Where To Locate Used Books To Sell Online

How to Find Used Books to Sell Online

If you like books and have always wanted to get paid for buying and reselling used books online, consider opening an online bookstore. Because of Amazon.com and other online sites for new and used books, it no longer takes thousands of dollars, a local store and thousands of books to get into the game.
There are thousands of part-time booksellers that have carved out a prosperous niche for themselves in the online bookseller’s world, focusing on areas like old comics, collectible books, even romance paperback novels.
If you’ve bought a book at Amazon.com recently, you’ve probably noticed all the used mass-market paperbacks, like John Grisham novels, selling for a penny or so, and wondered how anyone could make a living at those prices. The short answer is they can’t! But for every penny book, there are many used books listed – and yielding $ 5, $ 10 or $ 20. These tend to be “evergreen” books that continue to be popular because they cover ageless material, like how to fix a VW beetle or finish concrete or invest in bonds.
Another factor driving the success of online used booksellers is the higher price of new books. When a new book costs $ 29.95 and you can find a lightly used copy for $ 10 or $ 15, what do you do? If you’re like most, you choose the bargain. The sorry state of the economy over the last few year has only made it easier, not harder, to sell used books online, as more folks welcome a bargain price.
Today, the business of online book selling is growing as brick and mortar stores fall victim to the double whammy of high overhead and online competition. To succeed as an online book seller, all you have to do is find sought-after books at a low price and sell them online, while balancing your desire for incredible profits with the online shopper’s desire for incredible bargains!
Most beginning online booksellers should focus on newer used books, those released in the last two or three decades, instead of collectible and classic books. Newer books are much easier to find, reasonable to buy and easier to sell in no time. When you turn over your inventory quickly, you free up money and space for more books. After you’ve been selling for a while, you may like to explore the fascinating world of collectible books, but that niche market requires more knowledge, money and staying power, due to slower turnover.
To succeed as an online bookseller, you must be able to find new inventory regularly. The good news is – used books are all over the place, if you know where to look. Here are a few of the best locations to start looking:

1. Library sales. These periodic sales are held by almost every municipal library in the country, and can be a great source for online re-sellers to find prizes at bargain prices. You’ll find ex-library books and books donated by supporters.
2. Garage and Yard sales. These can be a great way to find books for your inventory. As with any items you find at a garage or tag sale, never hesitate to make an offer. Like the old Yiddish saying – “If you don’t ask, you don’t get.” The offer likely to get accepted is for a lot of 6-30 books at half the selling price. Another tactic used by streetwise resellers is to stop back on the second day and offer to haul away unsold books free of charge.
3. Thrift shops. Avoid the Goodwill and Salvation Army thrift stores, as they have started listing their own donated books online when prices warrant it. The greatest sources are the little thrift shops that support local churches, hospitals and other worthy causes. Most are only open a day or two a week. One in my area specializes in clothing, so the donated books were simply being thrown in a dumpster! You may find a similar treasure trove in your town.
4. Bookstores. Visit all the book stores in your area for deals, as there can be a wide gap between their used book prices and what the same book can bring on Amazon. I often find how-to books priced at $ 2 – $ 5 at bookstores that bring $ 10 – $ 25 when sold on Amazon.
5. Other online book sellers. Incredible as it may seem, you can often find bargains at online sources like half.com. I checked their website today and found thousands of books listed for under a dollar.
6. Estate sales. For a source of bargain books, an estate sale is hard to beat. Often a deceased book lover’s life long collection of books will be available. Since heirs and estate auctioneers are not used to pricing individual books, prices can reflect that lack of knowledge. I’ve found leather-bound limited-editions passed down for two or three generations, rare art books and even rare magazines and collectible comics.

