First we’ll need to take
a look at some of the avenues for selling textbooks (or any other media)
online. We’ll focus on
Half.com and
Amazon.com. The main reason is because they’re established, which
gives you a better market reach (of course you also get more competitions), and
because they’ve been at doing this for awhile, they’ve made it easier to set up
an account and get paid.
There are many more
online market place out there like those mentioned above, and they work pretty
much the same way.
Let’s go over Half.com
and Amazon.com’s marketplace together. This is because they’re both very similar,
and are pretty straight forward in setting up the sells. If you already know
how to sell textbooks online, skip this section and go straight to reading some
of my tips.
What you’ll first need to
do is register an account with the websites if you don’t have one. To become a
seller you’ll also need to input your credit card information (incase you take
money and don’t ship products), and for verification process too. Creating a
username is part of the strategy in making your sales, although it does not have
as much impact as other factors. If you don’t know yet, your username will be
display next to the book you’re trying to sell. Obviously, creating a name such
as “rip_off_people” may not get you as much sales as “book_seller_123.” The
point is, if you’re going to be constantly selling with this account, don’t pick
a username that’ll make you not want to buy from yourself.
Now listing your book for
sale is even easier. All you’ll need is the ISBN number, the book title, or the
author’s name. The ISBN number can usually be located on the back of the book,
right above the barcode. They’re in the format of: #-###-#####-#
Easiest way is to punch
in the ISBN number in the search field at half.com or amazon.com
After the book in
question shows up on the list, you might have to sort through the selection and
pick the right edition. (I.e.: hardcover edition, 5th edition,
CD-ROM included edition, etc.)
Once you’ve selected the
correct book and edition, look for a “Sell Yours Now!” link on the right of the
screen. Half.com’s can be found on the top right, while Amazon.com’s link of
“Sell yours here” can be found right below the “Add to Shopping Cart” button.
Now all you’ll have to do
is set the price you want to sell the book at, select its condition, type in a
description, and you’re done! (Well, almost). When a buyer selects to buy
their book from you, you will receive an email from half.com or amazon.com with
the buyer’s shipping information, in which you’ll be required to ship the books
in around 3 business days (policy varies on each site).
That’s pretty much the
gist of selling on these sites. They’re very easy once you’ve sold a book or
two, and if you have any further questions on how to set it up, each of the sites has a
pretty detailed Help section with plenty of information.
Half.com's Help |
Amazon's Help
To make sure your sales
are successful and profitable (or at least, get as much money back as possible),
there are some ways to edge out the competition, or at the very least ensure
an actual sale.
Here are some tips.
See if it’s worth your
time. Check the prices of current
listing. Are the sale prices worth your time? Sometimes, books aren’t even
worth anything anymore, and sometimes you’ll come across plenty of $0.99
listings, especially for popular books. Don’t forget to factor in commission
and shipping charges too (although a part of shipping cost is reimbursed by
half.com and amazon.com). If it isn’t worth your time, and you’ll only get $2
back (after all fees and expenses) for that $50 textbook of yours, maybe you
should just keep it. Although for me, I’ll most likely sell it since I already
have a system setup. Listing, selling, and shipping a book does not add much to
my time, so it’s worth it to me. So check if this is worth your time.
Sell your textbook
IMMEDIATELY when you’re finished with it.
For a lot of us, this is an obvious thing.
The longer you choose to sell your textbook, the more its value goes down as
supply in the market increases. One major impact we all know too well is the
release of newer editions, which sometimes drop your book’s value down another
30% or at times make your book completely worthless. If you’re done with the
course and don’t need the book anymore, sell it! If you need it for reference,
buy the older edition and sell your current edition! (Though this isn’t
applicable all the time). Sometimes I even sell my books a week before final,
just because I KNOW I will pass the class (although that’s rare).
When possible, set
your price to be the lowest price.
This may sound crazy, but if you want to ensure an almost 99% sale, you should
set the lowest price. Besides the obvious reason of people looking for lowest
prices, there’s another reason why I recommend this approach. On half.com and
amazon.com, listings are sorted in the order of the prices and condition. The
lowest price will be display on top of the item’s list. On half.com, there’s a
link titled Best Price, which when clicked on will bring the buyer to the lowest
priced listing. This gives you an advantage, as in a sense you have an “extra”
listing. For items with a large seller volume, setting your prices to the
lowest (or one of the lowest) will increase your exposure and potential sales.
A lot of times people set
at the prices they want, and sometimes they get the price they want, sometimes
they don’t. The worse scenario is, you never get the price you want and never
make the sale. Eventually when you decide to sell at a lower price, the book’s
value has already gone much further down.
This doesn’t work apply
all the time, of course. Sometimes you’ll see ridiculously low prices, because
a particular person may really want to get rid of the book fast. In this case,
go to the next lowest reasonable price, and beat that one. Beating a price by
$0.01 will still get you listed as the lowest price, but set the price
accordingly. Sometimes people hate seeing $24.95, sometimes they don’t. This
is something you’ll have to experiment with. My preference is to have an easy
number, if I have to beat $25.00, I’ll set $24.00 or $24.50.
