For just over a year now I have been selling used books on eBay and found that this would be an excellent opportunity to share with you my own experiences. Throughout the learning process I have learned some costly mistakes but, in the end, the rewards have been phenomenal.
After digging through the garage I stumbled up on a box of old books from many years ago. Chances are, you too have boxes of books stashed away in the attic, garage, under your bead or somewhere that’s rarely used. Finding these books I knew the perfect opportunity was mine to make a bit of side money.
After signing up for an eBay account I set out to sell every book I could get my hands on. I took great pictures, included information relevant to the book and even did some price comparison on Amazon and Google Shopping. After a few days I finally made my first sale: a whole dollar! It wasn’t much but it showed that I could do it; so I set off to earn my keep.
An unexpected consequence
In my rush to list all the available books on eBay I ran into two costly mistakes:
The biggest shocker came from shipping books. Previously, I had imagined that shipping would only cost a few dollars at most but I soon realized that heavier books, even by a few ounces, would set the shipping rate to the next level and soon all of the profits were gone.
One valuable lesson I learn during the initial sales (which I hope you can as well) is to stick with books that will be cheap to sell. Try to keep books under 1 pound if possible – this will help keep shipping to a minimum and allow you to give great rates without coming across as someone trying to gouge on shipping.
Striking the great deals
After many months of doing the occasional book sale on eBay I decided it was time to step up my game and begin going out and finding the big deals.
My first stop was at the local flea market which provided to be quite a steal as I found a few collectible books for pennies on the dollar. Using my smart-phone, I discreetly jumped online and did a comparison of what the book was currently listed at on eBay and Amazon. After I figured up the pricing, I haggled down the vendor to just a few bucks which I later flipped into $20.
Secondly, Craigslist also has proved to be a great place to look for book collections. With so many people trying to get rid of their books it was easy to find a few great deals which were later flipped for a pocket of money.
Tip: Go after technical books because they often keep their value in comparison to mass produced fiction books.
Final Thoughts
It’s been a little over a year since I’ve begun selling books on eBay and other online stores; it’s been a wonderful experience which I can truly say: anyone can do it!
Because eBay is so simple to setup and begin listing auctions it would be insane not to dig out a few old books collecting dust and at least trying your own hand at online sales.
