AbeBooks Help Center

Overview:

Sellers using AbeBooks are charged in three ways:

• A monthly subscription fee based on the average number of items listed for sale in the previous month.
• A commission fee on all sales.
• An external payment service fee for credit card transactions processed through our external payment service provider.

Our commissions and external payment service fees are charged when an order is processed and are offset against your weekly payment every Friday. On the first Friday of every month, your subscription fee is also offset against your sales for that week. Should the amount that you owe us be greater than the payment for your sales in the first week of the month, the difference will be charged to the credit card you have on file.

AbeBooks pays sellers weekly by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) for most countries.

Every Friday, you will receive an advance email notification of the payment due to you for the previous seven days. The payment is transferred to your bank by EFT one week later, on the following Friday. Depending on your bank, it can take from one to seven days for the funds to reach your account. Payments less than US $1, GBP 1 or EUR 1, are not issued, but are carried forward and added to your sales for the following week.

Sellers are paid in seven different currencies – US dollars, Canadian dollars, Australian dollars, New Zealand dollars, Euros, British pounds or Swiss francs. Sellers located in countries where these currencies are not used are paid in either US dollars or Euros, depending on their location. Credits posted to sellers’ accounts for sales, and all fees deducted, are calculated in US dollars, British pounds, or Euros, depending on the seller’s location. The net payment amount is then converted to the seller’s payment currency before transfer by EFT.

 

AbeBooks Fees and Charges:

› For Sellers Charged in British Pounds

› For Sellers Charged in Euros

For Sellers Charged in US Dollars:

AbeBooks Monthly Subscription Fees (effective April 28, 2008)

Listings	Monthly Fee
0 – 500	US$ 25
501 – 4,000	US$ 37
4,001 – 10,000	US$ 42
10,001 – 20,000	US$ 53
20,001 – 30,000	US$ 80
30,001 – 50,000	US$ 125
50,001 – 100,000	US$ 200
100,001 – 150,000	US$ 300
150,001 – 500,000	US$ 400
500,000 +	US$ 500

 

Subscription fees are billed in advance, applied to your AbeBooks account on the 1st of every month and offset against your sales on the first Friday of every month. Subscriptions are based on your average listing count for the previous month. For example, your subscription fee for September will be based on your average listing count for the month of August, will be applied to your account on September 1st, and will be offset against your sales on the first Friday in September. If fees due exceed your sales for the first week of the month, the balance will be charged to the credit card you have on file.

Subscription fees for sellers with inventory in Vacation status are also based on average listing count for the previous month. Days in Vacation status are included in the monthly average calculation and will have a 0 item count. If this results in a significant reduction in a seller’s average item count, a corresponding reduction in subscription fee may also result.

New seller accounts that are activated mid-month will be charged a pro-rated subscription fee for the days the account is active, even if they do not list items immediately. New sellers are encouraged to have their inventory ready for upload when their account is activated, to avoid being charged for 0 items online.  Active accounts are charged a subscription fee even if your inventory count is zero.

Regional Tax Information

Sellers may be subject to certain taxes and/or tax requirements based on their business location. The information included on this page addresses the requirements that AbeBooks is aware of, but sellers should seek their own professional tax advice to see if their business is subject to additional tax requirements.

Australia

Sellers in Australia will be charged GST at 10% unless they provide AbeBooks with a valid GST number via their Members Menu.

Canada

Sellers in Canada will be charged GST/HST, dependent upon location.

• Nova Scotia: HST at 15% (including GST portion)
• New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and Ontario: HST at 13% (including GST portion)
• All other locations: GST at 5%

France

Sellers from France and sellers shipping orders to French buyers should be aware of the information provided by French authorities at the following websites:
https://www.impots.gouv.fr/portail/node/10841
http://www.securite-sociale.fr/Vos-droits-et-demarches-dans-le-cadre-des-activites-economiques-entre-particuliers-Article-87

New Zealand

Sellers in New Zealand will be charged GST at 15% unless they provide AbeBooks with a valid GST number via their Members Menu.

South Africa

Sellers in South Africa will be charged South African VAT (15%) on fees and commissions for sellers located in South Africa.

VAT

Please Note: The prices quoted above do not include VAT. According to EU regulations, AbeBooks charges VAT on sales fees and commissions. If you are VAT registered please enter your VAT registration number in the appropriate field when applying for a selleing account in order to be exempt from the VAT charge.

AbeBooks Commission Fees

An 8% commission fee is applied to all sales, including shipping and any extra charges. There is a minimum commission of US $0.50 per item and a maximum commission of US $40.00 per item.

For example: if a seller receives an order for one item listed at US $10.00 plus US $3.00 shipping, there is an 8% commission fee calculated on US $13.00 for the one item. If a seller receives an order for three items, (all from the same buyer), the 8% commission fee, (or the minimum of US $0.50), is applied to the total item amount (item price + shipping) for each item in the order.

If the shipping amount is reduced at the time of order processing, commission will be calculated on the lesser amount. If extra charges are requested and accepted by the buyer, commission will be calculated on the order total, including the extra charges.

If a full refund of item price or item price + shipping is issued to the buyer for an order, commission fees are refunded to the seller. However, if a partial refund is issued, no commission fees will be refunded.

For orders where an alternate payment method was used, i.e. check, money order, PayPal, refunds are issued outside the AbeBooks system. However, sellers must still process all returns/cancellations through their AbeBooks account in order to receive a refund of commission fees.

AbeBooks External Payment Service Fees

For all credit card sales through the AbeBooks.com and AbeBooks.co.uk web sites, an external payment service fee of 5.5% is charged for an order up to US $500. Orders that exceed US $500 in total value are charged at 5.5% for the first $500, and 3.5% for the remainder of the order ($500.01 and up).

For all credit card sales through the AbeBooks.de, AbeBooks.fr, AbeBooks.it, and IberLibro.com web sites, the external payment service fee is 3.5%.

The minimum external payment service fee applied to all orders is US$0.50 for purchases made on AbeBooks.com, and US$0.90 for orders through AbeBooks.co.uk, AbeBooks.de, AbeBooks.fr, AbeBooks.it, and IberLibro.com.

If the shipping amount is reduced at the time of order processing, the external payment service fee will be calculated on the lesser amount. If extra charges are requested and accepted by the buyer, the external payment service fee will be calculated on the order total, including the extra charges.

If a full refund of item price or item price + shipping is issued to the buyer for an order, external payment service fees are refunded to the seller. However, if a partial refund is issued, no external payment service fees will be refunded.

The external payment service fee does not apply when the buyer selects an alternative payment method, such check, PayPal or money order.

Overdue Balance:

Any overdue balance will be offset against sales. AbeBooks reserves the right to close accounts that are in arrears.