Why the "Hunt and Peck" way of finding books is the wrong strategy

Did you know that birds do not blindly hunt and peck for food?  They have a system.  They know where likely food is.  They systematically work the soil so the worms come to the surface to drastically increase their efforts.

Many Amazon used booksellers do not have a strategy that is as sophisticated as the common bird.  Instead, these book sellers blindly go out searching for books here and there in hopes of finding books of value!

In many ways it is pure insanity!

I encourage everyone in the used book buying business to STOP for a day and just think about what you are doing.  Are you in a rat race looking all over the place hoping to find the next big score?  If you are it is time to carefully think about what you are doing.  Here are a few strategies to seriously think about.

1.  Carefully list your best book buying experiences for the last several months. 
2. Then list why you think you were able to buy so many good books at that stop.  What was different?  Why did it turn out to be profitable? 
3.  Now think about how to duplicate that success.

If you are looking for "luck" each time, you have to come up with a way to make sure you are "lucky" each time!  Think about this.  You happened to enter a thrifty store as the volunteer comes out of the back room with 5 boxes of donated books.  You scan the boxes and walk away with 50 books all worth $5 - $30 and pay $1 each.  A real score for you that day.  But how can you duplicate this?  I guess you could get the phone number of the volunteer and try to meet him or her at the store each week.  Well, that is a bit of a pain.  But what if you had a method to help you work out a deal with the store that allowed you to go through the boxes each week BEFORE the volunteer put the books out!  Now that would be making sure you were "lucky" each week!

If you would like to learn how to approach store owners, librarians and book sale volunteers, then you MUST go read about the Benefit Bookstore Method!  You owe it to yourself and your business.

Go check it out now!  You won't be sorry.

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Thoughts On Repricing Your Used Books

I love used books and think they are all valuable, but the truth is a book is only worth what someone will pay for it!

So here are some basic thoughts on making sure you price your books right:

First, just like produce, many books will go down in value.  The older they get, the less they are worth.  So it is worth trying to sell them in a timely manner.  Pricing your book right will help you sell the book quickly.  But don't assume you have to price your book less than all others.  Remember your book and the service your company offers should have value so make sure you price your book correctly!

1. What is the ranking of the book?  High selling books move each night so don't price it too low.  I have also seen books below 1,000 ranking go up 20% between Friday during the day and Sunday night, especially if it is on its way up in sales.
2. What is the condition of your book?  If you have a book in great condition, don't price it low.  Instead, allow someone to buy it who is willing to pay a little more to get the better book.
3. Is there a reason to hold the book due to a probable price increase?  Will the book go up due to summer reading or textbook season or the movie is coming out or the next book in the series, etc.  Let is sit for a few weeks if you can get a reasonable amount more!
4. Do you have a good rating?  I do not lower my price down to the big sellers who have less than 95% rating.  I never buy from them and many people I know will not buy from them.  You are likely to ship faster and with better care and will most likely be more accurate in your listing.  So it will be worth paying a little bit more from you!

Hope this helps!

If you are looking to drastically increase the number of books you are selling you will need a system that helps you drastically increase the number of books you are getting.  Make sure you check out the Benefit Bookstore Method - Click HERE!

80 Year Old Used Book Store

Can You Still Make Money Selling Used Books On Amazon?

I have listened to many Amazon booksellers and read the "buzz" on forums and book selling sites.  It seems many are complaining and ready to throw in the towel claiming the profitable days of used book selling are over.

Well, the days of grabbing books for cheap and throwing them up online and expecting to make a profit are gone.  The profit margin on used books may be tighter forcing sloppy companies to shape up or get out of the business.  However, those companies and individuals who are willing to work hard and work smart will find plenty of profit in 2011!

Here are some words of wisdom for the coming year.

1.  Learn how to get books for free.
Some have snubbed their noses at book scavengers (as apposed to book scouting) but there is a real place and potential profits for book scavengers.  Those who are offering a service to the donating party can easily get books for little to no costs.

2. Only list profitable books.
The time for listing 99 cent books and below should be over.  Deal with books of a value of $1.49 or greater only if they have a very quick turn around.  Otherwise you should make sure you are dealing with books of $3.00 or greater - even if you got the books for free!  If you work the http://BenefitBookstore.com method you will find yourself with many, many books.  Don't fall to the temptation to list the cheap, slow moving books.  Instead activate the system and turn them into good through donations or recycling.

3. Make sure you have a  steady flow of books.
If you are going to make a profit, you are going to need to keep books moving.  In order to be able to deal with books that will make you profit, you will need to have access to a large supply of books to scan.  Now is the time to put into practice, effective methods of obtaining books.  Remember, Amazon and other online venues will do the selling for you.  Your primary business as an online used book seller is to find great books.

I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to have a system of getting loads of great books.  If you have not already put into practice an effective method, I urge you to try the BenefitBookstore.com method.

4. Keep an eye on your efficiency.
Get rid of unnecessary expenses.  If you are paying to have an online bookstore that is not making money, close it.  An inexpensive website that helps you get books is far more efficient!  Take a look at your shipping methods and materials and make sure you are shipping efficiently!

The profit days are not gone for used book sellers, but the day of operating any way you please and still making money is gone for nearly all online sellers.  With some new year shaping up you should be able to make plenty of profit in 2011!