How to Find Used Books to Sell on Amazon

Do you need a little extra money during these tough economical times? I've been selling books online since 2002 and I also sell on eBay. I know people who make a living selling books online. While other retailers weren't doing so well during the holidays Amazon reports that it was the best Christmas season ever. Amazon said its strongest day was December 15th, where 6.3 million items were ordered, which was 73 items every second. I believe it because I had high sales from Thanksgiving until a few days before Christmas. Be sure check the resources for a link to my best book sale ever. (it was not during the Christmas season)

Things You'll Need

• Car
• Scanner (optional)
• Patience
• Time

Instructions

1. Do a little house cleaning. Start by finding books to sell without leaving your home; get rid of unwanted books. Sign on to Amazon and register as a sellers, enter the ISBN numbers of your books to see if they are worth listing, it's that easy.

2. Thrift stores are a great place to find books to sell online. Keep in mind that even though you might find a few books at Goodwill, Goodwill has their own auction site and they also sell on Amazon. So you might not find too many good books to sell shopping at Goodwill. Check other thrift stores in your town for used books.

3. Friends of the Library (FOL) book sales use to be a great place to find used books. But lately the sales are so crowded, I stopped going. The last sale I attended, you had to wait in line and a mother and son who volunteered the day before the sale had bought many of the most valuable books because they had first pick. They were both there the day of the sale using their scanner to scan every book to make sure they did not miss any. I pretty much knew I would not find any good books there so I left. I went to another FOL book sale in another location weeks later and I saw the mother and son again so I have pretty much given up on FOL book sales.

4. Sign up with Book Sale Finder to receive an email of the book sales in your area. You choose how many miles you would like to travel to a book sale and when there are book sales within those miles you will receive an email. I receive my emails from Book Sale Finder on Tuesdays which gives me plenty of time to plan which sales I will attend. See resources for the website.

5. I've been selling books since 2002 but my best sale happened this year 2008. See the resource section for a link to my best book sale.

6. Estate Sales are a good place to find used books. Even though I usually arrive at the estate sale when the books have been picked over, I still manage to find one or two good books, sometimes more.

7. Church/Rummage Sales are a good place to find used books. This summer I went to a church sale and bought a box of brand new audiobooks for $4.00. I got a few good books there too.

8. Some other good places to find used/new books are auctions, used bookstores, flea markets, yard sales and garage sales.

Tips & Warnings

• I have a pretty good eye for picking books but having a scanner to scan the books before I buy them is really helpful. The scanner will show you what the book is selling for on Amazon. See resources for the type of scanner I use.

• Look for books in excellent condition, unless it is very valuable.

Resources

• Media Scouter (the scanner I use)
• How to Sell Used Books on Amazon: The Stay-at-home Mom's Secret Step-by-step Guide to Making Thousands of Dollars a Month
• The Home-Based Bookstore: Start Your Own Business Selling Used Books on Amazon, eBay or Your Own Web Site
• My Best Book Sale
• View My Amazon Storefront
• Book Sale Finder