Ever since businesses started making money online, I was intrigued. I graduated from high school in 1996, just as the internet was starting to come out of obscurity. At the time, I had no idea that learning how to make money selling books online would be one of my first interests.
When I got to college, there were always stories of online companies raising millions in IPOs on the stock market.
You are reading: Buying and selling books
All this frenzy played a big role in my decision to go into finance and business management. I was fascinated by the ability of companies to sell products online. it was such a new concept back then.
I just had to get a piece of the action!
how to make money selling books online
Today, exchanging textbooks and selling used books online for profit is much easier than it was then, thanks to tools like textrader that do all the work for you.
But when I started, the process was much more manual.
Actually, it wasn’t until around 2001 or 2002 that I finally made the jump to selling used books online. Of course, the big player in those days was eBay. now the giant is amazon. but at that time, it was not so important to buy and sell things online. however, he had never actually sold anything and was fascinated by the subject.
I was in college and I was a cheapskate. So obviously my investment wasn’t huge, but I decided to sell books online. this is how i made my first money online.
essentially you would go to thrift stores like goodwill and others and look on used book shelves and find books you could sell on ebay or amazon. this was my process back then in a nutshell.
However, I am going to share a few ways you can improve your chances of success selling books online.
The key to success in buying and selling books online is to know how much money you can sell the book for before you buy it. Although you could buy books all day for $1 each at most thrift stores, that doesn’t mean you should.
You should only buy a book if you know you can make some money from it. I usually only buy a book for $1 if I knew I could sell it for $5 or more.
the basics of selling used books online: 4 types of used books to sell
In general, there are 4 types of books to look for when trying to sell books online. Most of the books you can sell for any decent amount of money will fall into one of these four categories.
1. textbooks
The market for used textbooks is between $5.5 billion and $8 billion, according to a recent article. that means there is a lot of money to be made in this disjointed market.
I’m sure a lot of used textbooks are sold on college campuses. however, a quick perusal of amazon and ebay listings will show you that many people still buy and sell textbooks online, both used and new.
where to find used textbooks to sell?
if you’re selling your own textbooks, that’s one thing. But what if you want to become a textbook flipper and start selling textbooks, where you buy and sell for a profit?
I would start by looking at these places:
- Thrift or thrift stores like goodwill
- yard sales…you never know!
- ebay.com. you may be able to pick up a cheap book and then turn around and sell it on amazon or elsewhere for a higher price.
- craigslist. especially if you’re near a college town, your chances might be better to get some cheap textbooks.
- ask your friends and family. you’ll be surprised what they have out there!
- amazon.com. the chances of finding something really cheap here are probably slimmer, but it’s still possible to stumble upon the right opportunity.
where to sell used textbooks online?
Textbooks in particular have many places you can sell them. you can use ebay.com and amazon.com as a great way to list and sell your inventory online.
These are sites that all college students will turn to for a cheaper version of required textbooks. this was true in the early 2000s and the only change is that more students are looking online to buy used textbooks.
Because the ridiculous surcharges at the university bookstore haven’t changed either. that means there is a huge market for old textbooks.
However, there are also many other textbook-specific markets worth checking out. These are some of the textbook markets to sell textbooks:
- textbooks.com
- bookscouter.com
- chegg.com
- campusbookrentals.com
- books abe
2. modern first edition books
Modern first edition books are essentially books published in the last 30 or 40 years. For some people, these are collectibles for their favorite authors or books. for others, they are simply willing to pay a slightly higher price for something that could one day become a collectible.
These first editions are not hard to find for books that are current or recent bestsellers. however, they tend to get a bit more difficult as you go back in time.
When I started, I really didn’t know what kind of books to look for. so after doing some research, i found out that modern first editions are collectible!
If you don’t know how to tell if a book is a first edition, it’s not always easy. but here is a good guide on how to determine if the book is a first edition.
immediate profitable sale of books
With my limited knowledge of what books to look for, I probably missed some good ones. however, I did find some decent modern first editions. One book I sold for about $50 was the first signature edition by John Grisham.
I also found some other books that sold for $20 or $30. however, most of the books I found sold for around $5 to $7. still not bad for a $1 purchase.
