Are you looking for a way to supplement your income in your leisure time? Flipping books is a terrific way to do that.
Although the profit on each book you flip is minimal, it can rapidly mount up to a few hundred bucks every month. So to get you started, here’s the ultimate guide.
How Long Does Flipping Books Take?
Flipping books is highly dependent on the efficiency of your procedure and the amount of time you have available.
A skilled bookseller with all of the necessary software can spend 1-2 hours each day searching for books. Good books can be found in various places, including online, and not just at yard sales.
Until you get into a good routine and know what to look for, the research and finding books will take the most time. You’ll also have to devote time to listing books, delivering them, and setting up an online marketplace to sell textbooks.
However, after you’ve got the book flipping set up, you can start using the platform to flip other thrift shop furniture, clothing, and other items.
The Cost And Tools Involved In Flipping Books
Even though you’ll need some money to get started, book flipping isn’t a business that requires a lot of money, to begin with. So here are some of the essential tools to have on hand when you begin your book-flipping adventure:
Capital. You’ll need some cash to begin started. It’ll be better if you have more. But you need a little to get started.
A phone or a laptop. While a phone isn’t required, it can help you rapidly locate prices for books, especially before you’ve figured out which ones are valuable. Besides, you’ll need a smartphone or a laptop to find the prices of textbooks, for example, before you flip them.
A mode of transportation. You’ll need a car or other mode of transportation to travel about unless your city has an excellent public transit system.
How To Choose Books To Flip For Profit
1) Textbooks
Textbooks are a common choice for book flipping. It works because there is a new demand for students taking the same courses and reading the same recommended books every year.
You can buy textbooks from graduating classes and sell them for profit to the incoming college students. Furthermore, with over 19 million students enrolling in colleges each year, the number of textbook options is limitless.
Besides that, things are swiftly changing. For example, many people buy and sell used textbooks online, as seen on eBay and Amazon sites. As a result, selling textbooks is an excellent way to gain money.
Some of the best places to sell textbooks are:
- BookDeal.com
- eCampus.com
- BooksRun.com
2) First Edition And Rare Books
Because of the limited quantity, first edition books have the potential to make you a lot of money. As a result, you can earn more money than if you sold textbooks. However, remember that not all first editions will fetch a more excellent price. So you’ll need to do your research before purchasing such books.
Also, check the copyright date or look for the phrase “first edition” to see if a book is the first edition. However, the “first edition” dates of paperback and hardcover editions sometimes change, so keep an eye out.
You can search for rare books on sites like Bilio.com. Other sites include:
- eBay
- Amazon
- Open online stores
- Local used bookshops
Other types of books worth flipping include:
Religious books. People pay a lot of money for religious books, such as old editions of the Bible, etc.
Arts and crafts books seem to be in high demand, especially when more people are bored at home and looking for ways to pass the time.
Non-fiction books. Biographies, travel guides, step-by-step learning books, financial books, and history books are examples of non-fiction publications that you can sell online for money.
How To Know Whether A Book Is Worth Flipping
The bulk of books you’ll come across while flipping isn’t worth selling. Instead, you need the ones that will make you money. So how do you figure out how much a book is worth?
Unfortunately, getting a handle on book worth off the top of your head will take some time. But you can utilize a few tools to help you along the way.
You can use scanning software for newer books to find the pricing online. However, you’ll still need to do some research on the rates for older and frequently more valuable books.
Get Advantage Over Your Competitors
By the way, this is where you can gain an advantage over your competitors. Of course, most of your competitors will stick to scanning barcodes, which can be profitable initially. But picture the advantage you’ll have if you already know the value of books without scanning them.
This is especially true when you consider that many of the more valuable books you’ll uncover are old enough to be without barcodes.
And if you come across an ancient title for which you have no price, you can always conduct a fast online search to supplement your knowledge.
Best Places To Find Books To Flip
Obtaining high-quality books for the assignment is the first step in making money by flipping books.
You can’t just go to a bookshop and buy many books to flip right away. That isn’t how it works. The idea is to find high-quality publications at the lowest possible price so that you can resell them with a profit margin.
Here are some places to find books to invest in:
1) Garage Sales
When you’re browsing through a garage sale, you never know what kind of treasures you’ll find. So keep an eye out for garage sales in your neighborhood, especially if you live near college or university student housing.
Most of the time, people sell items without appreciating their true worth. You may easily pick up the best flipping books from these sales and resell them for a considerable profit.
2) Craigslist
Craigslist might provide you with some intriguing flipping chances if you reside near college students.
Textbooks and general fiction books can be found for a reasonable price. Make sure the shipping is free when buying a book to flip.
3) eBay
On eBay, you can also find inexpensive books. Many passionate readers realize they no longer need their shelves full of books and sell them on online marketplaces.
Look for in-demand high-priced books and verify their pricing on eBay’s used or secondhand section. If the book is in good shape, there’s a strong possibility you’ll be able to resell them for a profit.
4) Antique Stores
Thrift stores and antique stores are very similar. Even if they don’t always sell inexpensive books, you can discover good discounts there. However, you can locate some that can pay off well.
5) Amazon
On Amazon, your odds of finding an excellent secondhand offer are little to none. However, it’s a great place to look for high-quality, one-of-a-kind books that will make you money.
Aside from that, Amazon is an excellent marketplace for book arbitrage specialists. Navigate through Amazon’s search results and check for books with a more excellent trade-in price than the selling price. If you purchase such books, you can make huge profits.
But it isn’t that simple. Scrolling through extensive lists of search results and determining their profitability can be time-consuming and sometimes ineffective.
So using book-flipping applications to do the heavy work is the best option.
Keep Looking – Final Thoughts
You’ll need to have a knack for flipping books wherever they are if you want to be a book flipper. If you have any books lying around, ask your friends, family, and neighbors if they’d be willing to sell them.
Do you know any book lovers? Contact them to see if you can negotiate a better price.
You may even make arrangements with college students to buy their books every year and have them refer you to their friends. You may build a name for yourself and attract future reselling possibilities this way.