Everyone that starts selling on Amazon usually starts by selling books first. Books were the Genesis of Amazon.

But how well do you really know book barcodes?

We see them everytime we pick up a book. We see them everytime we scan them into AccelerList or any other listing application you may be using.

We spend countless hours covering them up with our FNSKU labels. But do we really know what they are and what’s inside them?

Here are 7 things you didn’t know about book barcodes.

1: Most modern day books now have QRC codes on them

QRC codes are known as Quick Response Codes and are placed on books now to enhance the marketing and data available to readers in the modern era.

They are 2D (two dimensional) barcodes that store alphanumeric data but more importantly, they bridge the gap between the offline book and the online world.

Want to invite your reader to your latest podcast series? Simply paste a QRC code on your book and let the reader scan it. They will be automatically taken to the link of your choosing and can be tracked along the way.

2: The first ever UPC barcode scanned was a pack of Wrigley gum in 1974

Sorry book sellers, UPC codes were first used on grocery items. 🤷🏻‍♂️

But before this, the idea for an automated checkout system was born by a Wallace Flint in 1932 by using punch cards which was an earlier technology already credited to a Semyon Korsakov in Russia around 1832.

Wallace dreamt up the idea, but it wasn’t fully realized into Herman Hollerith came up with the “electromechanical punch card tabulator” in 1889.

From there the system was refined and iderated on just like Herman’s company, which later became IBM through a series of mergers and acquisitions.

As inspiring as this bit of history is, unfortunately the punch card was used for evil purposes before it ever transitioned in the modern day barcode.

3: ISBN stands for…

Well, did you know what it stands for?

International Standard Book Number. And ever since January 2007, the 10 digit ISBN moved to a 13 digit ISBN number.

4: The EAN or UPC Barcode is made up of 5 distinct parts

This isn’t like an Amazon ASIN where it seems there is no rhyme or reason to the numbers. There is a method to the madness here.

After all, this is being used internationally and math is the language that we can all understand.

Every ISBN starts with a 978 prefix followed by 🇺🇸 country identifier, a 📓publisher identifier, a title identifier and finally a ✅ check digit that validates the entire string of numbers.

Boom! 💥 Mind blown yet?

5: The price is encoded in there too

If you refer back to the image at the top, you will notice a smaller barcode with the numbers 5 1 4 9 5.

The first digit, 5 in this case, represents the currency of the country the book is currently being sold in and the last 4 digits is the MRSP of the book. 😎

6: What’s the difference between a UPC code and an EAN code?

UPC’s are the most commonly used bar codes in the United States. EAN’s (European Article Number) are used internationally.

They are essentially the same but the EAN will have a leading zero in front of it.

7: I’m ready to start making my own UPC codes.

Ummm…not so fast kiddo.

Due to the stringent standards of the GS1, individual companies cannot create their own UPC codes. In order to have a barcode that will scan at a Point of Sale, you must have a Company Prefix number assigned to you by GS1.

A lot of sellers enjoy having a house with a garage or basement to set up operations for listing products on Amazon.

But if you live in an apartment, what are your options?

To be frank, not many.

But that is ok because when you are first starting out you won’t need a lot of room. If you are selling on FBA then you really only need temporary space to list and pack your products before they are dropped off at your local UPS or Fedex location.

But as you scale, you will most likely need more room.

via GIPHY

When I first started out selling on Amazon I had a house but then sold it and moved into an apartment. One of the first things I did was go out and rent a storage unit to hold crap I really didn’t need.

Then it dawned on me. 💡

Instead of paying the storage facility each month to hold crap I wasn’t going to use, why didn’t I just clear it out and put the space to work for me to make money?

So that is exactly what I did.

Things you will need to list Amazon products in a storage unit

There are a few conventional and unconventional things you are going to need when setting up your storage unit listing space.

Folding table for workspace

The first thing you will need is a flat table workspace so hold all of the same items that you may find in someone’s office as they list products. You can buy more than one (we recommend this) and set it up in the configuration that best suits your workflow.

