If you are a book lover you probably have a large personal library. Maybe even some signed First Editions. But as we all know, used bookstores are vanishing and with them gone the possibility of selling your books for a little extra cash grows smaller.
On the other hand, the online market for reselling books is growing stronger especially if you are willing to part with your autographed First Editions by famous authors. Books that are First Editions only–without a signature–are less likely to sell on Ebay or Amazon unless they are rarities. I know this because I recently offered some of my books for sale online. Some sold; others did not. I was advised by the woman overseeing the online book sales for the Friends of the Library: “Only keep them listed for one month. Then take them down. Remove the listing, if it hasn’t sold.” (Of course, you would remove listings immediately for every book you sell!)
While selling my books on Ebay, I “met” some of the other booksellers online and learned that price is everything. One old timer who has a longstanding online bookstore, gave me a good piece of advice: ” Whatever price you set is probably near the price it will sell. Don’t list for 99 cents, in hopes that there will be multiple bids to drive the price up. It won’t happen.”
Another bit of advice: It was after the sale of a signed limited edition book by actor Dennis Hopper on Amazon that I realized how big of a fee I had to pay: 30% of sales price and it was sold for hundreds of dollars. Ouch! Books I sold on Ebay had no listing fee and I paid only 10% of the selling price. That’s learning the hard way!
A Real Life Retirement
One retiree, John, is making a very tidy supplementary income selling used books and he has been doing it for years. He turns the used book market on its head by buying books very cheaply online and selling them for a fixed price in upscale flea markets, high end swap meets and even one farmers’ market.
His booth has a big sign that reads: “No Book Over $5”. Over the years he knows exactly which books his customers like and every book he sells is in nearly perfect new condition. That phrase, “nearly new”, is a key to his success. A book that was a $27 best seller a few months ago and now on sale for $5 is a great deal. All sales are cash only, so he does not have the extra expense for credit card sales.
He also has a section for children’s books at $1. What parent would turn down a chance to buy a $1 book in perfect new condition for their child? And while they are waiting around as the child selects a book, they often end up browsing his tables and buying a book or two for themselves.
A Sad Note: I recently learned that after years of being an iconic used book seller, John passed away. He was and is greatly missed. And, the last I heard, no one has stepped in to replace his popular used book business in open air markets in Southern California. RIP.
