Selling used books for profit

Is there really a market for used books?

Where can you find the books to resell?

Yes, to all of these questions. Book buyers are everywhere, and among them is a large group that enjoys a bargain. Most second hand bookstores have been around a while, but it is a market that always seems to have room for one more player, especially one who offers top quality. The Internet has given the used book buyer and seller several exciting new options to pursue their craft. First though, lets look at where you can find your product, good quality used books, to sell.

Most people who are going to sell something are either going to make the item they are marketing, or have a wholesale outlet lined up to purchase directly from. Neither of these options will work for the used bookseller. You need to get out there and find the books. Your main goal should be to make money, so that means you need to find these books at a good price. Low enough that when you resell, usually at no more than half of the originals cover price, you will still make a hefty profit. Lets look at some places to find books at affordable prices:

Goodwill or St. Vincent DePaul

Rummage sales

Sidewalk sales (great place to find coffee table books that gift shops so often carry)

Discount tables at bookstores

Friends who are cleaning and would otherwise throw away their books

Run an ad in your local paper offering to pick up books (Many people read so much that they accumulate to the point that, though they feel guilty throwing all those books out, they will willingly ‘give’ them away)

Ok, you are ready to get out to these places and buy some books. Do you buy everything that you see just because it is cheap? No! With the exception of books that are given to you free, be fussy about what you buy. No matter how cheap you get a book for, if you can not resell it, it is not only wasted money, it will also take up valuable space. Books that you receive free can be gone through once you get them home or back to your store. Do not be overly fussy with these, so that the giver will willingly call you next time they have some unwanted books. Look for books that are in good condition, covers on, and clean. Recent best sellers or books by familiar authors are always good bets. Children’s books in good shape always seem to sell well. Older books that have time dated material, which is now clearly outdated, are usually bad buys, unless they are of collectible value for some other reason. Old encyclopedia sets are rarely, if ever, worth the bother to buy. When buying and selling older books, you need to develop an idea of what will sell and what will not. Don’t worry, this will come after you have done this for a while.

Now that you have an inventory built up, what do you do with them? A used bookstore, if in a good location, is a good choice. Look for a clean, easily accessible building. You will need startup money ranging from a few thousand on up if you go this route though. In addition, this can be a time consuming choice, as someone will always need to be running the store. Look into any information you can find on a small business startup if going this route.

Thanks to the Internet, you can sell your product through several other, more affordable, ways, not to mention much less time consuming. The following options can all be done at the end of a typical workday or in a few weekend hours. Some of the bigger online stores have programs where they will buy used books from the public to resell themselves. The best way to find these is to read the information each online site offers on their informational pages. Even they have realized there is a market for ‘quality used books’.

Some online outlets allow you to sell from their established front end. Different from auctions, which we will get to in a minute, because you list books and keep an inventory as you would if you were running your own bookstore. An example of this would be an online site called Half.com. At half.com, after registering, you list by author or ISBN number what books you have available. You need to provide the condition of the book and be able to ship, usually within twenty-four hours of receipt of order. They bring the customers, they collect money from the customer, you ship, and they pay you once a month for any product you have sold. This site even reimburses you part of the shipping costs. Another benefit of a site like this is, they offer a place for customers to list comments on those sellers they have dealt with. This allows you to build a customer base. This is perfect though, as it is a good draw for customers. Keep in mind this is only an example though, and a little bit of searching online will possibly net you several opportunities like Half.com.

Online auctions are an excellent way to sell your inventory also. A few sites that come to mind include the ever-popular Ebay and Yahoo auctions. Both of these sites, along with numerous others, will allow you to sell to a huge customer base. Books can be listed into several different categories. Children’s, fiction, non-fiction, even antique and rare. These places usually charge a fee to list the item and an additional fee upon sale. Because of this, keep in mind the appeal of books before you purchase and list them. The idea is to make money. Also, keep in mind shipping costs when setting your prices, or list an additional charge for shipping. Book rate can usually be used and will save you and the buyer money.

No matter which route you decide to take, if you seriously want to make money selling used books, you can do it!