posted on July 16, 2001 01:20:30 PM
I know this probably belongs in the Amazon section, but that bulletin board is pretty inactive.
I am wondering how the integration of the "serious" used book site inventories into sites like half and Amazon are going to muddy the water for us in determining values on ebay. Lately I keep running into listings on Amazon, in particular, where the prices are just beyond anything.
Case in point. I picked up a history book at a used bookstore. It's nice, but nothing that earthshaking. I think I even OWN this book somewhere. It's a 1979 hardcover on Egypt. Anyway, two copies sold without DJ on ebay recently for $9.99 BIN which seems like nice money until you look at Amazon...where the only listing for this OP book is for $76!
I have found other books listed for hundreds of dollars...but no evidence from ebay that they would get that. In one case after listing on ebay and Amazon with no bites, I just dropped the price on one of these to $25 or something and got a sale right away...from a buyer who was so unnerved by the price discrepency that he emailed me to ask if it was a first edition. [it was]
So I dunno about this Egypt book. Maybe split the difference and list on ebay with a $25 minimum or reserve?
posted on July 16, 2001 05:49:10 PM
Several thoughts:
1) From some research, assuming I correctly identified the book you're discussing, the high-priced Amazon copy is actually signed by the author. Their listing on Amazon omits this information but their listing on another site includes this. Also, there are several copies of the book on Amazon in a listing WITHOUT the author's name included, for as low as $15.00 and on www.abebooks.com there are copies starting at about $14.
2) For many (but not all) books, eBay is not a good venue to get something resembling the "full" price of a book. With only a week or 10 days to find bidders, items for which the demand is low (even if they have value due to low supply) may simply go unnoticed/under-noticed, particularly if the lister doesn't know the correct "angles" to play up for the book. If you're willing to wait weeks, months, or years for the "right" buyer for your book, you can afford to price it higher on a listing service. Time is money.
3) When in doubt, check ABE or AddAll or some other site like that. ABE has well over 20 million books in their dealers' inventories. You can get a rough feel for the value of a book just by looking out there. But, don't forget, the books you see out there are the ones whose prices no one has been willing to pay... yet.
posted on July 16, 2001 08:19:27 PM
HI Ohio - I can't tell if we are discussing the same book [It's "Egypt Before the Pharaohs"] but I agree with your points.
I basically posted this as a "thinking out loud" question because the whole issue of pricing and valuing books for selling on ebay is a continual conundrum for me. I just think having "ABE"-type priced books showing up on Amazon and half.com will make it harder to figure out what to expect to get, starting prices, or whatever.
I happened to pick up this weekend two more books - vastly different - but both of them are listed for sale for over $100 on Amazon or ABE. But all that tells me is that some book dealers out there hope to get that much for them some day. I still don't know for sure how to price the copies I have for sale, given no track record on ebay for either of them.
posted on July 16, 2001 08:52:32 PM
Yes, we were discussing the same book. I was pretty certain but didn't want to "name names" since it was your book...
I think you can develop a feel for how realistic the ABE/Amazon (realizing that a lot of that is ex-Bibliofind) pricing is over time. The next piece of the puzzle is trying to figure out how that will translate to eBay. That can be a challenge, but again I think with experience, a pretty good feel can be gotten for that part as well.
It's certainly not a science but the good news is that it's pretty cheap to put a book out there for $24.99 or $49.99 and see if anyone bites.
I'm curious, do you sell on Amazon or any of the other fixed-price sites? I would tend to think of them as being more of the "real world" prices and eBay's as being "fire sale, gotta-move-it-right-now" prices with, of course, some exceptions.
posted on July 16, 2001 09:33:30 PM
ebay books get no respect.
half.com is pathetic,ebay in general is very sick right now.too many of anything everything and no one makes any money.
it is correct,on ebay you have 7-10 days to catch some bidder's attention on your book,on other sites,you can wait for the right person come along and buy it.
ebay is becoming a clearance site and some sites have become a source of such ebay clearance,less trafficked sites where the dealers list something and not answer email,not mind the store.
they dont know someone has stolen their picture,lock in the item with a buy order and list it on ebay word for word with his picture.
posted on July 16, 2001 10:25:56 PM
Book site prices are often in the twinkie zone, but very often, so are many listings on half and eBay.