Take pictures of the
textbook! Here’s one easy way to
edge out the competition, spend the time to take some pictures of the textbook!
Half.com allows you to upload one picture of the book you’re selling, so make it
count! Or if you’re savvy enough, take a couple shots and add them together to
make one big picture! There’s a size limit, so you’ll have to account for that.
When you take the picture
of the book, make sure you use good lighting, and pick the best angle
available. I usually go with an angle that shows the side and top cover of the
book. Here’s one thing you should definitely consider when you take the picture
of the book.
Get a white piece of
paper and write clearly something along the lines of: “For Username’s Listing”
or “Username’s Book.” For example, if your username is Book_Seller, write “For
Book_Seller’s Listing”
Include this paper in the
picture, and make sure it comes out legible.
What this will do is
confirm to the buyer that you probably have the book you’re trying to sell in
your possession, and it’s in the condition you specify.
You’ll be surprise how
well this works. An actual picture can even allow you to sell at a higher
price. People will pay more to make sure they get what they want.
As mentioned, Half.com
allows you to upload this picture, so what I usually do in my description is to
put “Click for pics!” as the first few words, as they will only show a few words
of your description on the initial listing page.
For Amazon, I will put
“Email me for pics” as the first few words.
Taking pictures of books
will definitely be more time consuming, so it’s up to you to see if its worth it
or not. If your current book is going for a good amount, I would definitely
suggest you to invest the time into taking a quick picture with your digital
camera. If you don’t have a digital camera easily accessible to you, then this
may not be an option.
Write clear, straight
forward, and honest descriptions.
Here’s another important part. You’ll want to write simple, straight forward
descriptions of the book without getting too wordy about it. Don’t settle for
something like “book is in good condition” though. Don’t be vague!! If book is
in very good condition, say why. Here’s an example of an okay description:
“Click for pics! Book is in very good condition. Cover pages are slightly
worn, edges slightly round from regular use. Bindings are tight. Pages are in
excellent like new condition! No hand writing, no highlighting what-so-ever!
Will ship within 24 hours!”
In your description, you
should mention the condition of the cover, the condition of the spine and
bindings, and finally the condition of the pages. Are there high lightings?
Are there writings? If there aren’t too many, mention that. One way to ensure
return buyers is to have honest description. We all make mistake sometimes, but
if you set out to deceive someone, it’ll just end up hurting your future sales
when you receive a negative feedback. Remember, people are quick to voice their
complaint but slow to response in praise.
Remember to check out
half.com and amazon.com’s policy on book conditions. They’ll go over what
should be consider like new, very good, good, and acceptable. Follow their
guidelines, and be honest!
Set your prices
according to condition. Here’s a
pretty straight forward one. If your book is used and it’s in acceptable
condition, you should set the prices accordingly. It’ll be pretty silly to try
to sell the book at the same price someone else is selling for their “like new”
book, no? Even if you beat their price, if your price is close, the odds aren’t
really in your favor. Most people will opt for the better condition book for a
few more bucks.
Likewise, you can use
this to your advantage. If you have a brand new book, and you set your book to
lower prices than other used book listing, why should someone buy those books
instead of yours?
Offer expedite/faster
shipping, if practical. To
increase sales, you should offer expedite shipping services. According to
Half.com and Amazon.com, faster shipping should arrive within 6 business days
after shipping. So this gives you a few options. The below time are estimates
of US domestic shipping.
You can go with USPS
First-Class mail if the item is light enough (13 oz and under), which usually
takes 2-4 business day. You can also go with USPS Priority Mail, which usually
takes 2-3 business day. Priority Mail can get costly at times, so you might
want to try USPS Parcel Post, which usually takes 5-7 business day, and if you
ship early, falls into the 6 business day policy.
Fedex Ground and UPS
Ground are also usually 4-6 business day, depending on shipping location.
Sometimes they can be 1-3 business day too, if location is in same state. They
offer competitive rates and are usually cheaper for items above 2 lbs, compare
to USPS Priority Mail. You should check on each respective sites to see the
rates.
www.usps.com,
www.fedex.com, and
www.ups.com.
Sometimes a book is just
too heavy (5 lbs or more), where it’s just not practical to offer expedite
shipping, as this will cut into your profit big time. So you’ll have to make a
judgment on that. You can usually increase sales by offering faster shipping,
but in result you’ll get less money.
For those that have
experience in shipping, you should also consider offering international
shipping. I generally don’t offer it unless the item is light enough. Standing
in line and filling out those custom forms can be quite tedious. Depending on
the book (or product), offering international shipping will give you a bigger
market, but also bring about more risk from fraud.
Ship promptly and
choose the correct shipping services.
This is one way to ensure customer
satisfaction. Ship your books promptly! Half.com and Amazon.com requires you
to ship the book within about 2 business days, but if you can ship it on the
same day and you’re not busy, why not?
