Sell Books Blog

A lot of people are drawn to sell used books because of the freedom it provides. You get to be your own boss, set your own hours and do business the way you see fit. However, the fact that there is no one to impose rules on you doesn’t mean that there are no rules [...]

Once again I want to apologize for the delays and technical issues, and state of the blog in general over the past week or so. It’s been crazy around here, and I appreciate your patience. I’ve actually got a post for you today, just a quick one to let you know I haven’t completely abandoned [...]

There’s been a lot of speculation lately about what the future of reading will look like. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve heard a lot about the Kindle and a lot of peoples various opinions on what impact, if any, it will have on the publishing industry. For those rock-dwellers out there, the [...]

Shipping the books you sell on Amazon may soon cost you more than ever. The U.S. Post Office is in trouble. Deep trouble. And that means we can expect more rate hikes coming down the pike. The USPS’s woes stem from a number of factors. The continued encroachment of the internet on mail’s traditional role [...]

A lot of people in the bookselling world are buzzing about the possibility of using iPhone scanners. Unfortunately for now it seems that all that’s available are not-so-great apps that “scan” barcodes by taking a picture of them, a method that’s unreliable at best. However your daily activities as a bookseller include a heck of [...]

I’ve warned you about selling on Amazon, and how important knowing the rules is. Nothing brings that point into sharp relief quite like getting a notice from Amazon that you are in violation of their policies. That’s exactly what happened to me recently. Failing to comply with Amazon’s policies can mean serious penalties up to [...]

The business of selling used books can feel pretty risky sometimes, especially for new sellers. After all, you’re forgoing the security of a steady paycheck to go into business for yourself. A lot of people self-employed or small business owners are justifiably nervous, given the current state of the economy. But according to an article [...]

Knowing what kind of books to buy and what kinds to avoid is important. Dead inventory, even if you are culling regularly, is a drain on your time and resources. Even if you use a scanner, knowing where to focus your attention is a way better use of your time than randomly scanning every book [...]

Selling used books is, by its very nature, environmentally friendly. Obviously books are made of paper. Every book that is created has an environmental impact both in terms of trees being cut down, and in terms of the fossil fuels burned in manufacturing, shipping, etc. Every time a person buys a used book instead of [...]

As booksellers, most of us use Amazon as a primary (or at least major) channel for selling our books. I’ve talked before about the issue of Amazon and taxes. Amazon’s polices make very clear their dedication to not collecting sales tax for you. I’ve also warned you about taking on Amazon. Amazon is an 800 [...]