selling books online
Do any libraries sell books on ebay or other online sites? If so, do you have any tips - best sites, best practices, things to not do?We've just started exploring this and any advice would be appreciated.Happy 4th of July! Cheryl Kersey, DirectorThree Oaks Township Public Library3 North Elm StreetThree Oaks, MI 49128phone 269.756.5621fax 269.756.3004www.threeoaks.michlibrary.org Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Three-Oaks-Township-Public-Library/3209850... "A Library is not a luxury but one of the necessities of life." Henry Ward Beecher This e-mail is covered under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 USC 2510-2521 and is legally privileged. The information contained in this e-mail is intended only for use of the individual or entity named above. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender immediately at 269-756-3919 and destroy the original message.
As someone who has written on this issue and who has sold books online for ten years as a hobby, I would advise thinking very carefully before taking on this task. The best site to sell on is Amazon, which currently draws the largest number of buyers. Their commission structure is high, but Amazon produces the most sales. Overall, my sales are down substantially. I'm assuming the reason is the increasing importance of ebooks that can't be resold. In addition, prices have come down drastically with the entrance of thrift shops and the library resellers like Better World Books, Thrift Books, and others. Most best sellers get sold for a penny plus shipping. I don't know how these vendors make any money. The big issue is the time that it takes to list and to package/ship the books. While going on vacation is possible, someone needs to be around most of the time to check for orders, package them, and mail them out. Having a reliable Friends group to do this is the best strategy, but I'll strongly stress reliable. I would also only list reasonably expensive items and those with a high Amazon sales rank. I have books that I listed years ago that still haven't sold. Some of the strangest items sell and often at a good price, but it can take a long time. Fortunately, I have a very large basement. To succeed at this business, the library would need to provide excellent service, accurate descriptions, and mailing within two days of receiving the order. I know of some libraries that sell directly, but I don't think that it's overall a good idea unless the library has great books and free labor. Also most librarians don't know which books are valuable and which aren't though checking books with ISBNs can be done by purchasing/leasing a scanning program that quickly evaluates the sales potential. The other option is to find good books with probable sales potential and then sending them to Amazon to ship out when bought. This option has many fees attached including shipping and storage, but I don't know all that much about this choice. One of the vendors that I talked to at the ALA Conferences sells software that mostly automates the process. I can't give any advice on whether libraries consider this product to be a success. I hope this helps. Bob Dr. Robert P. Holley Professor, School of Library & Information Science Wayne State University Detroit, MI 48202 aa3805@wayne.edu 248-547-0306 (phone) 313-577-7563 (fax) ----- Original Message ----- From: "Cheryl Kersey" <threeoakspubliclibrary@yahoo.com> To: "Michlib-l ListServ" <michlib-l@mcls.org> Sent: Friday, July 3, 2015 11:48:26 AM Subject: [Michlib-l] selling books online Do any libraries sell books on ebay or other online sites? If so, do you have any tips - best sites, best practices, things to not do? We've just started exploring this and any advice would be appreciated. Happy 4th of July! Cheryl Kersey, Director Three Oaks Township Public Library 3 North Elm Street Three Oaks, MI 49128 phone 269.756.5621 fax 269.756.3004 www.threeoaks.michlibrary.org Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Three-Oaks-Township-Public-Library/3209850... "A Library is not a luxury but one of the necessities of life." Henry Ward Beecher This e-mail is covered under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 USC 2510-2521 and is legally privileged. The information contained in this e-mail is intended only for use of the individual or entity named above. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender immediately at 269-756-3919 and destroy the original message. _______________________________________________ Michlib-l mailing list Michlib-l@mcls.org http://mail2.mcls.org/mailman/listinfo/michlib-l
