About Michael J. Jung

Michael J. Jung is a professional freelance writer for hire. He loves learning about new side hustles and promoting nonprofit groups. When he's not writing or selling books, you can find him volunteering as Darth Vader or Spider-Man for children's events. Check out his Sell Books Fast eBook series on Amazon!

How to Profit from Book Returns

It’s a problem all online booksellers encounter sooner or later – you sell a book on Amazon (usually for a very high price) and send it out, only to later receive an email from your buyer requesting you authorize a return and let him or her send you back the book in exchange for a full refund.

The reasons for the return can vary. Maybe the class your buyer needed the book for was cancelled. Maybe he or she bought the book by accident – or found a different copy somewhere else.

Whatever the reason, it’s often a good idea to authorize the return. It helps establish good relations between you and your buyer and can lead to good feedback (Be sure to check out my eBook How to Make More Money on Amazon With Great Customer Service Skills to learn other ways you can improve your online reputation and earn more sales).

Okay, but that still means you need to refund your customer’s money once your book is returned, which will put a big crimp in your cash flow. Problem, right?

Well… maybe not.

Why Getting Book Returns Can Be Profitable For You

If you’ve read my eBook, Pricing Used Books for Profit on Amazon, you’ll know that book prices on Amazon can rise and fall constantly. A book everyone sold for $50 might suddenly drop to $10 as multiple copies flood the market. On the flipside, a textbook you thought could only be sold for $25 might start going for $80 once a new semester starts and students need those books.

Professional online bookdealers pay attention to these price fluctuations and use them to their benefit. Last month, for instance, I sold a book on Amazon for $95 and then sold a second copy of the exact same book for $150 a week later because I kept my eye on the sudden rise in customer demand and price and knew when to ask for more money.

For this reason, I urge anyone who wants to sell books on Amazon to regularly check their competitors’ prices and constantly re-price their books. Moreover, I advise booksellers to raise (rather than lower) their prices to improve their chances of getting a better profit from their books (please be sure to read my eBook to learn a fast and easy way you can do this every week).

It is for this reason that getting book returns can be profitable for an online bookseller – even though your buyer chose to return the book, the fact that he or she bought it in the first place means there is demand for the book. That means someone else will likely be willing to buy that book – often for a higher price – very soon.

Recently, one of my buyers returned a study guide that I sold to her for $60. I was disappointed – until I checked the current price listings on Amazon and learned I could re-price the book for $120.

This isn’t an isolated incident either – so far this year, I’ve re-sold many of my book returns for 50% or even 100% more than what I sold them for the first time around.

How to Accept Book Returns and Re-List Your Books

One mistake new online bookdealers make when authorizing book returns is to immediately send the buyer a full refund before they get their book back.

Please don’t do this. While most buyers are honest, some do forget to send back their books, and you could lose both your money and a valuable book if you refund prematurely.

You should also make sure to request that your buyers pack the book carefully when they send them back (I send my books out in boxes that can be reused – a padded envelope can also offer adequate protection).

When you get your book back, be sure to inspect it carefully to see if it received any minor damage on its trip back to you. In general, all of my book returns have gone pretty smoothly, but I still make sure to look over my books so I can describe them accurately in my book description when I re-list them on Amazon.

(If you’d like to learn how to describe your books to your buyers so that even your book’s flaws look attractive, be sure to read my eBook How to Write Descriptions That Sell Used Books on Amazon. I offer easy-to-use copywriting templates that make describing your books simple and fast.)

Finally, when re-pricing your book, make sure to examine your competitors’ prices very closely. Odds are, the price of your book has risen since you last sold it – but you might be able to sell it for even more money if you discover your competitors are selling copies in poor condition, or if their feedback ratings are weaker than yours. A few seconds spent analyzing this information could mean an extra $20 or even $50 in your pocket!

What To Do If Your Returned Book is Selling for Less

Okay, but what happens if you find your book’s price has gone down on Amazon when you get it back?

I would still encourage you to re-list it on Amazon (for the price you originally sold it for or even a slightly higher one) and wait for the book to sell. As I’ve stated, prices fluctuate constantly on Amazon, so it might only be a matter of time before someone snaps up that book again.

If you’re worried about your business’ cash flow and/or feel that your particular book will not rise in price anytime soon, however, you still have some options.

Look up your book on Bookscouter and see if any buyback companies are interested in purchasing your book for a flat fee. During the holidays (as well as before college semesters) many reputable buyback companies including Textbooks, Sell Back Your Book, Valore, and Cash4Books offer higher than usual prices to buy your books, and you may find you can sell your book for a better price this way than on Amazon.

Final Thoughts

While it’s always disappointing to make a sale and then learn you need to refund your customer’s money, I hope this article has shown you that even a returned book can lead to good – or even excellent – profits.

Always remember: when you make a sale, you’re just selling to one customer – but when you list a book, you are offering your book to thousands of potential customers, many of whom are more than willing to pay your price!

PS Want to save some money? All of the eBooks I mentioned can be bought in one package – the How to Sell Used Books on Amazon Box Set – for the discounted price of $6.99! Who says knowledge doesn’t come cheap?

Did you like this article? Would you like to receive more tips and tricks on how to sell books online for extra money? Then go ahead and subscribe to my blog!

Do you have a question or suggestion for a future blog article? Email me at sellbooksfastonline@gmail.com.

More Unusual Treasures I Found in Books

Hey everyone!

A while back, I wrote an article, Weird Forgotten Things I Found in Used Books that details some of the very strange things you can come across while searching for used books you can sell for a profit with Bookscouter.

