return shipping = Book price + shipping charged + return shipping equal to original shipping
Incorrect Item Delivered	The book sent to the buyer was not the item the buyer ordered	Full refund + return shipping = Book price + shipping charged + return shipping equal to original shipping
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
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.

* Ecommerce orders only

** Orders placed on AbeBooks.com will be refunded only the book price

*** Bookseller Direct orders only

Not all refunds count against your Bookseller Rating, click [here] for our online overview.

Quick returns & refunds guide

AbeBooks facilitates the return process with links on the Website and in email notification and confirmation messages sent to both the book buyer and bookseller. The following section outlines the tools and rules for returns on the AbeBooks Website.

The "Review and Process your Orders" screen:

Each order item has options to [Request a Refund] or [Review/Update a Return]
There is an option to provide "Feedback" to buyers explaining details of the reason for the return

For those items where AbeBooks processes the payment:

Partial Returns: Booksellers have the option to refund up to 75% of the book price or 100% of the shipping cost

If a buyer initiates an “item not as described” return, you have the option to refund the book price and original shipping costs or the book price and all shipping amounts

Schedule processing of refunds: Booksellers can select when AbeBooks process a refund; upon receipt of the book or immediately

Cancel a refund: In those instances where a resolution has been met with the buyer, you have the option to cancel a bookseller-initiated refund

Timely completion of refunds: We will send you a reminder (21 days for domestic orders, 71 days for international orders) after you have initiated the return to go online and process the refund. If we have not received an update from you on the return within the next 7 days, we will automatically complete the return and process the refund

Types of Returns:

On occasion, a refund or return is initiated for an order. AbeBooks collectively terms refunds and returns as "Returns". Returns can be initiated by buyers or booksellers for Ecommerce orders (those paid by credit card being processed by AbeBooks). Bookseller Direct orders (where booksellers process payments themselves) are cancelled by the bookseller upon request of the buyer or for a reason determined by the bookseller.

The AbeBooks returns process requires actions from both the buyer and the bookseller. The AbeBooks system facilitates the process through email notifications and links on our Websites that take both parties through the process until a return is completed.

Definitions of Return Reasons and Corresponding Reimbursement Amounts:

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	Full refund + return shipping = Book price + shipping charged + return shipping equal to original shipping
Incorrect Item Delivered	The book sent to the buyer was not the item the buyer ordered	Full refund + return shipping = Book price + shipping charged + return shipping equal to original shipping
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
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.

* Ecommerce orders only

** Orders placed on AbeBooks.com will be refunded only the book price

*** Bookseller Direct orders only

Not all refunds count against your Bookseller Rating, click [here] for our online overview.

Reporting a Missing Shipment:

If you do not receive a book back from the buyer within 28 days for national, or 77 days for international orders, you will need to report a missing shipment online. The time-line for a national order is as follows:

14 days after the return is initiated, the [Notify AbeBooks of Missing Shipment] button is available in the Bookseller Return screen; at 21 days, you will receive an email reminder about the return; at 28 days, the return automatically completes.

Please ensure that you let us know if a book is not returned to you as we cannot reverse refunds. When a missing shipment is reported, AbeBooks Customer Service will follow up with the buyer to ask for tracking information. If none is provided, the return is cancelled. We recommend that you wait at least 21 days before notifying AbeBooks of a missing shipment in order to allow the book adequate time to arrive.

How and when do I receive my payments from AbeBooks?

AbeBooks processes credit card order payments (Ecommerce orders) on behalf of our member booksellers. We in turn credit you 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.

Belgium - France - Germany - Ireland - Italy - Netherlands - Spain - Switzerland - UK

We can credit you for your AbeBooks Ecommerce orders via weekly bank transfers if your bank is in one of the above countries. Please enter your banking details in your AbeBooks account.

If your bank account is not in one of the above countries 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.

Where can I view details for payments and fees?

You can easily review your financial details for your payments and fees through your bookseller account:

1. [Sign On] to your AbeBooks.com bookseller account
2. Click [Your Personal Information] from the Members Menu
3. Then click [Account Details by Statement]

Select the statement month and click [View], which will give you a summary of your sales for the previous month. For example, the 'Statement Summary: February' gives details for January. Here you can see the totals for the month for all your fees and the total amount that was paid to you for the month.

4. By clicking [Weekly Summaries for Statement Period] you can see a weekly break down for the month. You will notice that all 'Paid to You' amounts in the weekly summaries equal the total amount that is given on the Statement Summary.

How can I check for which orders I have received payment?

You can easily see the orders that are included in your payment through your bookseller account:

1. [Sign On] to your AbeBooks.com bookseller account
2. Click [Your Personal Information] from the Members Menu
3. Then click [Account Details by Statement]

4. Then click [Sales Details for Statement Period] to see the orders that are included

Remember that Bookseller Direct orders, where you process the payment, the commission will be included in the table but no payment will be made to you. If you are having difficulty understanding your online information or if you have any questions, please contact us.

How can I print my weekly or monthly sales details?

Printing your sales details can be done when you check your payments online:

1. Sign into your bookseller account
2. Select [Your Personal Information] from the members menu
3. Click [Account Details Since Last Statement] - here you can select the month in question and click [View]
4. We then suggest that to view a break down of the payments you select the option [Weekly Summaries for Statement Period]
5. To view the break down of each payment select [Sales Details by Week]

To print a copy simply click on the Printable Version link.

Your Abebooks statements explained

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

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.

Best practice tips!

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
Expand Your Book Descriptions
Create Catalogues & Categorise Your Books
Keep your Inventory Updated
Competitive Shipping Rates & Speeds
Customise your Storefront
Provide Professional Customer Service
More Tips

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 be able to showcase your books in the Favourites from our Booksellers section of the Rare Book 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, 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 Keywords 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.

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.

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 by 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:

· Removing sold books, which have sold in the store or on other platforms.

· Updating the book’s description if you find it is not accurate or correct.

· Adding new books with new book id numbers; this will generate wants matches should buyers be looking for that particular book.

For further information on updating your inventory, please choose the method you use.

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.

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:

· Reply to all buyer enquiries within 2 business days. Simply responding to buyers greatly helps build buyer trust. If you use an email service such as Microsoft Outlook or Google Mail, you can filter or search your AbeBooks emails to help differentiate between order emails and buyer enquiries.

· When going on holiday for 3 consecutive days or more, use the Vacation Tool to temporarily remove your books to prevent unfulfilled orders and disappointed buyers.

· Review the "special instructions" with every order to see if the customer has any additional needs.

· Be customer-focused in all of your interactions with your buyers.

· Provide refunds in a timely manner. You can process a refund for the buyer up to 90 days passed the processing date. When you receive a book back, ensure to complete the return so the buyer is refunded.

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 subscription 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.

I cannot sign onto my account

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.

Help Centre

Welcome to AbeBooks help, especially designed for our UK and European member booksellers. Our help categories include the most frequently asked questions and answers about our service.
Our Help Pages are also available in German, French, Italian and Spanish.
Go to the AbeBooks.co.uk HomePage
Go to the AbeBooks.com HomePage

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. Bookseller Details & the AbeBooks Agreement2. Acceptable Payment Methods3. Banking Information4. Shipping Rates5. Credit Card Information for fees6. Welcome to AbeBooks

Step 1. Enter your Details & Read and Accept the AbeBooks Agreement:

Help Centre

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1. Bookseller Details & the AbeBooks Agreement
2. Acceptable Payment Methods
3. Banking Information
4. Shipping Rates
5. Credit Card Information for fees
6. Welcome to AbeBooks