An 1809 Edition of Memoirs of an American Lady
Have an antique book you want to sell? Whether it's a bible, an old science book or a leather bound edition of Uncle Tom's Cabin, this article will give you step-by-step instructions on sell it.
Instructions
1. Research your book. Type the title of your book as it appears on the title page into a search engine like Google - "The Holy Bible containing the Old and New Testaments translated out of the original tongues." Compare the results with the copy you have. Determine the edition of your book. Save the information you gather for the last step of the process.
2. Describe your book. Your description should include title, author, publisher, place the book was published, edition, number of pages, number of illustrations, type of illustrations and whether or not the book has an index, appendices, or notes. Be brutally honest when you describe the condition of the book. Note whether or not it has a dust jacket, make sure all the pages are present. Mention any and all flaws like a torn dust jacket or writing on the pages.
3. Determine the value of your book. When you researched your book you probably noticed some pricing by others who are selling the same book. An easy way to compare pricing across a spectrum of sellers is to use one of the websites like Addall or BookFinder. When you enter your title, hundreds of bookseller's inventories are searched. Use your judgment to compare your book's edition and condition, and decide what you think a fair price is.
4. Prepare your listing. Add content to the description of your book you created in Step 2. Note things that make your copy of the book special. Pretend you're seeing the book for the first time, and know nothing about it. What would be useful to know? Add that information to your description. Take good pictures of your book if you're going to sell it on eBay, or your own website.
5. Sell your book. Decide if you want to auction it, or sell it for a set price. eBay is your best bet for auctions because of the huge amount of traffic your item will be exposed to. You'll need to create an account, which is free, and then follow eBay's step-by-step instructions for listing an item. Set up a PayPal account to accept payment. Take eBay's listing and final value fees into account when your determine your opening price. Amazon is best for a set price sale for the same reasons. Opening a seller's account is straightforward, but Amazon will need your bank information for payment. Listing on Amazon is very easy because you use the information they already have in their database. Listing is free on Amazon, but they will take a percentage of your sale.
6. Communicate! If someone points out an error you made in determining edition, for instance, graciously accept their advice. Answer buyer's questions promptly. When your item sells, email the buyer as soon as you can, and let him or her know when you'll be shipping.