Most of these items were used as forgotten bookmarks used by the books’ previous owners, and can range from the very valuable (giftcards, money) to the very personal (love letters) to the downright bizarre (bird feathers and dried leaves).

Anyway, I had such a good time writing that article that I started keeping a list of all the other strange items I came across while cleaning out my used books just so I can share some of these unusual finds with you in this article.

So with no further ado, here are five other weird things I found in books:

Collectible IMAX Film Cell

Okay, this one was kind of cool. While flipping through a book I found at a thrift store, I came across a collectible IMAX Film Cell from an actual 70mm Film Print used in the science fiction movie Interstellar.

My guess is that the previous owner got this as a giveaway at the film’s premier (or possibly won it at a comic convention). Strange how things that seem so cool when you get them end up being used for mundane things like bookmarks.

Wonder how much this would go for on eBay?

Expired Driver’s License

And getting back to the very personal – I recently found someone’s driver’s license between the pages of a book.

Now granted this was an expired license (with a hole punched into the card), but seriously person who shall remain nameless, do you really want someone like me to know your name, height, weight, address, eye color, hair color, and birthday?

No worries as I shredded this one as soon as I got home, but let that be a warning to anyone who slips such sensitive information in their books – you never know who’s going to wind up with your property down the line (incidentally I’ve also had credit card statements, college schedules, and various Internet service bills fall out of books while flipping through them).

A Sheet of Garfield Stickers

And on a lighter note, I found a sheet of never-before used 1978 Garfield Halloween stickers in a children’s book a couple weeks ago. Not sure what I’ll do with these – offer it to trick-or-treaters? Use it as a bookmark?

A Map of the Carnival Pride Cruise Ship

And once again affirming that the books in my collection are better traveled than me, I found a map of a Carnival Pride cruise ship detailing all the amenities in each of its decks. (Never knew these ships had an entire jogging track on the sports deck or two dance clubs one on top of each other). Too bad the map didn’t come with boarding passes…

A Religious Statement Warning of the Evils of Pornography Addiction

Finding materials from churches and other religious institutions in books is actually very common (most of the bookmarks I find in used books frequently have a psalm or inspirational message from the Bible).

What made this handout denouncing pornography addiction so memorable was that I actually saw it sticking out of a book of pornography. (And no, if you’re wondering, I didn’t buy the book and sell it – most of the buyback companies you’ll find on Bookscouter actually have strict policies against purchasing pornography). Still, you have to wonder – did the previous owner manage to kick the habit?

Hmmm… maybe that’s how the book ended up in that thrift store in the first place.

Did you like this article? Would you like to receive more tips and tricks on how to sell books online for extra money? Then go ahead and subscribe to my blog!

Do you have a question or suggestion for a future blog article? Email me at sellbooksfastonline@gmail.com.

Special $0.99 Offer on New Sell Books Fast Online eBook!

Hey guys!

I’m thrilled to let you know my latest eBook, How to Make More Money on Amazon with Great Customer Service Skills, is on Amazon’s Kindle store and will be selling for only $0.99 until Sunday, April 9th!

(After April 9th, the book will be sold for its regular price of $2.99, so be sure to take advantage of this limited time sale!)

This is the third book in my Sell Books Fast Online eBook series, and it covers a subject I know many Amazon sellers want to learn more about – getting a powerful feedback rating that can attract more customers and boost your sales.

How to Make More Money on Amazon with Great Customer Service Skills

If you’ve read my first two eBooks, How to Write Descriptions that Sell Used Books on Amazon and Pricing Used Books for Profit on Amazon, you know that I teach effective strategies for how to market your books and sell them for a high profit.

When it comes to earning good reviews and feedback from your customers, however, developing a successful strategy can seem a bit daunting.

After all, unlike writing descriptions of your books or setting profitable prices, getting customers to leave good reviews is often something that’s out of your hands. This can be frustrating when you realize that many customers can be slow to compliment you when you sell them a great book but are quick to criticize when something goes wrong.

Fortunately there are a number of easy and effective customer service strategies you can implement right now that will not only improve your feedback rating but also reduce the chances that your customers will leave you bad reviews.

These are the same customer service strategies that I’ve used to earn (and keep!) a 100% positive feedback rating for over six years, so I know from personal experience that these techniques work.

By using the strategies in How to Make More Money on Amazon with Great Customer Service Skills, you’ll be able to:
• Use Amazon’s Feedback Rating system to raise your seller rating, even if it’s currently low
• Offer great customer service that distinguishes you from your competitors and gives your buyers something to rave about
• Ask customers for positive feedback in a way that encourages them to give it
• Deal with customer disputes in a friendly way that can earn you good reviews
• Find ways to profit even when you have to refund your customers

As with all my eBooks, I’ve included a bonus appendix full of ready-to-use email templates you can modify for a variety of customer service issues, including requesting feedback and managing returns.

And while these customer service strategies were developed from selling used books on Amazon, the basic techniques can be used for selling virtually any product on Amazon since my strategy focuses on making customers feel important and valued – which is a vital skill to have in any business.

So if you’d like to earn a better Amazon seller reputation, be sure to take advantage of this special $0.99 offer! And if you found what I have to share about getting five star reviews useful, be sure to leave me a good review too!

About My Sell Books Fast Online eBook Series

Over the last few months, Sell Books Fast Online has quickly grown from an attempt to answer some of the questions I’ve received on how to sell books on Amazon into a very popular eBook series.

Each book in the series is designed to provide in-depth coverage of a different aspect of selling books on Amazon – from pricing your books to getting good customer reviews – that other online bookselling guides might gloss over.

