Looking for Information on Selling Books on Ebay...

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   nuveauposted 14 years ago

   Greetings folks and thank you for reading - so nice to be here!
   
   I am 55 and have four teen kids (heh...that's four "TEEN" kids, not "14"...whew!*s). Anyway and over the years, our house has become full of books...lotsa books.
   
   I would like to know how to sell these on ebay...ex: how much to charge, what folks might be looking for, etc.
   
   I have books from the early 1900's to now...the old ones came to me when I was younger from other sources. And there are kids books, textbooks from university, etc. Just so many here and I'd like to try and sell them.
   
   Would any hubbers here be able to assist with this project? I suppose one could use Amazon, etc. and Alibris, but the process is...a process. And there's one in the USA but it's only for USA.
   
   So, I'd like to use ebay here in Canada for this. Could ship internationally as well, I guess. Just like to know more about selling books on ebay.
   
   Thanks all for the help, if you can and we'll see you here again soon!

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      mod2vintposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Your best bet is to search ebay on the book titles and go from there.

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      1. 60

         nuveauposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Hi there mod2vint. Just a note to say thanks for the advice...it would be sooo nice to sell on ebay that way but i'll try to take your advice and see what happens.
         
         Don't be shy to advise more if you'd like. I'll take anything..hehe
         
         regards

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   2. 87

      Marisa Wrightposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      eBay may be easier but I think you'd get a lower price. Personally, it would never occur to me to look on eBay for a book!  Maybe it's a different story in Canada.
      
      If you're logged in as an eBay member, you can search on completed auctions - so I'd suggest doing that first, to see what kind of money books are selling for.
      
      Otherwise, how about setting up a market stall somewhere?

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   thisisoliposted 14 years ago

   Do a lot of research before you start buying stock, you want to spend some time checking out what other books are selling for. Make sure you can make a profit before you make a business

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   1. 60

      nuveauposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Hi there and thank you for the advice. For sure, research is important and good advice for sure.
      
      Don't be shy to add more if you like! IT would be great to be able to sell on ebay...we have so many of these things here.
      
      Regards for the moment.

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   Uninvited Writerposted 14 years ago

   I have a friend who has better luck selling used books through Amazon. I have sold books through Ebay but found they never did go for much.
   
   Abebooks is also good, many libraries use that site.

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4. 72

   livewithrichardposted 14 years ago

   I got my start selling books on Ebay. I do a title search on Ebay to check out the competition then do the same on Amazon to check the lowest price for that title. My starting price would be the average between the lowest price on Ebay and the lowest price on Amazon.
   
   On books that are on the best sellers lists, I would start soft cover and hard cover books at .99 and let the auction market decide.
   
   Another good way is to sell books as a lot especially if you have a series of books.

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   sunforgedposted 14 years ago

   I buy most of my books from ebay, because they are so cheap. Great as a buyer, terrible as a seller.
   
   As an ebay seller, I would never be a book seller. The profit margin (even if the book is free!) is just too small.
   
   Sell books on Amazon or half.com instead(an ebay company)..rare books, if you know what you have are good ebay items..
   
   MW..buying books on ebay is great! Pick your favorite author type in "favorite author LOT" than proceed to buy every book ever by your fav author for less than a new paperback!
   
   I believe the current largest ebay store is book seller. Examine other sellers and closing item prices...see if its worth your time.

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      Crewman6posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Sunforged is right.  I've just started selling on half.com, and it's very easy to list, but their 'condition' category  has some gaps, making it hard to choose the proper condition sometimes.  While books are fine as a supplementary market, I wouldn't make them my primary item on eBay.  As mentioned above, there's not much money in most of them.  Unless you have some super-rare very valuable ones?  (Then you'll be having lots of fun!)

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   marinealways24posted 14 years ago

   I agree with sun, most will likely sell for little to nothing individually unless they are extremely old, rare, limited, or collectible. The ones that aren't high dollar, I would sell in a lot rather than 1 by 1.

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