posted on July 24, 2001 01:38:30 PM
I have a question regarding selling books, as this is totally not my area.
I was at my local library today and they had someone donate 4 big boxes of old books...and they were going to throw them away because they did not have room for them so they gave them to me for free. If I dont make anything on them, no biggie I didn't pay for them. But anyhow, my question is this. I plan on getting some pictures and trying to put a few up tonight..how do I know what category in books to list them in? Do I just put the title in the and put them in a "general" category? I know to put the condition of the book (binding, pages, etc) but is there anything else out there that book buyer's specifically look for? And this would probably be an okay thing for the $1.00 auction thing since I didn't really invest anything other than time in them?
Any advice would be great. I usually do clothes and other things so this is a new branch for me.
posted on July 24, 2001 01:50:33 PM
Make sure to see if they are even worth selling first. Check the completed auctions. Since you got a mixed lot for free, many probably won't be worth selling at all. Selling with an ending price of $1 - $5 isn't worth it for some folks.
To find out the category to list them in... See what categories the completed auctions listed theirs in, especially the ones that sold well. Use the same category.
Hope that helps. I know that others on this board can give you more advice than that.
posted on July 24, 2001 01:55:57 PM
One thing I've done in the past is to list a book in a related "collectibles" category. For example, I once sold an out of print book on depression glass and listed it in a general depression glass category. I'm sure it did much better than it would have if I had put it under "books" - how many glass collectors are going to be looking there? You could even splurge and list 2 categories - in a book category and a related collectibles category.
posted on July 24, 2001 02:06:25 PM
If they were actually used in the library, they should all be noted as ex-library in your description. This does affect their value, but a hard to find old book might be worth something nonetheless.
posted on July 24, 2001 03:08:26 PM
Hi luv2crochet,
I don't know how much time you want to put into this, so here goes.
People have already mentioned searching completed auctions on eBay and that's a great and effective tool. You might also try www.addall.com to search and see what booksellers value given books at. These prices may be inflated, and eBay may bring less, but sometimes eBay brings more just because of the sheer numbers of buyers.
You also didn't mention if these were hard bound or paperback books. Some pb's are collectible - a lot aren't. Do the non-collectible ones in lots and save yourself time and fees. You might group them by author, theme, publisher, etc.
A book may not be a collectible book, but may be just a nice book because of the photos, illustrations, etc. If so, take pics of what you think makes this book special.
The dustjackets on books can give you great ideas on how to describe the book. Some folks take pics of the text on the dj's, but if you type fast, it may be quicker just to type some of the text in your description, indicating that you got it from the dust jacket.
Be creative about categories as one poster said. If books about quilts don't seem to be selling in the book category on crafts, maybe list them in collectible textiles under quilts.
As to $1 auctions, sometimes books have a reverse buying mentality. In the last 2 months, I've had three books not sell with a $3.99 opening bid, then as relists sell with more than one bid when I started them at $8.99+. Also, it's summer, and while the collectors are always looking, average books may not get a lot of bids.
For non-collectible books, use Buy it Now. It's helped me a lot.
Lastly, check out the USPS Media Mail rates for books - they're substantially less than Priority rates, and your customers will appreciate it a lot.