I only followed it for about 3-4 months. I would go looking for books on the weekends and sell them online and mail them out during the week. Since I was in school and trying to get my future wife interested in me, I didn’t spend too much time or effort on her.
However, I managed to earn a few hundred dollars here and there.
where to buy modern first edition books?
- Thrift or thrift stores, such as goodwill
- yard sales & garage sales
- flea markets
- craigslist
- ask friends and family
- sometimes you can find great deals on ebay if you know what to look for
where to sell modern first edition books?
I would stick with ebay most of the time to sell these types of books. People know that they can go to eBay to find rare and collectible items, including modern first edition books. eBay is a great place to look for adult and children’s books.
amazon is probably not the best place to sell these types of books (however, you can also search for their particular books).
If you’re thinking of this as a long-term project and are willing to keep a large inventory of old books on hand to get the best price for each one, you may want to consider an online bookstore.
That means you should have enough vintage books and first edition used books on hand to justify those monthly fees. however, if you have rooms full of used books, this can be a great way to get the best price from book buyers for your first editions.
3. out of stock used books
Out of print books are just the standard used books, both for adults and children, that you can find at any vintage bookstore or thrift store. usually there is not much money to be made from these “regular” type books. While you won’t make the most money this way, it doesn’t hurt to try.
Especially with the competition and the fees that Amazon will charge, it’s getting harder and harder to make a lot of money on a book that costs $1 to buy and sells for $5. after paying for the packaging and label and shipping costs, there isn’t much profit left.
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However, there are still many used book sellers on amazon that sell these types of books. then, you can make it work… but it’s not easy.
these are the type of books that are considered “long tail”. Many of these books will only sell a few copies a month total, and if there are 50 sellers trying to sell a used copy of the same book, well, do the math. you may have to wait a year or more before the book sells.
Most of the people who make decent money off non-collectible second-hand children’s and adult books are either large used bookstores with a large stock in a good physical location or individual booksellers who cater to a really specific niche.
4. collectibles and old books
Many people are surprised at how much of a market there is for vintage and collectible books. Selling vintage books online, limited first edition books, or even special collectible books is a great market!
Being good at this requires a willingness to learn new skills and invest time, but the potential rewards are huge!
One of our writers on this site, Shane, has been buying and selling vintage books for over 15 years. jokes about being able to “smell” the money in any old book at the flea market, garage sale, or even a used book store.
While a truly rare book is a rare find, it happens. he remembers buying a 1919 first edition for $55 on ebay and four months later seeing it on abebooks for $775.
the most profitable used books won’t generate that level of profit.
that is not included in the main money generators as in the previous story. this is the average old book markup you might find at a flea market, real estate sale, low price online, or even the very occasional garage sale.
specialized book sales vs. general book sales
There are good arguments to be made for both of these methods of selling books online. Finding popular second-hand books that you can buy for five and ten cents off the cover price that you then sell can produce a very good return on investment.
In other words, these two methods of selling old books online are a great way to make a lot of money if you know what you’re doing. So is one method better than the other? which one makes you the most money will depend on your particular circumstance.
Browsing books can be a great side job, or even a full-time job, in a variety of ways. the key is to get in the game of selling books online and see what you like the most, what you can consistently find in the area and use that to keep moving forward.
some advice from a book hound
Shane was kind enough to bring to this post some of his 15 years of first-hand knowledge on how to make money selling used books online. she mainly specialized in first edition old books and collectible old books.
If you like to study things in depth before you jump in, the ideas of learning how to locate, identify, and buy used books before selling them for a profit can be overwhelming. there’s a lot of information involved in becoming a book hound (slang for someone who does this, especially with vintage or collectible first editions).
enough, it can quickly overwhelm you.
but don’t worry. if you’re excited about the potential profit at that yard sale, yard sale, or library sale, if you love the feel of a physical book in your hands, and then the big number after the $ that appears after you sell it, then don’t let the world of flipping books intimidate you.
Follow these tips, treat it like an adventure, and chances are you’ll get the bug too! and make a nice profit along the way.
be honest about the condition
You should never lie about the condition of the used book. being honest is just good policy, period. but this also applies to gray areas.
what if the book falls in that gray area between “very good” and “good”? or “good” and “very good?”
