What’s the deal with restricted textbooks on Amazon?

Do you need approval to sell textbooks on Amazon? Are textbooks gated? Separating truth from hype and clarifying everything related to Amazon gating textbooks.

Does Amazon now consider certain textbooks restricted?

If you sell textbooks on Amazon, you may be reading this because you experienced one of the following:

1. You received a menacing email from Amazon stating you were no longer allowed to sell “popular” textbooks (we call this the “textbook apocalypse email” – more on this in a minute).
2. You suddenly found certain textbooks in their FBA inventory placed on inactive status.
3. You went to list a textbook for sale, and found you were suddenly restricted.

This is a problem that is increasing in severity on Amazon, and I’m about to cover it from every angle.

Why is Amazon restricting certain textbooks?

The story is this: Several years ago, Amazon (and many sellers) got sued by three textbook publishers:

1.  Cengage
2. Pearson Leaning
3. Mcgraw and Hill

Prior to this lawsuit, there was no such thing as a “restricted textbook” (or any restricted book at all). After the lawsuits, Amazon imposed the first round of textbook restrictions. While these restrictions weren’t something to celebrate, they weren’t too severe.

Then more recently, Amazon restricted an even larger amount of textbooks. This latest round might accurately be defined as “severe.”

Which textbooks are Amazon now restricting?

We don’t know the exact formula Amazon is using to decide which textbooks you need approval to sell, and which you don’t. Here’s what we do know:

1. Amazon is primarily restricting textbooks from three publishers.

2. Amazon is primarily restricting moderate to high-demand textbooks (better than 500,000, on average)

3. Amazon is restricting textbook titles for some sellers, but not others.

I took a sampling of 65 ISBNs that sellers reported to me were suddenly moved to “inactive” status, required “approval to sell,” and couldn’t be relisted (i.e. “restricted.”)

Of the 65 textbooks (again, totally random sampling), we can learn some things (I’m posting the list below).

Analyzing what textbooks are gated

Here’s my analysis from reviewing hundreds of restricted textbooks.

1. Approximately 90% of the restricted books are from three publishers.

And, no coincidence, they are the exact publishers who sued Amazon:

1. Pearson
2. Cengage
3. McGraw Hill

The breakdown of the restricted books I looked at was (very roughly) 30% for each publisher (or publishers owned or distributed by them), and some restricted books from random publishers that seem to have no relation to these three.

2. The restricted textbooks are all high-to-moderate demand textbooks.

I have yet to see a restricted textbook with an average Amazon sales rank of worse than 800k.

Are all textbooks from these three publishers restricted?

Not even close. This is a big misconception.

The formula for which titles are gated appears almost random (though it certainly is not), but the majority of titles from these publishers do not require approval to sell, and are not restricted.

The pattern doesn’t even run along “best seller rank” lines either: There are high-demand textbooks from these publishers that are not restricted, and relatively moderate demand books (in the 800k range) that do require approval to sell.

But it’s not random either. The prevailing theory as to which textbooks are restricted is that Amazon is working off a list provided to them by textbook publishers. That list contains titles they (allegedly) have confirmed have counterfeit copies in circulation. This list of titles is the list of what books require approval to sell.

When did Amazon start gating textbooks?

It wasn’t until 208 that textbooks restrictions became serious.

That was when Amazon sent out an email to many (but not all) sellers, requesting invoices for textbooks, and alluding to new restrictions on selling textbooks. This is what we now historically refer to as the “textbook apocalypse email.”

The email was beyond vague, creating understandable panic among booksellers.

 

What’s the “Textbook Apocalypse” email?

Here it is:

This email wasn’t a one-time event. It continues to go out to sellers seemingly randomly, like an inbox Grim Reaper haunting all Amazon sellers.

Analyzing the email: What’s Amazon really saying?

It’s unfortunate Amazon continues to live up to its reputation of being hopelessly vague. This email is void of anything meaningful or actionable with which a bookseller can start preparing for the future.

The key points we can extract from this email are:

1. Certain restrictions are being imposed on you affecting textbooks.
2. These restrictions will apply to “popular” textbooks.
3. Amazon is requesting receipts and invoices for textbooks in certain seller’s inventories.

Two misconceptions about textbook restrictions

Misconception #1: Amazon has not banned textbooks.

You don’t have to look any further than Amazon’s email to know this isn’t true. Amazon isn’t clear on much, but they are clear that not all textbooks are heavily restricted, and the gating only impacts some sellers.

Misconception #2: These are global changes affecting every seller.

It’s hard to say roughly what percentage of sellers are impacted by these restrictions. It definitely impacts newer sellers the most.

