Books

[126celler]

Good Morning All.

I have a question for experienced book sellers.  I recently researched a book series for a friend.  The first book in the series is 2010.  Last book in the series was 2020.  I am wondering if our reading habits are changing. On  Amazon the 2010 book was $3.99 kindle.. Paperback was 19.95.   Checked Barnes & Noble only available online as a kindle.   Even checked eBay and only one book of the series was available.  And not for $4.99 with free shipping.  Then checked  the bulk booksellers and noticed an increase in their prices and notifications under some books that their supply of that genre (historical romance) was limited.  Took a ride to my Barnes & Noble (in CT) and was surprised  at the limited amount of merchandise physically on their shelves.  I could order online and pick up at store or only available as a kindle.  Is this the new trend for reading.  I have about 100 mint paperbacks.  Should I get myself excited.  Anyone else notice this.  

Any info and knowledge shared is appreciated.  

Thanks

[ms.rodriguez*]

I have not read a book in years.  I do read the newspaper on my ipad.  Now I do most of my reading on these boards.  I would imagine that there is less demand for books now too. There are many other things to do in your spare time than reading. Folks play games on their phones and there are so many more channels now to watch movies and other programs.  Then as you mentioned, people read on their devices too.

See if you have a valuable book in there. Otherwise, maybe you can group them in small groups and sell as a lot.  Divide them by categories.  10 mystery books or 10 romantic novels. You decide what the size of the group will be.  Make sure that you factor in the correct shipping too.  Goodluck.

If they are not worth selling, donate them.  Many nursing homes love to accept new or almost new books and magazine for their patients.  Hospitals also accept books and often they sell them for a buck to raise money for something .   Then there are those little "take a book, leave a book" mini libraries often found in many streets or in front of a library.  Don't throw them out if you can't sell them.

[maxine*j]

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@postcardcountry wrote:

I have noticed a number of books (especially in the romance and cozy mystery genres) are available only in "mass market" paperback...the larger paperback which allows them to be priced less than a hardcover would have been and more than the true pocket paperback would be.  The print is also larger, which makes me wonder if this is a 'compromise' to not publishing large print books.

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Just to clarify:

"Mass market" paperbacks are the "pocket" sized books.  They are approximately 4"x7".   They are printed on very cheap paper.

The larger books you are thinking of, that are hardback size but with paper covers, are called "trade paperbacks" or, occasionally, "softcovers."  They range in size from about  5"x8" to 8"x10".   They are often printed on better paper than "mass market" paperbacks.

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[dirk12955]

This conversation got me thinking,    One of the kids got me the new Stephen King 

for Christmas.   Absolutely great book from one of my favorite authors.

Cover price?    $39.99 !         That price took my breath away.   But of course 

books are like furniture.   Nobody pays retail.    

[126celler]

Good Advice.   Thanks.   I was trying to find the Donna Fletcher series for a friend who does nothing digital.  Still writes checks to pay bills.  

[126celler]

This research started with me researching a Donna Fletcher series for a friend who does nothing digital.  Doesn't own a computer and still pays bills by writing checks.   Some of the research I found got me thinking. I personally like a hard copy book.  I do buy digital if it is an author unknown to me or we are traveling and my nook is easier to carry.  

I really appreciate all your advice.  

Thanks

[2013grotz]

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@dirk12955 wrote:

Cover price?    $39.99 !         That price took my breath away.   But of course 

books are like furniture.   Nobody pays retail.    

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They had $25.99 on the Prince Harry book I saw in the store.  All I could think was I'd see it eventually for a couple of bucks elsewhere, and that if someone did want to try to get back some of their money they wouldn't even be able to sell it anywhere near what they paid for it.  (Mainly because I can't imagine anyone having any other interest in this but a "read once" just to see what he has to say.  Assuming you're even interested in him at all.)

[keziak]

I've sold books here and on Amazon for going on 23 years. To this day my sales are basically just limited by my (very)limited time, energy and space. Plenty of books out there still worth money, just have to decide for  yourself was is the lowest price book you will sell.  Last year I raised my minimum on Amazon and thought it would be doomsville but instead I don't miss the lower price books at all. 

What you certainly ARE up against is degradation in price over time. Doesn't happen with all books by any means but is an important factor. I need to spend WAY more time checking my prices but I don't have that time. Too busy listing, scouting and taking care of the mail. 

Ebay is different from Amazon due to selling in lots, Best Offer, sending offers for books on watch lists and many other features. I like all that but the first thing to go in my business over time will be ebay. Amazon is just that much stronger a market for commodity books.

[jewelbiz]

How do you pack up & ship out a lot of books?

in what kind of box 📦? A Sturdy box? 

does the post office believe you if the lot of books 📚 are in a box that doesn’t look like a media mail book?

how do you determine the postal fee for a lot of books package?

Thank you 🙏

[mike_jayroe]

About the only books I buy now are the Mitch Rapp series started by Vince Flynn and taken over by Kyle Mills after Vince passed away. I listed all my Dale Brown and a lot of Tom Clancy books on the Alibris used book store sight and haven't even sold one yet. And I am only asking around 1 to 2 dollars for each.

Tried selling bound volumes of Trains magazine along with other railroad and Nascar  related books and not doing to good, All are pre 2003.

I hate kindle.

[the_fancy_fox]

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@jewelbiz wrote:

How do you pack up & ship out a lot of books?

in what kind of box 📦? A Sturdy box? 

does the post office believe you if the lot of books 📚 are in a box that doesn’t look like a media mail book?

how do you determine the postal fee for a lot of books package?

Thank you 🙏

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I sell antique and vintage books. I wouldn’t bother with paperbacks unless they are very rare. 

I research all the books I sell on ebay, Amazon and google. If I can’t beat all the ones out there for sale on price and quality and still make a good profit, I don’t bother selling it. 

And yes, the counter people at the po ask me all the time what’s in the box. especially when is a huge box. I tell them to go ahead and open it (by law they can open media mail anyway) but please make sure you put the corner bumpers back in correctly. 

As for determining the cost of postage. I load the books on the scale. At this point I know about how much the box packing will weight so I figure it in.