posted on January 25, 2001 04:30:22 PM
This is a good move on their part... It will attract more (and better) sellers for books. The severe undercutting - books for a penny, for example - led people like me to say, "Why bother?"
"My possessions are causing me suspicion." - Neil Finn
posted on January 25, 2001 05:36:36 PM
That's fantastic news! I had pulled the bulk of my books off when the new format went into effect because I felt that nobody would go beyond their first screen with all the penny auctions. Maybe there's hope after all!
posted on January 25, 2001 06:00:14 PM
I actually do understand precisely how one could a hold of books to re-sell at a penny a piece, so I understand that part of it.
What I do NOT understand, is how they can possibly justify putting alla that money into postage for the penny sale, when they won't be reimbursed for sooooooo long.
If a seller gets one cent for the book, and mails it for $1.30, and waits two weeks to receive the $1.76 total from half for a grande total gross profit of forty-six cents - i dunno, I don't feel comfortable with the prospects of having 100s of dollars wrapped up in 2-B-reimbursed shipping costs.
posted on January 25, 2001 09:32:43 PM
Jake: What an interesting point you make! Fact is, I don't have a clue, but I sure hope one of the lawyers or someone with experience about the legalities & illegalities of price fixing shows on up.
There are a tremendous number of old paperbacks which have cover prices that are simply itsy-bitsy, and thus it is NOT *wise* to insist upon HALF prices.
Indeed, in my browsing at Half, I realized that many sellers must not realize how many cities in America have lotsa USED BOOKSTORES, who do not necessarily use the "half of cover price" in their re-sale of used books.
When you buy a book in a 3-D store in your local community, you may have to pay sales tax, but there is NO shipping/handling --- and so, ON OCCASION... it is wise to realize that tacking a couple bucks onto a book priced precised at half-price ENSURES THAT IT WILL NOT SELL, -- particularly if it is a title which was very very popular and thus went through many printings.
These kind of books aren't needed by used book stores as they are SO easy to come across; since the used bookstores don't grab 'em, they'll available at all the thrifts and garage sales.
However, on the otherhand, there is a HUGE stretch of sea-to-shining-sea which is essentially RURAL and the nearest towns do NOT have well stocked used bookstores.
So you see, ANY thing one can say about the sale of used books invariably brings up the consideration of its diametric opposite.
posted on January 25, 2001 11:48:37 PM
I have a suspicion that these penny dealers are collecting info off their buyers. a penny a piece is a pretty sweat deal.
Has anyone bought a 1 cent book?
after you recieved it did you find your mail box with junk mail or "special ofers" from that sellers business?
http://www.lovepotions.net
posted on January 26, 2001 10:49:56 AM
tomwiii: 2 to 3 books A WEEK ???
I've been selling more than that D-A-I-L-Y at Half.com -- ah, on those days when I feel fully assured that I am healthy enuff to do the wrap, pack and stand in line at the post office the NEXT day.
Consequently, I "go on vacation" FREQUENTLY, as you see, from all the messages I read on so many boards, I was lead to believe that books don't sell at Half.com.
I am quite pleased with steady sales at Half --- however, due to my NOT having a clue that my titles would be in demand, I assure you that I did NO, NOT ANY, absolutely z-i-p of a "cash flow analysis" of how much monies I must have in reserve in order to handle shipping.
Indeed, I read elsewhere, that one person turned OFF the Priority Mail option, after paying $8 to ship a book via PM.
I would NEVER list ANYTHING at amazon.NOTcom, and I sincerely feel that that, IMO, miserable abomination upon the retail landscape of our land is *about* to implode, and not a moment toooooo soon, if you ask me - which of course you didn't.
Half.com has a co-branding deal with buy.com, where alla the half mdse will be available for purchase -- which is really k-e-w-L, as buy.com runs MANY specials, always has coupon codes out in cyberspace, and at buy.com, NEW books co$t LE$$ than at amazon.NOTcom.
Don't get me wrong -- I am more than a little bit f-u-r-i-o-u-s with half.com, whom I presumed had the sense to hire some EXPERTS, like retired librarians and people with HANDS ON ACTUAL EXPERIENCE WITH SECONDHAND BOOKS AND THEIR RE-SALE.
