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In Part I of this article, I cited two advantages eBay booksellers have over dealers who market books in alternative venues. The first of these was that the potential customer base is huge, many many times over what a brick-and-mortar can attract. The second is that you have the opportunity to include multiple pictures in your auction listings. Because of these factors, there are nearly always a certain percentage of books in a used bookstore that are priced very reasonably but can potentially sell for much higher prices on eBay.
When I look for inventory in bookstores, it helps me to keep four S's in mind at all times: scarce, specific, strange, and scenic--and sometimes a fifth I call "slender." Sometimes it's enough for a book to be scarce or specific or strange or scenic (i.e., illustrated) alone, but if you find several or even all four in a book at once, you almost certainly have a winner. For the purposes of illustration, I'll use a booklet I purchased in a bookstore recently for several dollars titled, THIS IS YOUR ILLINI UNION (See Figure 1 http://www.auctionbytes.com/images/12901figure1.jpg).
ONE: SCARCE
Look for scarce books (as distinguished from rare books, which are not only in short supply but command considerable interest from collectors and are usually priced accordingly). Scarce books are often priced reasonably because the subject matter is likely to be obscure and not likely to interest the typical buyer who walks through the door.
Obviously, it isn't always possible to know if a book is scarce or not, but you can use your instincts to spot the likely candidates. In the case of the book cited above, an informational booklet about the Illini Union, it's clear almost at first glance that the book is likely to be scarce. (The Illini Union is a sort of campus Mecca at the University of Illinois with a hotel, several restaurants, a bowling alley, banquet and meeting rooms, a bookstore, study areas, and art gallery and so on.)
It was published in 1948 by the Publicity Committee of the Illini Union and was distributed free of charge at several locations inside the Union. Because the audience was limited to a fairly select group of students, they undoubtedly printed just a few hundred or a thousand copies at best. Secondly, the booklet is 53 years old. How likely is it that somebody would have kept something of this nature for over half a century? Finally, the publisher is not a national house another clue that the number printed might have been low. Another likely tip-off that something is scarce: a binding with an amateurish or plain-vanilla appearance.
Once you make your purchase, you can check for comparable items online. If you come up empty-handed here, it's a very good sign you have something worth listing. One final note: keep in mind that there are numerous exceptions that defy any detective work you might accomplish in a bookstore examination.
TWO: SPECIFIC
It's difficult to imagine how my example booklet could be more specific. It's limited in scope to the history and description of a single building. Other examples of specific topics are:
- histories of towns (especially those with small populations), churches, businesses, fraternities & sororities, military companies, etc.;
- school yearbooks (college yearbooks seem to do best here, generally the older the better, and the size of the college doesn't necessarily affect the price much);
- songbooks;
- vintage catalogs of all kinds;
- monographs on obscure or obsolete arts and/or crafts.
Keep a list. You'll be amazed at how long and how useful it becomes in a short period of time.
THREE: STRANGE
My example isn't strange, or quirky, but many books that are can be eminently auctionable. Look for books on topics you wouldn't think anyone would bother to write about, either because of the obscurity of the subject or its obvious lack of appeal. Example: several months ago I sold a book on the history of garbage dumps in Illinois for a handsome profit. Believe it or not, there are those who collect such things.
FOUR: SCENIC
Attaching pictures to your auctions is one of the most potentially evocative things you can do. Few things elicit an immediate emotional response like a photograph, and emotional responses translate almost directly into money in your pocket. In the case of the Illini Union booklet, there are 28 photographs and numerous period pen-and-ink illustrations in a span of only 40 pages, many of which are pictures of room interiors in the building and recognizable faces of students. (See Figures 2 and 3 http://www.auctionbytes.com/images/12901figure2.jpg and http://www.auctionbytes.com/images/12901figure3.jpg.) The alumnus who studied for exams in these rooms and knew any of the students pictured might well pay $25 or even $40 to rekindle the feeling of his college days.
FIVE: SLENDER
This factor isn't as reliable as the other four, but I mention it here because many scarce books focus on a limited topic and thus are frequently short as wellin other words, slender. For this reason alone, don't overlook booklets in a used bookstore, even the ones that are only a few pages long. No matter what they are, they're rarely priced high, and the payoff can be considerable. I recently sold an IBM songbook for $50 I paid next to nothing for. It was small enough to fit in my wallet.
In Part III of this article, I'll explore why the factors I've discussed here have such a telling effect on your bottom line and, in turn, offer some guidelines on using them to full advantage in your presentations.
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