selling books on Amazon - tips for more profit

Angela

bj-sailaway wrote:

Now I'm not saying where i live, but if I were to stumble on slow cookers and bread makers, should I snap them up to list on e-bay then?

I would like an answer to this too.

apprentice_tycoon

I mentioned the fact that there are all the requirements of an Old Style kitchen (ie bread makers, slow cookers and yoggers) at my local boot sale as proof that there aren't any old stylers in my area apparently....if there were these essentials would have been snapped up. There aren't any Amazon listing MSEers either because I keep finding these great books.

So if you are thinking about picking these things up just for sale (remembering post 47 on this thread again) I'd have a look on ebay to see what the slow cookers etc are selling for, bearing in mind they they are very heavy to post, before you even think about buying one.

With ebay it's great if you have the luxury of being able to search the completed auctions so you can see what kind of price you can hope to sell something for before you list it for sale. If you can't search before you buy because you just come across something while you're out you have to fly by the seat of your pants and hope that what you have bought is going to sell with enough to cover all the selling costs with a few pennies for yourself left over.

It doesn't work every time I'm afraid, I have a number of pieces that I thought were certainties for a good sale but I still have them months afterwards, luckily I have somewhere to store them because I've often found that if I list them again 6 months later they usually shift then, if not I either take them to auction, boot sale or a charity shop and try not to think too much about how much I paid for them in the first place and what I've spent on ebay fees flogging a dead horse...luckily the more experience I gain the fewer dead horses I have to dispose of

johanne

Just out of interest i just searched for the money diet on Amazon.....its starting at £3.35 used price! DARE i sell our bible? :eek: :eek:

Just ive read it quite a few times and got all the info i need from it.. AND the new edition will be out soon..... AND i have a wealth of knowledge here... i only paid £2.99 myself for its (thanks to using a unwanted gift voucher my brother had be given ) so could be a little profit to be had as its in good condition... Hmm!

cymro1170

competitionscafe wrote:

There is an ad in this months Trader magazine for someone who says he can supply novels for £1 each or non-fiction for £2 each - only gives a phone number (no web site) and I know nothing else about them/him but if you want their phone number pm me (and let me know what their minimum order is if you do phone). Disclaimer: I have no connection with or experience of this supplier - just noticed the ad and remembered this thread so do your own due diligence etc..

You couldn't find out if this guy has an email address could you?

Cheers

apprentice_tycoon

johanne wrote:

Just out of interest i just searched for the money diet on Amazon.....its starting at £3.35 used price! DARE i sell our bible? :eek: :eek:

Just ive read it quite a few times and got all the info i need from it.. AND the new edition will be out soon..... AND i have a wealth of knowledge here... i only paid £2.99 myself for its (thanks to using a unwanted gift voucher my brother had be given ) so could be a little profit to be had as its in good condition... Hmm!

I bought ours second hand off Amazon, so I think so long as you have read every word and taken it all in I can't see that Martin would mind if you passed it on to a brand new skint MSEer and make a few pennies yourself :money: look, he's happy, it's OK!

taplady

apprentice_tycoon wrote:

I bought ours second hand off Amazon, so I think so long as you have read every word and taken it all in I can't see that Martin would mind if you passed it on to a brand new skint MSEer and make a few pennies yourself :money: look, he's happy, it's OK!

Have just bought a copy off Amazon too and am reading it at the moment!I also have found Alvin Halls books very useful and have re-read them often :money: (hope you don't take offence Martin!- they were both gifts )

Angela

taplady wrote:

Have just bought a copy off Amazon too and am reading it at the moment!I also have found Alvin Halls books very useful and have re-read them often :money: (hope you don't take offence Martin!- they were both gifts )

Please dont use those swear words in this forum.

bj-sailaway

It must be my lucky weekend, my pal is running the book stall at the Guide jumble sale. She's giving me first pickings - as if I want anything it saves her lugging it to the church hall - wish me luck! Of to bed now, got a busy day tomorrow! Good luck to all you sellers, hope you make loads of dosh! Share results with us here, so we can learn from each other.

lily_the_pink

apprentice_tycoon wrote:

This brings me to post 47 on this thread, that was from a book dealer who spotted this thread only because Martin featured it in the tips email, he was very anxious to remind people that once you start buying books to sell then you are, in fact, trading and you are liable for tax, because I'm full-time with ebay I'm already in the system and my Amazon takings go towards my self employed income.
I think that you need to have this in the back of your mind but I would be amazed if it could be proven that the books you sold weren't ones you bought for yourself to read and no longer want. It's only when you buy them at auction in tea chests as I have done that it clearly isn't a little light reading for your holiday in Spain.

Regarding tax issues there is a piece in the times MOney section today about Ebay but would I presume apply to Amazon too:

In summary:
Users who sell unwanted items are not liable to tax unless they make a profit of more than £6,000

A Tax consultant said that ebay users with a feedback by more than 20 other traders could be contacted by Revenue and Customs. Power sellers with feedback from more than 1,000 trades are particularly at risk.


I don't think the 100 books or so I have listed put me at risk of being investigated - it does make me realise the increased costs though if I were to do this as a 9-5 job.

tompparker

Hi,

Great post Apprentice Tycoon, thanks. Sorry if anyone has mentioned this already but can anyone suggest where to get cheap padded envelopes from? (Don't have a Pound Shop where I live and don't want hundreds from Viking.)

Thanks