Want to cut right to the case? The best eCommerce platforms for selling books right now are BigCommerce and Nexcess.
Whether you are an avid bookworm or have a passion for selling online, it is no secret that selling books online can be a rewarding endeavor both financially and wholeheartedly. Despite the fierce competition, the book industry has remained a significant part of the evolving print industry.
Some may consider books to be another form of language. It is a form of art expressed through just the use of words allowing the reader to use their imagination about the world they are reading.
However, it does not just start and end with traditional printed novels. The book market has also taken books to the digital era by introducing eBooks, an electronic book accessible on computers and mobile devices.
ECommerce Platforms For Selling Books: What You Need To Know
Are you searching for the perfect eCommerce platform for your online bookstore? Maybe you are overwhelmed by the number of choices and unsure which is the best for your business. No need to look further! The groundwork is already done for you. We have put together this helpful list of the industry’s best eCommerce platforms for selling books of any kind.
The first step to launching your online bookstore is choosing the right eCommerce platform to elevate your online bookstore and create a well-rounded experience for both you and the consumer from start to finish. Whichever eCommerce platform you choose should be easy to navigate and well designed. It’s critical to make a favorable first impression with your target audience.
Upon visiting your website, they should feel confident that they will receive only the best quality service and products from your business. Some important questions to remember while researching the perfect eCommerce platform for your book business:
- What is your budget? Defining your budget is especially important.
- What are the goals and key features most important to you?
- Does the platform allow for scalability?
- What is the maximum amount of books available to sell?
- Does the platform offer the capability to sell both print and digital books?
- What type of analytics and insights is available?
- Is there an integrated blog feature? A blog can help with SEO optimization.
- How is there customer support?
- Are there transaction fees?
- How many and what type of payment gateways are available?
- How are the site performance and load time?
Evaluating each platform’s key features will surely help you make the best decision for your business. You want to ensure the platform you choose provides quality service and overall a memorable experience for your customers.
Ensuring the chosen eCommerce platform provides a positive experience for you and the customer from start to finish, including checkout and, finally, shipping, is pivotal to your online bookstore’s success.
Top 7 Best eCommerce Platforms For Selling Books
| Brand | Starting price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| 1. BigCommerce | $19/month | Easy to use |
| 2. Nexcess | $29.95 – $299.95/month | All type of stores |
| 3. Amazon | $39.99/month | Online business |
| 4. IndieCommerce | $50 – $175/month | Independent bookstores |
| 5. Shopify | $29 – $299/month | Retailers of all sizes |
| 6. 3dcart | $29 – $299/month | New and existing online bookstores |
| 7. Volusion | $26 – $269 | Different types of retailers |
1. BigCommerce
BigCommerce is a massive shopping center service with a wide variety of exclusive services hosting all types of stores. As a result, specific options can be pretty beneficial to online bookstores. This powerful eCommerce platform helps build a wholesome and innovative online store. Depending on your business’s size, BigCommerce is available starting at $29.95 up to $299.95.
Ultimately, BigCommerce is functional, user friendly, with all of the bells and whistles you never knew you needed. You are given access to control your customer database fully. It is a robust platform filled with many customizable options. However, this can come off as overwhelming for some, but it is good to know how many choices are available to make the perfect online bookstore.
Perks, Features & Benefits
- Profound design tools available
- Easy-to-use
- Inclusive and smooth integration with 3rd party applications
- Highly customizable
- No coding experience required
- Multi-Channel Sales
- Top-of-the-line SEO optimization tools and resources
- Plug-and-play
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2. Nexcess Storebuilder
Nexcess Storebuilder is the eCommerce platform for all kinds of goods, including books. The best part is that you can sell both physical and digital content, so whether your books are e-books or hardcopies, Nexcess Storebuilder has got you covered. Starting at just $19/month, Nexcess Storebuilder is very affordable for a software packed with numerous features for your bookstore; you even get to enjoy the first month for free.
As a bookseller, setting up your bookstore using Nexcess Storebuilder is very easy and requires no technical knowledge or coding experience. Storebuilder’s powerful AI does all the work for you, providing you with a unique, powerful, and intuitive online store for your customers. The tons of customization tools and automated features make it easier for you to provide an excellent service to your customers without a lot of stress.
The Storebuilder is very flexible and allows inter-software integrations with other eCommerce solutions, including Walmart and Amazon. You can receive payments from your book purchasers via PayPal or Stripe and even set up a point-of-sale payment solution with Nexcess Storebuilder. There are over 50,000 plugins for you to choose from, and you enjoy free automatic plugin updates. You can also keep tabs on and manage your book inventory easily using Storebuilder.
Perks, Features & Benefits
- Easy to set-up
- No transaction fees
- Easy-To-Use
- Highly customizable
- No coding experience required
- Excellent customer support
- Auto Scaling
- Free migrations
- Mobile friendly
- Flexible and secure payments
- Several built-in features for website optimization
- Unlimited products listing
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3. Amazon
Selling on Amazon has become a popular and easy way to earn profit as a side-hustle with significant potential to explode into a 6-figure online business. Both digital and printed books can be sold on Amazon and reach thousands of customers. Amazon is a very do-it-yourself eCommerce platform that allows the seller to easily list, sell, and make a profit. When you get to the end of this article and are still unsure which platform you would like to host your online bookstore, Amazon is always a safe bet when it comes to selling books online.
One of the most noteworthy aspects of selling on Amazon is that there are not many fees to worry about compared to other eCommerce platforms. At most, you could be paying up to $39.99 as a Professional Seller on Amazon.
If you prefer to avoid a monthly commitment, Amazon also offers the individual plan starting at just $0.99 per item sold. You would have to sell up to 40 books a month to match the Professional Seller value. At that point, it is recommended to upgrade your membership for the additional innovative features Amazon has to offer. Another highlight is Amazon takes care of the shipping, returns, and customer service if you were to opt-in for Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA).