Seller metrics also seem to be a factor.

Digging deeper:  Decoding Amazon’s statements about textbooks

Now let’s get beyond Amazon’s first email, and look at what else they’re saying.

I asked a couple dozen sellers to follow up with Amazon Seller Support for clarity about these restrictions, then forward Amazon’s response. I’m posting key snippets from these emails below.

About Amazon “Seller Support”: If you have any experience with Amazon, you know getting a clear answer is generally futile. Sometimes it they’re playing a game of “how can we use the maximum number of words to say absolutely nothing.”

(If you missed it, they can be so lazy they’ve been caught copying and pasting FBA Mastery articles in their responses.)

With that understanding, let’s look at what Amazon’s service reps are telling people:

Will all textbooks be restricted in the future? A: No.

Amazon Seller Support quote: “Certain important textbooks might have a restriction”

What should a seller do if they want restrictions lifted?

Amazon Seller Support quote: “You will need to submit request approval in order to sell those textbooks on Amazon.”

How does Amazon define “popular textbook”?

Amazon Seller Support quotes: Books that have “popularity among buyers” and books “which may have hype.”

“Books which may have hype?” Yes these are actual quotes. Zero clarity.

Thanks Amazon.

Amazon appears to be saying:

1. Restrictions only apply to top selling textbooks.
2. If a seller is restricted, they can request for the restriction to be lifted (a la DVDs and many other categories).

Based on their broken-English responses, we’re still quite far from a “textbook ban.”

Let’s go even deeper into what this coded language could really mean and see if we can extract anything optimistic.

What does “popular textbook” mean? Decoding Amazon-speak

When asked directly, remember Amazon won’t define this. In one email I saw, Seller Support actually cited Harry Potter as an example of a “popular textbook.”

Don’t believe me? Check out this screenshot:

 

Bonkers.

So I had to do my own research, and I have two strong theories as to what the “restrictions” will mean when all the smoke clears.

Theory #1: Amazon continue to limit restrictions to a few publishers

As mentioned previously, Amazon (and many sellers) got sued by these three textbook publishers:

1.  Cengage
2. Pearson Leaning
3. Mcgraw and Hill

The lawsuits were to force Amazon to crack down on counterfeits. The changes we’re seeing now are motivated by wanting to crack down on counterfeit textbooks.

These publishers also sued other entities in the bookselling business, such as textbook middleman Follett.

Emails from Amazon Seller Support confirm counterfeit concerns are behind the restrictions:

“In order to prevent the fake products, the restriction has been implemented.”

This language is very telling.

My suspicion: “popular” is code for:

“Textbooks published by the companies who sued us.”

As in, Amazon may have reached a deal with the companies suing them that they will curb third party sales of their titles – and their titles only. Just a theory.

We’ve seen similar brand-specific restrictions in the past, where the situation was very congruent (Amazon adjusting in response to legal action or threats). We see in the Toys category with certain bestselling toys restricted. We saw it again recently in the shoes category with Nike.

Based on the lawsuit, whatever restrictions come may be publisher-specific. Probably affecting books by Cengage, Pearson Leaning, and Mcgraw & Hill. Nothing certain here, but that’s what the evidence points to.

This isn’t great news, yet hardly devastating: there is no single publisher I could be restricted from that would put more than a dent in my business.

Theory #2: The restrictions might be condition-based

Another theory I’ll float is that restrictions are triggered by listing books in New and Like New condition only.

Here’s some clues:

Many sellers have found they were restricted from listing certain textbooks in New or Like New condition. It seemed to affect only certain textbooks and not others. And when I asked sellers what textbooks were being restricted, 100% of them were published by one of the three publishers who sued Amazon.

Amazon issued no statement on this. And when you asked them, Amazon flatly denied this restriction even existed. But it was very real.

So what we’re seeing now could simply be the “official rollout” of what has already been happening to Amazon booksellers for the last month.

The “upcoming restrictions” may be nothing more than what’s already been unofficial practice for the past month already.

If true, all we have to do is keep our listings to Very Good condition, move on, and forget this ever happened.

If so, this is very good news because it simply won’t affect most Amazon seller’s business very much. (I personally don’t do much business in New books, and almost never list a book as Like New.)

How does Amazon define “textbook” anyway?

Classifying a book as a “textbook” is hopelessly impossible, since “textbook” just means a book used in college. Which is most books at some point.

In the emails I’ve seen from Amazon (responding to seller’s questions), Amazon Seller Support is describing “textbooks” as:

“Books used for study purposes.”

(Including Harry Potter.)

Seriously, this is what Amazon support is saying.

