Sellings books online can be a good way to make extra money on the side, but don't expect to make a full-time career out of it. Strategies for getting top dollar for books you find at used bookstores, thrift stores, even elsewhere online include using the right websites, timing and descriptions. You also have to know what sells and what doesn't.
Where to Sell
Two of the best places to sell books online are eBay and Abebooks.com. Ebay lets you auction books off to the highest bidder and has categories just right for the book dealer, including a special section for "antiquarian and collectable" books. If you don't want to gamble with an auction site and having to list and relist books every few days, try Abebooks.com, a dedicated website for booksellers. Some online book dealers regularly use both. Doug Desjardins, who has been selling books online since 1999, says he regularly hunts around for bargains on Abe and then sells them at a premium on eBay. He recently more than quadrupled his money on a first edition of Ernest Hemingway's "Farewell to Arms." Bookfinder.com is another dedicated website for booksellers.
Timing
Book sellers agree that the holidays are the best time to list books for sale. Right before Christmas is the No. 1 time, says online book dealer Kirk Sanderson, who once sold a first edition of "Lolita" for $1,000 right before Christmas after a mad bidding war between two bidders on Amazon.com's auction site. He had paid $15 for the book just a month before at a used bookstore in Alabama. "Of course, that was back in 2000; shortly, Amazon got into the auction game and things just went wild," Sanderson says. "I remember buying books on eBay for $10 and then turning them around and selling them for $200 on Amazon--even things like a fourth printing of John Steinbeck's 'Cannery Row.'"
Descriptions
Put a lot of thought into writing descriptions for your online book listings. Always include the author, complete title, publisher, date and edition. If you have a first printing, be sure to say so, and describe the various points of issue that make the book a first printing. To assist you, pick up "Points of Issue," a pocket guide by Bill McBride that book dealers consider an invaluable tool. Also, note the book's condition, in specific detail; if there's fraying on the top edge of the spine, for example, say so. Also note whether there's a previous owner's signature or other markings. If you can create a visual in the potential buyer's mind, you're that much closer to a sale.
What Sells--and What Doesn't
A good way to check what's hot and what's not is to scan the "completed auctions" section on eBay. "A quick glance at ebay book listings might discourage you from selling them at all because, sadly, the majority of books offered for auction ultimately receive no bids whatsoever," writes Craig Stark in his article, "Make Money Selling Books Online," published on the Auctionbytes.com website. "This is why it's crucial that you do your homework before spending the time and energy to list a book for auction."
As a general rule, common books--recent bestsellers by trendy authors like John Patterson and Dean Koontz--don't sell well, while collectable books, particularly first printings in pristine condition, do. Early 20th-century American literature and authors like William Faulkner and Ernest Hemingway are perennially strong sellers. Nonfiction books overall tend to sell better than fiction, notes Stark. Stark has several other pointers to maximize value: Books with dust jackets sell better, and fetch higher prices, than those without dust jackets; book club editions are practically worthless, except as low-priced reading copies; and first printings are always more desirable than later printings.
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