Here Is a Product Anyone Can Find Locally and Sell On eBay
Here Is a Product Anyone Can Find Locally and Sell On eBay
Who else wants to make a few extra bucks on a part-time basis? Here is how you can make extra money by buying a certain niche product that is readily available in your area and reselling it on eBay.
The product is used How-To-Books.
I like dealing in How-To-Books because they are relatively easy to find, their value can be quickly determined, they can be purchased for $1.00 or less and the market is broader then purely collectable books. Whereas a collectable book is of interest mainly to collectors of rare books a How-To-Book is of interest to people who want to learn a certain skill AND it may also be of interest to collectors of books in general or on a specific subject.
How-To-Books will generally not bring the money that pure collectable books will but I have been surprised by the amount some how to books have sold for. For example, a quick search on eBay turned up these gems:
* A 1948 Hat Making Book sold for $72.00
* A book on Salmon Fishing sold for $42.00
* A book on Building Log Cabins sold for $177.00
* A book on How to Find Giant Bucks sold for $51.00
* How To Service Your Own Tube Amp (stereo amplifier) went for $49.00
* 1981 Book Titled “How To Perfect Your Golf Swing” went for $36.00
-You can get How-To-Books from:
* Thrift Shops
* Yard Sales
* Estate Sales
* Library Sales
* Used Book Stores
Book Sale Finder has a list of book sales by state.
-Now lets look at the types of books you will be looking for:
* Pre 1980 (the older the better) OR Out of Print
* First Printing is a plus
* Hard Cover
* Dust Jacket is a plus but not mandatory
* How To/Informational/Hobby Books
* Out of Print best but not mandatory
*Note: Only pay $1 at the most for a book of unknown value.
-Here are some specific types of books to look for:
* Hobbies
* Photography
* Auto Specific Books (”How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive” Book)
* Blacksmithing
* Clock Building and Repair
* Woodworking
* Magic
* Treasure Hunting
* Ironwork
* Pipe Smoking
* Dog Training (specific breed)
* Prospecting
* Antiques
* Coins
* Buttons
* Medals
* Guns and other Weaponry
* (just about any collectable)
* Amateur Radio
* Golf
* Sailing (Yachting,Marine Life, etc)
* Fishing (specific type)
* Unusual Hobbies (rope making
* Craft Making (specific)
* Dolls
* Leather craft
* Loom Weaving
* Quilting
* Baskets
* Lamp Shades
* Doll Houses
* Pottery
* Unusual or “lost art” Crafts (Tole Painting, Hat Making)
* Art
* Drawing
* Painting
* Sketching
-Unusual
* How To Stay Alive In Vietnam
* How to Draw Occult & Horror
* How To Belly Dance
* How to Strip For Your Husband
-Home and Garden
* Home Decorating
* Home Remodeling
* Garden Trellis
* Architecture
* Koi Pond
* Bonsai
-Self Help and Motivational (Tony Robbins, Jay Abraham)
-Misc
* How To Repair (doll repair, watch repair, Violin repair)
* How To Play (violin, banjo, harmonica, etc)
* Old Maps
* Lost Treasure
* Early Aviation
Now lets look at listing your books on eBay and how to position them for the maximum profit.
Think Fast: When you think of listing “how-to” books on eBay which category comes to mind?
If you are like most people you would say the “Books” category. That is where most people list their books — how to or not. In fact I see most how to books listed on eBay in the Books > Fiction/Non-Fiction category.
But, if you think in terms of your prospective buyer who is interested in, for example photography, he or she is probably not searching in the books category for products about photography. They will probably peruse the Sub Categories under Cameras & Photos for items of interest. And, one of those sub categories just happens to be Manuals, Guides & Books. So, the best place to list a book about photography would be the sub category Manuals, Guides & Books under the main category of Cameras & Photos.
In fact, I just listed and sold a book about Black and White photography on eBay. My item, listed in the proper category, sold for $11.00 and had 4 bids. Another person selling the exact same item BUT listed in the Books > Fiction/Non-Fiction category had 1 bid and sold for $4.00.
So be sure to list your how to books in the category that is specific to the subject of the book. Many times there will not be a sub category for books on a certain topic but you can always find an appropriate sub category to list them under. If all else fails there is usually an “Other Item” sub category under most main categories.
Before you list your how to books do a quick search on http://www.abe.com and/or http://www.alibris.com to see what used book dealers are getting for the same book. You may find that you have something of collector interest that you can sell for a higher price. At the very least, a quick Alibris or Abe search will give you an indication of what price to start your auction at.
As a general rule if I find a book is listed at less then $20.00 on Alibris or Abe I will start my auction at $1.99. That gives me a small profit even if the book only sales for the opening bid. Books that are valued at more then $20.00 I will generally start the bidding higher and I will also do more research to see if others have successfully sold the book on eBay in the past. If they have and the book closed at a relatively high price I will study their auction to see if I can figure out what they did that I can duplicate.
The next area you should look out when listing your how to books is keywords. You want to get as many relevant keywords in the item listing as possible. You can find a list of the most searched keyword phrases on eBay at: http://buy.ebay.com These are the top keywords that people are using to search for items on eBay. Look through this list and see if you can find other relevant keywords that you can include in your auction title. For example, one of the top keywords (as of right now) is Vintage. If you have a book that is 40, 50 or more years old including the word Vintage in your title would be appropriate and may help your listing get more exposure.
Another thing that I do to “keyword load” my auctions is to scan the Table of Contents of the books I list and include the scanned text in the description. (note: scan as a document not an image) The Table of Contents is a gold mine of highly relevant keyword phrases. While I am at it I also scan the Dust Jacket description of the book and the cover image. I include the image as a Gallery Picture (extra 25 cent cost but worth it) and I use the Dust Jacket Description as the first part of my Auction Description. That along with a couple of lines about the condition of the book and the Table of Contents makes up my auction description.
–In Summary–
Find Hardcover How-To-Books at:
* Thrift Shops
* Yard Sales
* Estate Sales
* Library Sales
* Used Book Stores
*Never pay more than $1.00 per book.
*Before Purchasing Scan:
1) Cover
2) Dust Jacket Description
3) Table of Contents
*List books on eBay in a Subject Specific Category (not in the Books Category)
Good luck with your How-To-Book Selling Adventures!
Resources:
http://buy.ebay.com/
http://www.half.ebay.com/
http://books.ebay.com/
http://www.abebooks.com/
http://www.alibris.com/
