I bought a computer in 2001 so my 3 year old would grow up with one. I immediately signed up with Ebay, determined that my computer must pay for itself. I started selling what I had in my garage in July 2001.

That initial effort went extremely well. The most fun I had with a particular item from my own domestic stash, was with an old turkey call. Made by M.L. Lynch in the 1960's, I had bought it - or rather, my Dad had bought it at my behest - when I was 12, for, as I recall, $6.50, which seemed pretty expensive back then. I sold it in 2001 for $61.00. That's about twice what most modern calls sell for new. The modern calls arguably work better, so clearly this old call had gained value largely as a collectible.

Hunters of the Wild Turkey are among the most fanatical devotees of any sport, so I guess it makes sense that wild turkey paraphernalia collectors would be, too.  I think they can challenge collectors in almost any field for the ferocity of their dedication. You might even consider it loopiness, if like me, you don't have the collecting gene. I get attached to items that I think I may have a use for someday, like a particular screw or electronic terminal or something, but that's it. At least that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

What finally convinced me that wild turkey collectors are completely nuts, was a little softcover book I found one day while rummaging through the used books for sale at our local library. I hadn't realized yet that there was gold in them thar shelves, and I was shopping just for my own reading consumption. By the way, this was an example of my great luck in my early days of Ebaying. This library was only a mile from my home, and I soon learned that people donated some oddly valuable books to this library, and I have never been able to duplicate that luck at any other branch in any other place that I have lived since then. This particular branch often sold paperbacks, and even the larger softcovers, for just a quarter, and once or twice they ran sales for only a dime.
 
When I got home, I took the wild turkey book into the john with me, which is where I do most of my serious reading. It had been written in the early 1970's, as I recall - before turkey hunting had become a big industry. It was a sincere, competent little volume, but I don't think I learned anything new from it -I am a turkey hunter myself, which was the only reason I had bought that book. I noticed one thing interesting, however - it was self-published. It was a nice quality production with stiff covers, decent paper, and a well-made spine, yet it definitely did not have a publisher's imprint anywhere. It was titled "Talkin' Tomfoolery." I'm afraid I cannot recall the author's name today.

Knowing how nutty turkey hunters are from my personal experience hunting with them over the years, I thought someone else might be interested in this old book, so I listed it for $4.00. If I got $4 for it, I figured that would be a pretty spectacular return on a quarter, which is what it had cost me. I charged enough for handling that it would cover my ebay fees.

The next day I checked my auctions. The turkey book had several bids already, the last one over $20.00. I was stunned. It continued to get a steady flow of bids. It finished after seven days at $98.50, and with the S&H and shipping insurance I charged the buyer $103.20. I made about a 39,200% return on my quarter.

Another interesting softcover that I found at that branch was a book of photographs by Irving Penn, a magazine fashion photographer who also earned fame for his portrait photographs and ethnographic subjects. Worlds in a Small Room (1974), was published in softcover and hardcover editions. Oddly enough, the softcover seems to have become more valuable than the hardcover. I had once been involved in fashion photography, as well as art photography in a previous lifetime, so when I saw this fascinating series of photographs by Irving Penn, I bought the book - again, for a mere quarter. After I checked online I found it was selling on Ebay for $40 to $90 or so, and was listed with some online booksellers for much more.

I sold my volume on Ebay, with a Buy It Now, for $50+$5.00 shipping. Then, in another bit of luck, while I was researching the price I should charge, I found a copy for sale online from a bookstore in Scotland, for a mere $15 or so in US money, so I bought that one, too. The shipping was about $5. That book,  which was a little rougher than the first one, sold for $40. That was an easy $20 profit, and I never had to get out of my seat except to pick up and drop off the mail by my front door.

The last softcover book I picked up at that library before I moved out of the area, was a 1944 US Navy Primary Flight Training Manual in quite good condition, considering its low production values. That book sold for a total of $53.00.

I have since found many salable books at other library branches, and at Estate and Yard sales, and  I have made a few dollars on them. But there was something special about that one branch in southern Dade County.

I know a dedicated book searcher in Miami-Dade County who has made really spectacular finds, worth hundreds or thousands of dollars. He only looks for books and other printed matter, like maps, so he doesn't waste time on other items. I've never been able to duplicate his level of success in finding valuable printed matter.

Overall, I'm sure I have made more money selling books on Amazon and Half.com than on Ebay. I think Ebay is a good place for those nutty or collectible volumes, and certain technical or reference volumes. But for books that people read for their content, or study in school, the other websites may work better. Right now, I'm not selling many books. I found it too difficult to part with them if they didn't sell, and they were making a storage problem for me as they could take weeks or even months to sell on Amazon or Half.com. If you have the space, books are nice. They are fun to shop for, and fun to sell, unlike electronics and machines, which can give you real headaches because they have to work and are often complicated.

Determining the likely value of a book while you are shopping for used books can be a bit problematic. Amazon and Half.com both have great search functions, and Amazon displays the sales ranking of the book, which is a number that I have found a bit inscrutable. What does it mean that a book has a rank of 74,125, for example? Does that mean it may sell quickly, or slowly? I'm not sure. Half.com shows you the most recent sale price and average sale price. Again, not sure what your chances of selling the book actually are. I have had no luck selling year-old reference books remaindered by the libraries themselves.

If you sell books, you may want to learn some book terms to help you describe their conditions. Alibris has a book condition glossary online that might be helpful as does ioba. There are others, as well.

PS If you read this, please leave a comment? Thanks.