Most books are shipped
via media mail, which can be ridiculously slow at times, so if you can upgrade
the shipping service for just a bit more, you should consider doing it. If a
book is less than 13 oz, I’ll ship it via USPS First-Class, which usually takes
2-4 business days, pretty much the same speed as Priority Mail.
Respond to question
promptly and clearly. Sometimes
your buyers will have questions for you regarding the textbook. Is this the
CD-ROM edition? Is the workbook in new condition? Does it include so and so?
These are potential buyers that are considering your book, you’ve got them to
actually put an effort and ask a question, so answer promptly! If you answer 3
days later, don’t expect them to still be interested in the book. Although we
all can’t just sit in front of the computer waiting for emails, you should at
least respond to emails within 48 hours at the latest. Best is within 12-24
hours.
Here’s one thing to
note. If you’ve written the description correctly, there really shouldn’t be
any questions. So you should make a note and see if it’s something you can
change for future listings.
Using Direct Deposit to receive your payments!
This isn't really a tip, it's just to let you know how you'll get paid.
One reason why I recommend Half.com and Amazon is because they're the middle man
in accepting payment. When a buyer purchase a book, they pay either
Half.com or Amazon. After the book has been shipped and your buyer receive
it, Half.com and Amazon will then pay you the amounts after fees and
commissions. Setting up direct deposit requires a checking account.
Once you've enter the necessary information (account number, routing number) you
can have the money direct deposit into your checking account. Fast and
simple.
That’s all the tips I
can think of right now. This got
pretty long again, but I hope it’s been helpful. You should realize that this
doesn't just apply to selling books; a lot of the tips mentioned above pretty
much applies to selling ANYTHING online.
I wanted to give more
info for selling on eBay, but eBay is a big subject (there's plenty of books out
there on Selling on eBay). I might go into
that one day. The tips above apply to eBay too though.
For those that are
wondering how you can make some money on the side,
what you basically need do is source the book for much lower price than the
market prices you can find on the sites listed above. Sounds easy enough,
but it does require some research and time. You'll need to make sure that
the books you acquire for sale will earn you a worthwhile profit.
What I did before was that I asked my fellow classmate if they’re willing to sell me their textbooks. For
example, if I know the book currently goes for around $45 dollars, I offer them
$30 cash. Sometimes people will just sell it to save themselves the hassle.
Back then (3 years ago?), online selling was not as popular, and a lot of people
didn’t want to deal with the hassle. As I was already selling my own book,
setting up multiple listing was easy enough. The amount I make varies from book
to book, but generally if I can’t make at least $10 for my work, I won’t do it.
(It usually takes me a total of about 30-40 minute to list, and ship a book)
Checking the market prices of the book before course end is
important. You can also make agreement with classmates prior to the end of
the course, giving you some flexibility in prices. If prices change later
on, you may be able to negotiate a different deal.
Another way is to do it
by commission. This requires a bit of trust, but it is less risky than buying
books that you might not be able to sell. Commission rate is up to you, but I
generally do it where I can make at least $5-10 for each book. I offer to sell
their book for them, and take a percentage or a flat rate, depending on the
going price of the book. List it, package it, and ship it. Full service. Once
I’m paid, I give the rest of the portion to the book owner. I generally do this
for friends and families, although I usually end up not charging them too,
except for the packaging materials.
Again, checking market and street prices of the book before
the course end will help. For commissions, you can ask around as soon as
class start to get you a head start on earning some trust or finding business.
It's not too difficult to ask people "Do you want me to sell your book for you?
I can get you more than what you'll get at the bookstore." That usually
does the trick.
In either method, you can
try asking verbally, post on bulletin boards, or have some flyers around (as
long as the campus approves of the distribution). Another trick is to
stick around the bookstore and approach those that are coming to sell their used
books (you might want to prepare a list of book prices though).
Like many small
businesses, I use an online postage printing service such as
Endicia.com, which allows me to print postage at home via my computer
printer. All I’ll have to do is simply attach the postage labels and drop off
the packages at the postal office (no need to wait in line) or give it to the
mail man. Endicia cost $9.95 per month for their basic service, or an annual
price of $99.95. I have been using Endicia for years, and I definitely
recommend it.
Online
postage printing can also be found for free directly from
www.usps.com, although they only offer it for Priority Mail or Express
Mail. You can also find the same service from PayPal or Ebay, which gives more
shipping services option for a flat fee.
These days more people sell their books online
themselves, but there are still quite a few people out there that don't have the
time for it, or the knowledge. I still see people selling their used books
back to the bookstores for pocket changes, so there's still some opportunities
left. Don’t forget to apply
some of the tips above, to ensure some success in sales and profit!
That's all folks!
Again, I hope this “How To” has been helpful and not too confusing. I’ll post
it up for now and come back and edit it soon. For whatever reason, I proof read
better after a good sleep.
J If you
have any other tips, suggestions, or comments, please let me know! (Use
the link below)
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Comments, suggestions, or corrections?
Leave them
here!
:)