You’ll find estate sale notices in your local newspaper, but your best bet is an online web site, estatesales.org, which lists sales and auctions nationwide by state and town. Make sure to leave your business card with the estate liquidator at any sales or auctions you attend, as they often need to dispose of book lots that are too small for a formal sale or auction.
7. Free classified advertising. A free classified ad on craigslist.org or backpage.com can create a steady flow of used book bargains, usually before the public discovers them at a garage or estate sale. Two headlines that work well are: I BUY USED BOOKS and CASH PAID FOR BOOKS. Small classified ads also work well posted on community bulletin boards.
8. eBay. You’ll often find bargains at eBay if you look up “book lots” in sizes ranging from 3 books to hundreds. A recent find was a collection of Raggedy Ann children’s books that brought 10X their cost when sold individually on Amazon. Most retailers would love a 1,000 % markup!

As you can see, finding plenty of used books to sell online can be easier if you know where and how to look. These nine tips will get you started if you’re ready to join the ranks of thousands of other part-time online booksellers who earn a steady income working four or five hours a week. To learn more about this enjoyable but little-known business, read USED BOOKS INTO GOLD and OLD MAGAZINES INTO GOLD, available at: http://usedbookbusiness.com There, you’ll also find a free mini-course about how to buy and sell used books online.

Why You Should Start an Online Book Business

 

Selling Used Books Online

If you’re looking for a way to earn a part-time income or start a new internet business, then you should consider starting a book business online. Getting into the used book business is an easy and profitable venture. It’s not a get-rich-quick scheme, but with a few hours of your spare time, you can make a good income.

Your first step should be to start buying used books in your area. Unless you’re using your personal collection, you’ll need to buy books from estate sales, library sales and garage sales, which is a great way to get a large number of books for almost nothing, as most people do don’t realize the value of what they’ve got. Most people are just eager to get rid of these books, so they’ll often accept an offer like, “Would you take $ 60 for these 50 books?”

Another great place to look is wholesalers. Many are available online, such as A1 Overstock and Book Depot. You can find a lot of books for $ 1 or $ 2 each. Most require you to order a minimum amount, such as $ 200, but you stand to make a large profit.

Next, you’ll need shipping materials for your books. In most cases a bubble envelope will do. If you’re shipping a more expensive or fragile book, consider purchasing an Easy Fold Mailer, from Uline.com. It’s made of cardboard that can adjust to the thickness of the book, providing better protection than a bubble envelope. In most cases the bubble envelope will do just fine.

Now you’re ready to set up your store on Amazon.com. Amazon is the recommended place to sell used books online. it’s possible to get started in just a half-hour and gets a lot of web traffic. Simply find the book you want to sell on the Amazon web site, click on “sell yours here” button and you’re on your way.

When pricing your books, do don’t feel you need to pick the lowest price possible. A good way to figure out a price is to look at the prices listed, discard the highest and lowest, and take the average of the rest. This “middle of the pack” pricing helps you get a fair price, yet keep the books selling.

When grading your books, be honest. If it has some dog-eared pages, do don’t say it’s “like new.” You want happy customers. If they receive the book and it’s not in the condition you said it was, they are more likely to leave you a negative review and rating on Amazon.

Now watch your books begin to sell. After you get an order, ship it immediately! Never wait until it’s convenient for you. Ship it that day if possible. This will help keep your customers happy and keep those positive ratings and reviews coming in.

Soon, your hard work will pay off, and the profits will start. Ship your books with care and ship them promptly. Be honest when you grade the books. Price them at a reasonable rate, but do don’t feel like it has to be the lowest price possible. Do these things and you’ll continue to thrive in the used books business as your book selling income grows. To learn more, read Used Books Into Gold, available at: http://usedbookbusiness.com At the same web site, you can sign up for a free mini-course, about buying and selling both used books and magazines. The 7-part course includes:

1. How to sell used books and magazines online.
2. Best books to sell online.
3. Seven steps to profit selling used books on Amazon.
4. How to make money selling old magazines online.
5. Five ways to make 800 % profits with old magazines.
6. eBay selling secrets for used magazines making a profit selling used magazines on eBay.
7. How to turn used books and magazines into gold.