Marketplace sellers & custom goods
Books and taxes for book and media resellers.
A library sale haul of hundreds of books, a marketplace payout for dozens of small sales, media mail shipping, and a scanner app that flags what is worth buying. Your own bookkeeper keeps it straight, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
March came in at $2,700. You bought a 400 book library sale lot for $180, so I split that small cost across every title it holds instead of counting it as one expense.
- Amazon Seller disbursementMarketplace sales
- Library sale lot, 400 booksSourcing purchases
- Media mail postageShipping and packaging
- Amazon FBA fulfillment feesMarketplace fees
- Barcode scanner app subscriptionSourcing software
Why your books are different
Book and media reselling books go wrong in a few specific spots.
A generalist sees a bulk buy and a stream of small sales. Your business is hundreds of individually low-value items bought in one lot, a marketplace payout covering dozens of tiny sales at once, and shipping costs that can eat a big share of what a single item sells for. When the books do not know that, it is hard to tell whether volume is actually turning a profit.
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1
A bulk lot needs splitting across hundreds of items
A $180 library sale haul of 400 books has no per-item receipt, but each book eventually sells on its own. Without a reasonable way to split that cost, it is hard to know the real margin on any single sale.
What we doSplits a bulk lot's cost across what it holds using a reasonable method, so per-item margin still means something. -
2
Shipping can eat most of a low-value sale
A $6 paperback or a $4 CD sold with a few dollars of media mail postage can leave almost nothing after marketplace fees, and if shipping is not tracked closely, it is easy to miss that some categories barely break even.
What we doKeeps shipping cost visible against sale price, so you can see which categories are actually worth the shelf space. -
3
A payout covers dozens of unrelated small sales at once
A marketplace disbursement can bundle fifty or more individual item sales into one deposit, making it hard to see patterns in what is actually selling without digging into the marketplace's own reports.
What we doWorks from your bank deposit and the marketplace's sales detail together, so the volume stays organized without you digging through it yourself. -
4
Storage space for slow-moving stock goes untracked
Books and media that do not sell quickly take up real storage space, whether a spare room or a rented unit, and that cost is easy to overlook against a large but slow-turning inventory.
What we doKeeps storage costs in their own line, so the true cost of holding slow-moving stock stays visible.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a book and media reseller.
Set up once for how you source and sell. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Marketplace salesAmazon, eBay, or similar payouts for individual item sales.
- Bulk lot salesSelling a group of books or media together to another reseller.
- In-person salesBook fair or flea market table sales sold outside a marketplace.
- Wholesale salesLarger case-lot sales to another dealer at a discount.
Money out
- Sourcing purchasesLibrary sales, estate sales, and thrift store hauls bought for resale.
- Shipping and packagingMedia mail postage, bubble mailers, and book boxes.
- Marketplace feesReferral fees, FBA fulfillment fees, and final value fees.
- Sourcing softwareBarcode scanning and price checking apps used while sourcing.
- StorageA storage unit or extra space to hold inventory before it sells.
What we watch for you
- Revenue per title sold
The average a single book or disc actually brings in after fees and postage, so a category priced too low gets noticed.
- Shipping cost as a share of sale price
How much postage eats into a low-value sale, so a category that barely breaks even gets noticed.
- Sell-through rate
How much of what you source actually sells, so cash and shelf space are not tied up too long.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things book and media resellers ask Gus.
Text him like you would text anybody. He answers in plain English, and when a question is above his pay grade, an accountant looks and gets back to you.
I split that cost across what the lot holds using a reasonable method, so each book still carries a real cost when it sells.
I keep shipping tracked against sale price, so that is something worth a real look with your bookkeeper if a category is barely breaking even.
Yes, I work from your bank deposit and Amazon's own sales detail together, so the volume stays organized without you having to dig through it.
The tax side
The tax side of a book and media reselling business.
Most of what goes wrong here is splitting bulk lot costs and keeping shipping honest against low sale prices.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Inventory and cost of goods soldWhat was actually paid for items sold during the year, split reasonably across a bulk lot when no per-item receipt exists, is what counts against sales. Unsold inventory at year end changes what the return shows as profit.
