Did you know that buying and selling second-hand books online can be a lucrative work-from-home business? In this article, we show you how to make money buying and selling used books online.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a book-reader or not. You can also sell old academic books that have been piling up in your house for years through any old books online bookstore.
But if you’re a book-lover, it can be heart-breaking to have to get rid of those amazing novels, special editions, out-of-print books and books for kids that have given you so many fond memories, especially if you don’t get anything in return.
Even if you’ve read them a zillion times, it’s hard to gather the courage to give them away to someone else. However, when you move house or need to make space in your home, it makes sense to sell old books online, instead of giving them to a kabadiwala who won’t appreciate them.
If you’re a resourceful stay-at-home mom looking for housewife jobs, who can see a business opportunity in the 2nd-hand books market, here’s how to get cash for books.
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Start A Used Books Library
One way to make money off used books is to buy old books for sale and start a library in your home. Or you can buy used books from your neighbours, relatives and friends and set up a library of used books in your home.
Make sure you only stock books that are popular and that people want to read. Here’s a list of popular book genres that you can stock in your home library:
Novels and literature
Ardent readers will love to get a constant supply of interesting novels and literature books to appease their love of reading. You can add both Victorian authors and classic American Literature to capture the interest of such readers. Also, keep some contemporary fiction in your collection for millennial and Gen Z readers.
Books by Indian Authors
Are you targeting college students? You can buy used books of notable Indian authors like Chetan Bhagat, Khushwant Singh, Amitav Ghosh, Arundhati Roy and others, who’re quite famous among young readers.
The best thing about the books written by Indian authors is the ease of language. You can also keep a Ruskin Bond and R.K. Narayanan collection to appeal to the reading habits of Gen Z kids.
Self-help books
Although many such books are available online, many people still prefer hard copies over Kindle readers. According to a report by Economic Times, millennials have busted the myth that they’re addicted only to technology by preferring paper books over e-readers.
This is because paper books give them a sense of psychological ownership, which eBooks fail to do. Do you see a chance to make a profit here? Just find an old-books online bookstore and buy some 2nd-hand books online for your library.
Mythological books
Several Indian authors are blending fiction with mythology to create amazing works of literature like Mahayoddha Kalki, Narasimha, Shiva Trilogy and more.
Further, authors like Ashwin Sanghi are also weaving thrillers around the mythological elements to hook readers till the last page. If you can get your hands on some of these books, your library is going to be a hit.
Religious books
Books like Bhagwad Gita, Upanishads, Vedas, The Bible or The Quran or books on Buddhist philosophy are timeless entities because many young people are curious to learn about other religious philosophies. Stocking such books is a great way to ensure you’ll always have customers.
Academic books
Do you still have the books of your graduate and post-graduate courses lying around in your house? You can clean them and put them up on the shelves for students, who can borrow them, use them for their studies and return them to you.
Reference books are always going to be in demand, and you should make sure your library has a separate section for them.
Where To Buy Used Books
You’ll find many websites eager to sell used, second-hand books in bulk. You can buy any novel for just Rs 99 from online bookstores like 99bookscart, which allow you to buy second-hand books online.
If this is a home business, you won’t have to worry about registering a business entity and filing taxes as long as you don’t earn a lot from it. Setting up a library at home is like starting a home tuition business.
The only investment is buying some furniture such as a few shelves and cupboards so that you can store your old books properly. You can buy used books online, as it’s the best way to buy them in bulk at the most inexpensive rates.
If you find that your used books library has become quite popular and you need more space, you can start your own company and rent space nearby, where you can store and even sell used books.
Once you’ve set up your home library, you’ll notice that there are some books that no one likes to read or borrow. What’s the point of keeping them then? Instead, you can sell old books for cash and get some returns on your investment.
Where Can I Sell My Used Books For Cash?
Not to the kabadiwala, of course! Wondering where to sell second-hand books? You can sell old books for cash on websites like Amazon and Flipkart. However, the business policies of such industry biggies can be a little complicated for first-time sellers.
The best place to sell second-hand books hassle-free is 99bookscart.com. You never have to wonder where or how to sell used books again because you can sell old books for cash easily on this website.
This online used bookstore will buy old books from you and sell them to their customers for INR 99 per book. All you’ve to do is create a seller’s account on the website to track your earnings from selling books to them.
You can even exchange your novel for another one in their inventory or request a book that isn’t available on the website. While you can also buy second-hand books online on Amazon, Flipkart or other websites, 99bookscart.com offers excellent deals for bulk sellers.
Once you’ve got rid of your used books, you can offer to buy old books from your friends and neighbours or start a book drive in your neighbourhood, and sell these second-hand books online.
How To Sell Old Books Online
Before starting to buy and sell used books, you should’ve some knowledge about books to get the best deals in the market. The following steps will help you fulfil that goal:
Understand the value of old books
The main difference between old books and a pile of papers is the content. No matter how old, each book is different from the other in terms of content, year of publishing and initial value. You should create a catalogue of old books considering all these factors before you start selling them online.
Save the first-editions
Do you have a few first-edition books in your collection? Be careful not to get them mixed up with other old books. First-edition books are prized by collectors and you can sell them for a tidy sum. If you sell them along with the other books, you’ll miss out on a lot of money.
Create a final list
List all the books you don’t need and are never borrowed by your library members. Dust them off and pack them in boxes to sell them off as soon as possible. Make sure you start selling only when you’ve gathered a lot of books to avoid the hassle of shipping them over and over again.
Choose the best platform to sell
Whatever your reasons to sell second-hand books, it’s important to find the best deal to maximize your profits. Search for reliable platforms to buy and sell used books and choose the one that offers maximum benefits.
Consider maximum convenience and profit while choosing the right platform to sell old books for cash. Choose websites that exclusively deal in buying and selling second-hand books online.
Buying used books for sale can indeed turn out to be a lucrative home-based business, provided you do it properly. So, buy second-hand books today and take the first step towards starting your home library.
So how can you open an online shop without investment and sell books online? Start an online store in minutes with SHOPonSHEROES, the easy way to make online stores.
About the author:
Priya Florence Shah is the Group Editor at SHEROES and author of Devi2Diva, an emotional self-care book for women.
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