Does Anyone Sell Used Books? Is it Worth It?

[goldberry]

I typically donate books to thrift shops because I don't want to mess with reselling.  But I go through a seriously large amount of books.  I haven't done a thrift drop in awhile, and I probably have over 50 books needing to clear out.  I was thinking even if I only made a buck on each, that would still be $50. 

 

But I don't know if packaging and shipping all of them is really worth the trouble.

 

Do you sell used books?  How do you list them, package, and ship them?  Is it worth the money?

[MyLittleBears]

No. I don't sell used books unless they have really good resale value, like curricula or books that are just more expensive than regular reading books. It's just not worth the hassle in my opinion. Curricula, though, totally worth it. I've made enough to almost completely cover the next year's cost at times. I use homeschool classifieds mostly and the classified section of these boards.

[Carrie12345]

I can't go through much trouble to handle inexpensive books.  I usually wind up dropping them off at our used bookstore, where they give me credit for $1 off any book for each book turned in.  They sell all adult books for $3 each.  I rarely shop there, but my credit awaits whenever the mood strikes.

[Miss Peregrine]

I sell on Amazon. I buy shipping envelopes at Target.

 

When you list on Amazon it tells you the prices the item is going for. If there are a ton going for $.01, they go to the thrift store.

 

I have made about $500 over the past year.

[Guest]

I sold a bunch last year through the Facebook page for local homeschoolers. They came to me and I just kept a box by the door. It was all women, all active members of the group, real name, real picture, etc. YMMV how you feel about people coming over.

 

But it was worth it.

[Debbi in Texas]

I sell on Amazon, but only if they will sell for above $3 or $4. It is just not worth the shipping, packaging, time, and effort for cheaper books.

[goldberry]

Do you guys send media mail?  How much does shipping usually run?  

[Miss Peregrine]

Do you guys send media mail? How much does shipping usually run?

Media mail. Usually between 3-4 dollars. You get a shipping credit from Amazon.

[Guest]

Sure, they are usually at the library friends store as the door opens. Mostly they are scanning textbooks and taking newer ones to resell. I dont believe there is enough stock available for all of them to cover their cell phone cost....no free wifi so they have to have their own internet connection as they scan. The one I saw this morning had only 8 textbooks pulled out after an hour, still had to transport them, advertise them, make the deal, and distribute them. I think she could make more money cutting hair.

[mommymonster]

We sell on Amazon as well. I'm amazed, though, at how many books are the $0.01 books -- it makes selling more difficult. If I were you, I would grab a pile of your books and enter the ISBN numbers into Amazon. See what they are going for. Unless the books are worth a few dollars, it's not worth the effort. 

 

[Miss Peregrine]

A tip for higher priced items: I go several dollars under the lowest price and my item sells within a day or two, while the higher priced items are still unsold. This is especially awesome for items I got for free. I made $80 on a writing program. Everyone else was asking $100 so I went $85 and it sold the next day.

[J-rap]

We sell on Amazon as well. I'm amazed, though, at how many books are the $0.01 books -- it makes selling more difficult. If I were you, I would grab a pile of your books and enter the ISBN numbers into Amazon. See what they are going for. Unless the books are worth a few dollars, it's not worth the effort. 

 

I've never understood this.  Why would someone list their book for $0.01 and go through all that bother?  Is there something I'm missing?

[Lanny]

I sell on Amazon. I buy shipping envelopes at Target.

 

When you list on Amazon it tells you the prices the item is going for. If there are a ton going for $.01, they go to the thrift store.

 

I have made about $500 over the past year.

 

If there are copies of the book listed for $.01,  wait...  The Geometry textbook I bought for DD, from Bookbyte (on Amazon) during the first days of October 2015, for $1.05,  is now starting at $31.88.

 

The Spanish 2 textbook I bought for her on January 8th, for one dollar, is now starting at $33.77 and that is in "Acceptable" condition. I never buy books for DD that are listed in "Acceptable" condition. That is the worst condition Amazon permits.

