Curious about Online Bookselling

[Cricketer]

Hi Everyone,

I am really curious about online bookselling and a little excited too. It all started when I sold about 4 textbooks in the past few weeks on Half.com. I said to myself "this is great! I like it".

So I am a textbook definition of a newbie who is trying to figure out what online bookselling world looks like and whether there is enough space for me to jump in.

I have ordered Michael Mould's Online Bookselling book along with the CD to get started and get some insight.

I was wondering that it would be really nice to hear from people who are already in this business. Some of the points I had in mind on which I appreciate your feedback are:
1. Say you go to a local book fair or a discount fair and you come across several books. You have your gadget (scanner or PDA) to determine the value of the book. How to do you know that this book is really going to sell?

2. These days there are so many types of books out there. The last thing I would want to do is to order a book lot without knowing if most of the books in it will sell for a good price. What types/categories of books sell well?

3. You go to local book sales, libraries etc. to scout for books that might sell for a good price. What are the good places to find good quality used books that sell? I would like to hear what has worked for people and what has not.

4. Can I sell brand new books? If yes, how do I get them from the publisher at wholesale prices to be able to sell them online in the marketplaces and still make a profit?

Feel free to talk about your experiences related to the above points.

Cheers!

[Billy Crawford]

I have a brick and mortar store selling new and used books. I am not into major selling online (yet) bo do use a "gadget" to keep from buying blind. As for new books from Ingrams and others the margins are tight. I have much better luck with bargin books (overstocks, remainders, hurts, etc.). There is a list in Michael's book of wholesalers in this area. In March there will be a book show in Atlanta GA called The Spring Book Show (www.springbookshow.com).
On the web site there is a list of exibitors and most have web sites listed. I can usually get good books at 8 to 15% of the list price. My favorite is American Book Company as they have a location in Knoxville TN (about 90 miles from my store) and I can make an appointment and attend a "sort". This is new stock arriving and being sorted before it goes on the web site. Also I can see and hold the exact book I will be getting. The total purchase amount at one of their sorts is $600, but trust me this is not hard to spend. Their web site requires $250 purchase. If you enjoy yard sales you can get some great deals with less cash, just establish prices for books before you pull out your gadget.