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How to Sell Used Books with Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)

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Thrift Store Profits – Turning $39 into $504 Selling Used Books

October 24, 2014 by Nathan Holmquist 18 Comments

 

 

 

 

 

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Filed Under: Sales Rank, Sourcing, Thrift Stores

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Comments

  1. David Meyer says

    November 7, 2014 at 10:30 am

    Hey Nathan.
    This post interested me because thrift store books are my main focus at around 80% of my business. Could you do a video or post about removing Goodwill stickers (assuming you get books there)? I have my methods which I have perfected, but I am always on the lookout for how other people deal with those pesky stickers.

    Reply
    • Nathan Holmquist says

      November 10, 2014 at 8:23 am

      Hi David,

      I use a combination of Scotty Peelers, Goo Gone, and my finger nails:)

      Reply
      • Jill says

        December 16, 2014 at 8:08 am

        Thanks for the info about Scotty Peelers – they work great!

        Reply
  2. Daniel says

    December 7, 2014 at 5:21 pm

    Nice results! That’s encouraging to see what you found at a thrift store. I’ve had trouble finding books at Goodwill, and I assumed it was because they sell books online too. I’ve had great success at library book sales, but I guess I need to check out some other thrift stores again!

    Reply
    • Nathan Holmquist says

      December 12, 2014 at 11:06 am

      Thanks for your comment Daniel! I find that Goodwill is not a good place to look for books. The smaller out-of-the-way thrift stores are usually the best.

      Reply
  3. Michael Markuson says

    December 7, 2014 at 8:14 pm

    Great Job! Love the stats.. Do you ever buy MF books on Amazon to relist under FBA?

    Reply
    • Nathan Holmquist says

      December 12, 2014 at 11:05 am

      Thanks Mike! I’ve tried that a few times. I find that it’s hard to do that on a consistent basis though.

      Reply
  4. Lorian Rivers says

    December 8, 2014 at 1:45 am

    I’m just looking into amazon fba, but I buy from Amazon all the time. I don’t understand how you get these prices! If the going rate for a book is about $22, and it ranges close to that, why would someone pay you (or me) $36?

    Reply
    • Nathan Holmquist says

      December 12, 2014 at 11:04 am

      If a book is sold by an FBA merchant, then that book qualifies for all the Amazon Prime Benefits. Free Shipping, Two Day Shipping, Tracking, No hassle return, Comfort of knowing it’s coming from Amazon etc. Customers will pay a premium for all of that.

      Reply
  5. Jill says

    December 10, 2014 at 8:23 am

    Do you scan the books at the thrift store to find out what they are selling for before you buy them? What about the books that are sold at 1 cent + shipping? Why would someone pay so much more to you than to the 1 cent sellers? Thanks.

    Reply
    • Nathan Holmquist says

      December 12, 2014 at 11:02 am

      Yes, I scan the books before I buy them. If the books are at 1 cent plus shipping, then I don’t buy them.

      Reply
  6. Jill says

    December 10, 2014 at 9:01 am

    Hi Nathan. One more question (and it goes back to my 1 cent question as well): most of the books I find in thrift stores (and on Craigslist) are not the most recent version – is there a simple way to make sure you have a fairly recent version of the book so that someone WILL pay more $$$ than 1 cent? Thanks Jill

    Reply
    • Nathan Holmquist says

      December 12, 2014 at 11:01 am

      I would ignore the 1 cents books and look for something more profitable. I really don’t pay attention to the version. I just scan the book with my scanner and look at the price and sales rank.

      Reply
  7. Jill says

    December 16, 2014 at 8:07 am

    Thanks, Nathan. I found out that my local Goodwills scan the books as well and if they are selling for more than $3, they ship them to the web thrift store so apparently, I am NEVER going to find anything worth selling locally. Sigh! Thanks for the info.

    Reply
  8. Dave says

    December 25, 2014 at 11:46 am

    Hey guys, I’m finding an increasing number of low dollar ( $5-7 ) FBA books, it seems like 90 percent of the books I scan fall in this category. Also I have about 100 FBA books now that a couple months ago were competively priced in the $10-15 range have now tanked. any suggestions

    Reply
  9. Otseh Davidson says

    February 28, 2015 at 1:34 pm

    I would like to known more about Thrift Store

    Reply
  10. JJ says

    May 5, 2015 at 1:39 pm

    See these obnoxious cretins all the time tripping over each other in the local thrift shops.Some stores have banned them already for interfering with their inventory policies.

    Reply
  11. Ryan says

    July 28, 2016 at 12:38 pm

    I never go to goodwill …I agree with the poster they scan their books and keep them to resell them themselves. Salvation army the same thing…and when they sell on Amazon or other sites they sell super low so it is frustrating when you got an expensive book. Just have to set you price if your know it is really worth more and stick to your guns. Have a great week everyone.
    http://www.zazzle.com/starbucksfrapp/products

    Reply

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