- Form 1099-K from marketplacesAmazon and eBay issue a 1099-K once you cross $20,000 and 200 transactions, which is easy to hit with high-volume, low-price book and media sales. Every sale is taxable whether or not the form shows up.
- Hobby versus business resellingReselling done with the intent to profit, with real records and consistent sourcing effort, is treated as a business rather than a hobby, which affects what expenses can be deducted.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when the books are right all year.
Deductions book and media resellers miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Sourcing lot and sale purchases
- Media mail postage
- Bubble mailers and book boxes
- Marketplace referral and fulfillment fees
- Barcode scanner app subscriptions
- Storage unit rent
- Mileage for sourcing runs
- Cleaning supplies for used media
- Business insurance
- Home office space
- Listing and inventory software
- Shipping scale and label printer
General information about 2026 federal rules, not advice for your business. Your accountant looks at your actual numbers before anything gets filed.
All year, not just April
A book and media reselling year, kept every month.
Library sales and estate sale season hit at different times all year. Your taxes come on a schedule. Your team keeps you ahead of both. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
Plan the year
Last year's return gets started, the shelves and boxes of unsold titles get counted, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether shipping costs are quietly eating margin on low-value items.
- October
Before the holiday rush
Gift book and collectible media sales often pick up before the holidays. Before it hits, Gus looks at what sourcing to lean into.
What you get
What you pay depends on what your business needs, and it does not move after that, busy season or slow. No hourly bills, no surprise invoices, no setup fee.
Book a call- Monthly bookkeeping
Every transaction sorted into categories set up for book and media resellers. You never categorize a thing.
- An accountant checks every transaction
Real review, every month, before your books close. Not a spot check.
- Your business tax return, filed
Prepared, reviewed, and signed by that same accountant every year.
- The monthly number
What you made, what you spent, what to set aside for taxes.
- Your own bookkeeper
A real person assigned to your business, in the app whenever you need them. No hold music.
- On your books all year
Every month, not just in April. Your team speaks up whenever something is worth your attention.
- Cancel any time
No contract. No cancellation call. Your books are yours.
Straight answers
Questions book and media resellers ask first.
I buy huge lots with no per-item receipts. Can Gus still track cost basis?
Yes. He splits a bulk lot's cost across what it holds using a reasonable method, so each item still carries a real cost when it eventually sells.
Do I owe sales tax on my book and media sales?
Both Amazon and eBay generally collect and remit it for you as facilitators on sales made through their marketplaces. The accountant checks whether any other sales channel puts that job back on you.
Some of my items only sell for a few dollars. Is that even worth tracking closely?
It is, since shipping and fees can eat most of a low sale price. Gus keeps it visible so you can see which categories are actually worth the shelf space.
I got a 1099-K but a lot of that was just clearing out my own collection. Does that count as income?
Items sold at a loss from personal use are usually not taxable, while items bought specifically to resell for profit are. The accountant can sort out which is which for your situation.
My inventory takes up a whole storage unit. Is that a deductible cost?
Yes, storage for inventory waiting to sell is a real business cost, tracked in its own line.
My books are a mess from years of sourcing without real records. Can that get sorted out?
Yes. Send whatever records or bank statements you have. Gus works with what is available and the accountant makes reasonable estimates where nothing else exists.
Is a real accountant checking my books?
Yes. You get your own bookkeeper, Gus does the first pass on every transaction, and an accountant checks every one before your month closes. That same accountant prepares, signs, and files your business return. Goatkeeper is not a CPA firm, and we never pretend a person looked when they did not.
What does it cost, and can I cancel?
It starts at $197 a month, depending on what your business needs. No setup fee, no hourly bills, no contract. Cancel any time from the app, and your books go with you.
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What makes a bookkeeper worth paying for Every business we keep books for
Book a call
Pick a time. That's the whole signup.
Fifteen minutes with a real person on our team. They look at where your books are, tell you straight what it takes to get caught up, and get you set up on the spot if it fits.
- $197 a month to start
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever