Does anyone ever sell any books?

[LineRunner]

I have a house full of books I'd love to get shot of, preferably without having to give them all away. They are mostly novels, paperback and hardback. Everything from Booker to American crime trash.

Does anyone ever manage to sell any? Looking at ebay, I see loads on sale for 99p with no bids at all.

Is it the postage - or do people just not want them?

It's the postage that generally puts people off. If I were you I would list bundles of books, maybe the same writer or genre, and offer free postage.
If you send parcels using parcelmonkey, you could send very heavy parcels. Ia courier very cheaply.

Any books that are considered rare or sought after you could sell individually.

What about selling on Amazon?

I buy second hand books from eBay all the time because they are 99p. For the same reason I don't bother selling any - they go to the charity shop.

Thanks for those ideas. I'm going to go and have a rough tally and see what I've got, what the weights are etc.

Tbh I wouldn't know a rare edition if it fell on me.

books don't sell because of postage unless 1st editions or antiquarian/collectable

if in really good condition and some good titles a second hand bookseller might give you something but not a lot, last auction I went to 6 boxes of boxes sold for £12 however if some good books they can make £300 ( leather binding gilt edges etc)

coffee table type books costs £5 plus to post but can you make up a pack of 10+ say and send with cheapest courier possible hermes or collect plus for about £5

I have just realised that I have some rare books!

Bloody hell, I have the 'Yes' Richard Dean book...

Roger Dean?

My ignorance keeps shining through...

I've managed to sell quite a lot books for a reasonable amount, but they were my dad's collections of bus/London transport stuff and a lot of 'vintage' ones from the fifties upwards. I managed to sell a Dinky Toys book for a whopping £70!!! it was new, dad hadn't got around to reading it, but I never expected it to go for that amount
But novels and kids books I don't bother anymore because they rarely sell.....I recently sold a brand new (unsuitable gift) Dora the Explorer musical song book RRP £12.99 for 99p. I made a loss on the postage because the category I listed in wouldn't allow me to put a high enough price to cover it, but at least it will be used!

Any transport stuff seems to sell really well!

What is with blokes and trolley buses??

From time to time I've sold old Sci fi /TV annuals and they've always gone very well.Am about to list a few horse books and see how they do.

just to add that I have mixed results with selling books.

lately I've changed to collect+ which means a bigger parcel for the price which has been brill for buyers as I'm happy to combine postage to actual costs plus packing materials, so it makes it more appealing to buyers.

I sold about 60 books recently, most were series so more than one book in the listing. Most buyers bought more than one lot as well.

If you can bundle them up in genre or series then you may have a better chance of selling them. More obscure books do sell well on Amazon or Abebooks.

Carbooting, you may only get 50p-£1 for them but no hassle of listing and posting etc, just an early start!

I have sold quite a lot of specialist text books that I used for my medical degree. They sold very well. I think that timing is important with some books - e.g the start of the academic year for academic books and maybe Christmas for fiction?

I also use Amazon sometimes as if you input the details they will tell you what its worth on the second hand market.

Mollified, I had some text books in Montessori that gave taken months to sell. I undercut the others listed to encourage buyers. I also started them at the beginning of term and they sold last week.
Think it depends on what they are but your right to do your research so u don't end up losing out!

I did well with old children's hardback books (Just William, Jennings etc) and also with old railway timetables and a run of Wisdens.

I think, don't know for sure though, that it probably isn't worth selling run of the mill paperback fiction. Too many of them out there, and not enough demand.

Oh yes, must just add that it is worth being accurate when weighing your book parcels. I miscalculated by a whole kilo once and completely wiped out the profit on that sale. Felt v stupid!

I've sold loads on Amazon, but often the ones I think will sell don't and random ones are in great demand.

I sell them for about 50p less than the next cheapest one listed.

Amazon

I have been rooting around for annuals and came upon some embarrassing New English Library trash from the 1970s that apparently sell well (!) Also some 1960s Penguins I have been hoarding for no good reason.

I like the idea of boxing up series and runs of books. i.e. everything ever by Harlen Coben, or Patricia Cornwell. That kind of thing.