Listing "How To" Books on eBay for Maximum Profit.

In the last post we discussed how to find How To books to sell on eBay. Today we are going to discuss listing your books on eBay and how to position them for the maximum profit.

Think Fast: When you think of listing "how to" books on eBay which category comes to mind?

If you are like most people you would say the "Books" category. That is where most people list their books -- how to or not. In fact I see most how to books listed on eBay in the Books > Fiction/Non-Fiction category.

But, if you think in terms of your prospective buyer who is interested in, for example photography, he or she is probably not searching in the books category for products about photography. They will probably peruse the Sub Categories under Cameras & Photos for items of interest. And, one of those sub categories just happens to be Manuals, Guides & Books. So, the best place to list a book about photography would be the sub category Manuals, Guides & Books under the main category of Cameras & Photos.

In fact, I just listed and sold a book about Black and White photography on eBay. My item, listed in the proper category, sold for $11.00 and had 4 bids. Another person selling the exact same item BUT listed in the Books > Fiction/Non-Fiction category had 1 bid and sold for $4.00.

So be sure to list your how to books in the category that is specific to the subject of the book. Many times there will not be a sub category for books on a certain topic but you can always find an appropriate sub category to list them under. If all else fails there is usually an "Other Item" sub category under most main categories.

Before you list your how to books do a quick search on http://www.abe.com/ and/or http://www.alibris.com/ to see what used book dealers are getting for the same book. You may find that you have something of collector interest that you can sell for a higher price. At the very least a quick Alibris or Abe search will give you an indication of what price to start your auction at.

As a general rule if I find a book is listed at less then $20.00 on Alibris or Abe I will start my auction at $1.99. That gives me a small profit even if the book only sales for the opening bid. Books that are valued at more then $20.00 I will generally start the bidding higher and I will also do more research to see if others have successfully sold the book on eBay in the past. If they have and the book closed at a relatively high price I will study their auction to see if I can figure out what they did that I can duplicate.

The next area you should look out when listing your how to books is keywords. You want to get as many relevant keywords in the item listing as possible. You can find a list of the most searched keyword phrases on eBay at: http://buy.ebay.com/ These are the top keywords that people are using to search for items on eBay. Look through this list and see if you can find other relevant keywords that you can include in your auction title. For example, one of the top keywords (as of right now) is Vintage If you have a book that is 40, 50 or more years old including the word Vintage in your title would be appropriate and may help your listing get more exposure.

Another thing that I do to "keyword load" my auctions is to scan the Table of Contents of the books I list and include the scanned text in the description. (note: scan as a document not an image) The Table of Contents is a goldmine of highly relevant keyword phrases. While I am at it I also scan the Dust Jacket description of the book and the cover image. I include the image as a Gallery Picture (extra 25 cent cost but worth it) and I use the Dust Jacket Description as the first part of my Auction Description. That along with a couple of lines about the condition of the book and the Table of Contents makes up my auction description.

In Summary

Find Hardcover How To book at:

Thrift Shops
Yard Sales
Estate Sales
Library Sales
Used Book Stores

Never pay more then $1.00 per book.

Scan:
Cover
Dust Jacket Description
Table of Contents

List books on eBay in a Subject Specific Category (not in the Books Category)

Good luck with your How To Book selling Adventures,

James