And with How to Make More Money on Amazon with Great Customer Service Skills, I’ve reached a turning point in the series as the first three books were designed to teach you the basic skills required to market and sell used books successfully.

The next three books in the series will cover the skills necessary to build a successful online bookstore – from finding profitable books to organizing a large inventory – that are vital to anyone who’s wanted to sell used books as a home based business.

So if you’re interested in creating a steady and growing cash flow from selling used books on Amazon, be sure to watch out for my next few releases! Feel free to subscribe to this blog to receive notices or go to my Author Page and click on the orange “Follow” button to get updates.

For now though, please check out How to Make More Money on Amazon with Great Customer Service Skills – and leave me a review if you found it helpful!

Thanks guys! I hope you like my books!

Choosing the Best Equipment for Finding Books to Sell Online

Hey guys!

It’s been a while since I’ve posted a new blog article – mostly because I’ve been busy working on my new Sell Books Fast Online eBook series (the 3rd book, How to Make Money on Amazon with Great Customer Service Skills will be out very soon – be sure to check back for a special deal!)

In the meantime, however, I’d like to share my thoughts on the different types of equipment you can use to find books to sell on Amazon.

As you’ve probably seen, book scouts use a wide range of devices – from smart phones to PDAs to tablets and scanners, as well as a wide variety of programs and services – to find the books they want to sell. Each of these tools has its own advantages and disadvantages, and before you decide which one you want to use, you should know what each option gives you.

Bookscouter and Scanner

Let’s start with our favorite free website for selling books online, Bookscouter.

Most of you know Bookscouter as a website that lets you compare offers between different buyback company price quotes that you can use to determine which companies will make you the most money if you want to flip books quickly.

However, Bookscouter can also be used to check out real-time Amazon prices you can list your books for, which gives you even more options for selling your books.

If you go to Bookscouter and enter an ISBN in its search bar, you’ll see some publication information for the book listed above the buyback price quotes. At the very bottom of this list, you’ll find the current Amazon Sales Rank (an indication of how popular the book is on Amazon), the number of Amazon sellers selling their copies of the book right now, and the lowest listed price:

This information, along with the current offered buyback price quotes, should let you decide if you want to sell the book on Amazon or not. In the example above, the book has a good Amazon Sales Rank, not a lot of competition among sellers, and can be listed for a fairly high price. Unless you find a comparable price quote from one of the buyback companies, you’d make more money selling this book on Amazon.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Bookscouter to Find Books for Amazon

There are some great advantages to using Bookscouter to find books to sell on Amazon.

The most obvious is that Bookscouter is a free website. You don’t have to invest any money in a special service. You also don’t have to pay for any extra equipment as long as you have a cell phone or tablet with good Internet reception.

(That said, it’s still a good idea to invest in a Bluetooth scanner that will let you scan ISBN barcodes quickly and allow you to find more books in a short amount of time).

Moreover, while you only see the lowest Amazon price on Bookscouter, you can easily go to the book’s Amazon page by clicking the “View on Amazon” link where you can get a more in-depth look at the different prices being offered for the book.

(In fact, I encourage you to double-check all Amazon prices on the actual Amazon.com website – Bookscouter doesn’t always show the most up-to-date price and often doesn’t differentiate between new and used copies).

On top of this, since Bookscouter also shows you the price quotes offered by buyback companies, you actually gain a better picture about all the places you can sell your books (you’ll want to sign up for and use a free Bookscouter account if you want to see all the buyback companies you can sell to).

The main disadvantage of using a website like Bookscouter to find books to sell on Amazon is that requires a good Internet connection, especially when you’re looking for books in basements or in isolated areas where you don’t get a strong signal.

To get around this limitation, I suggest you use Verizon as your Internet service provider. I’ve used data plans from many different companies, and Verizon has consistently provided me with the best coverage.

PDA and Paid Scouting Service

Most book scouts use this type of equipment when they’re looking for books to sell on Amazon.

Basically, they purchase three things – a PDA, a CF Card, and a Socket Compact Flash Scan Card. (All of these items can be bought on Amazon for reasonable prices).

They then purchase a monthly subscription to a paid bookscouting service like ScoutPal or ASellerTool. The amount they pay can vary from $10 a month to $30 or more, and can include additional services offered by the companies.

Once they get access to their paid service, they can download a copy of Amazon’s database into their CF Card – basically copying thousands of listings for books into the card. They then insert the CF Card into their PDA, giving it access to the database.

Since prices change constantly on Amazon as sellers add and re-price their books, a book scout will have to regularly update that copy of Amazon’s database. How often they can do this depends on the service they use – some scouting services offer an updated database once a week while others offer an update every few days.

By inserting the CF Card into their PDA and scanning book ISBN barcodes with their Socket Compact Flash Scan Card, a book scout can find information on thousands of books, including their Amazon Sales Ranks, the copies for sale, and listed prices.

Advantages and Disadvantages to Using a PDA and Paid Service

The main advantage of using a PDA and paid bookscouting service is that you don’t have to worry about weak or nonexistent Internet connections since you’re getting your information from a downloaded database. As long as you remember to charge your PDA’s battery (and carry a spare) you’ll be able to search for hours virtually anywhere.

Most Socket Compact Flash Scan Cards can also read ISBN barcodes very quickly and are more affordable than Bluetooth scanners.

Most downloaded databases (particularly those purchased from ASellerTool) will give a lot of information about Amazon’s listed prices. For instance, you’ll be able to see what the difference in price between new and used copies of the books. You’ll also see a range of prices (often the three lowest prices on a book) which can give you a better idea of how much you can list your copy for if you decide to sell it on Amazon.

