Advice on selling books/mags from Canada to US? Is it worth it and how do you ship?

[americannostalgia]

This one is for  Canadian ebay book sellers.

Would you offer any guidance or advice on selling regular used books and magazines on ebay.ca to USA?

Specifically: is it worth it?  How do you ship single paperbacks and/or hardbacks  --envelopes?  What about tracking?

Also: any other advice I should know before takign the plunge?  I've been selling model kits, knick knacks, toys in the past. 

Any and all guidance is welcome.

Details: I'm culling a few hundred paperbacks, trades, and some hardbacks from my collection.

Most are in decent condition but are not rare or sought after.  These are mostly fiction. I have romance, westerns, detective, crime, some SF, etc. Plus nonfiction: science textbooks, cliffs style notes (ie coles notes books), history books (canada, usa), cookbooks, some kids books.

As for the magazines they are all scale model hobby mags. They usually sell on ebay anywhere from a few dollars usd to 15-20 depending on the topic/issue etc. Mine are in decent condtion and are around 4-5 usd vale each.  But again Im more concerned about the books as they are bulkier and take up more space and I wont to move them (slowly if need be but to move them)

I see some canadian sellers who ship a single paperback to the US for free shipping. The paperback might be over 2cm thick so they must be shipping as small air packet. I doubt those are insured.  A friend warned me thtat ebay says to never ship without tracking. But we're talking Canada Post here: tracking an envelope (registered mail) even an item under 2 cm is what now 19 dollars or something?  He said that I would be innudated with fake "never recieved" notifications but I don't see any other way that Canadian ebay sellers could make any profit on selling books and magazines.

I dont want to dontate these books as they are in decent condition (all very good or vg+) and I could use the money of course. 

[mrdutch1001]

Over the past 20 years I have been listing & selling vinyl LP records and over the past 15 years have been listing & selling knitting & crochet patterns booklets, craft magazines, and over the past 10 years had been listing woodworking books & magazines, aquarium books  & magazines, model railroad magazines, gardening books & magazines and all of the latter were a challenge, especially so in recent years...I have many,many vintage & antique hardcover books(fiction & non fiction) all in "good" condition, but not good enough for collectors so they were never listed on eBay or any other selling site, and never will be but will be donated locally...

UNLESS there is some sort of real value, real collector value or rarity and/or special interest item, many items simply are not worth listing anymore...

Throughout 2023 I have been donating much of my items locally, recycling and providing reuse wherever possible, rather than send to the landfill of course....

I continue to sort and donate and expect within 6 months to be done listing any type of printed matter on eBay...and expect shortly thereafter to also be done with listing vinyl records...

Unfortunately,  just because "they are in decent condition (all very good or vg+) and I could use the money of course." DOES NOT justify listing items on eBay and/or any selling site....

Successful selling is about the product/item> its uniqueness, quality, SUPPLY& DEMAND, target market...

Of course anyone can list items as they so desire, but must realize, this is 2023 and NOT everything will sell on eBay, not everything has the value it had many years ago, not everything has the interest it had years ago...Trends come, trends go...Buyer habits change..

buyers themselves have changed dramatically as society has changed>> buyers expect more/demand more and they want it NOW! (yesterday!)

Selling on eBay or any selling site IS NOT easy and takes much patience for both buyer & seller...something that seems to have gotten lost over the years..

Give it a go but be prepared for anything and everything...the good, the bad, the ungly..

Good wishes and Good luck!

[byto253]

Heavy books are tough.  Even if under 2cm, it they are over 200 grams small packet is cheaper. 

Your friend is a little over the top.  I ship a fair amount with lettermail and have negligble issues with not received notifications.   There is that risk though, since with untracked it is an auto refund if you get an item not received claim.  For lower value IMHO it is a no brainer to ship lettermail.   Use the savings to self insure.  

Just be sure to select the shipping service as Economy as it provides a large delivery window before an INAD can be claimed.  The main problem folks get into is using standard or lettermail and the delivery time frame is to tight.  Be sure to give lots of time for delivery.  Typically lettermail will be 8 to 15 business days to get somewhere in the US but make sure the buffer is well beyond that.

[lotzofuniquegoodies · Accepted solution]

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@americannostalgia wrote:

This one is for  Canadian ebay book sellers.

