topic Re: Selling used books on eBay in Selling

Selling used books on eBay

exprmntl — Mon, 08 Jan 2024 10:46:56 GMT

Hey everyone,

I've just started on eBay and I chose what seemed to be the easiest path for me to sell. Which is books. Turns out that heaps of the books I'm listing aren't being sold by anyone else on eBay. After some lovely you tubing, it seems as if I've taken the wrong approach to eBay and I'm just listing heaps of products with no demand. Problem being that I have just bought hundreds of random used books that are taking up heaps of room at my place.

So my questions are:

Have I taken the wrong approach to eBay?

How can I figure out which of my books will sell so I don't waste time making dud listings?

What approach could I take to realign my store and become successful? (I'm quite ambitious and would want to start this asap)

On top of all of this, I have started buying items on Lloyds auctions in my country, and I've also ordered some products from china to sell. My biggest two issues to figure out at the moment is Sourcing and shipping.

Re: Selling used books on eBay

countessalmirena — Mon, 08 Jan 2024 11:16:49 GMT

OP, you will have to be patient with books. Doing some research on sold items is a good start. It’s not necessarily bad that you want to sell books that no one else is selling - but the proof will be in the pudding. It costs nothing simply to list, so you might as well give it a try.

Ditch the store, though. You can sell without the ongoing subscription fee of a store. Unless you can see it’s worth it, that store is a deadweight around your ankle.

Re the rest of your post, I cannot see other sellers giving you information sourcing goods. That’s just not reasonable.

Re shipping, do you mean shipping TO you from your current suppliers? Or do you mean postage to buyers?

Re getting products from China, I’ll be frank. I don’t want rubbish stuff from China. If I did, I’d buy it directly from China. I don’t want electrical items that aren’t made to Australian safety standards and that don’t have warranty. And so on… There are plenty of other buyers who have a similar stance, but to ce fair, there are plenty of Australian buyers who don’t mind and who will simply go for the cheapest price.

Re: Selling used books on eBay

sugar249 — Mon, 08 Jan 2024 20:35:03 GMT

There is just one word for it, yes you may be ambitious, but you must do Research, research and more research.

Just looking at some of your prices on a couple of books I could be interested in, they are high.

Also I strongly disagree with the sweeping statement by countess re products from china, heaps and heaps of products in Australia, even from bricks and mortar, and quality stores, are from china, my store is full of china stuff, but I have selectively chosen the products for quality and what the buyer wants. Again research, research and more research.

Just opening a store on Ebay and thinking you can buy (any) product is no guarantee of success, there is a magical word, research.

Re: Selling used books on eBay

brickworksmarket — Mon, 08 Jan 2024 20:39:04 GMT

Selling on ebay is quite simple and most things are taken care of automatically when it comes to the sales side. Unfortunately as you are starting to find out the hard part is finding items to sell that do have a good sell through rate and you can buy them at a price that leaves enough to make some profit.

Best advice I can give is to study the sold lists for items you want to sell and if no one else is selling them it may be due to no one is looking for them.

Re: Selling used books on eBay

domino-710 — Mon, 08 Jan 2024 21:27:12 GMT

@brickworksmarket wrote:

Best advice I can give is to study the sold lists for items you want to sell and if no one else is selling them it may be due to no one is looking for them.

Still trying to figure this one out. lol

Re: Selling used books on eBay

brickworksmarket — Mon, 08 Jan 2024 21:54:54 GMT

Seems alright too me but then I wrote it.

Re: Selling used books on eBay

davewil1964 — Mon, 08 Jan 2024 22:49:46 GMT

I sell books.

I don't recognise most of yours, but those I do seem to be priced a tad high.

Books take time. I recently sold a couple of books I have had listed for over a decade. I rarely sell any in the first month they are listed. Normally it will take 6-12 months to make a sale.

If you are going to sell books, as said you need to research. Pricing wise, if they are not on eBay check other sites. Accurately describe, don't call it a first edition if it a publisher's first edition. Make note of any flaws - better to claim a lower condition than a higher.

Re: Selling used books on eBay

sugar249 — Mon, 08 Jan 2024 23:23:45 GMT

@domino-710 wrote:
@brickworksmarket wrote:

Best advice I can give is to study the sold lists for items you want to sell and if no one else is selling them it may be due to no one is looking for them.
Still trying to figure this one out. lol

I'm confused by that one as well, I would have thought the best items to sell would be ones no one else does.

In fact a couple of mine, I'm the only seller on Ebay, a definite advantage

Re: Selling used books on eBay

daydreams_12 — Tue, 09 Jan 2024 00:13:15 GMT

Please dont think you are going to become a millionaire overnight. That is not going to happen.

No seller is going to tell you what sells and what doesn't. My suggestion is to get rid of the store and just list a few unwanted items from around the house. As they say some "one man's trash is another man's treasure." It is not all just fun and games.

Your book prices seem a bit off to me. I wouldn't just go buy hundreds not knowing what you are getting. You need to do your research as said. Davewil has sold them for a long time and knows what he is doing. Listen to what he has said.

Re: Selling used books on eBay

sugar249 — Tue, 09 Jan 2024 02:09:33 GMT

@daydreams_12 wrote:
My suggestion is to get rid of the store and just list a few unwanted items from around the house. As they say some "one man's trash is another man's treasure." It is not all just fun and games.

So you are really suggesting no one should try to make a meaningful business from Ebay. It should just be a platform for selling ''trash''. I don't think OP said they wanted to be a millionaire, but there are definitely opportunities with the right research and business process to make some serious money, not just selling ''trash''. OP can make a serios go of this, if they approach it in the correct way.

Re: Selling used books on eBay

exprmntl — Tue, 09 Jan 2024 03:15:57 GMT

Thanks for your reply and everyone's reply.

I'm currently going through all of the books I have not yet listed and doing some research. It looks to me like roughly 1 in 8 are worth listing. The reason my costs are a little higher per book is that I still haven't figured out how to calculate accurate postage prices. I'll probably go through and change heaps of prices once I've looked into proper postage prices.

And again, thanks!

Re: Selling used books on eBay

countessalmirena — Tue, 09 Jan 2024 03:16:48 GMT

@sugar249,

I said “rubbish stuff” and I meant “rubbish stuff”. (As in, I wasn’t being pejorative towards all Chinese-made goods and classing them all as rubbish.) China can manufacture superlatively - and no one can deny that, but the garbage quality stuff that’s made of cheapest possible raw materials really is shoddy; it isn’t made to any high standard whatsoever. I draw a distinction between items designed by a good brand manufactured in China, and an unbranded churn-it-out-from-a-cough-and-spittle item.

Re: Selling used books on eBay

gutterpunkz05 — Tue, 09 Jan 2024 03:39:31 GMT

Research - Trial & Error - Hard work - A bit of luck - More work.

To me your prices seem high, I know postage costs, Try bundling some of your listings, other sales options.

Be careful with auction houses, prices often driven up well over market and retail value.

Re: Selling used books on eBay

brickworksmarket — Tue, 09 Jan 2024 08:30:25 GMT

Always best to sell brand name popular products. The faster it sells the more I am willing to outlay for the item the less space I need to store it. I can't think of many items that are not already for sale on ebay that would have a good sell through rate but I do now keep to a certain product type and try not to deviate.

Maybe you mean no one else sells that brand but then you have the problem that not as many will be searching for them.

Re: Selling used books on eBay

padi*0409 — Tue, 09 Jan 2024 08:37:09 GMT

I rarely buy books on eBay, but today I had to - puppy's a bookworm......................

But I searched "price and postage lowest" as a start point, then weeded the sellers out by feedback. I would imagine that is a fairly common way to do it.

If your prices are higher than the competition then you aren't going to be in the race for me.

Re: Selling used books on eBay

brickworksmarket — Tue, 09 Jan 2024 08:45:33 GMT

You will need to learn quick when it comes to posting books due to the weight. Many use padded mailers which allow up to 5kg and have 4 sizes.

Many bigger sellers will also be using mypost business and paying a lot less postage so try and avoid low cost books which will be hard to compete .

Re: Selling used books on eBay

davewil1964 — Tue, 09 Jan 2024 08:48:11 GMT

I would also seriously reconsider offering click and collect. Anecdotally it is fraught. Dealing with a carrier and a buyer can cause enough issues without adding another layer of potential issues.

Pick a carrier. I strongly recommend Australia Post. Look into MyPost Business. It might not necessarily be cheaper than eBay labels, but it won't be more expensive. $50 per month in postage will get you modest discounts.

I use flat rate postage and bulk edit when AP up the cost. Only takes a few minutes for 2k items, so not a biggie for you.

Don't chuck the books you have already bought - it might take a few years but they will probably sell. Better than burning your purchase money as it costs nothing to list.

If a few hundred books (less than my personal library) are cluttering up your place maybe look at selling smaller things.

Re: Selling used books on eBay

davewil1964 — Tue, 09 Jan 2024 08:50:07 GMT

Your third issue could well be Managed Payments. Have you signed up and been verified?

Re: Selling used books on eBay

sugar249 — Tue, 09 Jan 2024 09:30:45 GMT

@brickworksmarket wrote:
Always best to sell brand name popular products. The faster it sells the more I am willing to outlay for the item the less space I need to store it. I can't think of many items that are not already for sale on ebay that would have a good sell through rate but I do now keep to a certain product type and try not to deviate.
Maybe you mean no one else sells that brand but then you have the problem that not as many will be searching for them.

No I dont mean no one else sells that brand, the secret is go for unique products.

If all all just sold the same brand than its going to be a race to the bottom on price. Go for items which people want. Research will tell you the answers, and it definitely isnt brand name alone.

Re: Selling used books on eBay

*sons_n_daughters* — Tue, 09 Jan 2024 11:05:28 GMT

@davewil1964 wrote:
I would also seriously reconsider offering click and collect. Anecdotally it is fraught. Dealing with a carrier and a buyer can cause enough issues without adding another layer of potential issues.

Pick a carrier. I strongly recommend Australia Post. Look into MyPost Business. It might not necessarily be cheaper than eBay labels, but it won't be more expensive. $50 per month in postage will get you modest discounts.

I use flat rate postage and bulk edit when AP up the cost. Only takes a few minutes for 2k items, so not a biggie for you.

Don't chuck the books you have already bought - it might take a few years but they will probably sell. Better than burning your purchase money as it costs nothing to list.

If a few hundred books (less than my personal library) are cluttering up your place maybe look at selling smaller things.

OP. listen to Dave. He knows what he's talking about when it comes to used books. I doubt there would be many here who know about books like Dave does. I won't say "book guru", but you should get the idea. Don't look at this ID. This is a supplementary account. He has thousands and thousands of listings over multiple accounts, with a good sell through rate.