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My current goal is to list some books each weekend. To make it easier, I have been selecting like books where I can list quite a few using almost the same description. As I make additional progress, I will begin listing a more random selection of books in the coming weeks.
My progress on my unlisted extras freed up some shelf space. I selected the middle box on the right in the above photo. I got those books unpacked. These photos show most of what was in that box.
The solid blue Nancy Drew books are from a nice set that I purchased a couple months ago. I may price the books at around $20 each. That may seem very high, but I believe that many buyers prefer books without jackets. These particular books present quite well as they are.
In fact, look how much buyers paid for tweed Nancy Drew books from my Etsy shop today. The prices shown are each buyer's total cost including sales tax and shipping.
Value is subjective. Some buyers won't pay more than around $5.00 each for tweed Nancy Drew books. However, other buyers are willing to pay nearly as much for a bare tweed book as they would a book in dust jacket. Some buyers don't like dust jackets at all and might pay a premium price in order to avoid them. I'm not kidding, as strange as that might seem.
I must raise my prices, which is why I want to aim for $20 each on the solid blue Nancy Drew books. I have already been listing books at higher prices than I did last year. Shipping costs (both postage and supplies) are getting to be prohibitively high. Take a look at my order from Uline from yesterday.
If I only sold a few books per month, I'd recycle boxes and not pay for them. At my level, I just can't do that for several reasons. In short, reusing boxes would take up too much space, time, and trouble. It would be a mess and a nuisance.
Uline's prices per box go up each time I place an order. The UPS shipping from Uline to me also goes up most every time. It used to cost around $60 to $70 shipping on orders of this size. The boxes now cost me an average of $0.91 each. Years ago, my cost per box was around $0.50. I use the small boxes (9 x 6 x 3) on as many transactions as I can, since they cost less. They are also easier to pack and require less padding.
I purchase blank newsprint paper for padding, and that's another prohibitive cost. I also have to pay for tape, which is also rising in price.
I have gotten lucky twice in the last year and found some copy paper on Walmart's clearance aisle due to the packaging being damaged. The paper was all there and was fine. Half price paper helps a little bit.
I've had to raise my shipping prices but not all the way to covering my costs. Raising the prices of the books some as well also helps me cover the costs.
It's a bad situation all around, but we must make the best of it.
Jennifer's Series Books on eBay
Jennifer's Series Books on Etsy
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