 

Yes, prices can go down as low as one cent plus shipping. The 9th grade English textbook I purchased for DD last year had not been in a price war and that was an incredible find, when BetterWorldBooks came onto Amazon and listed it for one cent, which was about 20 or 30 dollars lower than the lowest price at that moment,  but they can also go up, way up.

 

Also, in-demand textbooks can be sold to Amazon or other buyers of used books. Sometimes, the prices I see they will pay for books we are finished with are attractive, but we are in South America, so we can't pay to ship them to the states and Amazon and other companies will only pay the shipping within the USA.

[Lanny]

We sell on Amazon as well. I'm amazed, though, at how many books are the $0.01 books -- it makes selling more difficult. If I were you, I would grab a pile of your books and enter the ISBN numbers into Amazon. See what they are going for. Unless the books are worth a few dollars, it's not worth the effort. 

 

If they are at one cent, wait. That happens when the computerized pricing software of one company sees that a competitor they price against has it at a lower price. Then, they get into what I call a "price war".  If one lowers their price, the competitor will follow suit. It also works that way for price increases. Huge sellers make 30 or 40 cents profit, selling a book for one cent, from the $3.99 shipping fee they get from Amazon, because they pay amazon about $30 (?) per month for a status that gives them lower fees. Small sellers cannot do that so they cannot compete with the huge sellers who are selling a book for one cent.

[Lanny]

I've never understood this.  Why would someone list their book for $0.01 and go through all that bother?  Is there something I'm missing?

 

Huge sellers make about 30 or 40 cents profit, selling a book for one cent on Amazon, from the $3.99 shipping fee they get from Amazon. They pay Amazon approximately $30 (?) a month, for a special account status that gives them lower fees. The textbooks we have purchased for one cent on Amazon are in the same condition as they would be if we had purchased them from the same seller for $40 or more.  It has to do with a Seller getting into a computerized price war with a favorite competitor. The condition of the book has nothing to do with the price if the book has been in a price war.. 

[J-rap]

Huge sellers make about 30 or 40 cents profit, selling a book for one cent on Amazon, from the $3.99 shipping fee they get from Amazon. They pay Amazon approximately $30 (?) a month, for a special account status that gives them lower fees. The textbooks we have purchased for one cent on Amazon are in the same condition as they would be if we had purchased them from the same seller for $40 or more.  It has to do with a Seller getting into a computerized price war with a favorite competitor. The condition of the book has nothing to do with the price if the book has been in a price war.. 

 

It seems like Amazon should not allow that!

[Debbi in Texas]

Yes, I use media mail and the cost is $3-$4.

[Garga]

I usually bundle up whatever I don't want at the end of the year and take it to a homeschool consignment shop. I get only a percentage of the price it sells for, but it's hassle free.

 

However, after reading a thread started by a boardie here who is very, very poor, I'm seriously considering how I can give things away to people in need rather than making money. I'm not the richest person ever, so I will have to weigh this carefully. If I can get by without the profit from my sold books, then I will give them away.

[Tiramisu]

I would love to sell stuff but I'm just too busy with other stuff to get things listed online, considering last time I did there wasn't that much interest after going through the trouble.

 

I'm also really bummed because I bought something almost two weeks ago from a seller on a homeschool site and it still hasn't arrived. I'm starting to wonder if it will ever come. :(

[Guest]

I usually bundle up whatever I don't want at the end of the year and take it to a homeschool consignment shop. I get only a percentage of the price it sells for, but it's hassle free.

 

However, after reading a thread started by a boardie here who is very, very poor, I'm seriously considering how I can give things away to people in need rather than making money. I'm not the richest person ever, so I will have to weigh this carefully. If I can get by without the profit from my sold books, then I will give them away.

 

I gave away most of the books over the years.  We are not in financial straits so I tell the store who can use my credits.  If I get cash, it is less than giving away the credit to someone who needs it.  That makes it really easy to help someone without having to find a perfect curriculum match.  

