Question:
May I pick your brain for a moment? I’ve read some of your posts dealing with the selling of books. In one of the posts you recommended staying away from paperbacks. Can you tell me why?
<snip I sell (mostly) books on eBay, and I’ve had some success with paperbacks, although I only did it to clear shelf space and I wasn’t trying to make a profit. Unless a book has some unique feature (adult content, maybe) I wouldn’t bother with single sales, but selling in lots seems to work fairly well, especially when what you’re really interested in is just finding them good homes. Here are my results from some representative sales where I grouped the books by author: $21.50 – Dick Francis – 26 books $ 8.53 - Catherine Aird – 10 books $22.01 – John Dickson Carr – 13 books $ 4.99 – Heron Carvic (Miss Seaton) – 11 books $32.50 – Brother Cadfael – 15 books $ 5.50 – Tony Hillerman – 8 books $13.50 – Martha Grimes – 9 books $ 5.50 – Dorothy Gillman – 8 books $ 2.99 – Dick Francis – 6 books $20.50 – Elisabeth Peters (Amanda Peabody) – 7 books $ 2.99 – G. K. Chesterton – Father Brown – 4 books Here are my results from mixed lots: $10.50 – 13 ASSORTED MYSTERY ADVENTURE BOOKS $ 4.00 - 12 ASSORTED MYSTERY ADVENTURE BOOKS $21.01 – 19 ASSORTED MURDER MYSTERY PB’s I would recommend putting at least 10 books together if you are selling by lot, and lumping by author if possible. If you don’t have enough by one author for a complete lot, keep what you do have for that author all together in a lot. Also, list each title and author available in your description, and don’t depend on a picture to tell your story, because pictures aren’t searchable. Hope this helps. Alice (my-wings)
Response:
Thanks for replying David. I wasn’t sure if my original post had gotten through or not. I couldn’t see it, I only see your reply. Thanks for the input. I saw quite a few books from John MacDonald on Half.com I have a lot of paperbacks from him that date back to the 50’s and 60’s.
Ooops. I forgot to include, in my previous post…..there ARE some paperbacks that are actually collectors items. I know from reading the rec.collecting.books that for a few science fiction titles, the first edition was a paperback, rather than a hard cover. It wouldn’t surprise me if the same were true of Westerns as well. If you have really old paperbacks, it might be a good idea to include in your description the information from the copyright page as to printer, date, etc. as well as including the original cover price. Just remember that (although there are a few exceptions) a paperback is seldom the true first edition. If it says "first edition" what it means is "first edition in paperback" or "first edition in this format from this printer." Alice my-wings
Response:
The original post hasn’t appeared on my newsreader. May I pick your brain for a moment? I’ve read some of your posts dealing with the selling of books. In one of the posts you recommended staying away from paperbacks. Can you tell me why?
Time and expenditure versus income. It depends what market you’re going for. If you’ve already got a lot of paperbacks and want to sell them in lots, go for it. From what I’ve seen, unless you have something really rare, you’ll get about $1 each for them. When I go out bookshopping, I see rows and rows of paperbacks sitting there for $1 each or less — and once they’ve been opened and read, the spines are cracked. They’re not collectible; they’re made for reading purposes only. There’s a few collectible softcover books, but millions and billions of used, worn paperbacks with pulp text pages. Conversely, spending some time learning to spot which books are collectible and wanted, is both an education and an investment. *I* don’t have any good books for sale on eBay right now – I’m trying to clear out things that used to sell well, but which it seems can’t be given away now. So….I’ll shift modes a bit and buy other items within my interest category. I have a several boxes of paperbacks. I am thinking about putting them up just to try and increase my feedback rating. Plus, I need to get rid of them so I was thinking. Why not charge actual media rate shipping, plus cost of envelope, and put them up with a starting bid of 50 cents apiece?
Because it’s not worth it to do it that way. It’ll cost 30 cents to put them on eBay, and if you sell them individually for more than $1.50 each, I’d be amazed. I have some multiple titles by the same author, like John D. MacDonald. Should I put them all together and sell them as a group? Do you have any thoughts on this? Any advice you could give me would be greatly appreciated.
Since you already have the books, and want to accomplish two things (make some money and get rid of them), putting them up in lots – as others have suggested — is the best thing to do, I believe. When I tell people "stay away from paperbacks", that’s for those who want to start selling books by buying lots of paperbacks and reselling them. That advice always stands. For good books: If you want to know what to look for and what to sell, read the WTB ads in the book marketplace newsgroup — and go to some antiquarian bookstores (not just junk used-book places) and spend some time looking at books and comparing the selling prices. Kris
Response:
"Alana Martin" wrote Hope you find some goodies! Checking out potential treasures can be loads of fun. Even better than Googlewhacking!