I bought a computer in 2001 so my 3 year old would grow up with one. I immediately signed up with Ebay, determined that my computer must pay for itself. I started selling what I had in my garage in July 2001.

That initial effort went extremely well. The most fun I had with a particular item from my own domestic stash, was with an old turkey call. Made by M.L. Lynch in the 1960's, I had bought it - or rather, my Dad had bought it at my behest - when I was 12, for, as I recall, $6.50, which seemed pretty expensive back then. I sold it in 2001 for $61.00. That's about twice what most modern calls sell for new. The modern calls arguably work better, so clearly this old call had gained value largely as a collectible.

Hunters of the Wild Turkey are among the most fanatical devotees of any sport, so I guess it makes sense that wild turkey paraphernalia collectors would be, too.  I think they can challenge collectors in almost any field for the ferocity of their dedication. You might even consider it loopiness, if like me, you don't have the collecting gene. I get attached to items that I think I may have a use for someday, like a particular screw or electronic terminal or something, but that's it. At least that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

What finally convinced me that wild turkey collectors are completely nuts, was a little softcover book I found one day while rummaging through the used books for sale at our local library. I hadn't realized yet that there was gold in them thar shelves, and I was shopping just for my own reading consumption. By the way, this was an example of my great luck in my early days of Ebaying. This library was only a mile from my home, and I soon learned that people donated some oddly valuable books to this library, and I have never been able to duplicate that luck at any other branch in any other place that I have lived since then. This particular branch often sold paperbacks, and even the larger softcovers, for just a quarter, and once or twice they ran sales for only a dime.
 
When I got home, I took the wild turkey book into the john with me, which is where I do most of my serious reading. It had been written in the early 1970's, as I recall - before turkey hunting had become a big industry. It was a sincere, competent little volume, but I don't think I learned anything new from it -I am a turkey hunter myself, which was the only reason I had bought that book. I noticed one thing interesting, however - it was self-published. It was a nice quality production with stiff covers, decent paper, and a well-made spine, yet it definitely did not have a publisher's imprint anywhere. It was titled "Talkin' Tomfoolery." I'm afraid I cannot recall the author's name today.

Knowing how nutty turkey hunters are from my personal experience hunting with them over the years, I thought someone else might be interested in this old book, so I listed it for $4.00. If I got $4 for it, I figured that would be a pretty spectacular return on a quarter, which is what it had cost me. I charged enough for handling that it would cover my ebay fees.

The next day I checked my auctions. The turkey book had several bids already, the last one over $20.00. I was stunned. It continued to get a steady flow of bids. It finished after seven days at $98.50, and with the S&H and shipping insurance I charged the buyer $103.20. I made about a 39,200% return on my quarter.

Another interesting softcover that I found at that branch was a book of photographs by Irving Penn, a magazine fashion photographer who also earned fame for his portrait photographs and ethnographic subjects. Worlds in a Small Room (1974), was published in softcover and hardcover editions. Oddly enough, the softcover seems to have become more valuable than the hardcover. I had once been involved in fashion photography, as well as art photography in a previous lifetime, so when I saw this fascinating series of photographs by Irving Penn, I bought the book - again, for a mere quarter. After I checked online I found it was selling on Ebay for $40 to $90 or so, and was listed with some online booksellers for much more.

I sold my volume on Ebay, with a Buy It Now, for $50+$5.00 shipping. Then, in another bit of luck, while I was researching the price I should charge, I found a copy for sale online from a bookstore in Scotland, for a mere $15 or so in US money, so I bought that one, too. The shipping was about $5. That book,  which was a little rougher than the first one, sold for $40. That was an easy $20 profit, and I never had to get out of my seat except to pick up and drop off the mail by my front door.

The last softcover book I picked up at that library before I moved out of the area, was a 1944 US Navy Primary Flight Training Manual in quite good condition, considering its low production values. That book sold for a total of $53.00.

I have since found many salable books at other library branches, and at Estate and Yard sales, and  I have made a few dollars on them. But there was something special about that one branch in southern Dade County.

I know a dedicated book searcher in Miami-Dade County who has made really spectacular finds, worth hundreds or thousands of dollars. He only looks for books and other printed matter, like maps, so he doesn't waste time on other items. I've never been able to duplicate his level of success in finding valuable printed matter.

Overall, I'm sure I have made more money selling books on Amazon and Half.com than on Ebay. I think Ebay is a good place for those nutty or collectible volumes, and certain technical or reference volumes. But for books that people read for their content, or study in school, the other websites may work better. Right now, I'm not selling many books. I found it too difficult to part with them if they didn't sell, and they were making a storage problem for me as they could take weeks or even months to sell on Amazon or Half.com. If you have the space, books are nice. They are fun to shop for, and fun to sell, unlike electronics and machines, which can give you real headaches because they have to work and are often complicated.

Determining the likely value of a book while you are shopping for used books can be a bit problematic. Amazon and Half.com both have great search functions, and Amazon displays the sales ranking of the book, which is a number that I have found a bit inscrutable. What does it mean that a book has a rank of 74,125, for example? Does that mean it may sell quickly, or slowly? I'm not sure. Half.com shows you the most recent sale price and average sale price. Again, not sure what your chances of selling the book actually are. I have had no luck selling year-old reference books remaindered by the libraries themselves.

If you sell books, you may want to learn some book terms to help you describe their conditions. Alibris has a book condition glossary online that might be helpful as does ioba. There are others, as well.

PS If you read this, please leave a comment? Thanks.