Addison Twp. Library has been doing it quite successfully for a year and a half. We have a dedicated staff member. I know other libraries have volunteers managing the process. It's been interesting. Jaema ----- Original Message ----- From: Cheryl Kersey <threeoakspubliclibrary@yahoo.com> To: Michlib-l ListServ <michlib-l@mcls.org> Sent: Fri, 03 Jul 2015 11:48:26 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [Michlib-l] selling books online Do any libraries sell books on ebay or other online sites? If so, do you have any tips - best sites, best practices, things to not do?We've just started exploring this and any advice would be appreciated.Happy 4th of July! Cheryl Kersey, DirectorThree Oaks Township Public Library3 North Elm StreetThree Oaks, MI 49128phone 269.756.5621fax 269.756.3004www.threeoaks.michlibrary.org Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Three-Oaks-Township-Public-Library/3209850... "A Library is not a luxury but one of the necessities of life." Henry Ward Beecher This e-mail is covered under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 USC 2510-2521 and is legally privileged. The information contained in this e-mail is intended only for use of the individual or entity named above. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender immediately at 269-756-3919 and destroy the original message. -- Jaema Berman Director Addison Twp. Public Library 1400 Rochester Rd. Leonard, MI 48367 Phone: 248-628-7180 Fax: 248-628-6109 http://www.addisontwp.michlibrary.org “Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.” Margaret Fuller 1810-1850 Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested. ~ Francis Bacon
I have been using ebay and Amazon to sell books that have been withdrawn and donated books that we can't use at the University of Detroit Mercy. Amazon is easier to use as long as you have an ISBN number to work with. A lot of books I get are too old to have an ISBN, so I put them on ebay. Its a lot more work because you have to write up your own description, take your own pictures and deal with fees that depend on how many titles you plan on selling. You can set a "Buy it now" price or start with a base price and see how much it will go for-if it is rare enough, the price can go higher than you can imagine-had one that I thought would do well and ended up getting over $1,000. You just can't tell what is going to sell and what will get no bids at all.If anyone has any questions about ebay I would be happy to answer them. Been using ebay for about eight years now, and seems like every couple of years they change the way they treat the sellers-and it hasn't always been for the benefit of the seller. Patricia Higo Archive and Special Collections Librarian University of Detroit Mercy 4001 W. McNichols Road Detroit, MI 48221 313-578-0435 313-993-1780 (fax) p_higo@yahoo.com On Friday, July 3, 2015 12:52 PM, Jaema Berman <jberman@tln.lib.mi.us> wrote: Addison Twp. Library has been doing it quite successfully for a year and a half. We have a dedicated staff member. I know other libraries have volunteers managing the process. It's been interesting. Jaema ----- Original Message ----- From: Cheryl Kersey <threeoakspubliclibrary@yahoo.com> To: Michlib-l ListServ <michlib-l@mcls.org> Sent: Fri, 03 Jul 2015 11:48:26 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [Michlib-l] selling books online Do any libraries sell books on ebay or other online sites? If so, do you have any tips - best sites, best practices, things to not do?We've just started exploring this and any advice would be appreciated.Happy 4th of July! Cheryl Kersey, DirectorThree Oaks Township Public Library3 North Elm StreetThree Oaks, MI 49128phone 269.756.5621fax 269.756.3004www.threeoaks.michlibrary.org Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Three-Oaks-Township-Public-Library/3209850... "A Library is not a luxury but one of the necessities of life." Henry Ward Beecher This e-mail is covered under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 USC 2510-2521 and is legally privileged. The information contained in this e-mail is intended only for use of the individual or entity named above. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender immediately at 269-756-3919 and destroy the original message. -- Jaema Berman Director Addison Twp. Public Library 1400 Rochester Rd. Leonard, MI 48367 Phone: 248-628-7180 Fax: 248-628-6109 http://www.addisontwp.michlibrary.org “Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.” Margaret Fuller 1810-1850 Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested. ~ Francis Bacon _______________________________________________ Michlib-l mailing list Michlib-l@mcls.org http://mail2.mcls.org/mailman/listinfo/michlib-l
