I recently had a discussion with a colleague where he expressed a concern about the jobs available to his teenage daughter. It seemed her only choices were table waiting, pizza tossing, baby-sitting, fast-food delivery, or burger flipping. Those choices do not sound much different than when I was a teenager, but we have a thing called the Internet now and through it we do have alternatives.
One alternative is online bookselling. It can be done by a responsible high school teenager or a college student needing an income with flexible hours. In the case of the high school student it might require the oversight and support of the parents because the online marketplaces do not allow sellers under 18 to enter into their contracts, but this is not insurmountable if the parent is willing to open the seller account, provide oversight to make sure the business is conducted properly, and/or possibly participate with their teen. It certainly is capable of providing an income comparable or in excess of a fast-food job, it has more flexible hours, and it will look a lot better to a prospective employer later than a fast-food fry cook job.
So, what is online bookselling all about? It is like any other business that is selling a product. You buy an inventory, you market it, and you sell it.
Buying your inventory is not too difficult if you have nearby bookstores, Friends of the Library book sales, community book sales, garage sales, thrift stores, etc. The trick to finding good books to sell is to know what they are worth online before you buy them and there are several online services that will let you look books up using a cell phone.
Once you have an adequate inventory, you need to market it. This too is relatively easy by subscribing to one of the many available marketplaces, e.g., Amazon.com, Alibris.com, Abebooks.com, Half,com, or even on eBay.com. All you have to do is upload your inventory to their marketplace using one of many available inventory management software programs available, and then start filling the orders as they come in.
When you get an order for one of your books, you need to process the order, package the book well, and ship it promptly. Payment is made by the buyer online and a deposit is made to your bank account by the online marketplace periodically.
The entire online bookselling business is described in generalities above, there are many other things to know before jumping into it, but it is not difficult to be successful at it if you spend the time and make the effort to know how to do it well.
Things to consider in addition to where to buy books and where to sell them online include, how to price and grade your books, knowing which books to buy and which to avoid, how to package your books so the post office will not lose them, how many books to have in your inventory before going online, what it takes to get started, how much to pay for books, how to store your books, which inventory management software is right for you, an understanding of the various shipping methods, types of publications, and how to recognize what a book really is versus thinking you know what it is.
While this sounds really technical and confusing, it is not, in fact, it is easy. I would not be promoting it for college or high school students if it were something that required much training.
I got into the business almost five years ago because my youngest son prodded me to give it a try. He had just finished high school and started college when he decided to start an online bookselling business with $20, a computer, and an Internet connection. He did a little research, bought a few books, and never looked back or invested another dime of his money. Some months he made $10k selling books online, but the business has provided him with an income that pays his mortgage, all his bills, pays for his new truck, and all his other expenses including his college tuition. In addition to being a college student at the time, he had a band - and still does - and with his online bookselling business taking up only 20 hours of his time a week, he was able to work around his studies and still have plenty of time to write and play his music. He does hope to soon stop his online bookselling business and earn his income playing his music. Maybe playing The Whiskey-A-Go-Go in May will be his break, but if it isn't, he knows he can continue making good money selling books online until he does get a break with his music.
I do not personally sell books online as a sole source of income, I flight test commercial airplanes by day and as a supplemental income to support the travels of my wife and I, I sell books online.
I would encourage any parent of a high school student that wants their teen to do something other than flip burgers to investigate the option of online bookselling. Your teen will learn a lot about business, make more money if he/she learns how to do it right, and you can work with him/her to build the business and your relationship. Best of all, the risks are low, the profits are high, and the hours are very flexible.
To read more about online bookselling, visit:
http://www.online-bookselling.com
Michael E. Mould is the author of "Online Bookselling: A Practical Guide with Detailed Explanations and Insightful Tips," (ISBN 1599714876) published February 2006.
If you have additional questions, please contact Michael at:
mike@online-bookselling.com