While there are strong guidelines for judging the condition of an old book, they are not set in stone. there are times when the condition of a rare book is balanced between two conditions. in that situation, I always label it as the worst of the two.
why?
Because I’d rather be known as the guy who sold a really good book for a good price than a scammer who overcharged and didn’t deliver enough.
also, in the description you mention that it really straddles those two conditions, but you listed it as worse to be sure…it’s a great closing tactic for selling collectible books. those almost always sold out quickly for me.
all collectors like a good deal. at worst, they know they’re getting a book that’s at least in the best range of the lowest condition. at best, they get a great deal. And I’ll be checking my online store again for more great deals on future vintage book finds.
unwanted bulky books hide treasures
Don’t underestimate the potential for picking up unwanted books. while these are selected most of the time, it’s easy to miss some valuable old ones.
Even if there are no valuable first editions or college textbooks, many times you can still make a profit selling book groups on eBay. It won’t be a huge amount, but the gain is the gain.
There are many ways that buying and selling used books can earn you profits even beyond direct sales.
nothing better than hard-earned knowledge
many of the most valuable old books are those that are obviously not valuable, but belong to a specific field that a collector might like (example: old medical books or school lesson books of the 1930s) or are ghostwritten by authors who later became famous under another name.
In this case, having that knowledge will allow you to see valuable books that even the best apps or AI might not see.
If you want to get even more from selling used books online, pick up some books on how to be a book hound or how to identify valuable first editions.
This will teach you useful skills like:
- be able to tell the status of a book
- know obscure titles that are valuable
- spot potential overlooked gems
- help you remember titles that are worth something to collectors, but not to the mainstream
The number of times I felt a “ping” in my head as if I knew that title from somewhere, bought the book and then found out it was in one of the many valuable first edition books I had is quite considerable.
Trusting that instinct, because I knew it came from study and knowledge, has led me to great gains that I otherwise would have missed out on.
pay attention to shipping costs
If you’ve ever bought or sold on Amazon, eBay, or anywhere else, you know that what you pay for shipping is usually a fixed cost that is higher than actual postage rates. Not only does this cover envelopes, shipping labels or stamps/postage, insurance or delivery tracking, but it’s okay if the seller takes a little time/trouble.
Watch for what appears to be an “acceptable” shipping and handling charge. if it’s $5 and you only charge $3, that’s $2 per pack you’re leaving on the table. if you end up selling 1000 books in a year, that really adds up.
beware of library sales
Library sales can be a great place to find used books that you can flip for a profit. especially in bulk. however, if you focus primarily on valuable first-edition collectible books, be aware that an ink stamp with the library’s name is a value killer, even if the rest of the book is in surprisingly good shape.
See Also: 10 Best Video Game Design Books to Read in 2022 [Updated]
“library copy” is often a dirty word when it comes to vintage fiction hunters.
steps to get started as a beginner book seller
- buy some guides to learn about book condition, how to identify a first edition, and learn about collectible books
- look for helpful apps like scout iq or textrader to stay on top of trends
- visit common book-selling sites and familiarize yourself with how they work
- for collectible/antique books, a good rule of thumb to start with is to think of a collector specializing in non-fiction, first edition/ first impression of fiction
- get out there and do it: nothing beats the real world experience!
how to check selling prices before buying
most of you may already know how to check full listings on ebay; however, if not, it’s pretty simple. there is an option on the left sidebar that says “full list”. just check this box, and then only listings for the particular search topic you’ve entered that are complete will be displayed.
By doing this type of research, you can find out pretty quickly how much you can expect to sell a book for.
Most likely, you don’t find true “jewels” in the used books section. You probably will not find any books that are worth thousands and probably not even hundreds of dollars unless you are very lucky.
The problem with selling books this way is that the margins are very low for the amount of time it takes to find the books, build the list, respond to customers online, pack the books, and mail them. office. I was probably making a lot less than minimum wage on my little business venture selling books.
