This letter came -- maybe a phish.  In fact, I forwarded it with headers to spoof@ebay.com.

It says something like "join the elite club of power sellers," or whatnot.  I'm lucky to make $100 of sales in a month.  I've pretty much lost the motivation to prepare listings, and stuck to the socks on eBay and the books on Half.

$100 in sales is not elite.  IF that really is what makes a power seller -- then I'm not sure it's much in the way of bragging rights.

Trying to become a serious bookseller, I picked up a storage locker full of books from the 90's.  I wonder how long they've been there.  There were 2 lockers.  Another guy got the other.  We're both selling on Half.com.

He rates these books as "Brand New" -- despite the wear and damage of storage, and being moved around a couple times, at least.  Most don't look so "fresh".  Some do -- but I've not made a point yet of picking them out from among the crowd.  Maybe 15% of what I see deserved a "brand new" label -- and even that must allow for retail stickers and remainder markings.

My default designation is "Like_New".  And if it's more than a matter of being less than fresh -- if there's tears or gouges or stains or warping, I mark "Very Good" or less.   But this other guy marks those kind as "Like New".

And it's not just him -- the uniformity of grading is pretty poor at Half.  There's no effort by eBay to police it.  Lots of rules get broken, repeatedly, with impunity.

I was hoping feedback would change some people's habits -- but folks seem content to receive these frayed and bumped and bruised books as "Brand New" -- without complaint.

I know my standards -- and the Golden Rule.  I'm going to be picky about what I might label "Brand New" -- and even then feel guilty about it.  But -- how to communicate to a buyer that my "Like New" is about as good or better than what's being offered him as "brand new"?

I'll be signing a lease this coming week on some space I got when looking for storage -- but is a retail storefront.  Scary.  Most my books are on Half.com now.  I'll be back to listing on eBay when this all is settled.  But check out the collegiate socks, including Virginia Tech.

http://stores.ebay.com/Shop-20-Questions/Find-More-GIZMO-Performance-Socks.html

I'm coming to believe that cheap and reliable warehousing is the secret (one of them, at least) of successful book selling.  And I'm in a college town where a 15 x 20 storage unit costs $350.  But not far away -- and close to my son -- are some other properties to look at.  One is $600 for 2400 sq ft, but on a second floor.   For now, my big purchase is still where it was when I bought it -- a storage locker 2 hrs away. 

And since finally realizing the merits of half,com -- I'm coming to evaluate if I want to keep a store open on eBay.  Older books aren't listable on Half (though I've seen some with an Amazon ID, in lieu of a ISBN).  And I'm looking at a venture into fan apparel.  I'm related to the manufacturer, and I know he'll be a reliable drop shipper,, and a reliable supplier should the volume merit me warehousing them.  And I can finally get around -- when I'm settled in with the books -- to the other merchandize I've been accumulating without much passion for the listing and selling. 

I've taken the advice of some of the people responding to my blog, and listed books on Half.com

http://shops.half.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?HalfSearch&seller=vladimiracle

It seems to be working out.  The sales keep trickling in.  The FV fees are high, but no listing fees.  I wasn't relishing the prospect of $100/mo in listing fees for 2,000 books.  I need some way to get "value added" before placing them on eBay.  I'm pondering themed groupings with a promotional newsletter, mailing..

Storage for 2,000 books can be a pain.  I'm cluttered here with just 1,000 or so in the kid's old bedroom of this old empty nester.  And maybe 15,000 more in a storage locker I'm slowly processing, but have no place at home to bring any more.  They cost $200 to store -- and if they were listed in ebay -- say maybe 4,000 total titles (I have multiples of most titles, and hundreds of some) -- that would be another $200 to list -- listing eBay.

Does anyone want to buy 200 copies of some book call "The Inheritance"?