Steps
Open the product page
Navigate to any Amazon book listing — your own book, a competitor, or a category you're researching.
Scroll to Product Details
Scroll down the page until you reach the "Product Details" section. On mobile, this may be under "Additional Info" or "Details". On desktop, it's typically about two-thirds down the page.
Find the Best Sellers Rank row
Look for a row labelled "Best Sellers Rank" or "Amazon Best Sellers Rank". You'll see the overall rank (e.g., #12,459 in Books) and subcategory ranks (e.g., #3 in Teen & Young Adult Mystery).
Record the number
The overall BSR (e.g., #12,459 in Books) is the primary metric. Subcategory ranks are useful for category research but the overall rank is what tells you about sales volume.
Use Pubscout to see BSR at a glance
Install the Pubscout Chrome extension to see BSR overlaid directly on Amazon search results and product pages — no scrolling required. Every result in a search page shows its live BSR.
Tips
- BSR updates approximately every hour. A single snapshot can be misleading — check a book on two separate days to see if it's stable or fluctuating.
- Use a BSR calculator to convert the rank to an estimated monthly sales figure. A BSR of #1,000 in Books is roughly 350–500 copies/month; #10,000 is roughly 50–100 copies/month.
- Subcategory BSRs are almost always lower (better) than the overall rank — a book ranked #50,000 overall might be #4 in a small subcategory. Both numbers are on the same product page.
FAQ
What is a good BSR for a KDP book?
For steady sales, aim for a BSR under #100,000 in Books. Under #50,000 indicates solid ongoing sales. Under #10,000 indicates strong sales. Under #1,000 indicates a bestselling title generating significant daily revenue.
Why does BSR change so frequently?
Amazon updates BSR roughly every 1–2 hours based on recent sales velocity. A single sale can move a low-selling book many ranks. A book with no recent sales will steadily decline in rank.