Cheryl, We place items on Amazon. One of the things you will want to keep in mind is that many website sales sites require that a response is generated and items shipped within 2 days or your rating will go down (some sites will even cancel your online sales account if a seller does not comply). Make sure you read the fine print and have someone dedicated for follow up if you decide to go this route. Much success… Tory (and the TEI team) [cid:image001.png@01D0B7C8.6F3411D0] Click here<https://www.facebook.com/teilandmarkaudio> to "Like" us on Facebook Tory Worland "Your non-electronic, non-online, no additional cost, user-friendly, live-person-answering-the-phone audiobook rep!" National Sales Manager [TEI Landmark Audio logo 200 x 200 pixels.v2] TEI Landmark Audio Local Phone: 317-849-1700 Toll Free Phone: 800-850-1701 Fax number: 317-849-9773 Email: tory@teilandmarkaudio.com<mailto:tory@teilandmarkaudio.com> Web: www.teilandmarkaudio.com 5160 East 65th St. Suite # 115 Indpls, In. 46220 From: michlib-l-bounces@mcls.org [mailto:michlib-l-bounces@mcls.org] On Behalf Of Cheryl Kersey Sent: Friday, July 03, 2015 11:48 AM To: Michlib-l ListServ Subject: [Michlib-l] selling books online Do any libraries sell books on ebay or other online sites? If so, do you have any tips - best sites, best practices, things to not do? We've just started exploring this and any advice would be appreciated. Happy 4th of July! Cheryl Kersey, Director Three Oaks Township Public Library 3 North Elm Street Three Oaks, MI 49128 phone 269.756.5621 fax 269.756.3004 www.threeoaks.michlibrary.org<http://www.threeoaks.michlibrary.org/> Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Three-Oaks-Township-Public-Library/3209850... "A Library is not a luxury but one of the necessities of life." Henry Ward Beecher This e-mail is covered under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 USC 2510-2521 and is legally privileged. The information contained in this e-mail is intended only for use of the individual or entity named above. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender immediately at 269-756-3919 and destroy the original message.
Around 4:45 this afternoon, I heard an interview on WDET with Sari Feldman, ALA President, on the just signed law the prohibits all government bodies from distributing information on elections. She did an excellent job of explaining why this idea went against the public library's role in providing unbiased facts to their users. The interviewer tried to get her to admit that a librarian could try to influence how the person would vote, but she skillfully avoided this trap. She also said that Michigan is the only state that she know of with this prohibition. Bob Robert P. Holley Professor Emeritus, Wayne State University 13303 Borgman Avenue Huntington Woods, MI 48070-1005 email: aa3805@wayne.edu phone: 248-547-0306
I believe the law has not yet been signed by the governor. We are still hoping to get him to veto the legislation. More info at: http://www.milibraries.org/mla-urges-governor-snyder-to-veto-sb-571/ Please sign the petition asking for a veto! -Steve ________________________________ From: michlib-l-bounces@mcls.org <michlib-l-bounces@mcls.org> on behalf of Robert P. Holley <aa3805@wayne.edu> Sent: Tuesday, January 5, 2016 8:25 PM To: Michlib-l ListServ Subject: [Michlib-l] ALA President Sari Feldman Interviewed on WDET Around 4:45 this afternoon, I heard an interview on WDET with Sari Feldman, ALA President, on the just signed law the prohibits all government bodies from distributing information on elections. She did an excellent job of explaining why this idea went against the public library's role in providing unbiased facts to their users. The interviewer tried to get her to admit that a librarian could try to influence how the person would vote, but she skillfully avoided this trap. She also said that Michigan is the only state that she know of with this prohibition. Bob Robert P. Holley Professor Emeritus, Wayne State University 13303 Borgman Avenue Huntington Woods, MI 48070-1005 email: aa3805@wayne.edu phone: 248-547-0306
