posted on August 24, 2001 08:12:37 PM
Thanks Misscandle I'll do that, and yes the Hooked on Phonics is still in great shape and all of the pieces are still there. However, there are a few pencil marks in some of the work books, but they can be erased. Thanks again I'll check the sources you recommended.
posted on August 24, 2001 08:39:09 PM
I have had a fair amount of luck with books but I still have a lot to learn.
I had a paperback book once I paid a half penny for and sold it for $100.
I am gonna try the trade thing - my paperback collection is out of control! Even if I just end up with some books my kids haven't read yet I will be ahead of the game.
Too bad the bottom dropped out of the video market - between my mom and I we have 25,000 of them
posted on August 25, 2001 04:33:15 AM
jmjones6061---$35 & 12$ for ROMANCE paperbacks??? YIKES! I don't what those titles were but when I checked on Amazon, even Danielle Steele books were getting way less. The books I see at flea markets and garage sales in the way of romance paperbacks all seem to get just about 75 cents online.
posted on August 25, 2001 05:20:52 AM
I think it's like anything else: most aren't worth much due to plentiful availability and/or low demand. Romances that are scarce and desirable will command higher prices. For example, I have a small list of authors/titles I watch for since I know people want them, but they are hard to find.
Experience is great: you start to build a mental database of what will sell, what won't. Many times when I go to sales now, I simply pick up the same books I've had success with in the past, and they aren't always the most obvious choices. For example, most Book Club editions aren't worth anything, but...some are. I don't know how anyone would know this except through bitter or happy experience in selling them.
keziak
P.S. don't forget buying at auction and re-selling. I've picked up some things at Yahoo and eBay for that.
posted on August 25, 2001 06:54:11 AM
I'll stick to mostly nonfiction since Romance books would be too difficult for me to learn......
Hey! I picked up a coffee table type book about Curly of the Three Stooges ("Curly: An Illustrated Biography of the Superstooge"this morning. It was only 25 cents. It will be interesting to see what it will be worth. For that price I can't lose plus it is a lot of fun leafing through it. Lots of funny pictures and illustrations about Curly's life.
It's just as Keziak said - you have to know the market. I've been selling paperback fiction for the past year and I do fairly well at it - Keziak does mostly non-fiction hardcovers and does well at it - the lesson is that we both know what will sell in our niches.
And sometimes it is just a gut feeling - the $35 book wasn't one I would normally have picked up, however I came into about 40,000 books that all I have in them is my time and effort, so eventually everything will be listed, traded or tossed.
I routinely get $5-10 for paperbacks on Amazon. And I would say that I sell at least 5-10 per week that are above $10. Sales get a little rarer above $25, but I do have quite a few of them. And since paperbacks are cheap (I also have 2 places that sell them for a dime a piece), I am happy with the results. I spent $4 there yesterday for 40 books - two sold overnight totalling $19.50. I did not list any of them for under $5 (it was a pretty good day).
Although, I do have some dogs listed at $1.50. Those are usually the Danielle Steel type that were so mass produced that there are literally thousands of copies floating around. I won't list anything below $1.50 - it just isn't worth the effort to me - I'd rather donate them to the local thrift.
Besides the bookselling for idiots threads here, we also have a list on yahoogroups and there is another discussion board run by the person who started the original bookselling threads if you want any more advice, etc (I don't know if I can name where the board is or not - not sure if it is considered a competitor).
posted on August 26, 2001 03:44:44 AM
I think I'll stick with what I know best. Romance books are out for me since I am almost totally unfamiliar with them. Not too crazy about fiction in general. Therefore I'll stick with nonfiction.
If only there were more nonfiction available out there. Most of my sources have about a 10 to 1 ratio of fiction to nonfiction.
posted on August 26, 2001 05:02:23 AM
The beauty of the bookstore-trade option is that you don't need to know values. You just need to find out what the bookstore wants to take to give trade credit.
For example, my local store is run by know-nothings who work from a list the owner provided with date ranges for the most part. So they throw away tons of valuable older books because they are too "old". Stuff like first edition P.G. Wodehouse and other "trash". : - 0
When I scrounge for them, I look for romances in nice shape that are 0-3 years old, paperback nonfiction on topics like health that don't bring much online, and fairly recent hardcover non-fiction in areas I don't deal in, such as political science.
posted on August 26, 2001 06:58:09 AM
As far as kids books go, if anyone out there comes across an "Arty the Smarty", you better grab it. I sold my kid's 2 copies for well over $50 each at two separate times on eBay.
this morning. It was only 25 cents. It will be interesting to see what it will be worth. For that price I can't lose plus it is a lot of fun leafing through it. Lots of funny pictures and illustrations about Curly's life.