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#11
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Book Pricing
As a result I package things to withstand treatment
equivalent to being thrown off the back of a moving truck and landing in a puddle filled with broken glass. "Jack Campin - bogus address" But nothing can prepare a package for the equivalent of being jumped up and down on, unless you are shipping your items in a titanium box. |
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#12
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Book Pricing
smokey wrote: Is it cheaper to buy online or buy retail I think what is important is to develop a STEADY source of books at a price that will allow you to resell them for your desired profit margin, whether that source is online or off. For me, that means: 1. Using a reliable group of online sellers who have proven trustworthy, describe items accurately and offer them at prices attractive for resale. I wonder,however (and yes, this bothers me, should it?) if it would be ethically better to inform them that they are underpricing their books and could get more? Doing so would eliminate steady sources of good books for resale. 2. Networking with people who are likely to be interested in selling their books to me and who have books which are desirable - librarians, school teachers, students, etc. This takes time but can pay off during the textbook season. 3. Getting to know movers and real estate agents. They often have panicky buyers or sellers faced with a huge assortment of books to move who suddenly decide that they don't need EVERY single book - or, with luck, ANY of them. Are we allowed to provide links to our stores here? I'm not going to until I know if I can or not. |
#13
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Book Pricing
Sorry, I guess my previous answer was written from a bookseller's
perspective. I am also a book collector so I'll offer that viewpoint, too. I don't think one way is GENERALLY cheaper then the other. Here's why: The cheapest way to buy a book will differ from book to book, in my experience. If a book is relatively scarce, you might luck out by finding a copy online and, for some books, finding ANY copy is hard. Condition may not be as much of a factor then. Example: I wanted An identification guide to First edition Dr. Seuss books. They can be pricey but buying online was my best choice there. For very common books, buying online can be less expensive than retail, IF the seller offers combined shipping and ships promptly. Time is money and getting in a car, driving to a bookstore, browsing to find the book may or may not be cost-effective, depending on the location of the store, cost of gas, work hours, free time etc. Or it might be. Again, depends on the book, availability, comparable prices, your schedule etc. A lot of variables there. If condition IS a factor, you can still get better deals online much of the time IF you know your seller and know they list accurately. That is why, as both a book collector and bookseller, I tend to buy from people I know and people I know (former customers) tend to buy again from me. There are always new sellers out there underpricing their books (as my previous post noted) so I do occasionally use them, give them a "trial run" but usually not with a particularly expensive book, unless there is no other choice. One person's "Mint" condition may only be "good" to me. |
#14
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Book Pricing
Kris (your post below) I would agree with you MOST of the time about
"clueless sellers". However, as both a seller and a collector, I can say that I have seen postal trucks drive over packages on occasion and I've seen postal workers toss packages to the bottom of a heap of other packages and then pile HEAVY packages on top. Even a well padded book box will not survive that type of abuse. I do agree, however, that there are many clueless sellers. Putting a book in an unpadded envelope does nothing. For that matter, I don't like envelopes. I use boxes. and the book is put in the middle of the box so it doesn't touch ANY of the box sides, with padding all around. Having said that, I have gotten books from sellers which arrived just fine when the sellers used envelopes reinforced by heavy cardboard inserts which they cut themselves and put around the book for extra protection. I don't like to get books in envelopes but some have arrived without even a bumped corner! I think using envelopes can be taking quite a chance, however....Jane Kris Baker wrote: wrote in message ps.com... I also prefer to buy in a store--though it's getting harder and harder. I like to browse, and I like to see the condition of my potential purchase for myself. Even an online book that's described as "mint" still has to pass through the clutches of the Post Awful before it reaches me... It's not the "Post Awful" who damages a book, it's "Clueless Seller". Kris |
#15
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Book Pricing
wrote in message oups.com... smokey wrote: Is it cheaper to buy online or buy retail I think what is important is to develop a STEADY source of books at a price that will allow you to resell them for your desired profit margin, whether that source is online or off. For me, that means: 1. Using a reliable group of online sellers who have proven trustworthy, describe items accurately and offer them at prices attractive for resale. I wonder,however (and yes, this bothers me, should it?) if it would be ethically better to inform them that they are underpricing their books and could get more? Doing so would eliminate steady sources of good books for resale. I would not feel any qualms at all about buying well-priced books from another seller. It may be that the book is not in the seller's specialty so he doesn't have ready customers for it and prefers to move it at any price rather than keep it around waiting for "just the right customer". Or the seller may not choose to research every book and thus some will get priced lower than they might otherwise be, to your benefit as one who was willing to do the homework. Or, the seller might be divesting stock to make room for items in a different price bracket. Or the seller might have decided that stock that doesn't turn over within a certain period of time will get reduced to move it. For whatever reason, sellers are or should be business people with varying business models. Not every seller wants or needs to get top dollar for every book they sell (although I'm sure all of us would like to!). I myself have a one or two hundred first edition mysteries (all VG or better) that just aren't in the specialty I want to focus on. I hate to do it, but I'm probably going to look for someone to take bunches of them at cut rate prices because I need the shelf space! Just my two cents. Alice |
#16
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Book Pricing
"Dfkng" wrote in message news Clueless Seller is the one who doesn't protect against that. "Kris Baker" wrote in message news:mfKAg.928$% How do you protect against the disgruntled postal worker who jumps up and down on your package with his full weight? Titanium box? I've never had that happen. You must be a seller? Kris |
#17
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Book Pricing
The quote is appearing above the attribution, making it look like
"Jack Campin" wrote the sentence beginning with "But nothing..." and that you top-posted the rest. (?) Don't worry, you'll get over it. Menopause doesn't last forever. |
#18
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Book Pricing
Clueless Seller is the one who doesn't protect against that.
"Kris Baker" wrote in message news:mfKAg.928$% How do you protect against the disgruntled postal worker who jumps up and down on your package with his full weight? Titanium box? |
#19
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Book Pricing
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