selling your stuff on Amazon...part 2

darthpaul

Yeah have e-mailed him already just wasnt sure how the refund worked on amazon. Just wait and see what his reply is now.

apprentice_tycoon

If you do end up refunding the money - go to your 'transactions' page and find this one, there is a refund button so it's not a lot of bother, it's just a pain that you will lose out on the cash - till it sells again, of course!

numberthree

Can't remember now who suggested baby wipes (sorry) but I've used them in the past and agree they are great - just don't use the ones which are too wet or the books start to become soapy!

As I don't use baby wipes now - my girls are growing up far too fast - I use window cleaner (not Windolene!) which comes in a spray bottle (not an aerosol) and some kitchen towel. It usually only takes a little squirt onto the paper towel and then usually most of the grime wipes straight off the covers without leaving them damp. It even removes sticky label residue with some gentle elbow grease.

I seem to think that the magic ingredient is isopropol alcohol - I probably haven't spelt that correctly but it is close.

I find it really spuces the covers up alot and makes them much more appealing and sellable.

Happy New Year

BoltonMinx

Thats a great tip, just dug some out of the back of the cupboard and it worked a treat :j Ta muchly Just sold 3 books today, on top of the world :j You guys keep me inspired

numberthree wrote:

As I don't use baby wipes now - my girls are growing up far too fast - I use window cleaner (not Windolene!) which comes in a spray bottle (not an aerosol) and some kitchen towel. It usually only takes a little squirt onto the paper towel and then usually most of the grime wipes straight off the covers without leaving them damp. It even removes sticky label residue with some gentle elbow grease.

I seem to think that the magic ingredient is isopropol alcohol - I probably haven't spelt that correctly but it is close.

I find it really spuces the covers up alot and makes them much more appealing and sellable.

Happy New Year

chickadee

I have been reading this thread with interest since it started and it inspired me to start selling on Amazon. Some of you who post on here seem to do this as a kind of second income, is that right? If so, I was wondering how much stock you have. Do you all have libraries full of books with listing of several thousand books? I have bought a handful of books with the specific aim of re-selling them, mainly from charity shops. I intend to start scouring the boot sales and school fairs shortly and going further afield for more charity shops. I now it will be hit and miss and I will learn what sells well through my mistakes but have you any guidance on this? My old uni text books were snapped up, so if I see anything like that in good condition I will buy it if the price is reasonable. I have also sold a book on making water gardens and things like life coaching books and managing stress, etc. I have a medical-type book listed so I will see how I get on with that.

So, do you all have a spare room full of 'stock' or are you just canny buyers?

Great to hear of all your successes by the way!

apprentice_tycoon

Hi chickadee - you were a founding member of the first thread, nice to see you back!

I have built up to around 300 items, some are audio books, there are a handful of CDs but they are mainly books. These are stored in boxes and crates under the stairs and in my son's room while he's away at Uni. I have categorised them to a point so I know roughly which box I need to look in to find a certain book.

I'd hesitate to give foolproof advice on what to buy because everyone has had different experiences on this but I have a few guidelines that I follow - I call them my 'rules' - these are the checks I make before buying. I rarely buy fiction so these just apply to non-fiction books

1 - wierd, wacky, niche market?
2 - does the book look good, can I describe it as 'in good condition' or better
3 - are there any handwritten notes or inscriptions
4 - is it heavy to post
5 - price? I will always think twice about a book costing more than £1.00 unless I've sold similar ones before

When I've done all these checks I just take a leap of faith and buy it - I rush home to check it out on amazon and drop all my other shopping at the door, that can wait, the suspense about how much it is already selling for is intense! if I've made a bad choice and there are lots of them for sale already at a fairly low price I'll still go ahead and list it because in most cases if I wait long enough I will sell and I'll get my money back. At the worst I see it as putting money into a charity collecting tin and getting a free gift, which isn't a bad thing at all.

If you can make notes about books that catch your eye and come home to check them (or phone up someone at home to check while you're stood outside the shop) then that's a far better situation but I just dive in and buy, I'm not that disciplined.

The readitswapit site has put a completely different aspect on the books that I have that are poor sellers, I have listed all my novels and cheapos that came from bulk buys at auctions and made some great swaps, one came on Christmas Eve and my OH was delighted and read it all through the holidays, he said that it was his best pressie, I didn't intend it to be a pressie but he really enjoyed it.
I confess to having asked for the higher priced books but if I don't have what the swapee is willing to take in exchange then I don't get the book, so it's a self limiting exercise, I can't go crazy hoovering up the best ones so I don't feel too much guilt, none of the swaps are forced, it's all free will.

I'd be really interested to see how other people work

mike55_2

apprentice_tycoon wrote:

Hi Mike, sometimes the ISBN works, sometimes it doesn't but it's not needed in any case - so long as you spell the title and author correctly it makes a link to amazon for you and shows the amazon details for the interested party to look at. If there are any typos in your writing it can't do it.

thanks apprentice tycoon. i had another look and realised what you meant about the link. i found it confusing cause i didn't realise that when i looked on list books, the amazon link seemed more prominent than the sellers. so i kept ending up at amazon

mike55_2

larmy16 wrote:

I do agree with everything you say Mike but my house is tiny and space is at a premium! Too late now as they are all at the charity shops. Most of the ones I took were quite heavy also, so I don't think I let much money go!!!

n my very early days, like 60 days ago, I listed a ton of craft and house styling books, but they are hardback and very heavy - they have all come up for relisting and I am not sure now whether to do them again? Some of them I think I would literally be posting and packing for no or may minus profit, so I am going to have a good look at the reality later tonight after work.

I may rethink some of my strategies as I have to do my posting in my lunch hour and just before Christmas it was no joke as I am sure you remember - I was having no time to stop between jobs atall.

its the same here larmy, we had no space for all the books we had. but the wife replaced all the coffee tables with laura ashley storage boxes, the big ones. she waited for a sale, bought sets of 3, gave the smaller 2 away as presents and we use the bigger ones. they hold a heap of books. the understairs cupboard took a cheap bookcase, bought from a charity shop for about 4 quid.

there was a bit of an outlay so its not a money saving idea unless you want the boxes and get them at the right price. but they're just pieces of furniture now that act as storage. but i did as you did and sent the 1p best sellers and heavier books to the charity shop. but i have bought them since from other places after checking there was a fair profit first.

as for posting the things, i haven't sent anything out for a whole day and it felt like a holiday but i've got a couple of hours off today, so i'll reorganise some of the latest purchases. i make lists, then lose the lists :rolleyes: but i need to get on top of the organisation. there's nothing worse than getting a sale and hunting around for it is there?

mike55_2

chickadee wrote:

I have been reading this thread with interest since it started and it inspired me to start selling on Amazon. Some of you who post on here seem to do this as a kind of second income, is that right? If so, I was wondering how much stock you have.

So, do you all have a spare room full of 'stock' or are you just canny buyers?

Great to hear of all your successes by the way!

hi chickadee. it's more of a hobby that pays pocket money i'll use the money to buy premium bonds for the kids, or reinvest it in 2nd hand books.

i bang on about it a bit, but classified ads in the local paper have made my best profits, apart from when i first started and undercharged our own books etc. but it all takes time and petrol money which we don't always have.

apprentice tycoons reply to you has the best advice, especially about the weird and waccy books on wicca, self-help, motivational and educational ones are usually worth a 2nd look.

mike55_2

i'll have to learn how to do 1 long post but thanks again for all the cleaning tips.