LOL, Yes always more fun when I might be enriched by the experience! alanama (P.S. If you need any help with verifying what you’ve got or determining condition, just give a shout. There are tons of resources on line.)
I will most assuredly take you up on this in the future. Thanks for offering. Taylor
Response:
Alana, Much thanks for your help. I did the search, and I’m really surprised at what some of the John D. Macdonald books are selling for. I have some really old ones, so I’m taking a very close look at them, and other authors as well. Thanks to David, Stu, Alice, Bill, and Kris too. This NG is awesome. Taylor
Response:
Alana, Much thanks for your help. I did the search, and I’m really surprised at what some of the John D. Macdonald books are selling for. I have some really old ones, so I’m taking a very close look at them, and other authors as well. Thanks to David, Stu, Alice, Bill, and Kris too. This NG is awesome. Taylor
Hope you find some goodies! Checking out potential treasures can be loads of fun. Even better than Googlewhacking! alanama (P.S. If you need any help with verifying what you’ve got or determining condition, just give a shout. There are tons of resources on line.) — Alana "Success is going from one failure to the next without a loss of enthusiasm." —Winston Churchill
Response:
I’m going to be listing a largish lot (20 to 25 pbs) of Andre Norton pbs from the ’70s in the next week or so (whenever I get the time to do a write up on them all) as well as a collection of 20 or so erotic novels from the late ’60s & early 70s.
For the Norton books, you may want to check individual titles on a used book search engine before you list. (I like AddALL http://www.addall.com/Used/ .) There are numerous Andre Norton paperbacks listed now in the $20.00 range, and a few considerably higher. I also suspect that the erotica might be worth listing as singles. Alice my-wings
Response:
May I pick your brain for a moment? I’ve read some of your posts dealing with the selling of books. In one of the posts you recommended staying away from paperbacks. Can you tell me why? I have a several boxes of paperbacks. I am thinking about putting them up just to try and increase my feedback rating. Plus, I need to get rid of them so I was thinking. Why not charge actual media rate shipping, plus cost of envelope, and put them up with a starting bid of 50 cents apiece? I have some multiple titles by the same author, like John D. MacDonald. Should I put them all together and sell them as a group? Do you have any thoughts on this? Any advice you could give me would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Taylor Miller
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – May I pick your brain for a moment? I’ve read some of your posts dealing with the selling of books. In one of the posts you recommended staying away from paperbacks. Can you tell me why? I have a several boxes of paperbacks. I am thinking about putting them up just to try and increase my feedback rating. Plus, I need to get rid of them so I was thinking. Why not charge actual media rate shipping, plus cost of envelope, and put them up with a starting bid of 50 cents apiece? I have some multiple titles by the same author, like John D. MacDonald. Should I put them all together and sell them as a group? Do you have any thoughts on this? Any advice you could give me would be greatly appreciated.
hi, i sell books on ebay, too. i’ve sold paperbacks with some success. if you’re thinking about putting them on ebay, do a search on the title first. if there’s 18 other copies, it may not be worth your time or money. check out www.half.com . i’ve listed things on half that i never expected to sell. sure, they sat there for a while, but i eventually got rid of them. i listed a copy of Needful Things on half with the other 150 copies, and it sold. not for much, but i got rid of it, and that’s the point. david — http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/derbarbier/ remove "NO" and "SPAM" for email
Response:
I put up a lot of 75 assorted used paperbacks last week, with an opening bid of $1.00 and shipping of $10.00. All I really wanted was to give them to someone who wanted them and get them out of the house, and I would have been happy with just getting the $1 and shipping. But they went for $20-some plus shipping, so I’m pleased. I would not have listed them individually — too much work for too little money. But if I had, say, several of one author, I might have made a mini-lot out of those.