On the other hand, getting information from a database doesn’t give you the most up-to-date information on books – especially popular books with rapid price fluctuations. For this reason, many book scouts use their cell phones to double check the real-time prices on certain books.

Another disadvantage is that you won’t get price quotes from buyback companies like you can with Bookscouter – which can cause you to overlook some very profitable books.

Finally, PDAs can break easily if you drop them (I learned this the hard way) and the Socket Compact Flash Scan Card can eventually burn out after so many uses (the SP2100 I use is much more durable and reliable). Thus, you’ll want to be careful and attach a tether to the PDA to avoid such accidents.

Final Thoughts

When I first started selling books online, I used a PDA and scan card then graduated to a cell phone (with Bookscouter) and bluetooth scanner. These days I use a tablet (with Bookscouter) and an SP2100 scanner.

One of the reasons I prefer using Bookscouter over paid scouting services and apps is that I can see a wider range of places to sell my books (buyback companies and Amazon), which gives me an advantage over other book scouts who limit themselves to just a PDA.

Price-wise, I’d say the cost of using Bookscouter with a tablet or phone is comparable to a scouting service – while Bookscouter is free, I still pay about $30 a month for my tablet’s Verizon data plan. My Verizon tablet also has a fairly strong battery (and can be recharged while I scan) so power shortages aren’t really a problem.

That being said, a PDA still offers advantages that Bookscouter does not yet offer – particularly a faster way to see a range of Amazon prices and immunity to Internet dead zones. Thus, if you’re only interested in selling your books on Amazon, a PDA and a scouting service might still be the way to go.

Like this article? Want to receive more tips and tricks on how to sell books online for extra money? Then go ahead and subscribe to my blog!

Keep sending me those questions and comments, guys! Email me at sellbooksfastonline@gmail.com.

Limited Time Deal on Pricing Used Books for Profit on Amazon!

Hey everyone!

I’m pleased to announce the second book in my Sell Books Fast Online eBook series has just been released on Amazon and will be offered for the bargain price of $0.99 until February 2, 2017!

This latest book, Pricing Used Books for Profit on Amazon, focuses on how to create prices for books you list on Amazon.com that will always earn you a good to fantastic profit on your Amazon book sales.

After February 2nd, this book will go back to its regular price of $2.99, so please make sure to buy it early for only $0.99 and save some money!

Pricing Used Books for Profit on Amazon

As many of you who have sold books online via Bookscouter know, while flipping books for profit with buyback companies can offer you a fast, steady cash flow, there is one big disadvantage to making extra money by selling books this way.

Namely, since you can’t set your own price for the books you sell to buyback companies, you may often have to settle for a much lower price quote if you sell all your books exclusively to buyback companies.

That’s why it makes sense to list some of the more valuable books you find on Amazon for higher prices than buyback companies are offering. It might take longer for some of these books to sell, but your overall profits will be greater since you’ll have an additional income stream.

That’s where Pricing Used Books for Profit on Amazon comes in. With this short, fast-paced eBook, you’ll learn a set of easy pricing strategies that will teach you how to:

• Set a minimum price for your books so you always earn a decent net profit
• Work out high prices that can attract customers and make you a 1000% (or greater) profit
• Keep your books competitively priced by raising your prices
• Use the Amazon Best Sellers Rank to find books that sell fast
• Know when to sell your books on Bookscouter and when to list them on Amazon

With these simple strategies, you’ll never sell books for pennies on Amazon or sacrifice profits for sales ever again.

This is the perfect book to learn how to make more money selling books online with less effort. Buy it for the bargain price of $0.99 (and please leave me a review!) today!

About My Sell Books Fast Online eBook Series

After receiving so many emails and questions about how to sell used books on Amazon, I decided to answer these requests by creating my Sell Books Fast Online eBook series.

Each book in the series provides in-depth coverage of a different aspect of selling books on Amazon – from setting competitive prices to earning excellent customer feedback – that other online bookselling guides might gloss over.

That way, if you have questions about a certain part of bookselling (or want to improve your skills in a specific area) you can choose from any of my easy-to-read guides that will help you the most.

In addition to Pricing Used Books for Profit on Amazon, you can now check out:

How to Write Descriptions That Sell Used Books on Amazon

This eBook reveals how you can quickly write short, detailed descriptions of any books you sell on Amazon that will attract customers and help your books sell faster and for higher prices. (You’ll even learn techniques for how to make your used books’ flaws look attractive to the right customer).

As a bonus, I offer an Appendix full of ready-to-use description templates so you can immediately create eye-catching pieces of copy, even if you aren’t a natural writer.

Future Books in the Sell Books Fast Online eBook Series

Right now, I’ll be releasing a new eBook every month, on subjects as varied as finding better books to sell online to creating an online filing system that will make shipping your books easier.

If you’d like to know when each new book will be released, feel free to subscribe to this blog to receive notices. You can also go to my Author Page and click on the orange “Follow” button to get updates.

For now though, please check out Pricing Used Books for Profit on Amazon – and please leave me a review if you found it helpful!

Thanks guys! I hope you like my books!

Why I Share My “Secrets” of Selling Books Online for Cash

Recently, I received a very nice email from one of my readers thanking me for sharing my methods of flipping books online for profit on this blog. Like many of you, she’s interested in earning money by selling books and was eager to try out many of the techniques I teach.

She went on, however, to ask why I was sharing my “secrets” so openly with everyone online. Wouldn’t giving away all my tricks make it harder for me to earn extra cash selling to buyback companies like Cash4Books or Sell Back Your Book?