Snyder signs bill eliminating straight-ticket voting Yes, he has. Here is the headline from freep.com Bob Dr. Robert P. Holley Professor Emeritus, Wayne State University 13303 Borgman Avenue Huntington Woods, MI 48070-1005 email: aa3805@wayne.edu phone: 248-547-0306 ________________________________ From: michlib-l-bounces@mcls.org <michlib-l-bounces@mcls.org> on behalf of Steven K. Bowers <sbowers@wayne.edu> Sent: Wednesday, January 6, 2016 6:57 AM To: Michlib-l ListServ Subject: Re: [Michlib-l] ALA President Sari Feldman Interviewed on WDET I believe the law has not yet been signed by the governor. We are still hoping to get him to veto the legislation. More info at: http://www.milibraries.org/mla-urges-governor-snyder-to-veto-sb-571/ [http://www.milibraries.org/assets/1/15/929f50912da34dad8dde910c3bac44091.jpg]<http://www.milibraries.org/mla-urges-governor-snyder-to-veto-sb-571/> MLA Urges Governor Snyder to Veto SB 571 - General News ...<http://www.milibraries.org/mla-urges-governor-snyder-to-veto-sb-571/> www.milibraries.org Michigan Library Association Urges Governor Snyder to Veto SB 571. Michigan Library Association (MLA) is urging Governor Rick Snyder to Veto SB 571. Please sign the petition asking for a veto! -Steve ________________________________ From: michlib-l-bounces@mcls.org <michlib-l-bounces@mcls.org> on behalf of Robert P. Holley <aa3805@wayne.edu> Sent: Tuesday, January 5, 2016 8:25 PM To: Michlib-l ListServ Subject: [Michlib-l] ALA President Sari Feldman Interviewed on WDET Around 4:45 this afternoon, I heard an interview on WDET with Sari Feldman, ALA President, on the just signed law the prohibits all government bodies from distributing information on elections. She did an excellent job of explaining why this idea went against the public library's role in providing unbiased facts to their users. The interviewer tried to get her to admit that a librarian could try to influence how the person would vote, but she skillfully avoided this trap. She also said that Michigan is the only state that she know of with this prohibition. Bob Robert P. Holley Professor Emeritus, Wayne State University 13303 Borgman Avenue Huntington Woods, MI 48070-1005 email: aa3805@wayne.edu phone: 248-547-0306
Straight ticket voting has been eliminated. The separate bill that would limit dissemination of information of ballot issues has still not been vetoed or signed as far as I know. Sari was talking on the gag bill, not the straight ticket bill. The news has been confusing on this. The article from Christine is about the straight ticket law but the last paragraph talks about the separate law that could affect libraries and others from sharing election information. On Jan 6, 2016, at 7:29 AM, Robert P. Holley <aa3805@wayne.edu<mailto:aa3805@wayne.edu>> wrote: Snyder signs bill eliminating straight-ticket voting Yes, he has. Here is the headline from freep.com<http://freep.com> Bob Dr. Robert P. Holley Professor Emeritus, Wayne State University 13303 Borgman Avenue Huntington Woods, MI 48070-1005 email: aa3805@wayne.edu<mailto:aa3805@wayne.edu> phone: 248-547-0306 ________________________________ From: michlib-l-bounces@mcls.org<mailto:michlib-l-bounces@mcls.org> <michlib-l-bounces@mcls.org<mailto:michlib-l-bounces@mcls.org>> on behalf of Steven K. Bowers <sbowers@wayne.edu<mailto:sbowers@wayne.edu>> Sent: Wednesday, January 6, 2016 6:57 AM To: Michlib-l ListServ Subject: Re: [Michlib-l] ALA President Sari Feldman Interviewed on WDET I believe the law has not yet been signed by the governor. We are still hoping to get him to veto the legislation. More info at: http://www.milibraries.org/mla-urges-governor-snyder-to-veto-sb-571/ [http://www.milibraries.org/assets/1/15/929f50912da34dad8dde910c3bac44091.jpg]<http://www.milibraries.org/mla-urges-governor-snyder-to-veto-sb-571/> MLA Urges Governor Snyder to Veto SB 571 - General News ...