: May I pick your brain for a moment? I’ve read some of your posts dealing : with the selling of books. : : In one of the posts you recommended staying away from paperbacks. Can you : tell me why? : : I have a several boxes of paperbacks. I am thinking about putting them up : just to try and increase my feedback rating. Plus, I need to get rid of them : so I was thinking. Why not charge actual media rate shipping, plus cost of : envelope, and put them up with a starting bid of 50 cents apiece? : : I have some multiple titles by the same author, like John D. MacDonald. : Should I put them all together and sell them as a group? Do you have any : thoughts on this? : : Any advice you could give me would be greatly appreciated. : : Thanks, : Taylor Miller : :
Response:
Thanks for replying David. I wasn’t sure if my original post had gotten through or not. I couldn’t see it, I only see your reply. Thanks for the input. I saw quite a few books from John MacDonald on Half.com I have a lot of paperbacks from him that date back to the 50’s and 60’s. Taylor – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – May I pick your brain for a moment? I’ve read some of your posts dealing with the selling of books. In one of the posts you recommended staying away from paperbacks. Can you tell me why? I have a several boxes of paperbacks. I am thinking about putting them up just to try and increase my feedback rating. Plus, I need to get rid of them so I was thinking. Why not charge actual media rate shipping, plus cost of envelope, and put them up with a starting bid of 50 cents apiece? I have some multiple titles by the same author, like John D. MacDonald. Should I put them all together and sell them as a group? Do you have any thoughts on this? Any advice you could give me would be greatly appreciated. hi, i sell books on ebay, too. i’ve sold paperbacks with some success. if you’re thinking about putting them on ebay, do a search on the title first. if there’s 18 other copies, it may not be worth your time or money. check out www.half.com . i’ve listed things on half that i never expected to sell. sure, they sat there for a while, but i eventually got rid of them. i listed a copy of Needful Things on half with the other 150 copies, and it sold. not for much, but i got rid of it, and that’s the point. david — http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/derbarbier/ remove "NO" and "SPAM" for email
Response:
Thanks for the advice Stu. I may try to put some of them up in groups like that. Or according to subject. I could sell all of my westerns together. Thanks again, Taylor
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I put up a lot of 75 assorted used paperbacks last week, with an opening bid of $1.00 and shipping of $10.00. All I really wanted was to give them to someone who wanted them and get them out of the house, and I would have been happy with just getting the $1 and shipping. But they went for $20-some plus shipping, so I’m pleased. I would not have listed them individually — too much work for too little money. But if I had, say, several of one author, I might have made a mini-lot out of those. : May I pick your brain for a moment? I’ve read some of your posts dealing : with the selling of books. : : In one of the posts you recommended staying away from paperbacks. Can you : tell me why? : : I have a several boxes of paperbacks. I am thinking about putting them up : just to try and increase my feedback rating. Plus, I need to get rid of them : so I was thinking. Why not charge actual media rate shipping, plus cost of : envelope, and put them up with a starting bid of 50 cents apiece? : : I have some multiple titles by the same author, like John D. MacDonald. : Should I put them all together and sell them as a group? Do you have any : thoughts on this? : : Any advice you could give me would be greatly appreciated. : : Thanks, : Taylor Miller : :
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – May I pick your brain for a moment? I’ve read some of your posts dealing with the selling of books. In one of the posts you recommended staying away from paperbacks. Can you tell me why? I have a several boxes of paperbacks. I am thinking about putting them up just to try and increase my feedback rating. Plus, I need to get rid of them so I was thinking. Why not charge actual media rate shipping, plus cost of envelope, and put them up with a starting bid of 50 cents apiece? I have some multiple titles by the same author, like John D. MacDonald. Should I put them all together and sell them as a group? Do you have any thoughts on this? Any advice you could give me would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Taylor Miller
Phew! I thought I’d never find this thread again, Taylor! Fortunately, I finally recalled that you had directed your question to Kris. You haven’t put your books on auction yet, have you? Regarding paperbacks, my opinion varies from Kris’s but that may have to do with the fact that I am a SF fan and, as Alice pointed out, a number of SF author’s books first appeared in paperback form. Depending on the author, they can be _well_ worth fooling with. The same is true for several other authors of different genre, including John D. MacDonald. So, "First Edition" or "First Published by…/date" is what you are looking for on the copyright page (or, if it is the author’s first published book, even later printings can have some value occasionally). As Kris pointed out, the condition of paperbacks can deteriorate quickly unless great effort has been made to preserve them. And if the book is not going to look nice on a collector’s shelf, it’s liable to draw no interest unless it is very scarce. Because I am a "reader" rather than a "collector", and will take my books any way that I can get them, I have to be really careful when considering the collectibility of PBs for stock, if you know what I mean. If you do a completed auction search on eBay using "PB" and "1st" as your search, and "highest price" to sort the list, you might decide to take a very careful look through that box before doing lots or listing on half.com. Also, you can go here for a look-see: http://dogbert.abebooks.com/abe/IList Search by highest price/soft-cover, for either John D. MacDonald or do a general search (get ready to whistle). Do keep in mind that the prices you see at Abe are what the dealer would _like_ to get so the listings there are only good as an indicator of whether a book warrants special attention or handling (or donating to your local thrift!). The prices that a book has sold for on eBay give a more realistic view of a book’s immediate market value but they, too, must be looked at somewhat skeptically (remember, they only reflect the past ten days activity). I have a couple of books which I know to be somewhat valuable (PBs, as a matter of fact) but until I see some activity on eBay that tells me that my collector base is in a "feeding frenzy", I won’t put them on auction. So don’t be hasty. You’ve probably been moving that box around for a while, eh? A few more days of looking at it while you do a bit of research won’t hurt, will it? And if it turns out that you have a gem or two tucked away in there, all I ask is that you think of me with your first celebratory swig! Best of luck and have fun! alanama — Alana "Success is going from one failure to the next without a loss of enthusiasm." —Winston Churchill
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