People have many books that they have read once or not even read at all. These books are discarded with other wastes, left on public places, sold at the auction, or given out to a thrift shop. Now, we are going to find out how to make money selling books in the next couple of paragraphs so stay with me!
You can make some profit by selling books online; however, it requires hard work, persistence, and staying motivated even when you don’t sell a copy in a week. Further, getting specialist knowledge will help you get the right books and match them with waiting customers.
You can collect used books from friends, family, thrift stores, garage sales, craigslist, ebay.com, and Amazon.com.
The article will provide you in-depth information on how you can make money by selling books.
Types of Secondhand Books to Sell
As stated above, you need to acquire specialist knowledge on the basics of selling books online. The first principle is to understand the type of books to sell online. There are 4 types of secondhand books you can sell online.
1.??? Textbooks
There is an extensive market for used textbooks. The secondary market for higher education textbook stood at $5.5 billion in 2014. That means there is a lot of money that you can make today in this disjointed used books marketplace.
Most of these textbook sales are made in colleges whereby existing students sell their textbooks to a new student joining the institution.
On the other hand, there are plenty of people buying and selling secondhand textbooks online through Amazon and eBay. Thus, you can buy a cheap book at eBay, turn around and sell it to a waiting customer on Amazon. You can also buy and sell directly to students if you live near a college town.
For that reason, you can make money by selling used textbooks on Amazon.com, eBay.com, BookScouter.com, Textbooks.com, Chegg.com, AbeBooks, and CampusBookRentals.com.
2.??? Out of Print Secondhand Books
These are books you find in the thrift store or old bookstore. Run-of-the-mill books won’t give you a lot of profits. You may buy a copy at $1 and sell it at $5, but you have to pay for packaging and shipping, thus leaving you with few coins.
These books are long-tail because you can only sell a few copies each month. It will be worse if there is another seller with the same book.
- Modern First Edition Books
These are editions that were published 30-40 years ago. Some individuals consider them as a collectible for their favorite books or authors. Others are willing to pay a premium for a book that might be regarded as a collectible in the future.
A modern-day first edition can be sold as collectible while books whose first editions are much older are sold at a higher price. These early editions can be sold between $5 and $50 per piece.
4.??? Collections and Antique Books
Collections are diverse and include comic art collections like classic comic strips, underground comics, graphic novels, and rare books dating the eighth century. Their rarity and condition determine the value of these books.
Tips to Successful Book-Selling
- You must be professional.
- Make sure your ads have a proper description of your book.
- The books should be in the best condition as much as possible.
- Price your books competitively.
- Mail a sold book promptly.
Where to Sell Used Books
Several websites allow you to sell your secondhand books. The most popular platforms are AbeBooks, Amazon, and eBay.
Any person can engage in online bookselling and still make money. You’re only required to list your books for sale on these sites and state their ask price. You should ensure that your price is competitive to help make regular sales.
A book pricing app and a portable Bluetooth scanner can help you to find and price your books easily.
Where to find books online to fill your stock
A successful bookselling business can give you a considerable profit when you have sufficient stock. You can increase your inventory by buying cheap secondhand books from charity shops and thrift stores. The only challenge is that your achievable prices will be visible on the internet, making it difficult to find hidden gems.
It?s not always true that an old book is valuable nether is a new version valueless. Many people look for newly published books; thus, their demand is higher than the supply. Specializing in a given field will help you understand what has value and what is valueless. It’s essential to continue learning more and persist in this business
Another source of large book collections is the house clearances and auctions. People are holding huge volumes of books, and even relatives of the deceased may be seeking ways to clear their homes. Thus, you can benefit from collecting such books, instead of being dumped. You may retrieve a few gems from the trash which you can sell at a profit.
How to Price the Books Reasonably
Ordinary books, rare and collectible, are priced based on the following factors.
The Condition of the Book: It should be clean, and has no missing pages.
The Edition and Publisher: Recent textbooks will sell quickly while the first editions can be classified as a collectible when they are between 30-40 years from their print date.
Postage and Shipping Costs: These fees should be indicated in advance. Further, since books are heavy, most buyers want their copies delivered to them. Therefore, you should calculate the shipping costs correctly and factor that in the price.
Thus, all your books should be priced reasonably, include your outgoings and some profits.
Books with Significant Monetary Value
Rare and antique books are listed in a specialist market, and their prices are not determined merely by the condition of the book but by the performance of other investment markets. Certain investors are ready to buy even in a recession while others keep off the market.
Low-interest rates affect investment classes; thus, the value of antiques and collectibles like books tends to rise during this period.
Selling textbooks is another profitable niche because students are required to have digital or hardcopies every semester.
Conclusion
The article has taught you how to make money selling books. Any person can participate in this business. Thus, if you have any books that you think have a unique value, then you can email an image of the cover and a few key pages to a specialist book trader or an auction house.
You can also begin buying and selling textbooks to students. The option is lucrative because students must have new books every semester. Thus, they need to dispose of old textbooks and buy the current ones.
Therefore, you can do business online in platforms such as eBay, Amazon, or deal with students in a local institution, or auction house near you.