Would you offer any guidance or advice on selling regular used books and magazines on ebay.ca to USA?

Specifically: is it worth it?  How do you ship single paperbacks and/or hardbacks  --envelopes?  What about tracking?

Also: any other advice I should know before takign the plunge?  I've been selling model kits, knick knacks, toys in the past. 

Any and all guidance is welcome.

Details: I'm culling a few hundred paperbacks, trades, and some hardbacks from my collection.

Most are in decent condition but are not rare or sought after.  These are mostly fiction. I have romance, westerns, detective, crime, some SF, etc. Plus nonfiction: science textbooks, cliffs style notes (ie coles notes books), history books (canada, usa), cookbooks, some kids books.

As for the magazines they are all scale model hobby mags. They usually sell on ebay anywhere from a few dollars usd to 15-20 depending on the topic/issue etc. Mine are in decent condtion and are around 4-5 usd vale each.  But again Im more concerned about the books as they are bulkier and take up more space and I wont to move them (slowly if need be but to move them)

I see some canadian sellers who ship a single paperback to the US for free shipping. The paperback might be over 2cm thick so they must be shipping as small air packet. I doubt those are insured.  A friend warned me thtat ebay says to never ship without tracking. But we're talking Canada Post here: tracking an envelope (registered mail) even an item under 2 cm is what now 19 dollars or something?  He said that I would be innudated with fake "never recieved" notifications but I don't see any other way that Canadian ebay sellers could make any profit on selling books and magazines.

I dont want to dontate these books as they are in decent condition (all very good or vg+) and I could use the money of course. 

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@americannostalgia 

Important to also remember anything that is not paper matter requires customs documentation which means small packet air/tracked at bare minimum to USA & Internationally. PB Books/magazines included. If you are using eBay labels it brings everything to the level 4 discount. And if you update after shipping with the UR#########CA tracking number items do get delivery scans within eBay. Not in USPS/CP. I have no issues getting my parcels from Calgary to most of the USA in approx 10 business days. It really all depends as noted by others if the listing justifies the expense to the buyer. Best of luck however you choose to go. 

https://www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/cpc/en/support/articles/non-mailable-matter/what-is-non-maila...

-Lotz

[darak10]

mrdutch said it all, thats pretty much all you need to say, that and yes, your friend is over the top - 99% of customers Ive had are honest and wont dishonestly state they never got it.  They do exist but not in the numbers your friend says.  Americans are mostly confused why Canadian sellers dont send with tracking because they are familiar with their system and dont know anything about how Canada Post operates.  I mailed a bunch of stuff from the US on a recent trip and tracked media mail rate was like 3.60 or 3.70 USD, obscenely cheap by our standards, given the cheapest tracked rate I can get is chit chats and that bottoms out at just under 8 bucks CAD.  

I will say i did try books years ago as an experiment on here and it didnt work due prohibitive shipping costs, and the simple fact that amazon owns the books market.  My personal opinion is that selling books on this platform is a total waste of time, that market is elsewhere, its not here.  I do still stock some but not many and they are collectible and hard to find.  Still, even the rare ones can take upwards of a year or more to sell.   What I find 99% of the time now doesnt sell anymore; blu rays.  I'm ready to bin mine, they just collect dust and I can barely give them away.  

I will add its a really bad time to start this.  Canadian customers especially are really hurting, 80% of them dont spend any more than $15 at a time on anything of mine.  US customers come around if they think they are getting a deal given the exchange rate difference and are way more likely to buy higher end items for this reason.  Rarely do I get bulk purchases of 5-10-15-20 items at a time anymore.  People are getting killed on their mortgages and other expenses associated with the cost of living crisis and discretionary expenses go straight out the window, like they have for me as well.  

I would really take a deep look into your niche of choice and have several other streams of income lined up before you even begin venturing into this.  The money is not here doing this right now, and wont be for god knows how much longer.  A trend to be aware of though: sales volume starts to increase in October and for many sellers we make the most money per month in October, November and December.  Per month you arent going to do any better any other time of the year than the leadup to Xmas.  

They can say what they want but the little guy is yesterdays news on here, it's as mrdutch says, its just not as profitable as it used to be.  

[reallynicestamps]

Free Shipping is not free.

