Thinking of Usborne bookselling as a side hustle - I know what it is, but many of the usual warnings don't apply. Any thoughts?

[AnonyLonnymouse]

I have had quite a busy work-week and perhaps my brain is a bit addled, but I am suddenly wondering if selling Usborne books might be a useful side hustle for me? I know that it is an MLM - and know all the arguments against MLM - but it seems that it might actually suit me quite well. I have existing freelance work and I am looking for a new job but would like a side activity that I can scale up or down as needed.

The reasons why it seems like a good idea - at 11pm on a Friday! - are:

I want to get out of the house!
I like selling at NCT sales etc and am quite good selling face-to-face, but not pushy
I like interacting with parents and pre-schoolers/primary age children
I would not be selling to friends, as they are mostly beyond that stage
I have an existing FB page with 2k+ followers in the right type of audience
I have the cashflow to buy stock and not worry about recouping it ASAP
I have the storage space, although tidying up a bit would help!
I would not push anyone to join a team, as I know that isn't ethical
I can drive
I can use social media for business purposes
I live in an area where people definitely have money to spend and would happily spend a bit more on a book at an event rather than wait to buy it cheaper elsewhere. Lots of grandparents around here too!
I live in an area where there aren't really large supermarkets or discount shops nearby.

Bearing all the above in mind - not the typical situation - what do you think?
Thanks.

Thank you @Ametora, useful thoughts.

At the end of the day, books do align quite well with other interests and work that I do, so there is also that reason behind why this appeals to me rather than other ways of making money.

If you are skilled you could crochet, sew or knit the characters from some books and sell the toy and book together. That would be popular I think- lots of patterns on line. Bulk buy a good cheap book and make the character.

I wouldn’t got down the pre-loved children book route - you would lose all the gift market, which is a lot of what you would get a fairs etc…

As I would just do fairs etc I would probably go down the route of holding stock and just giving it to the person there and then?

That's going to mean sinking in an awful lot of cash upfront to then still have a pretty small selection of books on your stall.

Maybe you could take up fancy book binding. Rebound hardback books with fancy sprayed edges seems to be a thing. And feels more craft fair product. Harder to decide what inventory to carry I guess though.

Yeah, me too. I have a good friend who sells for them and I've gone right off usbourne books since

I don't think there is any money in secondhand books these days. Most Naice areas have a little free library or two.

But would they want to spend it buying a book they know they can get cheaper elsewhere?
I think the days of buying Usborne books at parties and events has passed now there is much more choice and everything is available online.
I am happy to buy and pay a premium price for unusual things and things I can't get elsewhere. But not a not for a pretty standard book that I could buy much cheaper elsewhere anyway.
The link about how the company are exploiting their sellers has also put me off ever buying from them again.

I think for some people, which may or may not include op, all the narrative surrounding "99.6% of mlm sellers lose money" is seen as a sort of challenge rather than an obvious warning.

Some people think "I'm not like others, I'm different, I'm cleverer/more resourceful/more determined" etc and insist they'll be in the 0.4%. You can see a hint of this in some of op's posts.

Really, being in that 0.4% doesn't come down to positive attributes. You make money in an mlm by being ruthless, dishonest, and...lucky to get in at the beginning.

Op may well be determined, resourceful, with 2k Facebook followers. Genuinely, I have no doubt she's particularly good at sales and has other useful skills as she claims.

But it doesn't sound like she's ruthless or dishonest and she certainly isn't an early adopter of usborne.

She will lose money.

I agree with the suggestions of going solo on a bookstall- what wonderful freedom! You can pick up job lots at less than £1/ book- eg. https://www.books2door.com/products/the-usborne-reading-40-book-collection-ages-5-7-hardback?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAxOauBhCaARIsAEbUSQSTJTt9QLFKa3TYuyazcruq2GvJNHB-Fmu93hgojRuURL9_PtQdcDkaAogBEALw_wcB

https://www.books2door.com/products/the-usborne-reading-collection-for-confident-readers-40-books-ages-5-7-paperback?variant=31935028723811

and could split them to sell £2/ go whilst being able to source elsewhere as well depending on what takes your fancy.

I agree with this too. If I want cheap books I go to charity shops or the occassional book sale at the church hall or local library.

I don't think this would be a remotely reliable source of income unless they were niche or unusual, new books.

You’re not thinking logically if you think it could be profitable.

Dont do it op....i think anyone involving themselves in an mlm is a bit thick....i cringe when they call themselves a 'consultant' and their over use of the word 'hun' is nauseating.

News just in! £30 off if you buy two success day tickets! So the dwindling and pitiful attendances of previous success days is dwindling even more 😂 Seriously can’t believe they was charging £90 for two tickets, and even now with the discount it’s £60! Utter greed and desperation for money any way they can extract it from the bots!

@BotOff
I am the OP but not sure who that is aimed at or what the context is - what is a ‘success day’?

Anyway, to update the thread, I haven’t pursued Usborne and am thinking of starting an entirely different kind of business using my professional skillset, for which I have many years of experience and postgraduate qualifications. So I am not ‘a bit thick’ as the poster above so charmingly put it! But I do still like the idea of bookselling face-to-face (particularly the book camper-van or trailer that I could drive around to fairs - I spent a very pleasant evening looking at cute converted vans on Ebay!) so some form of book-related activity could still be in my future. Thanks to all those who posted helpful contributions, especially around other forms of bookselling.

You already sell stuff?

No, more like knowledge and service based activity. But I have updated the thread today, just above.

@AnonyLonnymouse I think Botoff meant that comment for the anti MLM thread on Money Matters as it's a comment about another MLM scam called Forever Living!

I'm glad you've moved on from Usborne which is a terrible company that lies and rinses people, (which is the MLM business model in a nutshell). I don't agree with calling people who fall for MLM "thick" as these companies are very good at positioning themselves as a low barriers to entry, flexible, supportive and potentially lucrative opportunity. They target people who are bound to find it attractive. They teach their reps to recruit by seeking out vulnerability and then presenting the version most likely to hook someone in. I've seen all sorts fall for it, none of home could be described as thick.

Good luck with what you're developing now. My grandfather was a bookseller, principally of French literature, on Charing Cross Road, while also working for de Gaulle's propaganda machine and sneaking about occupied France during the war pretending to be an illiterate peasant to avoid scrutiny. So I've always had a nostalgic picture in my mind of traditional booksellers! There is nothing better than being let loose in a (non-chain) bookshop with an hours to browse (and purchase of course).

Oops sorry wrong thread 🤯