The textbook business is for the most part an obscure and seldom heard of way to earn a living. Odds are you had never heard of it before watching my You Tube video. This is the first literature to ever present the business to the public in full detail. There are only a hand full of home based textbook sellers across the country. Traditionally most textbook sellers are large corporations which charge large corporate prices for their books. Your success in this business will come from selling textbooks to potential buyers for far less than the books can be purchased from a major corporation or from schools.
You are getting in on the ground floor of a virtually untapped area of income. You will make money in this business if you follow through with the information which follows.
Over and over again I am asked the question, “What type of work do you do?” When I reply that I sell school textbooks, the next questions which follow are most often, “How did you get into that business?” and, “Is it something I can do?”
I was introduced to the business by one of my clients while working in my previous career. My response to the second question is that my business is so easy that anyone who can read can do it.
At the time of this writing our country and most of the world is in a historically deep economic recession. Each day the media reports more and more job loses and business closings. Fiscal recovery seems a long way off.
Thousands of people are finding themselves losing the income they have become dependent upon. The fear and uncertainty of how to replace that lost income is like a heavy weight on the minds and shoulders of both friends and strangers alike. The “Is it something I can do?” question is being posed to me so often that I have decided to write a step-by-step how-to manual.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
How Much Money Can Be Made Selling Textbooks from Home?
I operate a small to medium sized textbook business. The cash figures which follow are based on the size of my individual business model. Textbook sales tend to peak during the summer months. On average my profits from book sales are about $2,600 per week between the months of May and September. During this period textbook sales can rollercoaster wildly. One day $300 dollars in textbook sales may come in. The next day $800 dollars in overall sales may come in. Each day can be radically different than the preceding day. Much will depend on the titles in your inventory and the demand for those titles.
Sales drop off after September. Sales dip after September because students have settled into the new school year following their summer break. By the end of September students have acquired all of the textbooks they will need to complete their semester or school year. They have purchased their books either from their school or from me or from some other textbook seller. Between the months of September through December my profits from sales average about $850 per week. In January sales slowly begin to pick up and typically start to level off near the $1,200 per week mark. Profits continue to hover near the $1,200 per week mark until the month of May comes around again. Then profits climb back up in or above the $2,600 per week range.
In May the seasonal profit cycle begins again.
A word of caution: Developing a personal budget when your income swings so radically can be tricky. I would advise that you avoid taking on too many regularly occurring financial commitments based on one or two exceptional sales days, weeks, or months. In the textbook business your income will fluctuate.
Sales drop off after September. Sales dip after September because students have settled into the new school year following their summer break. By the end of September students have acquired all of the textbooks they will need to complete their semester or school year. They have purchased their books either from their school or from me or from some other textbook seller. Between the months of September through December my profits from sales average about $850 per week. In January sales slowly begin to pick up and typically start to level off near the $1,200 per week mark. Profits continue to hover near the $1,200 per week mark until the month of May comes around again. Then profits climb back up in or above the $2,600 per week range.
In May the seasonal profit cycle begins again.
A word of caution: Developing a personal budget when your income swings so radically can be tricky. I would advise that you avoid taking on too many regularly occurring financial commitments based on one or two exceptional sales days, weeks, or months. In the textbook business your income will fluctuate.
How You Will Be Paid For The Books You Sell Online?
Every two weeks you will receive an email from either Amazon.com or Half.com notifying you that money from your textbooks sales account will be deposited into you bank account. The email will contain the dollar amount to be deposited into your bank account. It may take a few business days after the money is deposited for the funds to post in your account, depending on the bank you use. What follows is an example of an actual email notification from Half.com to me. Your 1st and 15th notification of deposit emails will be similar.
We wanted to let you know that we will soon be depositing $1320.72 into your bank account for the sales that you made in the recently completed selling period. This amount will be sent to your financial institution on the 7th business day after the end of the payment cycle. It could take an additional 1-3 business days to post to your account, depending on your bank.
We wanted to let you know that we will soon be depositing $1320.72 into your bank account for the sales that you made in the recently completed selling period. This amount will be sent to your financial institution on the 7th business day after the end of the payment cycle. It could take an additional 1-3 business days to post to your account, depending on your bank.
How Big Can You Grow Your Textbook Business?
As previously stated I operate what I consider to be a small to medium sized textbook business. I have no employees and do all of the work involved with the business myself. Other book businesses that I know of have multiple employees and make 5 to 6 times the money that I do. My point is that you can grow your book business to the size you are most comfortable with. Or you can stay relatively small as I have decided to do. I like having free time to go to the beach, cycle, exercise and generally spend most of my days pursuing my interest instead of working all of the time. You, on the other hand, may decide to go for the big paydays instead. There is nothing wrong with that. In the online textbook business you can write your own check, so to speak.
What Is An ISBN Number?
The ISBN (International Standard Book Number) is located on the back of every book. Pause here and take a moment to look around your home or office for a book to examine. Any book. Turn it over to the back cover. Above the barcode you will see the ISBN number. This number will have either 10 or 13 digits.
Now, go to your computer and type in http://www.amazon.com/ or http://www.half.com/. In the search box of either site type in the 10 or 13 digit ISBN number located on the back of the book you are examining. Hit enter. The price of that book will appear on your screen. This is the price you can expect to sell your book for on that website. The current sales price of the book will depend on the condition and demand for the book. Some books will sell for a lot of money and some books will sell for a small amount. Books can sell for anywhere from .01 to $250.00 per copy. The average sales price of a book is $55. The price of a book will go up and down depending on the condition of the book and demand for it. The shipping cost for the book is paid for by the customer who purchases the book.
Now, go to your computer and type in http://www.amazon.com/ or http://www.half.com/. In the search box of either site type in the 10 or 13 digit ISBN number located on the back of the book you are examining. Hit enter. The price of that book will appear on your screen. This is the price you can expect to sell your book for on that website. The current sales price of the book will depend on the condition and demand for the book. Some books will sell for a lot of money and some books will sell for a small amount. Books can sell for anywhere from .01 to $250.00 per copy. The average sales price of a book is $55. The price of a book will go up and down depending on the condition of the book and demand for it. The shipping cost for the book is paid for by the customer who purchases the book.
What is the process of selling textbooks online and will you have to advertise your inventory
My textbook inventory is sold on Amazon.com on Half.com and to other textbook companies. You will not have to advertise your inventory. You will simply have to list the ISBN (International Standard Book Number) of your book on Amazon.com or Half.com. These websites allow you to
list your books for sale on their sites along with other sellers of the same ISBN. Whenever someone eventually sells their textbook on Amazon.com or Half.com the website will take a small percentage of the sales price of the book for themselves. This is considered payment for allowing you to sell on their site.
list your books for sale on their sites along with other sellers of the same ISBN. Whenever someone eventually sells their textbook on Amazon.com or Half.com the website will take a small percentage of the sales price of the book for themselves. This is considered payment for allowing you to sell on their site.
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