Perks, Features & Benefits
- APIs and reporting capabilities
- Advertising available
- Pre-order feature
- Stellar customer service
- No inventory or storage
- No publisher fees or printing costs
- Start earning money quickly
- Quick and easy set-up
- It helps build your customer base
- Low marketing costs
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4. IndieCommerce
IndieCommerce is distinct from its eCommerce contemporaries in several ways. Most notably, it is solely aimed at independent bookstores. IndieCommerce is exclusively available to only the American Bookseller Association members, whether it is an online-only bookstore or brick-and-mortar.
IndieCommerce is perfect for websites that do not a substantial amount of maintenance to keep it running. IndieCommerce welcomes bookstores of any size, whether you are selling online for the first time or already existing and looking for ways to scale. IndieCommerce provides a simple way to sell print books, ebooks, audiobooks, in addition to other retail products that relate to your online store.
This innovative platform communicates collaboratively with Ingram as its wholesaler, streamlining order processing. IndieCommerce discusses the various delivery options available on its page regarding tracking your book inventory. Like any successful bookstore website, IndieCommerce offers special promotions and discounts for new customers joining their community.
You have the choice to subscribe to their IndieLite program of $50/month or their IndieCommerce plan of $175/month. The IndieCommerce Plan provides full access to their unique features, while the IndieLite program is much more limited but still a good place to start.
Perks, Features & Benefits
- Unlimited Admin roles
- No set-up fees
- Link an existing domain or create a new one
- Custom shipping methods
- Inventory of 12 to 13 million titles
- Robust SEO tools and resources
- Multi-channel social media integration
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5. Shopify
Shopify has become one of the most trusted and commonly sought-after shopping cart services available, and with valid reason. Due to its broad reach, Shopify welcomes and accommodates all types of retailers of all sizes in addition to providing services tailored to online bookstores as well as video game sellers. Shopify brings an ideal payment gateway to the table that enables merchants to manage payments through several sale sites. It also allows you to build shipping zones, control import prices, and render exceptional customer service.
You have the option to subscribe to their Basic plan at $29/month, the Shopify plan at $79/mo, up to the Advanced plan starting at $299/mo. Shopify provides you with the essential tools to launch your new online bookstore successfully and smoothly at the end of the day.
Perks, Features & Benefits
- Easy and quick set-up
- Elaborate insights and analytic reporting
- Strong built-in SEO tools
- Outstanding customer support
- Over 70+ professional themes
- 100 payment gateways
- Store management
- Inventory management
- Unlimited products
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6. 3dcart / Shift4Shop
While this eCommerce platform is not as comprehensive as its counterparts, 3dcart is a full-featured eCommerce site that tends to fit well with new and existing online bookstores. It essentially has everything you need to launch an online bookstore. 3dcart is renowned for its simple, easy-to-use interface that allows you to list, sell, and manage your thriving book inventory.
3dcart hosts well over 16,000 merchants and happens to be one of the most affordable eCommerce platforms for selling products online. It is an innovative platform for any size business, whether you’re a single writer or entrepreneur, to a large company. Overall, 3dcart provides the necessary tools you need to be set-up for success in selling books online. Not sure you want to commit immediately?
3dcart offers a 15-day-trial that allows you to get a taste of what they’re all about without fully committing. After the free trial is over, you have the option to sign up for one of the four pricing plans available, starting from their Basic plan of $29/month up to their Pro Store plan of $229/month. If it is just you running the online bookstore, the Basic plan could be an ideal start for selling books online.
Perks, Features & Benefits
- 24/7 customer support
- Advanced SEO tools and resources
- Includes a built-in SEO optimized blog feature
- Google Analytics
- Mobile-friendly
- Multi-Channel Sales
- Smooth social media integration
- All plans include domain registration
- Unlimited bandwidth
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7. Volusion
Volusion is a comprehensive software that offers several services for several different types of retailers and some relatively large brands, similar to BigCommerce and Shopify. Volusion provides a reasonably large and receptive array of themes accessible for all storefronts. A few bonuses Volusion offers are free shipping, flat rate shipments, fixed interest rate transporting, in-store delivery, and much more.
This all-in-one website builder provides an intuitive drag and drop interface, making it exceedingly user-friendly. This platform makes for a superior eCommerce option for businesses who wish to start with just the foundational pieces and a few extra valuable tools. Volusion offers a 14-day free trial to get a glimpse of the software. If you like what you see, you can upgrade at the end of your free trial to one of their four inclusive plans starting from $26/mo up to $269/mo, depending on the needs of your online bookstore.
Once you design your online bookstore and add in the books you want to sell, Volusion will handle the rest for you. While accessible to any eCommerce business, Volusion is best for those who are just starting in the eCommerce industry and new to selling books online. It is affordable and user-friendly with built-in marketing tools.
Perks, Features & Benefits
- One-stop-shop
- Quick and easy set-up
- 24/7 Support specialists
- Customizable and professional themes
- Powerful site editor
- Drag-and-drop website builder
- Multiple payment gateway integrations
- Efficient order management
- Several built-in features to optimize your website
- No transaction fees
- Unlimited products and storage
- 14-day free trial
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Summary
Choosing the best eCommerce platform for selling books online does not have to be an overwhelming experience. Now that you have the vital information behind the industry’s top eCommerce platforms for selling books online, you are ready to make an informed decision to grow your business.
If you are looking to test a platform to see how it goes, sign up for one of the sites that offer a free trial period, such as Volusion. Soon, you will have a booming online bookstore hosted by one of these powerful eCommerce platforms and on your way to eCommerce success!