However, I think there really is potential for someone to take it seriously.
how to sell books online (and make more money than me)
while there are a couple of different approaches, my favorite is to buy used books on amazon and then go back to amazon and keep the difference. If I were to start reselling today, this is the path I would take.
textbook reselling has become very powerful. If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t even bother with cheap books. fiction, non-fiction, it doesn’t matter. textbooks cost an astronomical amount and there is a great opportunity.
Sound too good to be true?
Actually, there are more deals like this than you think. thanks to the fact that sellers list used textbooks at low prices on amazon all the time, not realizing they could trade that book to amazon for more money.
There are tons of opportunities like this. students get new textbooks every year. and many smart students don’t want the fourth edition that just came out. they are more than happy with the third edition which costs less than half.
This opens up a great opportunity for you to buy the “old” textbook when the new editions come out. wait a bit and there will be more than enough buyers for what you are offering.
You can start searching for deals manually or use textrader to speed up the process significantly.
where should i sell books online?
This can be a crucial decision that really affects your earnings. you don’t want to make a bad choice. don’t forget that on the other side of shane’s story of selling a book for $775 was a person who was happy to get $50 for it.
In that case, abebooks was clearly the right choice over ebay for the ultimate markup. this will not always be the case.
The good news is that there are more places than ever where you can sell books. There are also more used books sold in a year than ever before, so there are plenty of opportunities.
The following is a list of several of the best places online to sell books, used and new. Keep in mind that depending on the type of vintage books you’re selling or used books you’re browsing, some of these sites will perform better than others.
we will give you the basic guidelines of good places to sell books online. keep in mind that there is nothing better than good old trial and error testing.
amazon
They are the largest sellers of, well, almost everything, in the world. Selling used books on amazon can be a good option, especially if you get a very popular modern book on the cheap.
amazon will never be the best place for old books or rare first editions. but for modern books and some popular books, it’s a great place to check out. download the scout iq app to find out how much a book currently sells for on amazon.
this is a retail arbitrage app that shows you how much an item is selling for right now, specifically on amazon. that makes it a great tool for book lovers looking to supplement that occasional big treasure with smaller profitable sales down the road.
ebay
Most of the time you won’t get premium prices for your used books on eBay. but you can get a lot of sales from this platform. If you’re running out of space or have received a lot of relatively collectible first editions that aren’t very rare, eBay can be a great way to generate cash flow from unwanted books.
Many times, eBay is on the short list of places to look for a good deal instead of selling books for profit. but if you received a lot of books for ten cents each, you could be happy with $10 and let someone else do the legwork to flip it back for more.
books
abebooks built a reputation early on as the place to go to find rare books, vintage first editions, and valuable collectible books. this reputation remains. If you’re looking for a very specific old book, fiction books out of print many decades ago, go to abebooks.
Which makes this a fantastic place for sellers who have a collection of first edition fiction books, vintage non-fiction collectibles, or those offbeat books that are selling for more but may also need time to get the best price.
if you’re more into the “burn and churn” style of browsing books then you can skip this, but abebooks is a great place where you can make a lot of money from sales.
flipsy.com
flipsy is an interesting site made for flipping a bit of everything, but its book section is particularly active. this can be a great place to sell popular books. they have even started to compete with abebooks when it comes to collectible books.
If you’ve already sold with flipsy, you should also check out their book section. this is a place where you can sell old books and collectibles. plus more modern popular titles, too.
book finder
Primarily used for looking at used textbooks, this is a favorite if you can find college students who don’t want to spend $350 on a new textbook that is then only used once.
which will be the majority.
local used book stores
this is last on the list because while my goal is to support local used book stores. From the point of view of making money selling books, it will almost never be your best option. you will rarely get cash.
That said, if you need space or have a lot of books you can’t sell quickly, the store credit or gift cards you receive are great for completing your own reading list or shopping for the bookworms in the family. . .
my future selling used books online
To be honest, from time to time I still feel like looking for used books and start selling them online. If I had more time I would love to do this! I enjoy hunting more than anything. it’s kind of fun to find a first edition book selling for $1 at a thrift store.
then who knows maybe this will become one of my future niche projects that i will document on this website. I’m always looking for new ideas, but I’m certainly willing to go back to something I’ve tried before.
If you want to start flipping through textbooks, I recommend you check out textrader, it will save you a lot of time and hassle.
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