Two of the most dynamic markets on the internet today are books and music. So starting a used book business already has an advantage in that you know there's a ready-made market.
The concept is simple... you buy books for pennies on the dollar from several available sources and then resell them for huge profits online. Amazon.com, Abebooks.com, Half.com, and Alibris.com are some of many mega internet companies that provide you with a selling venue. These websites are accessed by millions of people from all over the world every day. Amazon.com for example, allows you to have access to all of these millions of customers who search Amazon.com for every kind of book imaginable. This is a big opportunity that's readily available to small entrepreneurs just like you. Used books can turn into BIG BUCKS with the help of today’s internet.
So Why Used Books?
- Used books are inexpensive and plentiful
- Used books are easy to describe and sell
- Used books are easy to pack and ship
Startup is very easy with little or no cost. No previous experience is necessary. And your products are readily available, in high demand and inexpensive to ship.
You can pick up used books for next to nothing from places you probably pass every day in your home town. Once you start looking, you could spend an entire day just searching for and buying books. When you return home in the evening, you'll have your inventory. Then just catalogue the books you purchased, log onto Amazon, sit back and let Amazon do the rest. As mentioned above, your start-up should be minimal. Actually, it shouldn’t cost you anything if you already have the following items on hand:
- Unwanted books on your shelves. Don’t forget to ask friends and family for donations
- A computer with internet access
- A printer
- Bubble mailers. Size #0 and #2 are the ones I'd recommend
- A weigh scale
There are major advantages to starting a used book business online; you don’t need a store, warehouse or delivery trucks, or even staff. You don’t need an MBA or inside connections with wholesalers or drop-shippers. You don’t need to be an expert on books, though a fondness for them will surely help. What you do need is a willingness to learn and a commitment to running a successful business.
Today, you can market instantly to a worldwide pool of millions of ready buyers — even as a beginning used bookseller. You don’t need to advertise, and participating in this growing network costs you nothing until you make your sales.
Books are a proven seller both on and off the web. They sold well 30 years ago, they sell well today, and they'll sell well 30 years from today. All the doom and gloom surrounding the internet causing the death of the printed word was either wishful thinking or fear-mongering. Reading from a screen will never replace the feeling of holding a book in your hands, curled up enjoying a good story. People who love books, will always love books. No matter what kinds of gadgets are developed to "improve" the digital reading experience.
Used books are the perfect merchandise to sell online for several reasons:
- Books are easy to find at low cost
- Books are standardized items that are simple to describe and sell
- Books are compact, non-fragile, and easy to ship
- You have very little or zero overhead
- You don't need to build a web site
- You can make more income WITHOUT going into debt
- You don't need to worry about search engines - your customers will already know where to find you
- Your own business that takes about 1 hour per day, and you choose your schedule
- It’s a legal, ethical, honest, work-at-home business that doesn't require answering the phone, working ridiculous hours, or relying on the latest fad
Half.com is an established, well laid out website. It has one purpose and it's very successful at achieving that purpose – TO SELL BOOKS!! It’s owned by Ebay, one of the most well established sites on the net today. The people behind Half.com have proven that they know how to present a site that actually sells. And who hasn't heard of Amazon.com? It has to be, without argument, the largest online bookseller in the world. And it's popularity equals that of Google's.
Targeted Traffic Is Delivered Right To Your Door (So To Speak)
You don’t have to look for customers or spend hours tweaking your site to get a better search engine position. With Half.com and Amazon.com you're dealing with sites that have already established their own name, and are already attracting millions of customers. And these customers all have one thing in common. They’ve come to purchase books – they are targeted customers.
Your Business Is Open 24 Hours A Day, 7 Days A Week
The internet is like Las Vegas, it never sleeps. It's constantly bustling with a large number of people who do their shopping while you sleep. Your “Store” is open 24/7 even though you're not. You're always open no matter when your buyers arrive.
Sites Such as Half.com and Amazon Handle the Details
A wonderful thing happened just within the last few years. Half.com came into existence and Amazon.com started allowing used books to be sold on its site. The great thing about these sites is that anyone can sell books, and you don't need your own website, merchant account, or even a digital camera.
Half.com and Amazon will accept payment from the buyer, provide photos of your books, reimburse you for postage, and drop the money right into your bank account. Plus, both of these sites spend millions on advertising so that they have unbelievable traffic... traffic that may buy your book!
