Are you considering learning all you can on how to sell used books online? If you have, you’ve made one of the first great decisions. You’ve decided to look for help from those that have been doing it for a while.
This site is all about learning how to sell used books online and in a real brick and mortar bookshop. I’m going to go over some of the information on selling books that we have compiled on this site. We’ve been publishing articles from real booksellers for almost four years now and have quite a collection of free information. If you don’t find exactly what you’re looking for you can always try the search button over on the right hand side. Below I’ll show you a little quote from articles (all on this site) dealing with various topics on how to sell used books online. Just click on the link in the heading to read the full story.
How do I package my books for shipping (lots of photos)
I would love to see every seller use this system. I have sent out thousands of books this way and have had zero returns, zero complaints or negative feedback and not one phone call or email to complain about damage. In fact I’ll show you some of my Amazon comments, not to toot my own horn but to show how customers feel about receiving a well packaged book.
5 out of 5: “The book arrived beautifully packed and in pristine condition…. I would highly recommend this seller.”
Date: 1/29/2008 Rated by Buyer: Margaret S.5 out of 5: “…. Accurate description, well-packaged, no problems. Would recommend to a friend.”
Date: 1/29/2008 Rated by Buyer: Carol S.5 out of 5: “Book arrived today in good time, excellent packaging and as described. Can’t ask for more…”
Date: 1/18/2008 Rated by Buyer: 1byte2few
How do I figure out how to price my books?
So, compare the condition of the book with the condition of the ones I can find and then get a price with that, look at the fact that it is a novelisation and that there’s a fan base and some of them will be interested in buying novelisations while others won’t. There’s a great deal of something called ‘hunch’ at this point and experience…
Do you recommend using a database to store all of my books (we certainly do)
The Art of Books (AOB) is an online bookseller’s inventory management system. Different sellers with differing needs will find their own way of using the system. Here’s how I use it. For the time being I use Abe’s free database, Homebase, to enter and manage my inventory. I will be switching to a much more powerful database shortly but for now (and for most sellers) Homebase works fine….
What is a good way to get more traffic to my Online Bookstore?
Whether you have an Amazon store, an eBay store or your very own website (we recommend Chrislands for helping with this by th way) one of the best ways to get some traffic is by creating links to your website. The more trusted/established the site then the more value the links have in the eyes of Google. A great place to get a few of these links is by writing with us.
Here are a few other tidbits that will help you in your voyage of becoming a great online used book seller
Bruce, I started to comment on this posting the day it went up but my computer froze up and I had to reboot. Of course by the time I finished that process I had forgotten all about commenting…
That said, here it is.
I find this blog to be one of my favorites. Great articles by people that are just starting and ‘old pro’s’. What a great place to meet other book lovers.
Might want to mention that commenting to posts one has an opportunity to put a link to your website. This is the same with most blogs. To those who stop by Bookshopblog.com and never leave comments you are missing a great opportunity. By commenting you get some name recognition with both the many dealers and book buyers that come here. Same thing with other blogs whether you visit them regularly or just a one shot visit.
I would also suggest when commenting you use a name that is associated with your store. Signing it “Bill” or “Suzie” won’t work.
Plus with your comments the rest of us might get to learn something.
Paul – prying1 –
Great point Paul, thanks for pointing that out. I’ll be doing a June round up (monthly best article) and will be sure to reiterate that thought. I always delete spammy links in comments (usually trying to promote a third rate website) but love when they come from other book folks, helps us all get to know each other.