selling books

hello,new seller started selling books,what should i put in the description,ISBN# author?also i noticed some sellers have the ISBN# in the section ebay has to list if it is a first edition...,how do i do that,any help on selling books would be a great help thanks

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selling books

I use the ISBN to help me identify which edition I have, but unless you are dealing in high value first editions, I doubt many of your customers will care.

The ISBN is useful too in filling out the Item Specifics. The more IS you fill in (apparently with anything) the happier the eBay bots will be and theoretically the higher you will be in Search.

However, there are a lot of more important practices. Certainly you want your titles to attract attention. Do use the author's name, the title , the illustrator if any. (I always mention Kelly Freas in titles because there are collectors of his SF paperback covers). Many will give an idea of the contents, especially with non-fiction books.

You can also, when you get to the point of having a store, use your 'shop aisles' to further organize your stock for easy use by customers.

 

 

You and I sell quite different types of books. So my advice that you should raise your prices to at least $10 CDN may or may not resonate. But do check other Canadian dealers in Canadiana (Newfoundlandiana?) for their practices. There is a dealer in Manitoba whose advice on these boards is always practical. And I'm embarrassed to say I can't remember his exact handle. cuoumo? *blush*

 

Also, for thin (2cm max) and light (500 gm max) items, look into Free Shipping. Which is really including the cost of Domestic shipping (usually LetterMail) in your asking price. This is very popular with buyers and gives you an automatic 5 Star Rating when it is used as well as no shipping fees even on international destinations.

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selling books

cumos55

 

Books.... Books.... and more books.....Non-fiction --- 99.9 % of inventory

 

I spent a some  time today with someone interested in eventually.... selling first editions....  He and his little handheld "machine"  work miracles in finding those first editions.

 

He is collecting right now.... But his best find so far.....  a first edition of Gone With the Wind.... and he will start selling some day 

 

I have told him of several local sales...  charity, and church.....and he does find his first editions...

 

I did a search for first editions in books on eBay.....

 

and then the sold list... highest first....  a real wake up to prices close to $8,000 per book... and the greatest number sold... Alcoholics Anonymous.

 

We have  already had several most interesting discussions.

 

----------------------------------------------

 

Each seller has to make his own start.....  

 

My first suggestion.... list on eBay Canada.... sell in US dollars.

 

List on eBay Canada.... use Canada Post ... makes life on eBay more easy.

 

List in US dollars... a universal currency

 

 

Know shipping options

 

http://www.canadapost.ca/cpotools/apps/far/business/findARate?execution=e1s1

 

 

 

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selling books

A red background in a photograph has a major negative  effect on the color of the book in a photo...  and should not be used....

 

I get my background cardboard. a large poster-board  from a Dollar store..... This blue poster board is pinned to flat wood support as background .... the book sits on a black poster board covered table.

 

My background is a light blue  ... a sky blue....and everything is adjusted to about the same view.

 

If you look in my store.... all photos are very.similar in intensity,  a very similar appearance   .. color, brightness... and every photo has been adjusted using software...  all to a standard..

 

The light blue background is very similar to what is called a "grey scale"   a concept understood and known before digital photography.... and the background is my guide for setting the tint in a photo..... under almost all situations...

 

My lighting is incandescent light... Two flood lights each with 100 watt bulbs...which give a red color that requires color correction

 

The flood lights are set such that a shadow is minimal.... one to the left  and the second to the right

 

Incandescent light is "red"colored... Our eyes and brain  automatically color what we see..... Something the camera cannot do....

 

My understanding of photography started before digital photography....  and it was understand in relation to the color of light under many unique situations...

 

Get rid of the red background.... and add lots more light.... brighten up the image  and reduce the power of the red...

 

and.... find free photo correction/adjustment software on the internet...

 

It will help to read  about color, our perception of color  and then what the camera sees.

 

Experiment  with light and how to correct to a standard...

 

 

Some sellers use a scanner to produce a photo  of a book....

 

eBay's catalogue is available....   DO NOT use the catalogue if the information does not agree with the item specifics of the book....

 

As far as I am concerned  the catalogue is a mess looking for a place to happen..

 

and... above all  I put more in my listing than almost any other seller of books...  that is non-fiction books.  I do this  and sell some very unusual  books... very quickly 

 

 

 

 

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selling books

thanks all great ideas,i'll work on all of the above

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selling books

Sorry cumos55 - Sometimes the blonde moments and the senior moments co-incide. I was thinking cuomo for some reason, but knew that wasn't right.

 

I scan my book covers. But most of my titles are paperback and not very thick.

And DH bought an oversized printer for his exhibition pages (did you know there is such a thing as competitive stamp collecting?) and let's me use it from time to time for coffee table sized books.

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selling books

Another thought, are you familiar with Addall.com?

This is a collector site that collects the offerings on a dozen or so bookselling sites, including Amazon, Alibris, ABE, and also have listings for books from German, Australian, and French booksellers.

It gives a good overview of availability and asking prices. Keep in mind that the items showing are the ones that have NOT sold.

 

I mention this because, while 'rare' is not a synonym for 'valuable', your prices do seem a bit low especially compared to cumos55, who of course has an established name.

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selling books

My pricing sites

 

Bookfinder4U at 

 

http://www.bookfinder4u.com/

 

Bookfinder.com   at

 

http://www.bookfinder.com/?src=google-bf&gclid=CJbe-PTig8QCFQVgfgodkDAA0A

 

Not the highest price...  not the lowest

 

 

My way of doing it....  My way of pricing

 

and that is when the "pricing game" begins... and there are many... Maybe someday I will write a BOOK

 

 

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selling books

Thanks,I agree my prices are low,but as a new seller i am only allowed to list 90 items,i plan to raise my prices once i get more feedback,and when i have a greater amount of books listed,i have decided for now to scan the covers.can someone also tell me how long items remain in my unsold list.is it okay to leave some listings there and create more so when i am allowed to list more i have a head start,i have not reached my 90 listings yet but can i do this when i do

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