Of course Amazon is not restricting all non-fiction books. They’re not restricting all books used in schools. And there are several reason Amazon would be unlikely to restrict all “textbooks.”

Why Amazon will never gate textbooks entirely

You can’t really ban textbooks, because “textbook” has no definition. “Textbook” is not defined by a book size, or format, or binding, or anything else. It is simply a book used in college classroom. And just about every book finds its way into a college syllabus at some point.

You simply cannot manage what cannot be defined.

How would Amazon go about banning used textbook sales?

How would this work? It’s certainly possible, because there actually is a category on Amazon for “textbooks.”

Here is the total number of books Amazon currently classifies as “textbooks”:

2,008,102

This (large) figure is actually good news, because we can confidently say Amazon is not going to ban 2 million books from being sold.

For one, that’s just too many books. You can never say never, but the impact would be so seismic, it’s almost unthinkable. Books are Amazon’s biggest category.

Two, when you look at what Amazon has tagged as a “textbook,” you realize their definition is close to useless. Amazon tags virtually everything you can think of as a textbook: Cliff Notes, random bestselling titles, Dover reprints, some university press books and not others, and so on. Even a lot of fiction is tagged as a “textbook”.

Basically, Amazon’s definition is very arbitrary and close to totally random. Which is good news, because if they were going to restrict textbooks, they would have to define it. And that’s difficult-to-impossible.

Amazon may only be restricting high-demand, expensive books

As covered, this is all motivated by pressure from big textbook publishers for Amazon to crack down on counterfeits. This fact can inform our predictions about the direction this is going.

Good news: Generally the only textbooks that are counterfeited are very new, very high-demand textbooks.

This is just the economic reality: Counterfeiters are going to put their efforts towards the bestselling, highest value books.

We’re talking about a very small sliver of the textbook pie. I’ve never heard of a textbook being heavily counterfeited that wasn’t steadily ranked in the top 30,000 (usually it’s 10,000 or better). Yes old counterfeit copies can float around and circulate, but if you’re trying to curb counterfeiting, you’re only going after the most well-ranked books.

Remember, Amazon is only requesting receipts for “popular” textbooks. This is probably not accidental. They probably mean this literally: They intend to only curb sales of the newest, most well-ranked textbooks. I.e. the only books that are counterfeited.

Why textbook restrictions look worse than they are

1. People are panicking without reading Amazon’s statements. It’s understandable to see the words “provide invoices” and freak out. I don’t blame anyone, but panic can cloud soberly seeing what Amazon is actually saying: “We’re planning on restricting certain popular textbooks.” And the nature of the restrictions has yet to be revealed. It may only be books in New or Like New condition. Or it could go away altogether. Way too early to say.
2. Sudden changes creates negative momentum and makes everything seem apocalyptic. After new FBA fees hit, we’re all a little shellshocked and extra sensitive.
3. Amazon rolls back restrictions all the time. Remember the panic about retail arbitrage about a year ago? Amazon (mostly) retreated from that pretty quick. And now no one even talks about it.
4. People relying on frenzied commentary in forums. I’ve said it a thousand times: Sourcing your info from Facebook is a fast way to be paranoid and misinformed. It’s not entirely bad, but it must be approached with extreme caution.

How am I responding to textbook restrictions

I haven’t received the email, but in case I do, I’ve done two things:

1. I placed a removal order for my New condition and Like New condition textbooks. Fortunately, it wasn’t many books.
2. Placed all my textbooks from Cengage, Pearson Leaning, and Mcgraw & Hill (and their imprints) on “inactive” status. I’m not exactly recommending everyone do this, and this is definitely a paranoid, “better safe than sorry” move. I’m trying to stay off Amazon’s radar.

Note I put them on “inactive” status (removed the listings from being live) – that’s not the same as a removal order. The books are still at the Amazon warehouse, I’m just leaving them unlisted until the dust settles.

What would I do if I was facing serious textbook gating?

Amazon has a history of being very permissive with granting access to gated categories immediately after the restrictions are implemented. Then as time goes on, the restrictions get tighter.

We saw this with DVDs. When the restrictions went into effect about 3 years ago, some who acted quickly (unlike me) were able to get full access to DVDs.

So if I find myself suddenly restricted, I would provide the best receipts I have right away.

I would also open a support ticket and formally place a request with Amazon that I be permitted to sell all textbooks. History shows it only gets harder to access partially gated categories as time goes on, so now is the time to get in the door.

A List of 65 Restricted Textbooks (by ISBN)

What follows is a list of textbooks reported by readers of FBA Mastery as requiring approval to sell, aka restricted.

