Certain types of book I often buy nowadays are children’s books. At one time I would avoid them, as I perceived them as a nuisance with little profitability to make it worth the bother to list.
This, of course, was totally wrong of me: how arrogant to ignore a whole sector of books. Now, I know differently, and I always take the time to peruse book-cases and shelves laden with (usually) a mismatch of sizes and colours of children’s books.
Mind you, I’d never advocate buying any old children’s book – some are just not worth the effort. Sometimes they’ll be too heavy and cost too much to post to make any worthwhile profit.
What to look for when buying children’s books to sell
I’d say that Amazon sales rankings are quite beneficial when deciding to list children’s books. I tend not to bother listing a copy if I can see there is little or no demand for a particular title of kids’ book.
When buying children’s books to resell, take note that condition is king. Personally, I don’t bother with children’s books that have any sort of major defect – such as names inscribed inside. Many children’s books are bought by family members as Christmas and birthday gifts, and little ‘Sian’ or ‘Rhys’ would be far from pleased to see that a ‘Harry’ or ‘Jenny’ or ‘Sammy’ pre-owned their book!
Take special interest in old-fashioned books from past generations, such as Enid Blyton’s work, books about ballet, or horses. Many parents enjoyed those books when they were little and like the idea of their own children enjoying the same books. Chances are, their own copies were thrown out years before, and now need to be replaced.
Harry Potter books are still very popular – I know it’s a scary thought, but those children that first read Harry Potter are now old enough to be starting families of their own, therefore new generations of kids are in place to read books their mum and dad read in the past. Roald Dahl’s titles have been proving this for years now, and are still very popular.
If you can pick up boxed sets in good condition, they are usually sought after, and oftentimes provide good profits too.
Some great reasons to buy children’s books to resell
Usually cheaper to buy
Children’s books to avoid
Books sold in packs from book-clubs – for example, Walt Disney film tie-in hardbacks
Children’s books to choose
Here are some writers or genres that I tend to pick up as often as I can:
I especially look for the following writers, as I know their books just ‘fly off the shelves’:
Private and Peaceful
Billy The Kid
War Horse
Cool
The Butterfly Lion
Shadow
I also look for baby books in very good condition, such as Usborne Books and Nick Butterworth – very popular and much in demand.
Also, don’t forget to look for books with characters from TV, for example, Spot the Dog, Fireman Sam, Charlie and Lola. Touchy-feely baby books are also very popular.
Not all children’s books will fetch high prices, but some are so light to post they’ll still bring you in a profit.
What do you think?
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