For those who are successful selling your curriculum…..

[lovemy9kids]

Please help!  I just spent a week getting everything ready for a used curriculum sale and all day working at it.  I only came home with a little over $100.  It just seems like so much time and work for such a little return.  I'd like to try selling some of it here, but I'm not quite sure how to price things and what's the best way to list them.  Should I add shipping or include it in the price?  What are your best tips for me?  

 

Thanks so much!  

 

[AimeeM]

Please help!  I just spent a week getting everything ready for a used curriculum sale and all day working at it.  I only came home with a little over $100.  It just seems like so much time and work for such a little return.  I'd like to try selling some of it here, but I'm not quite sure how to price things and what's the best way to list them.  Should I add shipping or include it in the price?  What are your best tips for me?  

 

Thanks so much!  

 

 

 

Regardless of what price you bought it for, base your asking price on the "best price" out there. In other words, if you bought something from the publisher for $50, but Amazon sells it for $30, use that lowest price as your base, and price accordingly. Remember that you need to make it a steep enough discount to make it worthwhile to buy used, not matter how great the condition is. For example, if you price it within $5-$10 of the new price on Amazon, I'm going to go with the verified, insured Amazon seller and buy it brand new, because that isn't enough of a discount for me to A) buy it used instead of new, and B) take the chance with a third party seller.

 

Two of the biggest mistakes I see is sellers expecting to make back 90% of their own buying price (even if like new or excellent condition), and people insisting on basing their own selling price on the price THEY purchased it for, even if it can be had, brand new, elsewhere for much less.

 

These are some reasons why I rarely buy used. It just isn't worth it to me, generally. Now this year I've had great luck in the used book department, but not in previous years :)

 

I personally prefer that cost of media mail shipping is calculated into the price. Also take pay pal fees into account. DO NOT request people pay you with "friends/family" option on pay pal, without the fee - this isn't safe for anyone, and it's against PP policy.

 

ETA: I also prefer that things be listed separately in separate ads. Remind buyers that if they buy from more than one of your listings, their cost decreases (because you can combine shipping on certain things).

[SebastianCat]

I have sold curricula here and through homeschool classifieds.   I typically want to get rid of it more than I want to make a certain dollar amount, so I price things accordingly, usually 50-75% of the "new" price if it's in excellent or like new condition.   The key is to look around at pricing for the same materials already posted for sale, to determine what you should ask.

 

I always include shipping in my price, and always email the buyer with a tracking # as soon as I print the label.   It's hard enough to buy from a total stranger.

 

Complete sets of curriculum (like an entire Sonlight Core, for example) will sell much faster than individual items.   DVD-based products and completely unused consumable items (like a math workbook that has never been used or written in) tend to sell easily.   I have found that the hardest things to sell are paperback books and teacher manuals that are older than the current edition.   Sometimes individual books are easier to just donate or pass down to my nephew.   Since you can buy a "like new" copy of most paperback books for $4 through Amazon or Thriftbooks, most of the paperbacks I see at used curriculum sales are typically priced no higher than $1.  

 

Depending on where you live, if there is a large homeschool convention/ conference in your area, you are better off trying to sell BEFORE than convention rather than after.   I tend to prefer buying used material when I can, but if I haven't found what I need by the time my big state convention rolls around at the end of May, I buy the rest of what I need (new) there.   

 

 

[Guest]

Are you on FB? I have had HUGE success with FB this year. I am on a couple of local groups, which are the best because people will meet up with me and I don't have to pay shipping. Also, I sold recently on a very active MFW FB page. I also recently joined a Sonlight page, and there is something new posted there every 5 minutes AND the ladies on there are like vultures! (I mean that in the nicest way possible!) I agree with the 50-60% range, I really find I do best at that. Also, I really think you need to be selling something that people want. There are some items that people post that I'm just like, who is going to want a 20 year old Abeka manual? I recently sold at a curriculum sale and I sold everything, and a lot of people sold nothing. If there is something I'm not willing to let go of for 50-60%, I have to realize I probably won't sell it. I always list PPD, and I also ship Priority mail which sucks for my bottom line, but I can't handle the anxiety of media mail, lol. :p