Having ample surface space for your Amazon listing activities will be key to your success and peace of mind. The more organized you are the more streamlined your business is

Laptop

You are going to need a laptop, but the good news is that if you haven’t gotten one yet then you can take a deep breath because they are not that expensive anymore.

You can get a simple one for under $400 at a Costco, Office Depot or Target no problem.

You need a laptop because you will want to be as mobile as possible as you shift between home and the storage unit.

You will also need one to use AccelerList or any other listing application that works in the browser.

Internet Access

Most importantly, you will need internet access. This is another easy one as well.

All four of the big wireless carriers all offer mobile wifi hotspots via a paid plan. You might already have the option now but don’t know it.

Electricity

You are going to need electricity because something has to power the laptop, lights, label printer and anything else aiding your listing workflow.

If the storage facility is big enough or owned by a national company then they usually have outlets spread out pretty generously but all most all of the time you will need an extension cord to reach the outlets.

Once you know where your electrical outlets are you can better plan your workplace in the storage unit. That includes mapping out lighting coverage as you will most likely be working at night sometimes.

Lighting

When it comes to lighting I used a construction grade light that you may be accustomed to seeing on work sites around unfinished buildings.

I actually recommend a combination of two work lights like this. The reason is that one will give you great and broad directional light and the other will be for hanging directly over your workspace table for maximum exposure.

Scanner with mount

TaoTronics has been the go to work horse for most Amazon sellers and the one above seems to be the newest version. Long Range Capture is important as you will be moving around the storage unit scanning items.

Label Printer

You will need a Amazon label printer as well, especially for books as Amazon just announces you will no longer be able to send in books without an Amazon label on it.

Organization racks

The beauty of having space to call your own is that you can then list Merchant Fulfilled AND FBA.

But even if you are just listing FBA, having a place to store boxes both filled and unfilled really keeps your space organized.

Check out how this eBay seller took charge of his storage space and got it organzied.

Important Safety Tips

Whatever your configuration is of your workspace you always need to be safe. Believe it or not, there are plenty of risk factors when listing in storage spaces.

• Always tell a family member or friend that you will be listing at the storage unit each time you list. This way if you get hurt or don’t check in on time, they know where to find you.
• Avoid listing while it is raining. This can lead to potential electrical hazards and ultimate death (just kidding).
• Be careful with your box cutters. You are not the King of the North and that is not a sword. If you cut too deeply you could potentially bleed out if not helped immediately
• Use your legs while lifting heavy boxes. If you throw out your back then it could be very scary as you try to get help laying on the floor.
• Watch out for moving cars or trucks. There a lot of careless people out there speeding through storage places so be careful and pop your head out of your space before you commit to exiting
• Watch out for heavy storage doors. This includes the main roll up door and any thick doors in the hallways. Most places have heavy doors that swing shut so that property management doesn’t have to walk around the entire place closing doors. Those heavy doors can knock you out or smash your ankles.
• You are only renting the place, it’s not yours. Avoid confrontations with other renters. This is not your place and it’s not storage wars so don’t get into a fight over something stupid.

When selling on Amazon, you don’t need to worry about condition notes as much as you think.

Hopefully the title of this article got your attention. And depending on your thoughts on the subject you are either rolling your eyes, clapping because you agree with us or we educated you today.

Either way, we’d like to present to you all the reasons why we don’t think Amazon condition notes matter that much. And how streamlining them can improve your listing speeds.

What is an Amazon condition note?

A condition note is a note placed onto a product listing by a 3rd party seller that gives additional details, disclosures or context to the product the customer is buying on the Amazon marketplace.

Seems pretty harmless with all the upside of full disclosure for the customer, right? Yes and no.

Let’s dive into the 5 reasons why condition notes don’t matter.

Customers don’t read condition notes.

Yep, we said it.

We’re drawing a line in the sand and declaring that customers don’t read them. They really don’t, on the averages.

When is the last time you read a condition note when shopping for an item on Amazon?

Probably never and if you said you did…was it before you were an Amazon seller or afterwards?

With the innate knowledge of being an Amazon seller it completely “skus” (see what we did there? 😝) your perspective on whether or not customers look at them because now you know where they are, what to look for and how to spot a bad one.

But before being an Amazon seller, you did not have this perspective or context .

Most customer’s search for an item and spend their entire time hopping from one buy box to another looking for the product they want to buy.

And then 81%+ of those customers (think in millions) buy the book directly from the buy box page and never even see a condition note.

Amazon has the buy box page set up like this for a reason.

They want the impulsive sale.

They don’t want customers “laboring” over a buying decision and reading tons of condition notes on hundreds of products. They want the buying…not reading.

Condition notes are buried

You won’t find the condition notes on the buy box page.

You will only find them when the customer clicks through to the other “offers” page before you see those notes.

And when they get to the offer page the notes are truncated and buried even further. Who has time to read exhaustingly long notes from the seller of the product.

Not our impatient, “I want it in 2 days with free shipping” Amazon Prime customers.

No siree!

Amazon builds pages to draw your attention to key aspects of the page

Even if the left over 19% of shoppers who have not bought from the buy box page are now skimming through the offers page, Amazon is drawing their eyes away from condition notes.

We blurred the sections in this example where your eyes are not drawn to. We didn’t do this just to support our position on condition notes, but rather to illustrate exactly where Amazon wants your eyes gazing to.

• Price & Shipping info
• Condition grade
• Name of Seller
• Add to cart buy button

Amazon has A/B split tested these pages millions of times and they have buying intent and signals down to a science.

Condition notes simply are not part of the equation.

Condition notes won’t save you

If you happen to invest a lot of time in your condition notes hoping that one day when you have your first customer purchase complaint that Amazon is going to swoop in and save you.

Essentially agreeing with you over the customer….

You’re dead wrong.

There are circumstances where they will. Especially if the customer is being egregiously difficult or outright fraudulent.

But on the averages, Amazon is going to side with the customer. And they will do it to your detriment.

Why you ask?

Because Amazon didn’t get to be a trillion dollar company by not being relentlessly focused on the customer and buying experience.

End of story.

Customer always has the nuclear option

According to Amazon, under an A – Z customer claim:

The Amazon A-to-z Guarantee protects you when you purchase items sold and fulfilled by a third-party seller. Our guarantee covers both the timely delivery and the condition of your items. If either are unsatisfactory, you can report the problem to us and our team will determine if you are eligible for a refund.

Most casual shoppers on Amazon don’t know about this option but when push comes to shove, they will find out and it’s usually an Amazon customer support rep that discloses it to them.

Once the customer agrees to move forward with this claim it usually ends in their favor. Regardless of your detailed notes.

Ok so then what do I do as a seller for condition notes?

We think you should add them but we advocate for simple, straight forward “templates” that cut right to the point.

“100% Satisfaction Guaranteed! Ships direct from Amazon!”

This simple yet effective note is one we really like.

The first part of this note is great because ideally if YOU wont make the customer happy 100% of the time then Amazon is going to step in and do so anyways to protect their brand.

And this quick and readable note builds trust with the customer. It also will not get truncated on the offers page.

If you are selling on Amazon as an FBA seller than the second part is true as well. Your item will be shipping direct from Amazon’s warehouse and customers like to know that.

They trust Amazon and the brand. Not you, the seller, from Tallahassee Florida.

This all makes sense, do I just apply this to all my products?

Yes.

You may want to tweak it a little bit and test out your comfort zone but using this simple and effective condition note will not only free up brain capacity it will also speed up your listing efforts and leave you with more time to source products.

AccelerList’s condition notes solution allows you to build easy and repeatable condition notes for all of your products. We recommend keeping it short though!