| When I started my online bookselling business almost | | | | your bookshelves with firewood. |
| five years ago, buying books for my inventory was | | | | Many new online booksellers tend to think that if a |
| hit and miss. The first couple hundred books were for | | | | book is old, or a classic, it would be a good book to |
| the most part expensive firewood . Then, I put the | | | | sell. The truth is that these types of books are in |
| Internet to work for me and started looking book | | | | demand, but the supply tends to be much greater |
| values up before I would buy them. At the time, the | | | | than the demand, and many can be bought online for |
| only way to do this was to call my wife (at home) | | | | a penny or two. |
| from my cell phone and tell her the ISBN to look up | | | | My own parents are prolific readers of all kinds of |
| on the website. | | | | modern publications, e.g., novels, suspense, mystery, |
| This was awkward and slow, but did allow me to buy | | | | and even drama. Every year they buy me a new |
| more books with a resale vale high enough to make | | | | book for my birthday and/or Christmas. Last year |
| a good profit. I know the stores I was shopping in | | | | they bought me a new and very popular book at |
| must have thought I was a bit strange pulling books | | | | their local bookstore. I didn't want to sound |
| off the shelves and reading the ISBN's to someone | | | | ungrateful, but I hated seeing them spending $29.99 |
| on the receiving end of my phone call, but it did beat | | | | plus tax for a book they could have bought online for |
| buying more firewood. | | | | $0.15 plus $3.49 for shipping. Since my mom is very |
| Then along came the wireless lookup services that | | | | active on the Internet, I told her where to look for |
| let you type an ISBN into your web enabled cell | | | | books and they now buy all their books online. |
| phone and get the latest online prices for that title. | | | | While this little side story about my parents does not |
| Personally, I really like doing this; it is a lot like playing | | | | have a lot to do with wireless lookup services, it |
| slot machines except that I don't lose. I just type the | | | | does demonstrate that even the books you might |
| ISBN number into my phone and wait for the | | | | think would be good online sellers because they are |
| numbers to come up on the screen to see if I have | | | | still in the front window displays of the local |
| a winner. Of course, some winners sell a lot faster | | | | bookstores are not always profitable online sellers. |
| than others, but now, it is rare that I buy firewood | | | | There is no direct correlation between brick and |
| and I can usually gauge how long a book will take to | | | | mortar store prices and online selling prices. If you are |
| sell by the Amazon sales rank that is also provided | | | | going to sell online, the brick and mortar store prices |
| by the lookup service. | | | | are irrelevant, you need to know the online price and |
| There are very few times that I will buy a book | | | | demand. |
| without first looking it up and these can be put in | | | | To further emphasize the irrelevance, about 70% of |
| two categories. | | | | my online inventory comes from the clearance |
| 1) When I spot a book that I know I have sold | | | | shelves of a brick and mortar bookstore. They have |
| before and made a good profit on. | | | | no demand for these books and cannot sell them, so |
| 2) When I attend a large library book sale and the | | | | they put them on their clearance shelves and I buy |
| prices are low enough that I just buy everything that | | | | them for about $0.90. I have bought dozens of |
| I think has potential. I always end up with some | | | | books from these clearance shelves and sold them |
| firewood from these sales, but I have enough | | | | for $50+ in the last couple months alone. Several |
| experience at online bookselling now that the winners | | | | others have sold for $150+. |
| I pick far outweigh the losers. | | | | The point is, as an online bookseller you need to |
| If you are planning to get into online bookselling and | | | | know the online value and demand for a book |
| have not already done so, I strongly encourage you | | | | BEFORE you buy it and there are several lookup |
| to research the wireless lookup services and | | | | services available to you for $5.00 to $30.00 per |
| subscribe to one that suits you. If you go out and | | | | month. Any one of which will pay for itself in the first |
| blindly buy your inventory, you are likely to stock | | | | hour of book scouting that you use it. |