selling books on Amazon - tips for more profit

Austin_Allegro

About a year ago I was spending a lot of time and effort selling books on Amazon, and I even considered giving up the day job. But it is rather hit and miss. The books that sell well are textbooks and university or school set texts. Recently published popular paperbacks under two years old and in mint condition will also sell quite well. Old popular paperbacks and children's annuals don't really sell, and copies signed by authors don't seem to generate much interest.

Buying books at charity shops, jumble sales etc to sell on is risky, the chances are they won't sell and you'll be left with a pile of books you don't want.

You can send details of books you are looking for to Amazon and they will tell you when someone has one available. I have tried to get Amazon to make this information available to sellers but they won't release it.

So the trick is to develop an eye for what sells and what doesn't, and buy accordingly. If you see something in a charity shop that you think might sell, you can always memorise the details and check on Amazon to see what it's going for.

BTW I got into trouble a while back with people saying I was 'profiteering' from buying books from charity shops for resale. If you want to attack me with similar comments please start a new thread or resurrect the old one, thanks.

MATH

Hi Austin, Havn't seen ya around for a bit - you've been missed and I'm glad ya back:D

Austin_Allegro

Thanks MATH (always picture you as Richard O'Sullivan for some reason).

I've been v. busy at work and also been moonlighting on another website, but still popping in here when I get time.

apprentice_tycoon

Austin_Allegro wrote:

BTW I got into trouble a while back with people saying I was 'profiteering' from buying books from charity shops for resale. If you want to attack me with similar comments please start a new thread or resurrect the old one, thanks.

You won't get an argument from me with this one - a charity shop puts the price they want on an article, if it sells they get the money to do whatever needs to be done to further their work, what happens to that article after it's sold is irrelevant. I expect that the charity shop could sell the book on Amazon if they wanted to but they choose not to. When I can't sell a book (or whatever else I have been trying to sell) it goes to charity shops so I put back into the system as well as benefit from it.

I buy odd bits of china from charity shops to sell on ebay, I had a discussion about this with the manager of one of the shops and asked why they didn't do the same, ( I think I was coming around to the idea that I would volunteer do it for them). I was told that they like to offer for sale everything they get and not take the cream off and sell it elsewhere. They have a valuer in to put a price on best things and the theory is that if someone comes into the shop to byy a nice piece of china that they saw in the window then they might buy something else as well that perhaps they wouldn't have seen otherwise. This works for me, I always end up with something else as well, even if it's just a birthday card. He had no complaints about me profiting from his goods, as it kept me coming back.

Edinburghlass_2

Should this thread not be on the Ebay and other auctions board too?

squeaky

No. It's about earning Pin Money too.

MATH

Austin_Allegro wrote:

Thanks MATH (always picture you as Richard O'Sullivan for some reason).

hehehehe. I had to google to know who you were on about. I remember watching that in me evil kenivil pj's. Watched George and Mildred too! No I look nothing like him, he's got too much hair! Think pint sized twin of the lead singer from Right Said Fred and you're not far wide of the mark.:eek:

Rebob

MATH wrote:

hehehehe. I had to google to know who you were on about. I remember watching that in me evil kenivil pj's. Watched George and Mildred too! No I look nothing like him, he's got too much hair! Think pint sized twin of the lead singer from Right Said Fred and you're not far wide of the mark.:eek:

Like dominic off "Try before you buy"??????

Downsizing__for_sanity

Re "profiteering from charity shops" -

I believe some of them, Oxfam for sure, have their own valuers and sell things like first editions and other valuable books on the net. So they have the option - it's not like you bought a vase from there and found it stuffed with ten-pound notes! If you are doing the legwork of listing and posting items, you deserve to make a profit out of it!

DFS

Rebob

Oxfam was on TV a while ago saying how some of their rare valuable items sell really well on ebay.