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FIB - Scams 101 - Ye Olde Archives
Posted By: Mr Bluto ^_^ In Response To: Re: Amazon or Half.com -which is better for selling used books? (Diana)
Thursday, 1 June 2006, at 6:28 p.m.
I started out on Half.com. Then, a colleague (who actually got me into the business) told me he figured he'd try out Amazon.com. We were always skeptical to even try it because it costs $40/mo to sell there unless you want your listings to expire. You pay $40 and your listings never expire. If you do not pay $40/mo, not only do your listings expire after 60 days but you also have to pay an additional 99 cents to Amazon on top of the closing fees. I tried it without paying the $40/mo at first but I soon started making enough sales to warrant staying there and paying the $40/mo. Half.com was good, but Amazon was the bomb. You could literally go out and buy used books for 10 to 25 cents each (I refused to ever pay more than that) and you could be sure to sell off a quarter of those books within a week or 2 at an average profit of $10 each book. No joking.
The only rule I had when buying used books to resell was I stayed away from romance novels and contemporary fiction (unless it was a 1st ed hardcover in good shape). I was able to buy books for so little that it really did not matter to me if I bought some junk because it really did not matter as I was able to turn a great profit no matter what.
Then things took a turn for the worst. No only was the market becoming very saturated with booksellers, but Amazon's marketplace system wasn't working as it used to and I was losing sales big time. So, I decided to go back to Half.com and sell at both Half and Amazon. Things were good for several months then the market became ultra saturated with used booksellers.
It got to the point that the places that were selling used books for 10 to 25 cents each began to charge more because they realized that online booksellers were coming in and depleting their stock and selling for a good profit online.
Everyone on the Amazon forum was complaining about the whole ordeal as most people were making far less than they ever had before. The only ones that are still making good money are those that specialize in a niche and know what to buy for inventory. However, these days, since books are more expensive than they used to be, you have to go out and scout books, not just buy them. Most booksellers have a program they call ScoutPal that allows them to use their cell phones to punch in ISBNs and check out prices on several marketplaces online.
It's simply not the "gold rush" it used to be and it's a lot more work.
There are way too many books being sold for a penny that you really have ot watch what you buy and you must diversify your marketplace sales and sell on more than one marketplace.
Most people who sell on Amazon also sell on ebay, half.com and alibris.com
^_^
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