A while ago, we discussed the problem of restricted inventory on Amazon from the bookseller’s point of view and tried to understand how to solve it. Today, we’ll talk again about Amazon gating certain textbooks, try to understand why the issue is getting more and more serious, and discuss how booksellers can use the BookScouter tools to support their sales.
But before we get to the latter part, let’s once again go through the details of Amazon textbook restrictions and what they really mean.
- Is Amazon Restricting Textbooks?
- What to Do If Amazon Continues to Tighten Its Gating Policy
- Use BookScouter to Sell Textbooks Restricted by Amazon
Is Amazon Restricting Textbooks?
Let’s see what Amazon understands by restricted products and categories.
Restricted Products
Restricted products are the ones that Amazon prohibits or limits due to safety, legal, or ethical concerns (e.g., Alcohol, Hazardous and prohibited items, etc.). They cannot be listed or sold on the platform. Listings in restricted inventory are displayed in inactive status to the seller and cannot be seen or accessed by the buyer.
Restricted (Gated) Categories
There are also specific categories that require approval before selling. They are usually referred to as “gated” or “restricted.”
Gating restrictions help Amazon prevent fraud and counterfeit items. To sell products in a gated category, sellers must undergo a rigorous approval process, meet performance criteria, and provide specific documentation, among other things. Here are a few gated categories that require approval:
- Jewelry
- Fine Art
- Sports Collectibles
- Watches
For instance, Jewelry is a fully gated category on Amazon. You must have a Professional selling plan and meet Amazon’s Jewelry Quality Assurance Standards. To gain access, you usually need to provide valid invoices or proof of how you sourced your items.
There are also ungated categories that don’t require approval; however, some of their sub-categories or products may require approval—which obviously creates some confusion.
Take Pet Supplies, for instance. All in all, you can sell pet-related products without prior approval, but things like dog or cat food may require approval to comply with safety standards, or some brands may require authorization to sell their items, adding another layer of complexity.
If we’re to offer a more eloquent example, there’s one. Nike is a restricted brand on Amazon. You can’t list Nike products in the Clothing or Footwear categories without getting approval for both the category and the brand, which is next to impossible and usually requires submitting a recent invoice from an authorized distributor or a permission letter from Nike. They do not want third-party sellers on Amazon and aggressively pursue any seller trying to list their products.
Textbook Restrictions: What Are Gated Textbooks?
Amazon may restrict books mainly due to concerns about intellectual property rights, poor product quality, etc. And when it comes to textbooks—the risk of receiving counterfeit copies. The pressure from publishers is another huge reason (we’ll get back to it later in more detail).
However, for the past several years (and especially recently), these restrictions seem to have reached an entirely new level.
The following question was posted on Amazon Seller Central in 2018, but the problem is still relevant:
According to Amazon’s policy regarding restricted products, textbooks are not illegal, dangerous, or unauthorized. Yet many sellers, even the most experienced ones selling on Amazon for years, report similar problems.
Here’s the most recent question sent to the Amazon Seller Central forum in 2025:
Amazon gave vague answers in 2018. A few words about restrictions in general:
And some more about the ASIN restrictions:
And it pretty much continued to provide similar responses in 2024. Check a more recent post from one of the Reddit members:
Amazon support does not provide satisfactory answers regarding this huge issue, but we’ve reviewed plenty of bookseller discussions on the Seller Central forum, Reddit, and other resources to understand what’s going on.
Not a word about textbooks being a gated category can be found on the Selling Textbooks page or anywhere else. Yet, plenty of seller cases prove that an increasing number of textbooks now require pre-approval before a seller can list them. Remember the category of Pet Supplies we mentioned? Amazon is definitely applying the same logic to textbooks more and more often for a range of reasons.