I would NEVER EVER EVER remain in this were I only selling 4-6 books per week, much less 2-3.
p.s., in fact I even found new homes for a large number of books which were simply boxed away and stored, awaiting my dumping them off at a donation pick-up spot.
I was AMAZED that what I considered to be unmarkable, UNSELLABLE items were s-o-l-d after their listing at Half.
posted on January 26, 2001 11:35:05 AM
WELL!
Excuuuuuuuuuuuuuse ME! (ala Steve Martin)!
Hey, radh nice to see ya back! I was worried you had gone back to Venus or Neptune... dada...bing!
But, on a lighter note (ohoh! Tom's fat-bashing again!), I read a book; I stick it up for sale on Marketplace. That way, it don't cost poor ole Uncle Tom too much moola to read his novels. I'm awake 21hrs/day due to post-injury pain & the reading of the books & the reading of these boards (even HCQ!) keeps me sane, trim, and happy as a pig in %$%$!
posted on January 26, 2001 11:36:48 AM
lovepotions: I have never purchased, nor priced a book for a PENNY at Half.
However, I must admit that I was considering the SAME - simply as part of my contribution to the imminent demise of amazon.NOTcom which I l-o-a-t-h-e.
However, I cannot justify the POSTAGE MONIES mandatory to give away free books.
AND, you see, I assure you that I will NEVER ever ever ever be financed by the Vulture Capitalists of our nation, who funded and developed the late great Big Internet FREEBIE Give Away, in their stooooooooopid efforts at mirage (or is it *miasma*) called "branding", and in their stooooooopid attempts to overthrow the UNSTOPPABLE, the uncrushable, the invincible eBay.
I am NOT a doctor, merely an "end user" -- have you ever heard of a product called JOINTRITIS?
It's about $20, and worth every single cent.
EVERY single type of ache or pain for any human being in this domicile DISAPPEARS within minutes with the application of Jointritis, which has an absorbable form of glucosomine.
I've been using it to eradicate the PAIN I am in from a miserable case of severe carpal tunnel syndrome from trying to list books at Half.com, to restock my paultry inventory there.
posted on January 26, 2001 03:50:29 PM
No, Tom, I had NO idea.
And this over-the-counter Jointritis, the testimonials are SO astounding, that they are unbelievable; however, on 9 times out of 10, whenever any of us here have used it FOR ANYTHING in pain, the sensation of pain DISAPPEARS within minutes, and sometimes NEVER ever returns......
Believe me, i dunno why it works SO well, sometimes...
Kessinger Publishing also started listing its entire inventory of books. They are strictly a REPRINT publisher, and they deduct 20% off the retail (full price) for their sales at Half.com.
Each time I've noticed any entry for them, it always says 50+ copies listed, and so -- although there are lots more titles at Half, I think the growth REALLY substantially represents alla the BIG bookstores that now are using it.
posted on January 26, 2001 07:06:57 PM
radh ...
It was my wild and misspent youth, wherein I did damage to lots of tendons from overexertion and accidents. They are loaded with scar tissue and I'm prone to "overuse tendonitis" and pronator teres syndrome. It's catching up with me, especially when a storm front moves through.
The doc said it was a pity I wasn't a racehorse: he could put me out to pasture or shoot me if I were. But they're quite conservative about treatment, and it's manageable, but not cureable.
I'll check out the JOINT-RITIS and see what it does.
posted on January 27, 2001 05:40:17 AM
Greetings and salutations,
First off let me state I have been lurking for quite sometime and thoroughly enjoy
the exchange of information that transpires on this message board. I delight in the
camaraderie, the exchange of information and the helpfulness of the people here to answers questions and offer advice when needed.
With that said I’d like to put my two cents in regarding half.com. Like many here after reading a great
deal of negative comments regarding half.com and being notified that sales weren’t to great there I was
tempted not even to bother with them as a buyer or seller. However I came into a huge book deal and needed an avenue to distribute the books without going broke in advanced listing fees. I was new to book selling and didn’t want to chalk up a large bill on eBay listing books.
Thus my first experience with half.com. I started listing books there on 11/1/2000. My first month I sold 23
books and frankly was more than disappointed at the results. Some of my books were listed at .01 ONLY due to the competition who had listed their books before me at such ridiculously low prices. After understanding how I could still make a few cents profit per book through half.com’s shipping reimbursement program I thought what the heck I’d try it. So I have listed books at a penny, have sold them and turned a small profit on them.
