Selling books on Ebay

Sparkle80

Just wondered what people's thoughts were on this - you have much luck or is it not worth the effort?

I'm moving house soon so trying to get rid of lots & lots of books I've collected over the years. Listed a lot last night but not really having much luck, starting to think it was a waste of time!

Always_Harassed

You might sell some of the more unusual books and recent best sellers. Look at closed auction prices. List some for 99p and see how they go. Make sure you don't do yourself in the postage as books are expensive to post.

jollyboy

Amazon may be easier to use and list items - you just need ISBN number. They will also give some contribution towards postage. However many books are listed at £0.01

heretolearn_2

I listed about 12 paperbacks and sold 2, for 99p. I don't mind, it only took a few minutes to put them all on as its automatic, just put in the ISBN and all the details come up for you.

mummyto2weeboys

I tried selling childrens books on Ebay and they never seemed to sell even when I started them low. I think it was the postage had to be high to cover the heavy weight of the books and it put people off. I did eventually sell them at a car boot sale for slightly less.

Crowqueen

I find eBay a good place only to sell rare or collectable books. For your average paperback you are better off either donating them to Oxfam in bulk (which is what I normally end up doing) or selling on Amazon. If you are trying to get rid of them in a hurry, I think you would be better off selling to a dealer or donating. Amazon book-selling, from what I've picked up on here, seems to be a longer-term notion.

As Mummyto2 says, books are heavy to post so people won't pay as much for them online.

porto_bello

I usually put the ISBNs into Amazon and see what they are selling for in a similar condition. If they are selling for pennies, it's not worth the trouble, so I take them along to one of my local charity shops. But sometimes I find that what seems and old, obscure book is actually sought after and worth listing.

Books on Amazon tend to linger, even if you have the cheapest copy or even the only available copy. Some have taken 2 years or more to sell! However, when they do sell, it becomes rewarding. If you are anxious to sell quickly, I'm not sure you will have time to wait for your books to sell on Amazon.

Sparkle80

Thanks everyone - I've had a few tonight that have attracted some bids/watchers but the majority I think will go unsold.

I think I will just take them to my local charity shop. Like a few have said, the postage puts a lot of people off.

Thanks for all the replies!

charlie-chan

I've been selling my teacher training books on Ebay and they have sold well.

I am guessing it also depends on the market and the audience buyers.

traceya89

i have not had much luck selling books on ebay, even a mary higgins clark collection, unread and new, never sold at less that £1 a book. i have not had much luck at boot sales either but i buy loads of virtually new books from boot sales. a few weeks ago i bought a job lot of nearly new books, in perfect condtion (75 books) for 5.99 and they were local so just had to pick them up but i saw them at the last minute and was lucky that no one else had bid on them.

The_Next_Verse

I listed 44 books and sold 25 the first time, relisted and sold another 5.

I guess it depends how new they are and whether you are genuinely trying to get rid of them for space or whether you want to make some money on them. I didn't make much but the space was more important to me as I'd just had a kindle for chirstmas.