I have gotten fabulous prices for some books on eBay, better than eBay prices on half, and also the reverse. It depends on the book and the timing--the right bidders (often a newbie or two) can drive the price up.
While some prices are depressed, I find I do better if I start with a very modest minimum on eBay.
You also have to play the averages. If 80% or more of my books sell for at least 3-4X what I pay for them, there's enough income to keep the ship afloat. I aim for 5-10X my purchase price.
If you think about it, a book's real value is seldom appreciated. People complain that a scholarly work in the $35-50 range is so high. If it represents decades of study and years of special research (much less all that writing and editing), it is being given away even at retail.
posted on July 17, 2001 03:11:50 AM
Taking this thread a little off topic, where would you list an old genealogy book? I tried to give it to a family member and got no reply, so I assume he is deceased.
This would have such limited interest that an auction doesn't seem like it would give it enough time.Genealogy boards haven't turned up the name.
It would seem a shame to let a book compiled in 1898 of a man and his descendants from 1688 to 1898 go into oblivion.
posted on July 17, 2001 04:41:12 AM
deco: one idea I have is to use the family name and state or region in the title. I haven't sold a lot of genealogy, but I did sell one about a West Virginia family that way.
Thanks, everyone, for the dialog. I find that I can't make any categorical statements about the sites, except that for the past couple of months, half.com has become increasingly worthless for me. I used to get checks for well over $100 every two weeks; the last one was for $12 I think. Amazon seems to perk along better.
For my usual books, I don't have much trouble with pricing. One of our members, bibliofile, encouraged me to use higher starting bids, and this has proven to be a real money-maker for me. [though I haven't had the guts so far to use his other advice about reserves and lots of relisting!]
It's just the occasional "out there" book that throws me. Do I ignore the "ABE" price and just try to get a decent markup on what I paid [which is usually next to nothing]? And be happy with my $10 profit? Or list for the $150 on Amazon Marketplace and let it sit for 2 years?
I do find it's the "book with a hook" that really gets the money on ebay. I'll list more generic stuff when I'm in the mood to just move it out at my low starting bid. Otherwise I'll park them on the fixed-price sites and for the most part they do move. I've never had an inventory at any given time of more than maybe 200 books, yet the income stream is very satisfactory, so I'm very bullish on the book market overall.
posted on July 17, 2001 06:59:24 AM
Deco100....if you can't find a buyer for that book consider donating it. Most areas of the country have good genealogy libraries run by genealogy societies...or donate it to the LDS family history center in Salt Lake City.
The library in Salt Lake City is a huge treasure trove of genealogy material that is visited by many, many people every day and your book would have the exposure needed to keep it from sinking into oblivion.
posted on July 17, 2001 07:27:32 AM
Trying to wait for the "big sale" as opposed to a much faster decent markup ignores the fact that you have to pay the bills every month. I do not know how some of these high price sellers make their ends meet waiting for the sales that may never come. You can make a lot of money on a single sale, but without enough of them, forget it. Sure I would like to do one or two sales and bring in $300, but in the meantime, I will list a couple dozen.
posted on July 17, 2001 07:27:48 AM
I don't understand the prices on used books. I've got a mint condition "Art Carney, A Biography", hardcover, dust jacket. I got it cheap at a yard sale. Then I found one on ebay completed in similar condition. Sold for $2.00. Whoopdedoo. Original retail price of $24.95.
You'd think it should have brought $5 to $8 anyway.
I'd rather keep it than take a photo, write a description, sumbit an auction, wait 5 or 7 days, for what? Maybe $1.00 profit?
Admittedly, book dealing is not my strong point, but things like this don't help me in wanting to try.
[ edited by loosecannon on Jul 17, 2001 07:29 AM ]
posted on July 17, 2001 07:36:40 AM
OTOH, I've made a few good sales in vintage books. Bought a silly book on hippies from 1968 or so. One of those books that was more or less a documentary on the lifestyle, so old mom and pop might understand what their sons and daughters were into. Got it for a couple of bucks and sold it for about $32.00!