<http://www.milibraries.org/mla-urges-governor-snyder-to-veto-sb-571/> www.milibraries.org<http://www.milibraries.org> Michigan Library Association Urges Governor Snyder to Veto SB 571. Michigan Library Association (MLA) is urging Governor Rick Snyder to Veto SB 571. Please sign the petition asking for a veto! -Steve ________________________________ From: michlib-l-bounces@mcls.org<mailto:michlib-l-bounces@mcls.org> <michlib-l-bounces@mcls.org<mailto:michlib-l-bounces@mcls.org>> on behalf of Robert P. Holley <aa3805@wayne.edu<mailto:aa3805@wayne.edu>> Sent: Tuesday, January 5, 2016 8:25 PM To: Michlib-l ListServ Subject: [Michlib-l] ALA President Sari Feldman Interviewed on WDET Around 4:45 this afternoon, I heard an interview on WDET with Sari Feldman, ALA President, on the just signed law the prohibits all government bodies from distributing information on elections. She did an excellent job of explaining why this idea went against the public library's role in providing unbiased facts to their users. The interviewer tried to get her to admit that a librarian could try to influence how the person would vote, but she skillfully avoided this trap. She also said that Michigan is the only state that she know of with this prohibition. Bob Robert P. Holley Professor Emeritus, Wayne State University 13303 Borgman Avenue Huntington Woods, MI 48070-1005 email: aa3805@wayne.edu<mailto:aa3805@wayne.edu> phone: 248-547-0306
The straight-ticket voting bill which the governor signed was Senate Bill 13 http://legislature.mi.gov/doc.aspx?2015-SB-0013 The "gag-order" bill is Senate Bill 571 http://legislature.mi.gov/doc.aspx?2015-SB-0571 which the governor has not signed. Lots of election related legislative activity going on. Kevin ^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v Kevin Driedger Librarian for Conservation and Digitization Library of Michigan P.O. Box 30007 702 W. Kalamazoo Lansing, MI 48913 517-373-9440 driedgerk@michigan.gov<mailto:driedgerk@michigan.gov> www.facebook.com/conservation.at.lm<http://www.facebook.com/conservation.at.lm> www.michigan.gov/libraryofmichigan<http://www.michigan.gov/libraryofmichigan> From: michlib-l-bounces@mcls.org [mailto:michlib-l-bounces@mcls.org] On Behalf Of Robert P. Holley Sent: Wednesday, January 06, 2016 7:30 AM To: Steven K. Bowers <sbowers@wayne.edu>; Michlib-l ListServ <michlib-l@mcls.org> Subject: Re: [Michlib-l] ALA President Sari Feldman Interviewed on WDET Snyder signs bill eliminating straight-ticket voting Yes, he has. Here is the headline from freep.com Bob Dr. Robert P. Holley Professor Emeritus, Wayne State University 13303 Borgman Avenue Huntington Woods, MI 48070-1005 email: aa3805@wayne.edu phone: 248-547-0306 ________________________________ From: michlib-l-bounces@mcls.org <michlib-l-bounces@mcls.org> on behalf of Steven K. Bowers <sbowers@wayne.edu> Sent: Wednesday, January 6, 2016 6:57 AM To: Michlib-l ListServ Subject: Re: [Michlib-l] ALA President Sari Feldman Interviewed on WDET I believe the law has not yet been signed by the governor. We are still hoping to get him to veto the legislation. More info at: http://www.milibraries.org/mla-urges-governor-snyder-to-veto-sb-571/ [Image removed by sender.]<http://www.milibraries.org/mla-urges-governor-snyder-to-veto-sb-571/> MLA Urges Governor Snyder to Veto SB 571 - General News ...<http://www.milibraries.org/mla-urges-governor-snyder-to-veto-sb-571/> www.milibraries.org Michigan Library Association Urges Governor Snyder to Veto SB 571. Michigan Library Association (MLA) is urging Governor Rick Snyder to Veto SB 571. Please sign the petition asking for a veto! -Steve ________________________________ From: michlib-l-bounces@mcls.org <michlib-l-bounces@mcls.org> on behalf of Robert P. Holley <aa3805@wayne.edu> Sent: Tuesday, January 5, 2016 8:25 PM To: Michlib-l ListServ Subject: [Michlib-l] ALA President Sari Feldman Interviewed on WDET Around 4:45 this afternoon, I heard an interview on WDET with Sari Feldman, ALA President, on the just signed law the prohibits all government bodies from distributing information on elections. She did an excellent job of explaining why this idea went against the public library's role in providing unbiased facts to their users. The interviewer tried to get her to admit that a librarian could try to influence how the person would vote, but she skillfully avoided this trap. She also said that Michigan is the only state that she know of with this prohibition. Bob Robert P. Holley Professor Emeritus, Wayne State University 13303 Borgman Avenue Huntington Woods, MI 48070-1005 email: aa3805@wayne.edu phone: 248-547-0306
participants (7)
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Cheryl Kersey -
Driedger, Kevin (MDE) -
Jaema Berman -
Pat Higo -
Robert P. Holley -
Steven K. Bowers -
Tory Worland