How to Find Books to Sell on eBay
On the eBay auction site, people can sell or buy a wide range of items, such as crafts, airplanes, clothing, shoes, real estate and automobiles. Books are one of the most commonly sold items. Whether you want to sell first edition or rare books as a primary income, or you just want to supplement your income by selling a few trendy books, there are certain methods that will help you buy low and sell high.
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Instructions
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Check universities and local college campuses to see when the semester ends. Many students sell small appliances, such as TVs and refrigerators and their slightly used textbooks at this time. Generally, this is so they won't have to pack them up to transport them home. The students usually post an ad with contact numbers on bulletin boards around campus. Textbooks often sell very well on eBay.
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Look in your local newspaper for garage sales and estate sales. Many homeowners clean old books out of their attics and bookshelves and sell them for less than a dollar. This is a wise way to find first editions, classics novels, cookbooks and home and auto repair manuals. These types of books usually sell well on eBay.
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Ask your local library if it ever has a book sale. Small libraries often have little space and must have book sales annually to create space for current books. The book prices are generally quite inexpensive. This is an effective way to purchase books you can sell in lots or bundles on eBay, such as paperback romances and other books by well-known authors.
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Clean out your own attic, a relative's or neighbor's. Offer to do this free of charge, if they will allow you to keep any books you are interested in selling. Another idea is to charge a price for cleaning out attics, basements or garages. This is an excellent way to find items the homeowners will usually let you purchase from them for a bargain price.
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Tips & Warnings
Go on eBay, Half.com and other auction sites to see which books sell for higher prices. This is a quick way to learn which books are valuable or in demand. Keep in mind that if a book is trendy, you may have a lot of competition, which lowers the selling price.
Research or take a class on how to identify first editions and rare books. This helps you to know whether the books you are buying are simply trash or a pricey, rare, first-edition novel that is signed by the author or something a collector would buy for a high price.
You can choose to sell your books at an auction where people bid against each other for the book or to sell it for a fixed price that doesn't fluctuate. Keep in mind that rare and first-edition books are more appropriate for auction prices.
Check books you are thinking about purchasing for markings, tattered pages and loose bindings. These lower the resale value even on rare or first-edition books.
References
- Photo Credit OLD BOOKS image by brelsbil from Fotolia.com