Now, sellers may be required to undergo a more complicated approval process and provide a certain type of proof of textbook authenticity (e.g., manufacturer invoice or invoice from a “verified” distributor). Here’s an example from the Amazon forum:
This Reddit post reports the same problem:
It also looks like certain sellers can sell some textbooks and others not, depending on the seller’s history and metrics (e.g., account age, sales volume, location, and trust level with Amazon).
Some older accounts that have gained more “trust” over time can sell those textbooks that are unavailable for younger accounts. New or international sellers seem to face the most restrictions. But there’s also a chance that once a seller proves reliability, they can get permission to sell even popular textbooks.
In one of the Reddit posts in the FBABooks community, members discuss the issue using a few ISBNs as an example. For some sellers, these ISBNs acquire the “Approval Required” status or are altogether restricted, while for others, they are okay to list.
Key takeaway: Amazon seems to be restricting (gating) textbooks individually; it’s not that the entire category is restricted.
What Textbooks Are Being Gated?
So, now that we’ve concluded that only some textbooks are actually restricted (or gated), it’s natural to suggest most of them to be high-demand college coursework titles, mostly in New and Like New condition. However, sometimes, you can’t even imagine that a certain book can be gated:
High‑Demand Course Materials
Yet, it’s true. The most commonly gated textbooks still seem to be the ones in high demand, with the highest resale value, and ranked in the top 10,000–30,000. They are often in New and Like New condition.
The same books are also frequently targeted for counterfeits, which is already a valid reason for gating.
Campbell Biology and Global Marketing are just a few such examples.
Restrictions Imposed by Publisher
Just like big brands, some big publishers, like Little, Brown and Company, seem to be working directly with Amazon to reduce the sales of used books from third-party sellers. Because of this, books from these publishers often get restricted first, meaning that the publishers are trying to limit the availability of used copies.
It Depends on the Seller
Also, as we’ve already mentioned, restrictions are applied on a seller-by-seller basis. Some sellers may find themselves unable to list popular titles from publishers like Pearson, McGraw Hill, or Cengage, while others can list the same titles without issue. Seller Central forums have plenty of complaints from sellers who lost permissions on dozens or even hundreds of titles overnight.
Key takeaway: Amazon doesn’t have any official “gated textbook” list. No textbook is universally gated; permission to sell is granted based on individual seller performance and trust level with Amazon.
Why Are Certain Textbooks Being Gated?
Publisher Pressure
The primary reason some textbooks are restricted is pressure from publishers.
For one thing, textbook publishers have been quite aggressive in their actions to reduce the resale of used copies. According to BookSeller, in 2018, some academic publishers and a law firm set up a sting operation. They made fake orders on Amazon and then reported the returned textbooks as counterfeit. The goal was to scare sellers who resell books and to make it harder to get listings approved on Amazon.
Counterfeits and Legal Problems
Also, over the years, Amazon has been sued by manufacturers and publishers for allowing counterfeit products on the platform. In 2018, the Educational Publishers Enforcement Group (EPEG), which included Cengage, Pearson, John Wiley, and McGraw Hill we’ve already mentioned, filed a lawsuit against Book Dog Books and Robert William Management and won $34 million. Major academic houses also filed suits against other online merchants. This also pushed Amazon to make certain sellers meet specific requirements to sell textbooks.
Also, in 2024, David Goggins sued Amazon, claiming the company allowed fake versions of his self-help book to be sold.
So, it’s unsurprising that Amazon has tightened restrictions and is now heavily scrutinizing all listings—to keep peace with publishers and authors and reduce legal risks. Sadly, many sellers of used books have to feel the effects of this policy.
What to Do If Amazon Continues to Tighten Its Gating Policy
So, if you sell textbooks—used textbooks in various conditions, but especially New and Like new ones from certain publishers—on Amazon (FBM or FBA, either way), it’s highly likely that you’ll face the problems we’ve mentioned.
One day, you may find out that some textbooks you’d listed are inactive. Or you will be requested to undergo an approval process for a new listing, or you will not be able to list anything at all because your account has been suspended. Or you may receive a very vague and inconsistent email from Amazon that suggests you can’t sell “popular” textbooks anymore.
