What Do You Do With The Books?

The one question you are guaranteed to hear when doing a take-all is, “What do you do with the books?” Worst of all, you will hear it first from the one person that you don’t want to hear it from - the book room person. It is not going to sit well if you tell her that you are taking the books home to list on the internet and make a huge profit. So you had better tell her a more expanded truth. This is what I say:  “After the books are inspected they are given a destination. Some of the books will be shipped to needy school districts. Some can be donated to schools in third world countries like South America and Africa. Some of the books are too old or damaged and will be recycled. Others will be sold.”  This explanation always settles the mind of the inquirer. To put your mind at rest as well I will dissect each sentence in the paragraph to show you how your explanation is actually the truth. I don’t want you to lie or feel as though you have bent the truth to the point of breaking.

After the books are inspected they are given a destination.   You will have to inspect the books from every take-all in order to decide which ones to keep and which ones to do something else with.

Some of the books will be shipped to needy school districts. Schools in other districts from around the country often run low on or out of particular book titles and will often order the needed book(s) from you. You will have to fill the textbook needs or these districts.

Some can be donated to schools in third world countries like South America and Africa. With every take-all you will come across books that are new or are in like new condition. Nevertheless the books will have no online market value. Instead of leaving these books with a recycler I donate them.  www.betterworldbooks.com   In turn, Betterworld books distributes the copies to organizations like Room to Read, Books for Africa, Worldfund, National Center for world Literacy, and Invisible Children. Betterworld books provides printable shipping labels for your donations. Your cost will be nothing beyond finding the time to locate a shipping box and getting the books to the postal service.

Some of the books are too old or damaged and will be recycled. Others will be sold. These statements require no explanation.

Business Cards

Business cards may not seem like a necessary topic to cover. Anyone can tell you that every business operator should have personalized cards printed to hand out to clients, customers and associates. When starting a business you will want to keep all of your expenses at a minimum.  Business cards can get costly, as I discovered first hand.  To offset the expense I built  (designed from templates)  and ordered my own business cards online. When I received the cards I was amazed at their quality and appearance. The cards arrived quickly and there were plenty of them. I designed and purchased my cards at  http://www.overnightprints.com/  . I ordered 100 Premium Cards. The cost of the cards was less than $20. After shipping was added the total cost for the glossy front cards was less than $30. I have reordered from the company many times since receiving my first box of cards.

I am not affiliated with Overnight prints in anyway. I do not reap any financial benefit from steering readers to the company. I have made specific mention of Overnight prints for the sole purpose of providing you - the future textbook business owner - with an economically sound option for  acquiring a valuable tool you will need for success.

Truck Rental

When I started in the book business I naively thought that I could, at times, use my tiny sports car for a take-all. Boy, was I under the wrong impression!  You will need a truck to haul books.   Even if you own a pickup truck it will make your work much more difficult if you try to use it. You need a big truck. Not only do you need a big truck but you need a big truck with a ramp.  I recommend using a Uhaul moving truck. The smallest Uhaul truck you can rent with a ramp is a 14 footer.  Uhaul trucks that are shorter than 14 feet in length do not have ramps.  If the truck does not have a ramp you will have to lift your take-all books into the back of the truck.  Then you will have to climb into the truck and arrange the books in an orderly fashion. This amounts to double working yourself.  If this does not make sense now, as you are reading these words, it will when you get out and do your first take-all.

Handtrucks and Dollies

When you rent your Uhaul truck for a Take-all do not use the dolly which is mounted in the back of the truck. If at all possible use a handtruck with air inflated tires. The hard solid tires of the handtruck located in the back of the Uhaul will tire you out quickly and makes any load you are carrying heavier. Dollies with air inflated tires roll smoothly and work better on steps and on the truck ramp. A dolly or handtruck with air inflated tires is easier to use in every way.

In Closing

There isn’t much more that I can add to help you get up and running in the home based textbook business. I have outlined all of the steps that I  followed to build my own business.

All you have to do now is make it happen.

Best wishes,

Dinjin1963