 

Also, there was a Good Samaritan place where you could send used books and they would match them to someone who needed them, focusing especially on those affected by disaster--fire, Katrina and so on.  I don't know if they are still in operation.

 

As for selling on Amazon, a friend told me not to bother unless the book was over $10.  She sold her homeschooling stuff over the years and cleared $2000 after shipping.  Not chump change.

[kubiac]

* I only sell through Amazon. It was too much work juggling multiple outlets and Amazon has by far the highest sales speed/rate.

 

* I only sell if the lowest "used book" price is $10 or more. Pick your own floor but even at $5 you are barely going to make a cent.

 

* Check the Amazon sales rank on a book. (Once you are a registered seller you can see this when you click on the "Sell On Amazon" button.) A sales rank of 10,000 or less will sell very fast, a sales rank of 1,000,000 may not sell for years, if ever.

 

* I buy postage and print shipping labels through Amazon because after shipping many books using my own postage and meticulously calculating weight and various stamp denomination combinations and procuring said stamps, I decided my time was worth the few cents they take off the top.

 

* I highly recommend investing in a good food scale for weighing packages. (Postal scales tend to be lower quality and you have to replace the dials when the postage prices change.) The difference between a 12 oz book and a 15 oz book will cost you money.

 

* If you choose to do your own postage, print out the current media mail rates and keep them near your shipping supplies.

 

* I almost always ship in recycled envelopes or cut up brown paper bags. Buying envelopes cut into profit margins; buying shipping tape also cuts into profit margins. 

 

* Keep all your sale books in one place. Do not tell yourself "oh, I'll list it but I want to keep it on this shelf instead of in my for-sale pile."

 

* Keep your shipping supplies all in one place.

 

* There is an Amazon Seller app, but I find it tricky because it often suggests a high profit margin but later research will reveal it's a $0.01 book in another format or edition.

 

* If you start buying books specifically to sell, also create an Excel spreadsheet documenting true costs at all stages. There is virtually no margin in book selling so you have to see clearly what brings in what income and what costs you are really incurring.

Edited August 14, 2016 by kubiac

[LucyStoner]

Basically the only books outside of curriculum I had to sell that brought in money were business, non-profit and fundraising management related books. I had a few dozen such titles when I quit working FT and I sold all of the ones that garnered a bit of a profit. Fiction and mass market non-fiction doesn't seem to merit the effort unless it's a rare OOP title.

 

I don't buy new books except very rarely so I don't have anything else that I don't need which is worth selling.

[kubiac]

Sure, they are usually at the library friends store as the door opens. Mostly they are scanning textbooks and taking newer ones to resell. I dont believe there is enough stock available for all of them to cover their cell phone cost....no free wifi so they have to have their own internet connection as they scan. The one I saw this morning had only 8 textbooks pulled out after an hour, still had to transport them, advertise them, make the deal, and distribute them. I think she could make more money cutting hair.

 

Current-edition textbooks have wonderful profit margins. If you can find the current edition of "Fundamentals of Accounting" or "Basic Obstetrics" in unhighlighted condition, you'll pay $1 or $5 for it a library sale and it will go for $100+, easy. The book would retail for $300+ new, so the buyer is getting a deal and the seller is making bank.

 

I really don't recommend book scavenging as a business--you are right about haircutting (or pizza delivery or almost anything else) being a more reliable income stream, but if books are your jam, textbooks are the area most likely to make you some extra cash.

Edited August 14, 2016 by kubiac

[G5052]

* I only sell through Amazon. It was too much work juggling multiple outlets and Amazon has by far the highest sales speed/rate.

 

* I only sell if the lowest "used book" price is $10 or more. Pick your own floor but even at $5 you are barely going to make a cent.