Well, no. It hasn’t. As a matter of fact, since I started this blog way back in 2013, my profits from online bookselling have increased substantially. I’ve even encountered several booksellers who use similar methods to mine, yet we’ve never gotten in each other’s way.

Let me explain why I feel comfortable about giving all of you such detailed articles on online bookselling – and why you shouldn’t worry about competition.

Online Bookselling is a Growth Industry

First, let’s look at the practical side of why sharing information about online bookselling doesn’t hurt my bottom line.

If you’ve read my articles about making money from gold dust books, you’ll know there are thousands of books out there that you can sell for a profit online every day.

Some of these books will earn you a small profit, others will offer a massive payday, but my point is there is no way I’d be able to find, sell, and profit from more than a small fraction of them, even if I spent all my time searching for books.

Plus, when you take into account how there are more and more thrift shops, estate sales, and library bookstores opening up every day, the number of potential suppliers for a bookseller’s inventory is constantly expanding. Even if a competitor did try to buy all of the profitable books from a store or if one of those shops overprices their books, I could easily find a new supplier in no time.

Frankly, if I ever tried to take more than my fair share from all the books out there, I’d burn myself out and collapse from exhaustion – and what fun would that be?

My advice? Make what you want using Bookscouter, but don’t feel like you have to compete with other booksellers or spend all your time looking for books to sell. Relax and have fun – and if you ever have to stop for a few days or weeks, don’t worry! The books will be there when you come back.

My Personal Reasons for Running This Blog

Of course, knowing there are more books out there than I could ever hope to sell isn’t the only reason I run this blog.

The truth is, I enjoy sharing what I know and helping people learn about unusual things – and making money by selling books online with Bookscouter is definitely one of the most unusual ways I’ve ever earned extra cash!

And at the risk of sounding like a spiritual guru (or a Disney princess), sometimes the best thing to do with your knowledge is to “let it go.” I’ve had a lot of fun being an online bookseller, and it’s nice to know you guys will continue to benefit from my methods as long as this blog is up.

There’s another benefit I get from writing all of these blog articles. By taking the time to go over all of my tricks and techniques in detail, I’ve found I’ve gotten even more creative about the ways I sell books online.

Over the last few years, for instance, I’ve developed strategies that have allowed me to sell books faster and for higher prices on Amazon. This is great since you can earn even bigger profits from Amazon book sales than Bookscouter, and those profits will keep coming in even when you’re not spending your time looking for books.

I’m currently sharing many of these techniques in my Sell Books Fast Online eBook Series. If you enjoy reading my blog, I highly recommend you check out my eBooks (and please leave me a review!)

So that’s it guys! As long as I’m running this blog, you can always depend on me to be open and forthcoming about my bookselling methods. Remember, to me these aren’t “secrets” – they’re techniques everyone should be able to try out on their own!

Would you like to receive more tips and tricks on how to sell books online for extra money? Then go ahead and subscribe to my blog!

Keep sending me those questions and comments, guys! Email me at sellbooksfastonline@gmail.com.

Weird Forgotten Things I Found in Used Books

Hey guys!

Since I’m in a goofy mood today, I thought I’d take a break from my usual informative articles about selling books online for money and let you know about some of the more… weird things you find inside books while searching for used books to sell for cash.

As many of you who’ve sold books online with Bookscouter probably know, being an online bookseller is a lot like being a treasure hunter.

Think about it. You get to go to strange corners of thrift shops and library sales, flip through dozens and dozens of run-of-the-mill books, and uncover those hidden gems that will earn you a lot of extra cash online.

And while the ultimate goal remains finding valuable books you can sell to buyback companies or on Amazon for a profit, sometimes flipping through so many books on a regular basis will cause you to find some unusual items, ranging from the very valuable to the just plain bizarre.

Most of these items were used as bookmarks by the previous owners (although as you’ll see, I’d think twice before sticking some of these things in a book and then forgetting about them).

Here, in no particular order, are some of the weirdest things I’ve found inside of used books:

Dried Leaves Art

Remember those grade school nature walks or arts projects where your teacher showed you how to press tree leaves by flattening them inside the pages of a book? Apparently some people forgot to take their leaves out of their books (or thought they’d make fun bookmarks) because I sure sweep a lot of them out of my books!

What’s remarkable is the type of leaves I find – while many are ordinary leaves you can find on any tree, I’ve found some very exotic leaves and flowers pressed between the pages of a book – like Canadian maple leaves and palm tree fronds.

It’s gotten to the point where I’m thinking of starting my own leaf collection – using the unusual plants people keep leaving for me!

Fortunately, no one’s decided to hold their place in a book with a piece of poison ivy yet (who says this isn’t a high risk job?)

Love Letters and Postcards

Sometimes, the items I find tend to be of a more… personal nature. From vacation postcards sent from mother to daughter, to tiny scrawled notes that were probably passed between school desks it’s remarkable what people feel comfortable leaving inside their textbooks and novels.

More than once, I’ve come across several drafts of half-finished love letters, leaving me wondering if the finished products ever reached their intended recipients.

Don’t worry – all of these finds get immediately shredded once I find them. I figure I should value these people’s privacy (even if they don’t seem to…).

Photographs

And speaking of personal items, I’ve found more than a few… interesting Polaroids stuck between the pages of a book.

No, not that kind! (get your mind out of the gutter!). Still, you have to admit it’s weird opening a book and finding yourself staring at someone else’s vacation photos or graduation pictures.

Frankly, considering how we’re moving more and more into digital media, it’s amazing people still choose to print these hard copies. Sometimes I wonder how old these photos are – and if some of those kids in the high school photographs aren’t nearing retirement age by now.

