How to Buy Books to Resell to Make the Most Money Fast

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By Peggy Hazelwood
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Check out library book sales.

You've decided to buy used books to resell. To make the most money fast reselling books, there are tips that will get you started.

Even during a bad economy, people will buy books that they plan to keep. But smart consumers often look online to buy used books at a discount rather than paying full price for new books. Use the following ideas to make money fast when you resell books.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Used books to resell
Online account or another way to sell used books

Step 1

Buy Nonfiction Books

Buy nonfiction books or reference books that people want to keep on the bookshelf to refer to again and again. Look for books in these and other nonfiction book categories to resell and make the most money fast:

- business
- relationships
- reference, such as writing guides
- self-help
- textbooks
Step 2

Buy Newer Used Fiction Books

To sell books fast to make the most money, buy new fiction books. So many new fiction books are published each month that unless a new book stays on the best-seller list for any length of time, that book quickly sinks to the bottom of the sales pile. If you can find new fiction books to buy, snatch up as many as you can while the demand is still great.
Step 3

Buy used library books to resell.

Shop Where the Good Books Are

Shop around and find places where the good books are. Libraries in upscale parts of town can be excellent places to find good books to resell. Often library patrons will donate their used books to the library. In large cities, most branch libraries have a small room or a couple of bookshelves where they resell these donated books. Check back often if you find a library that consistently has good books to resell to make money fast.
Step 4

Shop Book Sales on the First Day

Libraries hold book sales for two or three days. If possible, shop for used books the first day of the book sale to find the best books to resell for the most money. Books get picked over very quickly. If needed, buy a friends of the library membership to gain entrance to the "early bird" sale hours.

See the Resources section for a link to my article How to Find Used Book Sales.
Step 5

Determine Which Books to Buy to Resell

Consider using these ways to find out which books you can resell to make money fast:

- Read the New York Times Best Seller List to know the top hardcover and paperback fiction and nonfiction books. These books are in demand and typically will sell fast. See the Resources section below for the New York Times website.

- Buy a book scanner with a data download service to scan books' ISBNs on the spot. Scan the ISBN to immediately find the three lowest prices on Amazon as well as the book's ranking in sales. Typically a ranking under 100,000 will sell better than a higher number.

- Call a family member or friend to have them look up the Amazon ranking and price online or the eBay completed listings for the books.

- If possible, use the library's computer to look up the Amazon ranking and price online or the eBay completed listings.

Comments

Alrady said

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on 8/14/2009 The idea of using ISBN scanner is BRILLIANT thank you for that tip.. This is great step by step for earning money by selling books. I have friends that have done that exclusively.

jrtorres said

on 7/29/2009 I've made good money using this idea buying and reselling medical and legal books mostly that I find at swapmeets and fleamarkets. It helps if you have a pda scanner.