Half.com, now owned by Ebay, started as a place where people could buy and sell used books, CDs, and audio tapes. Now that it's owned by Ebay, it deals in all sorts of merchandise. But, it's still best known for its book market. Amazon, the giant of online book sales, worried that sites such as Half.com could undercut its sales of new books, set up a competing system for the sale of used books. In just a short time, this part of Amazon's business is making a significant contribution to its bottom line. Half.com and Amazon make a small commission on each used book that's sold on their sites. They accept payment (including shipping costs) from buyers and then pay the sellers. But, all order fulfillment is done by the bookseller.
After you've listed your book, Half.com handles the remainder of the sales process. They sell the book, collect all the money for the cost of the book and shipping, and notify you by email that a sale has been made.
In return for this service, they charge a commission on every sale. In most cases this commission is 15%. There may be instances where the commission is less, but that’s for very high priced books. 99.9% of your sales will be at the 15% commission rate.
After taking their commission, Half.com deposits the rest of the proceeds from the sale into your account along with a credit for shipping. When you receive your email notification of the sale, you confirm that you still have the book, pack it up, and mail it to the buyer. As you can see, it’s all pretty easy and straightforward.
Amazon works in a similar fashion. You'll be listing your books in Amazon's "Marketplace." Listing items is easy on Amazon. Search for the title you want to sell. That will put you on the product information page. Then click the "Sell yours here!" button that appears near the product image. The system will guide you through setting up your account and listing your book. Amazon will also ask if you're willing to ship to an overseas address. If you are, your postage reimbursement will be for shipping abroad.
Once a book is sold, Amazon sends an email alerting you to the fact that one of your books has sold. When the transaction with the buyer is complete, Amazon sends a second email giving you the details and the shipping address. Amazon levies two commissions on your sales. Each sale is subject to a flat $.99 commission plus 15 percent of the selling price.
However, Amazon reimburses you for postage usually at the "media mail" rate. Amazon transfers your payments into your bank account and sends an email telling you how much to expect. They do this frequently, but not book by book. You can trigger a payment into your account should you want the money sooner.
Amazon has a Pro Merchant subscription that you should get if you sell a lot of books. But, at $39 per month, it isn't worth it for just a few books. With it you can avoid the $.99 commission that Amazon automatically takes but you will still pay the 15 percent commission on each sale. As a Pro Merchant you also have access to bulk loading software which makes it easier to handle a large number of listings.
On both Half.com and Amazon, you can check your seller account to see what has sold recently and to re-list additional copies of that title should you have more. You can also "go on vacation" with both sites, so that if you're out of town or unavailable to ship books, you won't be penalized. Both sites have seller ratings that buyers submit.
It's bad news if you get a bad rating from a buyer. Usually, buyers are unhappy if the book is slow to arrive or if it’s not in the condition you indicated. It pays to examine your books well and indicate up front any blemishes.
Where Do I Find Books To Sell
First Place To Start
You should be your first supplier. Do you have any unwanted books? If so, they should be your first offering. And don’t be shy about asking friends, neighbors or relatives if they have any books they would like to get rid of. Many times people accumulate tons of books and then, before they know it, they have more books than space. They can’t just throw them away… They’re books!! So, in most cases, they pile them in a closet, in the basement or in the attic. By taking them off their hands, you're actually doing them a favour.
Thrift Stores
When checking out thrift stores, you're looking for books in good (or repairable) condition. Mystery, true crime, sci-fi. These are the best, and if they're in really good shape you'll probably pay as much as a dollar each for them. However, you should be able to sell some for as much as $10 eachy.
There are a lot of gems in thrift stores. Ask the thrift store workers when the new books get put out, be there that day. Find out when they have their —Half Off Day sale, and be there. Try not to let them know that you're a dealer, visit no more than once a week, or better yet, every two weeks. If they know you're there to buy books to resell, they may start increasing the prices of their books. When you go out of town, hit the thrift stores (does that make the trip tax deductible? YOU BET!)
Flea Markets And Yard/Garage Sales
You kind find some real gems amongst the old tires, baby clothes and Apple computers.
