[PW] Online booksellers

[Edith Bailes]

Sorry, but I don't understand this at all:
- - - -

"Most of those vendors are dealers, and buy books by the boxful (I've
bought batches going well into four figures for price, five figures
for quantity)."
- - - -

Where do you get your information? I've been selling my own books on line
for two or three years, in an effort to empty out my shelves to make room
for more.  :^(  Many who sell on line are very small-volume sellers like me.
I do have a lot of books (a lifetime accumulation) but I certainly don't buy
them by the boxful.
- - - -

"When I am buying for Renaissance, I have to assume a
300-500% markup from what I pay, in order to have any chance of a
profit. So if a book retails for $70 (I mean real price, not
asking-price-online-by-an-inexperienced-dealer), I hope to have paid
$15 or less for it."
- - - -

I don't want to give offense, and I'm sure you have a reason for saying what
you say, but here's something from another viewpoint:

Whenever I'd try to sell some of my books to an actal used-book seller,
somehow all my books, even those that had never been read, had suddenly
developed "condition" problems or were otherwise "unsellable". The dealers
would offer to "take them off my hands" but weren't willing to pay anything
for them.

Baloney.

All these "problems" appeared only because that bookseller was looking for
pure profit.

I started selling on line because I was tired of people trying to rip me off
like that.
It seemed reasonable to me to want to keep any profit for myself and my
children, and not just give perfectly good books away.

I've sold nearly-new books on line, and I've sold books on line that were in
horrible condition. I've had no complaints from the buyers. It doesn't
matter what kind of shape books are in, if they don't smell and the pages
aren't stuck together, there's usually somebody who will want them. The
trick is to describe them honestly and price them according to their
condition.

I've gotten prices for all my books that I think are very fair, and some
have sold for such a high price they have really surprised me.

There are plenty of people who are not book collectors, but who are
interested in the content of a book and not its appearance or its rarity.
There are plenty of people who want a certain book to read or just to have,
but can't afford a copy that's in the best condition.

On the other hand, I don't think it's smart to order a book from somebody
who is offering it for a penny.

I enourage anybody who has "too many" books (is there such a thing?) to sign
on with an on-line site and begin to sell them yourself. Just be careful
which site you choose; some are easier to work with than others, and some
will get better prices for you than others. I speak as one who has tried
five different on-line sites before settling on the one that works best for
me.

Look up your books and see what other people are asking for them in similar
condition, and price yours accordingly.

For me it has been quite profitable, and it's fun. It'd be a lot more fun if
I didn't have to pay taxes on the profit!

Thanks for letting me vent about one of my personal pet peeves.

Edie in Maine