The seller is including the cost of shipping in the asking price.
If I sell a paperback for $9.99 US, it probably cost me a loonie- which is 75c US.

Add on $1.94 to $3.19 letter rate postage, depending on weight for a 2cm thick book.

And again in USD that's $1.45 to $2.39 Cdn.

And I'm paying 15%* FVF . So another $1.50Cdn.

About $4.64 Cdn in expenses versus$9.99 US /$12.48Cdn in payments .

Approximate profit  $7.84.

Of course, we are not allowed to ship product to the USA by LetterRate. 😎

That's listing on dotCOM.

If you are listing hardbacks or thick paperbacks, you have to switch to Parcel Rates and you must use dotCA for those Calculated rates because now destination comes into play.

Remember that when your US customer finds your title on dotCOM they see the price in USD, not in loonies.

So that helps a little.

And most readers do read the listing and understand more or less about foreign exchange.

Please note that all numbers here are approximate, and that I didn't bother with sales taxes, which make only pennies worth of difference in our fees.

Also _ Best Sellers aren't. Everyone who wanted to read that John Grisham novel already has. Go for the esoteric.

Also vintage SF/F and mystery holds up better than vintage mainstream or romance.

Old textbooks are kindling.

Coles Notes may have a place if you describe them as Cliffs Notes but written for Canadian schools and never distributed in the USA.

Readers don't make Not Received claims the way some other categories do.

and the simple fact that amazon owns the books market.

Interestingly, when I cross check my books and prices with AZ , my price is usually lower here on eBay.

In the same way, WalMart is not necessarily the lowest price around

It's the power of advertising.

Another thought.

Addall dotCOM is a good reference for number available on the internet and for edition information. It covers more than 100 bookselling sites, including AZ.

*https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/fees-credits-invoices/store-selling-fees?id=4809

[recped]

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@americannostalgia wrote:

This one is for  Canadian ebay book sellers.

Would you offer any guidance or advice on selling regular used books and magazines on ebay.ca to USA?

---

Depending on your location you could do what I do (music rather than  books).

I use Stallion  Express to take my orders across the border where I can use USPS Media Mail (1lb rate US$3.92 + Stallion fee of CA$0.70 - 0.90).

Delivery time from drop off at Stallion is 4 - 7 days, tracking included of course.

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

Free shipping is a marketing choice. It means the shipping is built into the BIN price. 

The cheapest US shipping will likely be from an alternative carrier like Chit Chats or Stallion. For example, I am in a major city in Ontario. It costs about $7.50-$8.00 to send a parcel under 100 grams, $8.50-$9.00 to send a parcel under 200 grams, $10 to send a parcel under 300 grams, etc.

If you sell a paperback or magazine for 20 CAD, let's say it costs you $4 in fees, $8 in shipping, and another $1 in supplies or incidental costs (maybe more if you do not want to buy a high enough volume of supplies to keep costs down). That leaves you $7 to cover your profit and the cost of goods sold. That obviously doesn't count fixed costs like your eBay subscription that are difficult to calculate across each individual unit until you know how much you will sell.

While that seems like a tight profit margin, you have to consider that a lot of people selling magazines are either collectors who see them as sunk costs, or people who buy them at thrift stores, garage sales, or other low cost outlets. The actual upfront cost would be very low. Most of the costs are only incurred when an item sells (shipping, variable fees, etc). 

On a side note, it is possible that some people ship lettermail to the USA. You're technically not supposed to ship goods lettermail. You run the risk of your packages getting rejected by customs. I only ship parcel to the USA, so I cannot comment on how likely it is for this to happen. Not that I am suggesting anybody should send goods international lettermail, I am only pointing out that some sellers do this. Lettermail is fine for domestic though, there isn't the same kind of restriction on goods.

[mrdutch1001]

If OP or others who think sending goods by lettermail to USA is worth the risk, they ought to read some of the older forum topics regarding lettermail packages to the USA being returned...and weigh the risks, the losses,etc ...

Merchandise/goods  shipped to the USA & International destinations IS NOT Lettermail and requires customs form/declaration of the said commodity,value,etc.

There IS reason to accept Canada Post guidelines that say DON'T DO IT!