Tip: If you find a large lot of books, I mean a LOT of books, that are in good shape and are marketable, skim the cream off, pick out five or ten of the best and buy them. Then talk to the owner (not the kid left in charge, the owner) and tell them that you're a book dealer and would be interested in buying the whole lot. Tell them you'll wait until they've sold what they can sell during their yard sale, and when it's over -I will call and we'll talk" about the sale of the whole lot. Pay the same as you would a dealer for overstock - ten cents to twenty-five cents each. BUT DON'T TALK MONEY THEN, be in a hurry, get their phone number and call them back early in the week. Leave the scene quickly. If, however, the owner's in a hurry to get rid of them, or hurting for cash and she/he offers you the entire collection for an insanely low price, don't be foolish, take the deal then and there. You don't want them to reconsider or change their minds.
Why do you (usually) want to wait? They'll want too much money during the sale. A couple of days after the sale, they're all bagged/boxed up for you to pick up, and it's hard for the untrained eye of the seller to see how many there are (but you remember don't you?), and they're taking up room in the garage again.
Learn to judge numbers of books by looking. Fill up a paper bag with books, then count them. Fill up a plastic bag with books and count them. Loosely fill, tightly fill. Memorize the numbers. These are the things that professional dealers know. I can fit a hundred paperback books in three paper bags, packed tight. Loose packed (like most people do) it's about half that.
At this point you're back at the ten to twenty-five cents each range. But you aren't going to say that. You're going to compute it in your head and offer a lump sum. If there's a hundred books there, offer $10. If the seller doesn't agree to that bring up some negatives to justify your low offer, —Business is slow now, market soft, books aren't in best of condition" etc. and in the same breath bump your offer up.
If it comes right down to it when negotiating, you have to be willing to walk away. Don't force a deal. There are plenty of books out there to buy.
Advertise
This is a good way to generate a lot of calls. Advertise in the local freebie give away type "newspaper.' Usually the general newspaper in your community is too expensive, and not worth it. Church newsletters, club newsletters, that kind of thing is usually very inexpensive, and productive. If you get ONE good hit from a twenty-dollar ad, it's well worth it. Don't dismiss flyers. You can design and print one out on your computer then photocopy a bunch. Put them in people's mail boxes, on car windshields, and anywhere there's a bulletin board.
Libraries
Some of the greatest profits can be made from ex-library books sold at local libraries. When libraries clean out their stock, they'll usually set up a table for the public to buy. If you’re not sure if your library sells discarded books, just ask them. They'll be able to tell you if they sell used books from their premises and when. If they don’t, ask them if they know of any local libraries that do.
Used Book Fairs
Book fairs can be found at large facilities such as your local shopping mall. This is an absolutely awesome place to accumulate a lot of books at one time.
Colleges And Universities
College and University students more often than not sell their textbooks once they've finished the course and/or the term. They're also usually in need of cash. Many college textbook sellers return to campuses at the end of the year and buy back textbooks for just pennies on the dollar. I remeber being offered $18 for a sociology textbook I paid over $100 for. Needless to say, I kept it, though I never read it again.
Get a jump on the competition. Put flyers up on campus bulletin boards or in the school newspaper offering to buy used books (not just textbooks). A lot of students have all kinds of books for courses, not just textbooks.
Choosing What Books To Sell
When you start looking for books to sell, you'll find an overwhelming mix of wonderful titles and subjects.
Bookselling sites give you the unique opportunity of finding the very person that wants to buy your book. Just about any book on any subject will sell on Amazon, Abe, Alibris, Barnes & Noble, and Half.com. To make your business easy to run and maximize your profits however, you'll need to choose books that will sell quickly at a good profit margin.
Fiction / Non-fiction
It's difficult to know exactly what books to buy and sell; fiction or nonfiction. These books are printed in the millions. A good example is autobiographies and biographies. These books are printed in massive amounts consequently saturating the market. So avoid popular fiction and buy mostly nonfiction books. Once in a while you'll stumble upon an out of print fiction / non-fiction that you can sell for a huge profit.
College Text / Reference Books
For a college student to purchase a brand new college book from the college bookstore can cost several hundreds of dollars. These students are looking to save a few dollars anyway they can. Colleges will tend to change their textbooks every two to three years which makes it difficult for the student to find the books they need for their classes. There are some dealers that specialize in selling just textbooks. However, buying earlier editions of a textbook can be risky and probably won’t sell. When searching for college books to buy and resale, look for books that are 3 years old or less.