Store Gift Cards

Apparently people will use anything as a bookmark these days – including a brand-new H&M gift card with more than $100 in store credit. Yes, it’s true – sometimes the items you find inside a book can be worth much more than the book itself!

(By the way, if any of you nice people out there like to donate books – I like free movies and restaurant meals).

Money

Now here’s a forgotten bookmark I can get behind! Quite a few people like to slip a few bucks to save their place in a book, and then end up donating their books before finishing them.

A surprising number of those bills tend to be $2 Thomas Jefferson bills that are used at the racetrack (which makes me wonder if there’s any link between people who like to read and people who like to bet on horses).

Unfortunately, in recent years, it’s become fashionable to cut up your money and only leave half a dollar bill in a book. I’ve tried to exchange this cut up money for new currency at the bank, but apparently you need more than half of a bill for it to be considered legal tender. Darn!

Trading Cards

Back in the day, lots of kids used baseball cards as improvised bookmarks.

These days, however, you can find all sorts of trading cards stuck between the pages – from Pokemon cards, to Magic the Gathering game cards, to old Fleer baseball cards.

And while I haven’t found any priceless Honus Wagner baseball cards yet, I am in the process of developing my own exciting RPG card game that involves teaming Michael Jordon and Pikachu against the Manticore from Magic the Gathering.

Greeting Cards

I’ve also found some gorgeous greeting cards in books (usually right after Christmas and New Year’s). Some of them are so fancy, I’ve been tempted to re-use the ones with just a little writing in them (Don’t worry, I’m not that cheap).

The only sad part about finding greeting cards in my thrift store finds is when I find a birthday card in a book that was clearly intended as the card’s gift. Apparently not all grandkids like receiving dictionaries as gifts…

Tickets

One of the things I love about working with used books is thinking about all the places they’ve traveled to before arriving at my local thrift shop – and nothing fires up my imagination like finding an old plane ticket or bus pass in a book.

From England to Hawaii to the Caribbean, there seems to be no end to the places a book can come from, or end up.

Once or twice, I’ve even come across someone’s entire itinerary folded in the pages of a book, and realized some of my books have traveled more than I have.

I even find some show tickets in a book from time to time – the problem is the shows are usually in Las Vegas and closed down three years ago. Sigh…

Other Forgotten Treasures Found in Books

Remarkably, these are only a few of the strange things I’ve found in books over the last ten years – and I’ll undoubtedly discover some even more unusual finds in years to come as readers become more creative with the type of things they use to hold their place in books.

Now if only someone would get the bright idea of using winning lottery tickets as bookmarks…

Did you like this article? Would you like to receive more tips and tricks on how to sell books online for extra money? Then go ahead and subscribe to my blog!

Do you have a question or suggestion for a future blog article? Email me at sellbooksfastonline@gmail.com.

How to Write Descriptions That Sell Used Books on Amazon

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Hey everyone! Hope you’re all having a good holiday!

After four years of offering free tips for selling books online, I’ve received many emails from readers telling me how they’ve enjoyed making extra money selling used books with resources like Bookscouter.

A lot of these people are also interested in selling used books on online marketplaces like Amazon.com and have asked me questions about selling on Amazon.

But while I’ve tried to answer some of their questions in my articles, many of my most effective Amazon selling strategies take a lot more room to teach than a short blog post.

That’s why I’m thrilled to announce the release of my new eBook series, Sell Books Fast Online – a series specifically designed to show you easy and effective strategies for selling books faster and for higher prices on Amazon.

And best of all you can get the first book in the series – How to Write Descriptions That Sell Used Books on Amazonfor only $0.99 from December 13th to December 14th!

How to Write Descriptions That Sell Used Books on Amazon

Did you know that writing great descriptions of your used books can help them sell faster and for higher prices on Amazon?

Many Amazon sellers don’t realize this. Most just copy and paste the same vague description on all their used book listings. (Think about all the times you searched for a used book on Amazon, only to find a bland description stating the book “may or may not contain highlighting, underlining or notes”)

Some Amazon sellers don’t even bother to describe their book’s condition at all, leaving that entire section blank.

Yet by passing up the chance to spotlight key features of their books, these sellers are ignoring one of the easiest ways to make more money selling used books on Amazon.

By writing a great book description, you can:
• Tell customers what they want to know about your book
• Highlight special features about your book and online bookstore
• Make your used book’s flaws appear attractive to the right buyer
Attract customers who will pay higher prices for your books

Best of all, writing descriptions that sell used books can be quick and easy – if you have the resources I provide in this short, fast-paced guide.

After reading How to Write Descriptions That Sell Used Books on Amazon, you’ll know how to create a basic template specific to your online Amazon bookstore that you can use on all of the used books you want to sell.

You’ll also learn how to quickly modify that template to describe key features of each of your used books, allowing you to attract more customers and make more money online!

Even better, I include a series of copywriting templates at the end of the book that you can use to help create your own book descriptions.

These templates are book descriptions I’ve personally used over the years to help me make thousands of dollars on Amazon. Using them as your guide, you’ll be able to create eye-catching descriptions of your own in no time – even if you’re not a writer!

How to Write Descriptions That Sell Used Books on Amazon is a fantastic resource for college students who want to resell their textbooks on Amazon, book collectors who want to get into the online bookselling business and anyone who wants to turn some of the used books in their home into cash!

Plus, at the sale price of $0.99 (regular price only $2.99!) it makes a great stocking stuffer or last-minute Christmas gift for the eBook reader in your family.

