If you enjoy books and have always wanted to get paid for buying and reselling used books online, think about starting an online book shop. Because of Amazon.com and other online sites for new and used books, it no longer takes thousands of dollars, a store and thousands of books to get into the game.
There are thousands of part-time booksellers that have carved out a rewarding niche for themselves in the online bookseller's world, specializing in areas like old comics, vintage books, even romance paperback novels.
If you've shopped for a book at Amazon.com recently, you've undoubtedly spotted all the used mass-market paperbacks, like John Grisham novels, selling for a penny or so, and wondered how anyone could make a living at those prices. The short answer is they can't! But for every penny book, there are many used books listed - and yielding $ 5, $ 10 or $ 20. These tend to be "evergreen" books that are still popular because they cover timeless material, like how to fix a VW beetle or finish concrete or invest in bonds.
Another contributing factor driving the profits of online used booksellers is the steep expense of new books. When a new book costs $ 29.95 and you can find a lightly used copy for $ 10 or $ 15, what do you do? If you're like most, you go for the bargain. The sorry state of the economy over the last few year has only made things easier, not harder, to sell used books online, as more folks enjoy a bargain price.
To succeed as an online bookseller, you must have the ability to find new inventory regularly. The good news is - used books are all over the place, if you know where to scout. Here are a few of the best areas to start looking:
1. Library sales. These traditional sales are held by almost every town library in the country, and are often a great resource for online re-sellers to find prizes at bargain prices. You'll find ex-library books alongside books donated by supporters.
2. Garage and Yard sales. These could be a great way to find books for your inventory. As with any items you find at a garage or flea market, never hesitate to make an offer. Like the old Yiddish saying - "If you don't ask, you don't get." The offer most likely to get accepted is for a lot of 6-30 books at half the marked price. Another strategy used by smart resellers is to stop back on the second day and offer to haul away unsold books for free.
3. Thrift shops. Skip the Goodwill and Salvation Army thrift stores, as they have started listing their own donated books online when prices warrant it. The greatest sources are the little thrift shops that support local churches, hospitals and other worthy causes. Most are only open a day or two a week. One in my area specializes in clothing, so the donated books were simply being thrown in a dumpster! You may find a similar bonanza in your town.
4. Bookstores. Look at all the book stores in your area for deals, as there may be a wide gap between their used book prices and what the same book can bring on Amazon. I often find how-to books priced at $ 2 - $ 5 at bookstores that bring $ 10 - $ 25 when sold on Amazon.
5. Other online book sellers. Amazing as it may seem, you can often find bargains at online sources like half.com. I checked their web site today and found thousands of books listed for under a dollar.
6. Estate sales. For a source of bargain books, an estate sale is hard to beat. Often a deceased book lover's life long collection of books will be available. Since heirs and estate auctioneers are not used to pricing individual books, prices can reflect that lack of knowledge. I've found leather-bound limited-editions passed down for two or three generations, rare art books and even vintage magazines and collectible comics.
You'll find estate sale notices in your local newspaper, but your best bet is an online web site, estatesales.org, which lists sales and auctions nationwide by state and town. Make sure to leave your business card with the estate liquidator at any sales or auctions you attend, as they often have to dispose of book lots that are too small for a formal sale or auction.
7. Free classified advertising. A free classified ad on craigslist.org or backpage.com can result in a steady stream of used book bargains, usually before everyone finds them at a garage or estate sale. Two headlines that work well are: I BUY USED BOOKS and CASH PAID FOR BOOKS. Small classified ads also work well posted on community bulletin boards.
8. eBay. You'll often find bargains at eBay if you search for "book lots" in sizes ranging from 3 books to hundreds. A recent find was a collection of Raggedy Ann children's books that brought 10X their cost when sold individually on Amazon. Most retailers would love a 1,000 % markup!
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