December went a little better. From 12/1/2000 – 12/ 15 I sold 29 books with gross sales of $150.40. This was starting to get my attention. From 12/16 – 12/31 I sold 38 more books for a total of 67 book sales for the month. January has been spectacular. As I learn more about pricing and the “how to “ of half.com I have sold 197 books so far for the month. Needles to say I am learning and becoming much more pleased with this venue.
By the way, since I read so many pro’s and cons about Half.com and Amazon.com I decided to try them both. I have been extremely disappointed with Amazon. Lately every time I check in on my computer I have sales from Half.com while Amazon is few and far between.
In closing I’m not 100% satisfied with Half.com. I don’t like everything they do or how they do it but they have paid me on time exactly when they said they would. I’m selling books and that is the “bottom line” for me. Money is money I don’t care where it comes from as long as the orders keep coming. Of course additional time will paint a much better picture. For now it works. I don’t know how Half.com’s new policy of a minimum .75 fee will influence those penny booksellers but I for one didn’t appreciate selling books for a penny or a dime.
I guess the best bet is when in doubt, don’t knock it, try it. Don’t go by one persons experience, make your own experience. What works for someone else may not work for you. I guess that’s why there are so many different auction sites on the Internet. While some come and go, others are hanging in there each offering it’s own unique opportunities to sellers. Weed out the ones that don’t work by trying them otherwise you’ll never really know for sure if they don’t work for YOU. If I went only by what I’ve read on message boards I’m sure I wouldn’t have tried half.com and would be out a fair amount of money right now.
kolonel22: Thank YOU, thank YOU, thank YOU for stepping forward with your personal experiences at 1/2.com.
I cannot begin to describe HOW APPRECIATIVE I am of the VERY important information contained in your post.
Indeed, I will be reading your post aloud to some of my friends and family -- who are VERY aware that I was *horrified* by the GREAT SALES I experience this month at Half, and you see....... I have seriously been fearing that somehow or another, someone/s were SABOTAGING my Half.com selling accounts, and that I'd be OUT, not merely the postage of shipment, but OUT the actual books, and time/energy spent listing and packaging them for shipment.
I had to turn OFF all my accounts, as you see, I read everywhere that there were NO sales at Half, and thus I had made NO provisions to be covering ANY postage monies, simply assuming I'd be fortunate if one or two titles sold every fortnight there.
posted on January 27, 2001 09:56:07 AM
kolonel22: I'm curious, how many books do you have listed to be selling that many per month?
I've noticed that certain titles will sell better on Amazon, while others sell better on Half. I usually list the same title on both sites, if it sells then I delete it from the other site.
kolonel22: thank YOU, yet again, for sharing this detailed information.
On what *should* have been an upbeat occasion, I required assistance from friends to get three HUGE bags of packages to the USPS for shipment, and really it was NOT upbeat, not at all, as from what I'd read everywhere, "...books do NOT sell at Half..." and so I could only logically assume the WORST, that my sales were NOT merely an anomoly, but no, some of the same individuals who utterly sabotaged my online auctions to the point of financial disaster had somehow ferreted out my accounts on the ANONYMOUS Half.com and I would never be able to afford medicine this year, either.
I am STILL waiting for returned books and nasty negative FBs, but so far, noooooooooo.....
Since you are also having very decent sales at Half, perhaps my worries are for naught, and based on inaccurate data.
posted on January 27, 2001 10:34:46 AM
Kolonel22: Ever more and more BIG book stores are listing their entire inventory at the Half.com database, and Half.com was the THIRD most popular shopping destination this past holiday season, (eBay was #1), and since this fact was reported in news articles ALL OVER, both online and offline -- there will simply continue to be an INCREASE in book sales there.
I simply had NO idea that Half.com was a v-i-a-b-l-e place to sell books, so I was not, not ever, expecting the results I experienced.
posted on January 27, 2001 11:34:36 AM
It's interesting to see the spectrum of success at Half.com and Amazon. Kolonel and Radh have been doing well (Radh, I'm calling it "well" although I know it was too much for you given the once a month reimbursement). Myself, I did poorly at Half.com for six months (listed about 100 books, sold about 10). I changed to Amazon and have been there for three months. Listed the same books I had had sitting on Amazon (leftovers from Ebay 2000--stuff I didn't sell after trying 2x) and was thrilled to see them go. I'm guessing that in three months I've sold about 40 to 50 books. These aren't items I am really trying to make money at---just leftovers that would otherwise go into the thrift store donation box because I didn't get my minimums on Ebay.
