How To Make Money Selling Used Books Online
A few months ago, I got a call from someone looking for help. Don makes his living by buying and selling books. He wholesales the books to used bookstores, and wanted to start selling books online so he could get higher prices for them. He figured why sell a books to stores for 30 cents on the dollar when he could sell them online for much more.
Anyway, Don had tried selling a few books on eBay and had poor results. Then he called to get some eBay advice.
I normally charge 75.00 dollars for 20 minutes or 200 dollars for an hour of phone time. (If you are interested send me an e-mail and I will send you details.) But Don regularly finds trains and toys for me when he is out buying books, and I don't charge consulting fees for people who refer items to me. Spending a little time on the phone with him is just an investment in a fruitful relationship. Note: you should be building relationships with people like Don in your area. This is your referral network, and will keep your phone ringing with items you want.
I suggested he get a copy of Gary Hendrickson's book about selling books on Half.com.
A couple of weeks later Don called me to tell me about some trains he had found for me. While I was on the phone with him, I asked how the online sales were going.
He said he had given up on selling on eBay and now sells books on Half.com following Gary's advice. Don told me it was the best 20 dollars he had ever spent. He shared with me he is getting three and sometimes as much as eight times what the stores were paying him.
This is a big difference. Sure he has to go to the post office a few times a week, but the extra money makes it worth while. Books are actually easier to ship than antiques because you can just shove them into bubble mailers. You can get the mailers for between 20 and 60 cents each from a packaging supply house like Discount Packaging. You won't need to go dumpster diving to find boxes, and have piles of flattened boxes lying around attracting bugs.
Gary says you can make your house payment every month selling books on Half.com. Based on what Don is doing I can believe it.
If you are interested in selling books online you should get yourself a copy of Gary's book. Some of Gary's techniques for finding and buying books will also work with other antiques and collectibles.
Find out more about selling used books online here
PS Since I wrote this article, Elaine Smith has written a book about how selling used books on eBay. Elaine's book about online auctions and Gary's book about Half.com together make up a powerful system for selling used books online. You should get them both.
More eBay Resource Reviews.
New articles about Antiques, Collectibles, or eBay are regularly added to this section of the site. You can see previous articles in the column on the left. This is not a replacement for my regular emailed newsletter. The newsletter is usually two to three times as long and focuses on making money on eBay and/or achieving success in the antiques and collectibles business. Only about a third of the articles sent out as newsletters are posted on the site, so to avoid missing an issue sign up now using the blue box in the upper right hand corner of this web page.
Have a question about eBay or buying and selling antiques and collectibles you'd like to see answered here?
Submit your question here.
Terry Gibbs has taught over 7,000 people how to make a good living on eBay. Terry's most recent eBay instruction manual is The Auction Revolution . The Auction Revolution is your guide to eBay and beyond. Here on Iwantcollectibles.com, you will learn about buying and selling antiques and collectibles, and about eBay.
FREE eBay Resources:
| 
Free eBay Buyer's Guide