Specialize
It's very important to not try to be all things to all people. It is important to find a niche within the book dealing industry and become VERY good at it. There are many dealers out there that deal in rare or vintage types of books, and make a fine living at it. But they know what they're doing. You should try to stick with an area you enjoy. If you like fantasy or sci-fi, perhaps start off selling just those types of books. If you're more of a non-fiction reader, then perhaps that would be a good place to start.
Top Selling Book Categories To Keep An Eye Out For
- Business
- Religion
- Spiritualism
- Self Help
- How To
- University, College Reference / Text Books
Hardcover or Paperback? Does It Matter?
The advantages of paperback books are quite simple. They're usually smaller in size and, in turn, lighter in weight which allows shipping costs to be less. A low shipping cost is much more attractive to the buyer which will also increase your profits. Also, since they are smaller, they are less heavy to carry on buying trips.
With that said, obviously the disadvantages of hardcovers are they tend to be larger and weigh more which will increase shipping costs for the buyer as well as for you the seller. Since they are larger, they will be heavier to carry while you are on your buying trips and they do take up more storage space.
The most important disadvantage of a hardcover book is that the sellers you purchase them from tend to think that they are worth more than paperbacks. Therefore, they will cost more for you to purchase which cuts into your profits.
Most times a popular fiction book will be a hardcover. As mentioned earlier, popular fiction whether hardcover or paperback is not a good category to sell. Nonfiction books in both hardcover and paperback should be your first choice.
Can A Book Really Be Judged By It's Cover
When searching for used books to purchase and resell you'll come across some that have clean and tidy covers, virtually in brand new condition while others may be creased or have a “well used” look. The “clean and tidy” books can be worthless while the “well used” books can be worth a considerable amount of money. Subject matter is what you should pay attention to.
How Much Should You Pay For Books
Value has many definitions. Webster defines value as —the worth of a thing, its purchasing power or worth in the open marketplace."
If a commodity doesn't sell it has no value. The book that you're thinking about purchasing has no value until the moment you buy it. And it has no value until the very moment you sell it. Merchandise on the shelf has the potential for value, but the value isn't realized or proven until it's sold. Your inventory on the shelf (or in your home office) has the potential for making money. However, it has no actual value until you sell it.
The Webster's definition uses that magic word —marketplace." Value is determined in the marketplace. In that definition (the macro-economic approach) you don't determine value. The seller doesn't determine value. The marketplace sets value. Many buyers and many sellers make up the marketplace. When you make an offer to a seller, you're only reporting in your expert opinion what the marketplace is telling you what the value is. You may need to explain this to a seller but usually they don't care. They just want to get as much as they can, and you want to pay as little as you can.
You need to sell for at least five times what you paid to make it worth your time and effort and investment. Most of the time you'll hit higher, sometimes you won't. It's a numbers game. Remember this: You make your money when you BUY your inventory.
Determining The Sale Price For Your Books
Pricing can be a very tricky endeavor. Pricing of books for sale on the internet is both an art and a science. It's important to price low enough to attract the attention of the prospective buyer, and high enough to provide you a fair profit. There's sometimes a very narrow margin between too low and too high. And you have to remember that your buyer also has to pay for shipping (or pay for it in the sale price).
The longer you're in this business, the more you'll begin to recognize certain titles that can be purchased cheaply, and sell quickly at just the right price at a very nice profit. Experience is going to be your best teacher. You're going to make mistakes. You're going to over-price some titles and under-price others. But you'll learn. As long as you don't under-price yourself right out of business, everything will be fine.
Final Comment
The internet has opened up many possibilities for individuals wanting to start their own home based book selling business. Many "professional" book dealers really dislike the entry of "amateur" dealers into their space. However, it presents a wonderful opportunity for those of us who love books to also profit from our passion. Although most of us won't reach the level of expertise that book dealers with long experience have, we owe it to our customers and the profession to learn as much as we can and to behave as professionally as possible.
Thanks to the internet, you really can have your own bookstore from your home! Between collectible books, and used books you can have a good time searching for books and enjoy an educational and satisfying career as a home based used (or collectible) book seller. As in all pursuits, success comes with diligent effort and patience.
Start slowly and build your expertise.
That's today's home business idea and overview. If you're a book lover, like I am, this would be a terrific business for you to start. And, don't forget, have fun in the process.
Until tomorrow,
Terry
