As an avowed book junkie, I have long trolled thrift stores, yard sales, and used book stores to feed my habit– on a budget. I can’t see paying $25.95 for a new hardcover, even if I could afford it (which I can’t). To that end, I’ve found a way to add to my personal collection while making a little extra money.
Enter Half.com.
Half.com is an eBay company that allows the user to buy or sell new and used books, movies (DVD and VHS), video games, and video game systems easily and with minimum fuss. Items are usually pre-owned and priced at one-half or less of the original price, and shipping costs are nominal. It’s a great system for both buyer and seller. When eBay purchased Half.com, they attempted to transition Half.com sellers into eBay’s book and movie selling feature, and sellers responded overwhelmingly in favor of keeping Half.com as a separate, unchanged entity. And they won.
To sell on Half.com, you need an account, and stuff to sell. Do you have an eBay account already? You still have to create a Half.com account seller’s account. You can use the same username as on eBay-log in with your eBay account and create your Half.com seller’s account so that your feedback from both accounts will be combined. In order to sell on Half.com, you will need to register a credit card with them. You will also need to enter your bank account information in order to receive payment.
Do you already have stuff to sell? Books you’ve already read, DVDs you’re tired of? Excellent! You’re ready to start selling. If you don’t have anything to sell but would like to make some extra cash anyway, there’s plenty of places to find inexpensive inventory.
First, tour your local thrift stores to find which ones have the best prices for books. Some thrift stores charge ridiculous amounts for books-you’re looking for stores that charge no more than $2 for a hardcover book. With any luck, you’ll find a couple of stores that have excellent prices (I have one local thrift store that sells paperbacks for five for a dollar).
Garage sales are hit-or-miss when it comes to books. Books at garage sales are usually not books that will make you a profit on Half.com, either because of the genre, or because of their condition. If you do find good books at a garage sale, haggle. If you find a whole box of good books to sell, make an offer on the entire box.
Once you’ve found the best prices, it’s time to find the best books. The best profits are made on hardcover non-fiction. If you can find fancy coffee table books for cheap, these sell very well (I once sold a Buster Keaton coffee table book for $100). Textbooks are also good buys; make sure they’re not too old, though. Law textbooks, even old ones, seem to do well. Other non-fiction, whether hardcover or paperback, is usually a good bet. Avoid bestseller non-fiction and fiction, unless it’s only recently published. Anything previously on Oprah’s Book Club list is a no-no. There will be hundreds of them for sale-all for seventy-five cents.
As far as paperbacks, stick to literature. Again-nothing on Oprah’s list (unless it’s newly on Oprah’s list), and nothing too popular, like Janet Evanovich. Janet’s great, but she’s sold millions, and everyone has a copy to sell. If it’s been a New York Times bestseller, chances are that there are a glut of them on Half.com.
And don’t forget to buy books that are in good condition. Very good condition, at the very least. Unless you find a first-edition copy of Great Expectations, skip any book with water damage, more than minimal wear, or a weird smell (especially smoke). On Half.com, you will have to classify the condition of your book, and few sellers look beyond “Very Good”, so I recommend purchasing books that can be described as in “Very Good” condition or better. Half.com has guidelines for item quality in their Policies section of their Help Desk-familiarize yourself with these guidelines before selling.
Finally– you’re ready to sell! You have your account, you have your books, and you’re ready to list. This is the easy part. You can either look up each item by title or ISBN number and sell it after checking out what others are selling the same item for, or you can click on the “Sell Your Stuff” link on the front page. Type in your ISBN number (if you’re listing a lot of books, check out “Multiple Item Listing”), select the appropriate condition, add any comments (e.g., “light jacket wear”), select your price, select which kind of shipping you’ll offer (use Media Mail only-you will lose money if you offer Expedited Shipping), and your item is listed!
You’ll receive an email from Half.com to let you know that you have an order. Sign in to your account and confirm that you’re able to ship the order. You must ship within 72 hours. Wrap the item in a layer of bubble wrap and ship in a manila envelope (don’t waste money on padded mailers). For more expensive books, using some kind of tracking feature is recommended. Also, be aware that the shipping amount that each buyer is charged is a flat rate dependant upon whether the book is hardcover or paperback-you will usually make a profit on paperback shipments, and it’s easy to lose money on shipping charges with hardcover books (especially if they’re textbooks). Anticipate these costs when determining your sale price.
After all of this, you’re probably wondering when you’ll get your money. Twice a month Half.com will direct deposit your money (minus their commission, which is 15% or less per item) into your bank account. No messing with PayPal, no checks, no lunchtime runs to the bank to make a deposit. It’s just that easy! How much money can you make? That’s really up to you. With a little experience in selecting saleable books, it’s easy to make a couple hundred dollars a month for a few hours work.
And you can take that money and buy some more books.