 

* Check the Amazon sales rank on a book. (Once you are a registered seller you can see this when you click on the "Sell On Amazon" button.) A sales rank of 10,000 or less will sell very fast, a sales rank of 1,000,000 may not sell for years, if ever.

 

* I buy postage and print shipping labels through Amazon because after shipping many books using my own postage and meticulously calculating weight and various stamp denomination combinations and procuring said stamps, I decided my time was worth the few cents they take off the top.

 

* I highly recommend investing in a good food scale for weighing packages. (Postal scales tend to be lower quality and you have to replace the dials when the postage prices change.) The difference between a 12 oz book and a 15 oz book will cost you money.

 

* If you choose to do your own postage, print out the current media mail rates and keep them near your shipping supplies.

 

* I almost always ship in recycled envelopes or cut up brown paper bags. Buying envelopes cut into profit margins; buying shipping tape also cuts into profit margins. 

 

* Keep all your sale books in one place. Do not tell yourself "oh, I'll list it but I want to keep it on this shelf instead of in my for-sale pile."

 

* Keep your shipping supplies all in one place.

 

 

Same here. I'm down to a 12th grader here, so I'm selling off a lot and got over 200 books out this summer.

 

I used the board here for two sets that were more likely to sell here than anywhere else as a set. They both sold.

 

I sold four lots of books on eBay that go together. Selling separately, I would have gotten less. I'm not fond of eBay because of potential drama, but so far so good. Two of the sets will be delivered this week, and then I'm done there.

 

I use paperbackswap.com a lot for my own reading, so I list books there that would go for $.01 on Amazon and that are cheap to ship there.

 

The rest go to the library sale for a tax deduction.

 

It's not something that interests me at as a business. Frankly it's too unpredictable and too much work. 

Edited August 14, 2016 by G5052

[Guest]

Current-edition textbooks have wonderful profit margins. If you can find the current edition of "Fundamentals of Accounting" or "Basic Obstetrics" in unhighlighted condition, you'll pay $1 or $5 for it a library sale and it will go for $100+, easy. .

That is why she was wasting her time. The only textbooks there were old business and math, an edition behind the current ones used at the CC. They are donated because they are paperweights in the local market. She will make a little bit if she can find someone at a college that still uses the book. As a parent of a college student, I can also tell you students dont appreciate the jacking up of prices by profiteers and wont buy from them. They have other alternatives.

[73349]

I only sell locally because I don't want to deal with shipping. We have a homeschool consignment store, a yahoo group, and facebook groups, plus another group has an annual sale. If homeschooling is popular in your area, you might try that first.

[JustEm]

If it is homeschool curriculum or books used in popular curriculum your best bet is to bundle relevant ones together and sell them on a Facebook curriculum resale group. High demand things sell quickly and I've never had an issue selling lots of books that are grade specific, think a lot of books that are all in the same sonlight year for example

[goldberry]

I have quite a bit of homeschool curriculum to sell, but the large quantity I have is mainly my own reading, paperbacks, etc.  It seems definitely that is not worth bothering with based on your comments.  Thanks for the info!

[vickjul]

I sell on both Amazon and eBay selectively. Higher priced items ($4+ a book) tend to bring more on Amazon. Penny books can actually cost me money on Amazon, but sometimes do well in lots on eBay. I rarely sell individual books on eBay, but have had good looking selling lots of Little Golden Books, Nancy Drew books, beginning readers, themed books (Christmas, cars, nature, etc.), Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science, and so forth. Basically, if I have enough of a certain type of book to make a "lot" of 5+ books, I can list at $9.99+ (average of $2/book), offer a cheaper per book price than the penny sellers on Amazon, and earn quite a bit more since I'm paying only one shipping fee and listing fee. Random titles and books that are in poor condition get tossed into the yard sale bin twice a year and donated whenever we get too many.

[kubiac]

For anyone reading this who just wants to offload a lot of books, the Little Free Library network is available and dreaming of your donations. You can look for LFLs in your area using the search function:

 

https://littlefreelibrary.org/ourmap/