Sell Books Fast Online

The best part is that How to Write Descriptions That Sell Used Books on Amazon is only the first in the Sell Books Fast Online series.

Every month, I’ll be releasing a new eBook that focuses on a different aspect of selling used books on Amazon – from getting great customer feedback, to finding more books to sell, to pricing your books competitively – and offer simple and effective strategies that you can use immediately to become a better Amazon seller.

That way, if you have questions about a certain aspect of selling books online – or if you’d like to improve your bookselling skills in a key area – you can choose from any of the Sell Books Fast Online guides that will help you the most.

If you’d like to know when each new book will be released, feel free to subscribe to this blog to receive notices. You can also go to my Author Page and click on the orange “Follow” button to get updates.

For now though, please check out How to Write Descriptions That Sell Used Books on Amazon – and please leave me a review if you found it helpful!

Thanks guys! I hope you like my books!

How to Earn Extra Money for Vacation with Bookscouter

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The college semester is almost over! Time to have some fun and take that exotic trip you’ve been dreaming about the whole year.

But wait! Hold on! There’s a problem…

How are you going to pay for your vacation activities?

If you’re like a lot of college students, your vacation fund is probably a little… sparse at the moment. That’s understandable. College is expensive and between dorm room fees and food costs (not to mention those expensive textbooks!) your expenses have been draining your wallet for the last few months.

Fortunately, there’s a quick and easy way to raise some money before your vacation time starts – and it can be done anytime, anywhere with minimal expenses.

It’s called selling books online with Bookscouter.

Making Money for Vacations with Bookscouter

If you’re already a subscriber to my blog, you’ll know that most of my articles show readers how to generate a steady source of income by selling books online using Bookscouter, a free price comparison website that reveals which book buyback companies will pay the most for your used books.

What’s cool about this unusual way of making money is that it can also be done on the short term – for people who aren’t necessarily interested in making a career out of online bookselling, but do want to earn a few hundred (or even a few thousand) dollars to pay for upcoming holiday expenses.

Because selling books to book buyback companies allows you to immediately sell (and profit) from all the used books you buy, you don’t have to invest any time, money, or space into storing your books and waiting for them to sell (which you would need to do if you tried selling them on Amazon).

Instead, you just pack your books carefully, ship them out (using pre-paid shipping labels supplied by the buyback companies), and wait for your payment to be deposited into your PayPal account (usually in two weeks or less).

This is a fantastic way for college students to sell their textbooks for extra cash – plus since this is peak buying season for buyback companies if you go on Bookscouter right now, you’ll likely find a lot of great offers for your books (I personally recommend selling your books to Textbooks.com, Sell Back Your BookCash4Books, and/or Valore – they give good prices and fast, reliable payment).

For those of you who want to earn some serious vacation money (as in a few thousand), buying cheap used books and selling them immediately using Bookscouter is the best way to build a vacation fund short-term.

I have personally known people who used this method to raise enough money in a couple months to pay for an African safari. I myself have used this method to take trips to Disneyland, pay for Christmas gifts, and enjoy extra-long weekends hanging out with friends.

If you’d like to read a detailed explanation of how to use Bookscouter to make extra money selling books online, please read How to Make Extra Money Every Day “Flipping” Books Online. For now, however, I’d like to offer the following tips for using Bookscouter to raise money on the short-term.

Tip #1: Start Saving Money For Your Vacations Early

Considering that I’m writing this article at the beginning of December, this tip might not seem helpful now, but it is true that if you start selling books online early in the year you can raise a tremendous amount of money by your next vacation time.

I personally say you should start selling books online right now – and definitely when January comes around. This is peak buying time for a lot of book buyback companies (so you’ll enjoy higher-than-normal prices for your books).

Frankly, if you start investing just a few hours a week right now selling books online with Bookscouter, you can probably still raise some money for some holiday activities – and you’ll definitely have plenty of extra cash on hand when Spring Break and summer vacation come around.

Tip #2: Keep to a Bookscouting Schedule

Professional online booksellers like me can spend four or five days a week (or more) searching for profitable books at thrift stores and library sales.

Obviously you don’t want (or need) to invest this kind of time if you’re just selling books online short term – but it definitely pays to make and keep to a set schedule when you’re searching for good books to sell.

Make this schedule something you can stick to easily. For instance, if you pass by some thrift stores when you’re commuting to school or work, you can make it part of your regular schedule to spend a half hour searching through their bookshelves.

Alternatively, you can invest one day out of your week to check out all the thrift stores and library book sales in your area until you raise enough money for your vacation. You’ll be surprised how quickly this allows you to earn money — especially if you keep an eye out for sales.

Tip #3: Set a Goal for How Much Money You Need to Fund Your Vacation

How much money do you need for your next vacation? $500? $1000?

Work out all of your vacation expenses in advance – and then estimate how long it’ll take you to earn that much money based on the type of books you’re finding and selling.

Setting a goal will help motivate you to keep using Bookscouter until you’ve raised enough money for your trip and/or activities – and give you an idea of how much time you’ll need to invest to reach your target figure.

Keep in mind that not all of your book hunting days are going to be super-profitable (I’ve earned as little as $30 and as much as $300 shopping at the same thrift stores on different days), so you’ll need to keep that in mind when creating a time table.

That said, if you’re consistently not finding enough books to sell at your usual shops, you may want to check other libraries and thrift stores to see if they offer better books that can help you raise money quicker.

Tip #4: Keep a Separate Vacation Account

Once the money starts rolling into your PayPal account, it’ll be tempting to spend that extra cash immediately on a new pair of shoes or a night out with your friends.

