Comments on: Selling Books on Amazon: A Lot of Work for a Little Money, But it Sure Beats a Garage Sale

By: John

John — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 19:44:20 +0000

I wouldn’t dream of sending books out in new mailers - that would make far to great a dent in my overheads. My packaging methods are:
1 Book boxes made from empty wine boxes sourced from my local supermarket
2 Books wrapped in one or two layers of 12 inch corrugated paper ( a £7 roll lasts for months) and then taped up in brown wrapping paper - the later is an expense as I might have paid £40 for the last (very large) roll about a year ago.
3 Re-used mailers possibly with an additional layer of 12inch bubble-wrap. Ask people who work in a hospital/school/shop to save mailers for you.
4 Re-cycled Amazon cardboard mailers.
Method 1 is my favourite, 2 and 4 are better for high value book. Incidentally, I use a supplier a packaging material who gives a great discount for cash - I found him by noticing who the local shops used. I’ve sold over 5,000 books and never had a complaint over poor packaging

By: Matt

Matt — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 18:20:31 +0000

I found the best place to buy shipping supplies is on EBAY, but i wasnt buying bubble mailers (wasnt selling books) give it a try

By: Lynda

Lynda — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 11:26:50 +0000

I wonder if the “new packaging” rule only applies to the US, I’m in the UK? Thanks for the heads up, I may have inadvertently been a naughty bunny by using packaging used once…

By: Finance Gets Personal » For Me, Spending Leads to More Spending

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By: financegirl

financegirl — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 22:01:55 +0000

Jessica - thanks for the bubble envelope tip!

BookScouter - I looked at this website, it’s actually very handy. I think I’ll try to sell my books on Amazon, because it looks like I can make more money that way, then sell what I can’t get rid of to a book purchasing site.

By: BookScouter

BookScouter — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 20:47:47 +0000

You might have better (or at least comparable) luck selling your book directly to a book purchasing website. By time you deduct the Amazon fees, and deal with the risk, stress and hassle of dealing with amazon customers, you’ll likely have a better experience and make about the same amount of money.

There are a bunch of websites that buy used books, and most of them provide a prepaid shipping label so you don’t even have to pay postage. I created BookScouter.com as a way to quickly compare the prices from all of the book purchasing sites that I know of (currently around 25 sites), so you can make sure you are getting the best deal.

By: Jessica

Jessica — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 01:42:28 +0000

Thanks for the tips, I’d thought about this before but not made the leap. Another place where bubble mailers pop up on occasion is the dollar stores.

By: financegirl

financegirl — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 01:25:51 +0000

Thanks, I’ll have to start looking for that!

By: make art every day

make art every day — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 23:13:41 +0000

fyi, walgreen’s typically sells bubble wrap envelope for cheap about once a month or so. usually with a coupon in the flyer. might be a good way to stock up.