Selling used books is a great small business or a profitable home-based side business. The types of used books you sell determines the success of your used books business. It may seem like you should delve into a little bit of everything when selling used books, but specializing in a certain type of used book is just as profitable.
The location of your used books business is important, if you're going to have a storefront along with online sales. A used college books business is great, if you're located in a college town, while a used and out of print books business is good for a more affluent area. When starting up a used books business consider the following:
1. An online only used books business has less start-up costs and lets you reach a wider audience.
2. The percentage of homeschooling families increases each year. A used homeschooling books business is a great niche, if you want returning customers and customer loyalty.
3. Used law books and medical books are in great demand for cash strapped students. Offering textbooks on top of regular books increases profits.
Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done
Open an account with an online bookseller to sell used books
If you've gone through the steps of gathering inventory and setting up your business, but you haven't had the time to get a website up and running, open an account with an online bookseller that specializes in bulk used books and helping businesses sell used books.
I recommend: For a small fee, you can get your used books noticed by over a million customers at
AbeBooks. Sign up for a merchant's account through
Amazon.com, pay a monthly fee and list your used books on one of the most popular online booksellers.
Look for online sites that sell used homeschool books
While major used book selling companies are all over the Internet, homeschoolers use online auction and listing sites when shopping for used homeschool books. Using these services lets you sell to your target audience by not including your homeschool inventory with your regular inventory.
I recommend: List by subject on the selling boards at
Used Homeschool Curriculum. List for free at
HomeschoolBid.com and take advantage of the online auction format.
Specialize in rare used books and offer a book search service
Rare books are books that are either out of print or have very few copies in circulation. These usually sell for higher than average prices. Customers looking to buy used books online may also need a book search performed. By offering both book search services and used book sales, you increase your customer base and profits.
I recommend: Apply to sell books through
Biblio and gain access to a large number of buyers looking for rare books. Get help with your own rare used books website by signing up with
Bibliopolis.
Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide
- When gathering your initial inventory, shop around at estate auctions and yard sales. Many times people get rid of used books for cheap because they don't know the value of the book. Pay special attention when attending an estate auction of someone wealthy, because they most likely have a valuable book collection.
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