Resist that urge. If you spend your money as fast as it comes in, you’ll never raise enough money for your vacation.

Keep the money in a safe place – you can keep the cash in your PayPal account, open a new bank account and deposit the funds there, or take out the cash and keep it with you until vacation time comes around.

Optional: Invest in Better Bookscouting Equipment

It doesn’t take much to start making money with Bookscouter – just a cell phone with a good data plan (I recommend Verizon) and a free barcode app you can download from Google PlayStore.

That being said, if you’d like to speed up your search for profitable books and/or find more books to earn more cash, you can invest in a professional barcode scanner.

I recommend the SP-2100 – it’s saved me a ton of time and increased my profits substantially. You can read my entire review of the scanner at Making Selling Books Online Easier with the SP2100 Laser Barcode Scanner.

Optional: Consider Selling Books Online for Trade Credit

If you shop online a lot and/or if you’re raising money to buy Christmas gifts, you can choose to sell your books for Amazon trade credit.

This is a great strategy that’s really reduced my holiday expenses over the last few years. You can learn all about it at my article Should You Sell Your Books for Amazon Credit?

Want to receive more tips and tricks for how to sell books online for extra money? Subscribe to my blog!

Do you have a question or suggestion for a future blog article? Email me at sellbooksfastonline@gmail.com.

How to Use Bookscouter’s Pricing History to Find Books That Rise in Value

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If you’ve been earning extra money by using Bookscouter to sell books online to textbook buyback companies, you’ve probably noticed that many buyback companies tend to purchase the same book titles throughout the year.

These books (which can include classic literature, self help books, and popular science texts) are known as “backlist books” and are considered required reading by several colleges, universities, and book clubs. As a result, buyback companies purchase these books on a regular basis, since they know there’ll always be a market for them.

That said, there will be certain times in a year (or even a month) where the price quotes for these backlist books will rise dramatically in value as buyback companies seek to replenish their stock. So depending on when you sell your book, you could be earning anywhere from $5 to $30 for the exact same copy of the book.

Things get trickier when you come across backlist books experiencing a temporary “dry spell” where no buyback company wants to purchase them – but which may still get a dramatic rise in price a few weeks or a month later.

This leaves you with a dilemma – naturally you don’t want to waste your money on books you can’t sell, but you also don’t want to pass up on a chance to buy several bags of books for pennies and then sell them all for huge profits a few weeks later.

That’s where using Bookscouter’s Price History features can really help you decide which books can help you make the most money.

Studying a Book’s Price History

If you go to Bookscouter’s home page right now and search for a book with its ISBN, you’ll notice two features that show the book’s price history.

The first is the View Price History feature, located right below the book’s publication information. By clicking on this feature, you’ll see a list revealing the maximum price, average price, and number of price quotes for that book over the last couple years.

The second is the 52-Week Pricing History graph that appears above all the buyback company price quotes. This graph shows the average price quote for that book for every week in the last year.

I recommend using the 52-Week Pricing History graph when you’re debating on whether or not to purchase a potentially profitable book. You’ll be able to see, at a glance, if that book has been selling for high prices in the past. This will let you quickly decide whether to buy the book or leave it.

One thing I love about using the 52-Week Pricing History graph is that you’ll be able to find books other online book scouts will pass up. Since most book scouts only look at the current price quotes offered by buyback companies when looking up prices on Bookscouter (and not their potential future price quotes), you’ll be able to buy more books to sell for money, which will vastly increase your profits.

Using the 52-Week Pricing History Graph to Make More Money

When looking at the 52-Week Pricing History Graph, you’ll want to watch for certain key signs.

First, check to see if there are any dramatic rises and falls in the book’s price – and if these price fluctuations show up on a regular basis. If the graph reveals that a book consistently sells for $20 every three weeks but then dips down to $2 between these high points, then you’ll probably want to buy the book and wait for it to rise in value again.

On the other hand, if the graph reveals that a textbook was selling for $20 six months ago but has been steadily dropping in value over the last several weeks, you’ll probably want to pass it up (or sell it quickly if you can still make a profit).

Also, don’t underestimate your own hunches. If you’ve been selling the same copy of the book multiple times to buyback companies over the last several months, odds are that title will continue to be in demand – which should factor into your decision to buy or pass up a book.

Selling Potentially Profitable Books

If you do end up buying a bunch of potentially profitable books, be sure to keep them in a box next to your laptop. You can look up their current price quotes on Bookscouter while you’re selling your other books – which will help make sure you sell them for their highest price.

And if you find you can’t sell some of these books – don’t worry. You can still profit off of them (read my article How to Make Money From Books You Can’t Sell Online to find out how).

Final Thoughts

In general, while I find Bookscouter’s Price History feature to be a useful way to spot more books to sell online for cash, it can be confusing for someone who’s just started selling books online. For this reason, I consider using Price History an intermediate technique for book scouts who are already comfortable making money by selling books online and want to increase their profits even more.

So if you’re new to this business – stick with learning the basics. Read my article How to Make Extra Money Every Day “Flipping” Books Online to get familiar with the concept of “flipping” books for profit. Learn which buyback companies are the best ones to sell to (I recommend Textbooks.com, Sell Back Your Book, eCampus, and Cash 4 Books) and pay close attention to the condition these books should be in to make you money.

Then, once you start making some money by selling books online (trust me, it won’t take long), start using more advanced techniques like Bookscouter’s Price History. You’ll be amazed by how much you’re profits will increase!

Want to receive more tips and tricks for how to sell books online for extra money? Subscribe to my blog!

Do you have a question or suggestion for a future blog article? Email me at sellbooksfastonline@gmail.com.