Finding the Hidden Treasure

By: Brian Sheldon

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For most of us, the biggest source of getting books is from FOL sales. (Friends of Library) FOL sales allow us see everything we are getting before we spend a dime; so you can save money by not getting a bunch of junk and hand pick everything you want. Now don't get me wrong, you can still get a bunch of junk, but you get to see it before you hand over any money. It's just up to you to be smart and sensible about what you buy. For people that use lookup tools such as a cell phone or a barcode scanner, that's a major plus because they can scan a book, see its market value and how popular it is and use that as a basis for the sale. And when you are usually getting them for about 50 cents to a dollar, you can walk away from some sales with a few hundred dollars worth of books that you only purchased for about $50. Sounds easy huh? Well it isn't, but if you are smart and get good at it, it's like a walk in the park; just another thing to add to your schedule.

I will come back to FOL sales, but I don't want to spend a whole lot of this article on FOL sales because using them as your main source of fresh inventory is going to really stress you out and limit what you can get. FOL sales are seasonal, so you have to make up for it the other times by scouting and searching both sensibly and vigorously.

Other Methods:

Thrift Stores/Used Book Shops: You may not know it, but there are usually at least a few thrift stores and discount book shops in your own town, big and small. Most of the time the owners will let books go for a buck or two and pay no attention to real market value. Sometimes you can get lucky, sometimes not, but you lose nothing really but a few minutes of your time. Check your phone book, or search online at Yahoo.com under "Yahoo Local" to see if you have any in your area.

Goodwill: Goodwill carries a fresh supply of donated books on a fairly frequent basis. If you are in a smaller less condensed area and you feel confident enough, you may talk them into taking bunches from them for a nominal rate as well. They get so many donations in some areas that they just want to move it and don't want to keep it on hand, so I've found that many Goodwill stores will practically give it to you and freshly supply you frequently.

Word of Mouth: One of the best ways to get books that I have found is simply to let people know what you're doing. Most people keep a stacked home library or books that lay around that they don't want. It's typical that people just want to get rid of them, let alone sell them to you. Friends and family are great, but be sure everyone in your surrounding area knows what you are all about! Sooner or later you may find yourself tripping over boxes of donations on your front door step!

Newspaper/Classifieds: Every Saturday I check the local papers to see if anyone is letting go of any books. As in thrift stores, they usually don't know the value of their goods, so they will give them up fairly cheap which gives you ample opportunity for a large return. Some local and state newspapers have Want Ads, and "Wanted" sections. Try seeing if yours does and if they do, put an ad in for a bit; it can't hurt. Mention that you are looking to buy books or collect for donation and that you will pick up anything. Also check for garage sales and church sales in your area, people have them typically on Saturdays.

Estate Sales: Estate sales are a popular way to get fresh loads of inventory. They are very easy to find as well. One popular method is to just search in Google for estate sales and your zip or city and state. (In this article page and on our home page I have added in a Google search box for convenience.) Good ones are almost always listed online, or again you can check your local newspapers for announcements. Just remember, get there early, and check stuff out in it's entirety before you make your decisions!

Tips & Tricks of the Trade:

So we have established that library sales aren't the only good way to get books, but let's dig deep and remember some things that most people starting off seem to overlook. First and simply the best principle is to get to sales and events EARLY. If you don't, other people will. Also, if you see ads in the paper for books or goods, call as soon as you get the paper, don't wait, you aren't the only person reading the paper! In addition, don't be shy, be aggressive. Don't be afraid to talk prices with people, talk them down on what they want or the terms they want you to agree to.

Always be skeptical of ANYTHING sold in bulk. There is a reason people sell bulk lots; either because they know that the goods aren't worth selling individually or because they are liquidators. Whether they are in the book business or not, it isn't common that you will find someone with good books in bulk that are willing to sell them cheap or to be completely erroneous of the value. I have made this mistake, so I'm telling you so you can avoid it. As Rodger from The Art of Books once told me and told me well, "if it's sold in bulk, there's a reason for it." Many people seek eBay for "bulk" or "wholesale book lots." You may find decent ones, but avoid them like the plague! It is a common industry tactic to unload unwanted goods on eBay, and as enticing as the goods may look or seem, they are likely penny books. But without sounding hypocritical as I do sell bulk lots on eBay whether it is discards or I just don't touch them, if you are going to go that route, here is what to look out for. First check to obviously make sure they are reputable, but while you are there see what else they are selling. If they are selling books individually, just press the back button, trust me, it's NOT worth it. It's common on eBay that there are book liquidators. You can check them out and usually all they sell is lots but please use your common sense when scouting. Like I said, if it's sold in bulk, there is a REASON for it!

Back to FOL Sales:

I don't want to rule these out, but I'm going to come back to talking about them because they are key and very essential. I just didn't want my readers thinking that the only good way to get books was by staying glued to library sales, because a lot of the time they aren't even worth looking at. But you will find yourself going to most of them even despite that if you are a good bookseller, so here are some tips. It sounds cliché and over and over again I say it in this article, but you have to get to book sales early. But getting there early is only half the battle. Most GOOD book sales are big, stretched out upon many categories and you will move around a lot. It is not physically possibly to get every category you want so be wise and choose one or two. Personally for myself, I choose techy, how to's, and computer books. Those are books I know, I read, I basically live for knowing how the market works in those sectors. Choosing computers and tech books gives me a specific area to where I go first at the book sales (assuming they have this available.) Not only am I there early, but that is exactly where I go first. You will also have to remember to be very aggressive. Sometimes it makes me wonder where some of the yahoo's I run into at book sales come from with their belligerent antics. But you have to be aware that if you are there early with other booksellers, you will run into people that have no regard to your safety or their image; they disregard all of that because they are making a living and they are not looking to make friends.

When I came across these types of people at book sales at first I was very apologetic if I bumped into them or we got in each others way; you cannot do that. I think there is a fine definitive line between being mature and sensible and being rude and irrational and many people you meet will cross it; so be aggressive. Remember years ago in Drivers Ed when they teach you (or attempt to) to be a defensive driver? The same applies here; you have to watch what you've already picked out and make sure you are aware of the people around you and where they are in relation to what you're looking at. I know that as I'm scanning titles with my eyes and looking up prices I'm very aware of who is next to me and what is going on, because I've had people try to steal what I've plucked out, or be sneaky in what they do. And I don't mean to scare off the people that haven't been to any sales like this before, but I want YOU to be aware that this does go on so you aren't completely flabbergasted when you first see it. When I first saw it I had to do a double take when I saw people twice as old as I was were acting like little kids, but yes, it does indeed happen.

Nearly any FOL sale can be found on a website called http://www.booksalefinder.com/. BSF is run by two veteran book sale hunters, Helen and Tom Oram. While not book dealers at this time, they maintain a website that is a very valuable resource to your scouting. Simply select your state or the ones you would like to look under and see what is available or upcoming. BSF also runs a classifieds section for want and for sale ads, a great resource for people looking for inventory in that aspect as well.

It's been a long article and exhausting for me to write so I may add more as the time comes along and I find more tips and tricks to include. Remember that as much as you know right now there is still much to be learned, and that's why I continue to learn as I go along, making enough mistakes to hopefully some day be able to wake up in the morning and be worry free of any things I may encounter. I hope not though, it's what keeps things interesting and unique as bookselling is kind of bland compared to other businesses you and I could be in. Hopefully you found at least one insightful tip or piece of text in this article, because if I have at least changed the way you've thought about something you are already doing or taught you something new, I know that this article was worth it!

Cheers.