[shanvan]

 (I mean that in the nicest way possible!) I agree with the 50-60% range, I really find I do best at that. Also, I really think you need to be selling something that people want. There are some items that people post that I'm just like, who is going to want a 20 year old Abeka manual? I recently sold at a curriculum sale and I sold everything, and a lot of people sold nothing. If there is something I'm not willing to let go of for 50-60%, I have to realize I probably won't sell it. I always list PPD, and I also ship Priority mail which sucks for my bottom line, but I can't handle the anxiety of media mail, lol. :p

 

I usually make about $100-200 if I sell at a local, in person sale, depending on what I have to sell.  People want yard sale prices in person, but it's a good way to sell the extras some people like to pick up.  Every year there are lots of people selling tables full of sets of Abeka, Math -u-See, etc. and they are asking top dollar for it.  They always complain that they didn't make any money, but they wanted big money, so of course no one wanted to pay.    The things I sell are very cheap and so people buy more.  

 

I save the 'in demand' curriculum for selling online.  Then I research amazon, homeschool classifieds, here, and ebay so I can be sure I'm selling for the right price.  I also check the message boards to see what people are talking about.  (ETA: B/c occasionally I will see a resurgence of interest in something I bought a few years ago that has for some reason been 'rediscovered'.  For example, there is a conversation on the general board about Ruth Beechick.  I thought about posting some books for sale as a set.)  

 

Also, if you are willing to hold onto some curriculum for a while, I've found that even some things that aren't so in demand sell eventually.

 

I don't know why exactly, but I'm not a fan of the Facebook selling.  I've looked at the big site I've seen discussed here, and I find it confusing.  I do fairly well with the classifieds here and homeschool classifieds.

 

ETA: About selling locally.  Not long ago I sold my IEW TWSS online.  A friend heard me mention it and said 'I wish I would have known.  I would have bought it from you."  I said, "Really?  For $90?  (I think I sold it for that, can't remember now.)  She said no, she wouldn't have been willing to pay that much.  I don't even tell people I know locally when I am selling stuff online b/c they never want to pay even the equivalent of the lowest online for sale ad.

 

OP, you didn't do too badly for an in-person sale, but it is a lot of work for very little return.  I look at it as a good way to clean out.  It's also a good way to get rid of the items in the $10-$20 range that don't pay to sell online.     

[Mbelle]

I look at the asking price of similar used material and price accordingly.  Any money I make is better than none.  I list locally and on homeschool classifieds and delete as soon as sold.  I ship with media mail and let the buyer know the estimated shipping day or send a tracking number to them.  I don't do used book sales though as I find it too much work.

[Lori D.]

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[HSinNH]

I price my used curriculum at 50-60% of the new cost. As I buy most of my curriculum used myself, it ends up costing me a few dollars per year for a course, which is totally worth it to me. 

 

I do not sell anything for less than $10, however, because it is not worth my time after I pay media mail and paypal fees (I sell everything ppd). I end up only making around $5 per item. For these items, I bundle them to sell as a set or give them to a friend.

 

I do not expect to make hundreds of dollars, I just expect to make back most of the money that I spent in the first place. I use homeschool classifieds, WTM, and some facebook groups.

[lovemy9kids]

First of all, thank you!  I am grateful that you all took the time to help me with specific advice.  I am finding it very helpful.  

I noticed too, Shannon, that people at the book sale wanted to pay "yard sale" prices.  I even mentioned it to my husband when I came home.  I think I would've just kept all my expensive stuff home, because no one even looked at it (i.e. Sonlight core etc.)  I think you're all right about listing things ppd.  I know when I'm looking for curriculum, that is what I prefer.  I listed something yesterday, but haven't gotten any responses.  I thought it was a good price, but now I'm not so sure.   :001_unsure: