are books just terrible sellers or what?

[jamesgriffindubbo]

nobody wants books ive found. theyre bulky junk that are impossible to get rid of, they have NEGATIVE VALUE most of th etime because there's an associated cost with disposing of them.

i stuggle to sell them anywhere, and even worse because of the way AusPost calculates shipping (width of item) the minimum shipping fee on them, even small books like a pocket dictionary is normally about $9.00, making them even more impossible to get rid of. ive had buyers try to scab a four book bundle off me for $1 and i took it because i knew nobody else would buy them anyway.

NEVER buying a book again becausae when or if you ever wanna re-sell it you know you wont be able to get rid of it without dumping it in a charity bin somewhere (where  it'll just be thrown in a regular bin after most likely).

[davewil1964]

Your prices are too low for starters. People seem to be reluctant to buy books under value. They think the seller is hiding something, condition-wise. Price your books at what other sellers are charging.

All books are sellable, depending on condition, it just depends on the right buyer coming along. And niche, rare, books tend to be worth more, not less than mass market books. Which still sell. I recently sold a book I'd had listed for 10 years, for the $170 price I was after. It's what it is worth, and I don't discount to sell. I have also sold a later edition of the same title for $14, also what it was worth.

I price to be about 3rd cheapest Australian seller, unless a couple of lowballers are listing the same title, when I don't count them in the 3. And I still make sales.

[jamesgriffindubbo]

no way, dude if i raised the prices on em they'd never sell at all. i get offers on stuff im selling at $3 for LOWER PRICES. nobody wants most books, and its totally random as to what books will sell eventually and which wont. i see people having listed the same books ive sold on here for ridiculous prices hat never ever sell and have sat on this site for years.

i clicked yr. feedback out of curiosity to see what you've been selling and i see now, you sell a bunch of normie mainstreamish fiction books so no wonder you make sales and my books don't sell, no one wants the dusty old non-fiction junk tomes im selling on here. 

[zanadoo_56]

I collect many things and among them are books to do with what I collect, most of which would be of vintage era (mostly 1960s but some as far back as late 1800s to early 1900s).  These days they are usually paperback to 50s/60s children's annuals size, so postage isn't too bad.

If the books are common and heavy they can definitely be a problem.  My late father had two huge books on America - I think from the 1800s - with lots of illustration plates. Volume 1 is in good condiiton, Volume 2 has damage to the spine.  My mother wants to get rid of these books and every so often she talks about wanting to sell them (....or rather someone in the family to sell them for her).

I've done the research - these books aren't rare and despite their size and age aren't worth much.  My mother refuses to believe this 'because they are old', but as I have explained (many times!) the postage for these books would be WAY over their actual value so it's unlikely anyone would buy them....especially the second volume..  If your books are like these or are modern and easily obtainable there can be a problem.

I am gradually downsizing some of my book collection - mostly fiction stuff and reference books I bought cheaply that turned out to be more pictorial and low on text or are out of date (like a huge atlas I said goodbye to last year. I've had organisers in to help me declutter and they have taken a lot of my books to op shops and I imagine some of them would have more likely ended up in recycle bins.  So be it.

If I don't want them any more it really doesn't matter what happens to them.  I assume you have done some research on whether your books are worth trying to sell and for how much?  Are you selling to a niche market?  Are you prepared to accept Offers?  What's better - getting the money you'd like for them, or selling them at any cost instead of them ending up in landfill?

Sometimes though, old books can be just dead wood taking up space that can be put to better use.

[twyngwyn]

I sell mainly non-fiction (although magazines are my bread & butter)....and I try NOT to sell in the Books Category (which is saturated) unless there is no other option...and approx 1/3 of my transactions are 'combined postage' as customers browse my store & purchase in order to fill satchels.
That then creates cheaper postage (relatively)

[jamesgriffindubbo]

yep zanadoo you get it, its the shipping that kills ya, hardly anyone wants to pay $10 minimum on a book thats worth a buck.

[digital*ghost]

Disclaimer - not a book seller, and not really a book buyer (at least, there are very few books I buy hard copies of these days, most books I purchase audio versions of, unless not available or inappropriate. eg Last hard-copy book I purchased was Herman & Chomsky's' Manufacturing Consent; this was a few months ago and I haven't even started it yet, but I digress, I only mention it because it's an old non-fiction book, so there's a market for those even for people like me who now prefer other formats). I am a relatively experienced seller in categories that can be both saturated and slow selling, though, so take from my comments (which are opinions based on said experience) what you will, if you choose to take anything at all.

People likely low-ball you because your prices are already low and they look like an easy target, not because they think the prices are too high to start with. If you had a $5 book listed, they'll offer $2, if you have it listed for $10, they'll offer $4. That's just what people do.

Books (much like some of my chosen categories) generally aren't going to give a seller tons of stock turnovers in a year, it is a numbers and / or niche game. This means either large inventory so that buyers can choose from hundreds (preferably thousands) of titles to maximise the value of postage costs, or a developed niche a seller can use to create branding, a following, and regular customers. 

A few random titles can't really take advantage of either of those strategies, so IMO the best option for actually selling them is larger bundles. 

[davewil1964]

I have plenty of non-fiction in my store. It just depends on what I'm listing on this (and my other non-store account) before they go into the store.

It just happens that this account is normally for personal sales, and I read F&SF.

A d*g said, you need lots or niche books. And firesaling doesn't necessarily work. If you are way under your competition, buyers will know you don't value them and will try for a better deal.

[countessalmirena]

I am a book-lover.

I don't get rid of books.

However, the books that I buy must meet my specific interests. I don't buy a book because it's a book; I buy because I want that particular book.

I would suggest that you take a little more care with your photographs. Crop as necessary. Add some information about the condition of the book rather than just rely on the automatically generated information.

Your books are not the sort to appeal to the average / general reader, but I see no reason why you shouldn't sell the titles. Think of listing as a marketing exercise. You don't need to go to extremes, but at present there's nothing to help your few listings stand out in any way.

[eol-products]

There is also the old ebay saying that eventually everything will sell if you price it correctly. Problem is you need to be patient as that could be 5 years or more on some items.

[jamesgriffindubbo]

dont you have to pay for every re listing though? so if you'r really waiting that long to sell, you're losing money in the long run

even if you guys have a point, i still stand by my thesis that books are one of the **bleep**piest categories to sell. truth be told, everything has been getting worse to sell on ebay since the 2000s. i could clear nearly everything i sold even if it was junk i found at a garage sale back then, now its cricket chirp city, with some categories of items nearly completely out of the running.