I am wondering if it might have to do with types of books. Would you two be willing to share the types of books you're listing on Half?
The books I have listed are 90% non-fiction. Most are about 5-10 years old and most are somewhat scholarly, although they are not textbooks. examples of recently sold books include: (I'm paraphrasing on the titles)
Anthology of Diaries of Pioneer Women on the Road West
A biography of Carl Jung
A biography of Emma Goldman
Thai Buddhism history
Queries and Submission Letters for the Freelance Writer
a biography of a Victorian-era criminal, Adam Worth
Nine Stories from California Indian Tribal Folklore
Politics in the Middle East since 1950
I'd love to get an idea of the types of books that sold for you on Half. The books above were all listed on Half at 4 to 6 dollars and went nowhere. I listed them on Amazon at 6 to 8 dollars (to offset the higher final fee) and they went quickly.
If this question is too personal regarding sales, of course you aren't obliged to answer.
posted on January 27, 2001 12:21:46 PM
Kim ...
Books that do well on half.com are those where the title and author are already well-known. Books that do badly are those that really NEED a search of keywords and a good description.
Kim: among the huge variety of different books that I listed, MANY of them are the type of non-fiction you depict in your list.
However, I stay clear of any POLITICAL SCIENCE books, particularly of recent date. Perhaps if I run across one in FINE condition which is also old enuff to perhaps arouse the interest of a graduate student, then I *might* be interested.
You know, perhaps the sales started to soar after you left, i dunno!
Biographies EVENTUALLY find a reader who wants the specific one you list for sale. NOW, realize, that this CAN/might present a problem to the online seller, as ALL offline used bookdealers keep their shelves chock full of biographies ------ so, depending upon the precise title, how many printings, the fame of the person written about -- the biography MAY be so readily available EVERYWHERE that it actually does justify a penny pricetag were one to try to sell it at Half.
However, if the biography did not go through dozens of printings, and it is not readily available through the remainder warehouses, then typically, there EVENTUALLY is a market for it in the USED BOOKS arena.
abacaxi: plenty of the sales that I was able to afford to ship, ((LOL!!)) - I am absolutely certain were on people's wish lists, and that they were surprised that anybody even listed them - so, no, they were NOT popular, not by ANY conceivable means.
You see, there is a GREAT problem in selling POPULAR titles, unless they are one single copy you originally purchased for yourself.
You see, MINT copies of NICE books which are available for the general public at slashed prices, typically announce that the big remainder houses have 1000s of the exact same book, which they are selling from 4-10 bucks a piece.
posted on January 27, 2001 01:03:22 PM
well, it may have just been the timing. Could be that if I tried again now, I'd do better. Most of the books I've sold have been similar to the type I listed, and since i have another boxful of 'em I may as well keep going with Amazon. I prefer Amazon's search, as well as their policy of letting each party know the other's email address.
This has cost amazon a few sales, since I have had people contact me directly (my screen name is my email address) and have sold "behind their backs" if they initiated that. I'm too lazy to do it on my own, but I'm sure some people have a tendancy to do so. But most of the time it's been in Amazon's favor to help me sell books...
Did I just imagine it, or did I see a detailed breakdown somewhere once, showing how Amazon makes more off our used books on Marketplace than they do off of new book sales?
Actually, the independent book publishing/bookstore magazine I subscribe to is having a fit about used-book sellers on Amazon. I'm amazed to realize that to them, I'm "part of the problem". Wonder if I should write in and tell them they have a traitor in their midst?? lol.
posted on January 27, 2001 05:16:33 PM
I would share details of recent sales but I really can't think of any trends that show that certain books do well on half vs Amazon or vice versa.
Most of the time I list on BOTH sites simultaneously and when I get a sale, delete from the other site.
ARCs go on half.com exclusively because AMazon has a rule against them.
Last week I found 2 copies of a brand-new novel in the freebie bin at the used book store, and within a day sold one on half and one on Amazon, for great prices. My only regret is that I left a third copy of the book in the bin because I had too many books to carry out!
I am such a happy camper these days. The world is full of books, and lots of people are buying them, if the price is nice