[femmefan1946]

A friend warned me thtat ebay says to never ship without tracking. But we're talking Canada Post here: tracking an envelope (registered mail) even an item under 2 cm is what now 19 dollars or something?

Domestic tracking on lettermail, which can be used for books , would be Registered at $9.75 plus the normal shipping cost - for a 250 gram book that would be $3.19.

So the lowest domestic tracked rate would be $12.94 anywhere in Canada as a registered letter.  Using parcel rates domestically you get into destination and the same book shipped from BC to ON would cost over $22 by Regular parcel.

We do get discounts when we buy labels through eBay.

We also get discounts by signing up for a Solutions for Small Business account with Canada Post.

https://www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/cpc/en/business/small-business.page?

The lowest tracked cost to the USA for that book would be $11.20 BUT there is a promotion on Tracked Packet USA just now which lowers the cost.

And of course using a forwarder if possible is also useful.

But your friend is giving the party line on tracking.

EBay will automatically find for the buyer in an Item Not Received (INR) claim if you don't have tracking.

But.

Many non-US sellers just don't bother because we know that less than one percent of all transactions will fail and that rate is even lower in some categories.

Books being one of them.
There are higher rates in anything that appeals to the criminal demographic (male, 15-35, single). So sneakers, sports memorabilia, electronics, games are problem categories.

And used clothing is difficult.

Basically.

Shipping is hard.

[byto253]

Agree with the post, except one quibble 😁  If shipping to the US and under 2KG it is flat rate small packet regardless of US location so .com is feasible for the under 2KG items.  Of course with large books are a set of books the 2KG can get blown away very quickly.

[flipistics]

You have lots of great advice here. Most novels / etc aren't worth listing (obviously there are exceptions). Lot them up and put them on a local selling site / app.  I often donate them for coupons at local thrift stores, so that's an option too. I've heard that some bookstores will also give you some store credit for more popular books (which you could then use to pick out something more interesting). Some of the old paperbacks can be worth listing individually if you can send them out lettermail. Think about things like choose your own adventure, etc.  I sold a copy of "The Battle of Savo" the other day. If you have a bunch of kids books from a series, lotting those up on eBay can be quite good.

Most textbooks are pretty much worthless unless they're the newest edition (or one off the newest). Some special interest books and topics can be good though (books on local history, or more rare hobby type books like ham radio or pilot / aircraft material for example).

Don't be afraid of lettermail domestically. It's certainly possible you could get scammed occassionally, but the money you'll save and the extra sales you make should blow any losses out of the water. I've had (maybe) one or two scams out of probably 1000 lettermail items in my media store.

[reallynicestamps]

flat rate small packet regardless of US location so .com is feasible for the under 2KG items.

Yes.

But Small Packet is not tracked.

With books this is generally not important, but with some other categories, including comic books which can be remarkably expensive and appeal to a less trustworthy different demographic, tracking may be important to the seller as one of the few Seller Protections we have.

[mrdutch1001]

For some of us Small Packet IS trackable on eBay with the UR#, but of course that is most likely NOT accepted in an INR case, so definitely NOT reliable... but no matter, TRACKED PACKET IS NOT much more $ with the discount, so best to use Tracked Packet for ANYTHING of value.

[byto253]

Posts in here have indicate that they have successfully used UR tracking for INRs   It is USPS that provides the tracking and delivery confirmation, including progress through regional facilities.

[americannostalgia]

thank you for your detailed answer. I appreciate it!

[americannostalgia]

thanks for your response on this.  The housing problem here in Toronto is also insane. We have college students 5 to a room and invited immigrants sleeping in pup tents outside government buildings as well. I've had good luck with American customers buying my model kits in the past but I think you and the others make valid points about regular used books. I did find some rare ones that I will put up but I dont think Ill bother for the bulk of them.  

[americannostalgia]

wow a treasure trove of advice here! loved your statement:

"Everyone who wanted to read that John Grisham novel already has. Go for the esoteric.

Also vintage SF/F and mystery holds up better than vintage mainstream or romance."

That hit home. Okay I think I will unload these locally. If I cant get anything for them Ill donate them to a retirement home, libraries etc

[americannostalgia]

thanks recped!

[americannostalgia]

okay you brought up some points I did not consider regarding lettermail. Thanks!