If you have an interest and knowledge of books, live in proximity of a college and have some free time, selling college text books is the perfect way to make money. For those who want to earn a little extra cash, this business can be run from home, only requires a couple of hours work at most, and gives you free time to do other things.
There are many advantages to selling college text books compared to other second hand books. If you are considering starting a business selling secondhand college textbooks, consider these benefits. Firstly, College text books are not subject to the same economic trends and cyclical buying patterns of regular books. People will buy college text books no matter what the economic climate is; if it is a required reading for their course, it will be purchased. College students will also be more likely to purchase secondhand books, as they usually will try to save money when not in full time employment. College text books are not often given as gifts so people have little reservations with buying the exact same book that has previously been used. In fact many college students prefer used books as the previous owner often leaves useful notes and markings within the book which can sometimes be helpful. Because of the sheer cost of new college text books many college students prefer to buy them over new books. This also benefits you as there is more money in textbooks than in something like paperbacks, since single books can often fetch up to $100, the profit margins are greater when selling second hand college text books.
Starting a business selling second hand text books is also an attractive venture as it can be run from home and it can be run with little investment. If you are in close proximity to a college, you can often do buying and selling through the campus, either by meeting interested parties as requested, or setting up a stall with permission.
In order to successfully start your college text book service, you need to obtain the reading lists for every course at the college; this may take a little bit of work. Often it is just a matter of going on the internet and looking it up on the college web site. Other times it is a little more difficult and may require you to make requests to the college, the faculties or the college book shop. Try to get the list of books that are going to be used for the next semester – not the current list – but the updated list for students entering each course NEXT semester. This means you will avoid purchasing used books that you cannot sell (either old editions or superseded books). Once you have this list, you need to target college students who have finished particular subjects and want to get rid of their books.
The easiest way to do this is to post flyers around the campus, and hand them out to college students. You may also be able to work out deals with the college bookshop (if they only sell new books) to recommend students to you who want to sell their old books, or buy second hand ones. Offer to buy books for cash, and get students to give you a list of their books. You need to work out what you are going to price them at when you sell them, and in turn, how much you can afford to buy them for.
For example, if you think you can sell college text books for half of the cover price, it may make sense to buy them from students for a third of the cover price. You will have to work these numbers out yourself, as it is dependant on a lot of factors such as competition and the type of book.
Once you start buying used books, these will become the books you will sell back to students. So again, you need to advertise your services around campus. Once you have bought a good range of used textbooks to sell, you may be able to set up a stall for a short amount of time at the start of the college semester which will allow students to buy books for their newly enrolled courses. If not, things like advertising and word of mouth are great tools, especially on a college campus.
Despite sounding complicated, selling college textbooks becomes a business that requires little work, and has big rewards through the sheer number of people and the huge demand for cheaper books. If you have an interest in books, or have ever considered selling secondhand books, why don’t you look into selling college text books?