Unfortunately, everything that we’ve discussed today suggests that Amazon will go on with this policy. Most pessimistic sellers even predict that Video Games are next:
But a danger foreseen is half avoided, right? So, here are a few steps you can take to safeguard yourself.
Avoid Listing Certain Publishers
Check your active book list and change the status of all the textbooks from the publishers we’ve mentioned to “inactive.” Amazon might change its (unofficial) policy regarding them any time soon, but having no listings from these publishers can help you stay on the safe side. Better safe than sorry…
Request New and Like New Condition Listings Removal
If you sell textbooks in New and Like New condition, request their removal. These are likely popular books that you can still sell elsewhere.
Try Your Luck
If you’re trying to list a textbook that seems quite all right, but Amazon requires approval, give it a go. In the best-case scenario, you’ll get approval instantly or have to fill in a questionnaire; in the worst case, you’ll be flatly refused, and that’s it. It’s harder, of course, when hundreds of your listings have gone inactive overnight and all of them require approval.
Diversify Your Selling Channels
Just like we recommended in our post about restricted inventory, you can take a preventive approach and tackle this problem by diversifying your selling channels. Amazon can become more lenient—or more restrictive—over time, so instead of being totally dependent on one channel, don’t sell on Amazon exclusively.
Act like when you approach your usual investment strategy: opt for asset allocation and portfolio diversification. As a bookseller, think of other types of books and other marketplaces.
If you sell textbooks only, we recommend adding books from the top 10 book reselling categories (e.g., Science Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, Adventure, Dystopian, Thriller, Horror, Mystery, Historical Fiction, YA). Also, there are plenty of online book-selling platforms that can help you expand:
- eBay
- BooksRun Marketplace
- Sell Back Your Book and Ziffit (now part of World of Books)
- TextbookRush
- eCampus
- Chegg
- ValoreBooks
Use BookScouter to Sell Textbooks Restricted by Amazon
Also, there’s another solution.
If you’re a seasoned seller who has been in the market for some time, you might have already felt the effect of Amazon’s restrictions, and you may feel it even more in the future.
BookScouter is a great alternative and maybe the best solution for all sellers who are now looking for ways to sell the books restricted by Amazon in the easiest and most convenient way. With access to more than 30 vendors, it’s definitely one of the most efficient diversification channels.
The price comparison platform can help you find the best offers for one or multiple ISBNs, as well as those with the most convenient shipping methods and costs.
The Pro Tools subscription gives even more freedom for booksellers. For instance, you can use the Bulk Liquidation Tool to look up up to 10,000 ISBNs each day. You can either upload a CSV file or enter the ISBNs manually. This tool helps you sell your extra books at a price you choose by setting a “target price” and receiving buyback offers that match.
Other Pro tools (e.g., High Resale Value Books and Buyback Price History) can also provide valuable real-time and historical data on book demand and prices, giving you plenty of background knowledge to adjust your pricing strategy.
With BookScouter and especially with Pro tools, you can add one more sales channel where you can sell all the textbooks gated by Amazon and any other books.
Final Thoughts
Taking into consideration all the complexities surrounding textbook restrictions on Amazon, it’s becoming more and more evident that gating policies are here to stay—at least for the foreseeable future.
Surely enough, while the majority of textbooks still remain unrestricted, certain titles from major publishers are. The rules can change anytime, and relying solely on Amazon can make any bookseller vulnerable to sudden policy changes, unexpected gating, and even account suspensions.
While Amazon remains a #1 marketplace, we recommend you use all the tips we’ve provided—but most importantly, diversify your sales channels. Expanding to multiple platforms helps reduce risk and avoid profit loss.
We strongly recommend using tools like BookScouter, which can give you more control over your bookselling business and is practically invaluable when dealing with restricted textbooks on Amazon.