Pearson (or Pearson owned imprints):

0321945522 Pearson
0133026183 Pearson
0321821718 Pearson
0132742934 Pearson
0205750524 Pearson
0137071329 Pearson
0133059510 Pearson
0132742934 Pearson
0321733606 Pearson
0840028547 Pearson
0324589980 Pearson
0321870026 Pearson
0205600565 Pearson
0133444791 Pearson
013502434X Pearson
0205203981 Pearson
0205914128 Pearson
032190673X Pearson
205779646 Pearson
136157750 Pearson
013651068X Pearson
0205831915 Pearson
135109787 Pearson

McGraw Hill (or McGraw-owned imprints)

0133084043 McGraw Hill
0078034639 McGraw Hill
0078035155 McGraw Hill
0073535109 McGraw Hill
0073524255 McGraw Hill
0077632893 McGraw Hill
0078035317 McGraw-Hill
0078035503 McGraw-Hill
0078028930 McGraw-Hill
0324589980 McGraw-Hill
0078024226 McGraw-Hill
007802899X McGraw-Hill
0077862562 McGraw-Hill
0078023165 McGraw-Hill
1259545474 McGraw-Hill
007242298X Mcgraw-Hill
1259187012 McGraw-Hill
0803637047 McGraw-Hill (Jaypee Medical)
0803640927 McGraw-Hill (F A Davis)

Cengage (or Cengage-owned imprints)

1305633725 Cengage
1305577418 Cengage
1305500849 Cengage
128586039X Cengage
0538475161 Cengage
128516590X Cengage
049581220X Cengage (Wadsworth)
0495599743 Cengage (Wadsworth)
1111833397 Cengage (Wadsworth)
1133492010 Cengage (Wadsworth)
0495915297 Cengage (Wadsworth)
1133952844 Cengage (Wadsworth)
1285075404 Cengage (Brooks/Cole)
840054572  Cengage  (Brooks/Cole)
1285065352 Cengage (Brooks/Cole)

Restricted books from random publishers

785120513 Hachette Book Group Us Agency
1581109261 American Academy of Pediatrics
031248688X Bedford/st Martins
1464106037- Macmillan
0312857675 MacMillan
0323086780 Elsevier
323072070 Mosby
0761908943 SAGE Publications
538466251 South-Western

What should you do with textbooks that require approval to sell?

Good news and bad news.

Good news is, if they are restricted, that’s a sign they almost certainly have demand and value.

Bad news is, there is no other platform that will come even close to offering the value of Amazon. And certainly none that will allow you to command FBA-level prices for your inventory.

Option #1: Ebay

My first bit of advice is as boring as it is simple: sell the textbooks on eBay.

You’re probably thinking: “Ebay? What is this, 2008?”

I know I know…. But if Amazon is literally not an option, and you need to convert inventory you’ve invested in into cash, eBay remains the second best option.

Books do sell on eBay. It’s not a no-man’s-land with tumbleweeds blowing through it. Not as good as Amazon, and you can’t command FBA-level prices, but not the end of the world.

Option #2: Cash Buy Back Site

Submit to a cash buy back site.

There is a very good chance that one of the 30+ cash buyback sites out there will give you cash for your restricted textbook.

The basic idea of cash buyback sites is this:

1. Go to BookScouter
2. Enter the ISBN
3. BookScouter shows you which site is offering the most amount of cash.
4. They give you a prepaid shipping label.
5. They pay you via PayPal or check when the book arrives.

The catch here is that cash buyback sites are going to be offering you an amount that is less than the true market value for the book, so you’re sacrificing profits for the sake of risk-free cash and not waiting for a sale.

Scan 30+ textbook buyback sites here

Option #3: Sell through a book consignment service

Consigment services are companies that will take your textbooks (and any book), sell them on Amazon for you, and keep a percentage of the sale.

You’ll almost certainly get more for your textbooks than from a cash buyback site. And probably more than eBay (if you’re an FBA seller).

The downside is that there’s lots of mixed reviews about the few consignment services that exist. My experience with them as been neutral at best, and I would hesitate the throw my endorsement at any of them right now.

Do your research and due diligence, and if you find a consigment service that is both transparent and pays on time, this is a great way to liquidate restricted textbooks.

Takeaways

• Textbook restrictions largely affect three publishers and their imprints.
• The majority of textbooks (even from these publishers) are unrestricted.
• This primarily affects higher demand textbooks.
• You have several options to liquidate textbooks that are restricted on Amazon.
• Amazon is not banning textbooks.
• Amazon restricts certain textbooks.
• It’s usually only books from certain publishers.
• It may only be books in certain conditions.
• It may even be books of certain demand.
• No one knows anything.

Or, you know, I could be wrong about literally everything.

-Peter Valley

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