Kat,

I've been selling mysteries of my Dad's that after nine years I still hadn't gotten around to reading. He had shelves full of them, and the authors he liked he collected all of the books. I recently found a couple of boxes in the garage that rounded out some sets I'd already sold, so in some instances (like Ed McBain) I've sold 20 books at a time in a large lot. I start out low, maybe listing it at 2.99, knowing someone is going to bid on it just because if they get lucky they'll get a whole bunch of books for next to nothing. As soon as one person bids, others want to see what might be there and will also take a look. On some authors you're actually better off starting really low. Others that will probably only get one bid I sometimes push a little higher because they'll get some attention but not the active bidding. The ones I've sold in lots through eBay that generated some excitement included McBain, the Kellermans, Elliot Roosevelt, Stuart Kaminsky, Dick Francis, J.J. Marric, James Melville, Marcia Muller, Sara Paretsky, Josephy Wambaugh, Donald Westlake. Some of them, like the Dick Francis and Joseph Wambaugh came from a garage sale up the street and I got them low enough that I made a little money selling them.

I've sold almost all of the books I've listed, but these excited enough interest that I ended up with a nice little profit. You don't make much money selling paperbacks at eBay, but what you do earn supports the eBay habit (in my opinion!). Most of these books didn't cost me anything to begin with and I make sure I don't lose money on shipping (I use recycled library book mailers I get for free from the recycle bin at work). I add in the sixty cents tracking fee on book rate boxes because if for some reason I do have to take it to the post office, it's covered. I always track anything I ship that I sold on eBay.

I agree with Peter--good photos are key. I make a point of using a beautiful wood background (tabletop) for my paperbacks, I arrange them so a few edges and spines can be seen, I spell out any flaws and if needed, include a photo of the damage. I make larger images and post them to a personal web page and do my eBay book ad in a template I designed in FrontPage. I link back to the personal page so I don't pay for extra photos at eBay. I set them up so the photos open IN A SEPARATE WINDOW. The last thing I want is for my customer to be navigating away from my sales page!

Also, I always try to have a book cover with a face and eyes in view in the photos. That seems to make a difference, not just the dripping dagger and blood on the thorn of the rose next to the broken mirror and a scrap of paper. Arrange your books so they look interesting. Don't have personal stuff near the subject OR in the background, and don't use the carpet or bedspread, or couch upholstery, etc. I don't want anything in the photo giving any clues as to the house or to the quality of carpet or furniture I have here. With digital cameras it isn't like you're wasting film trying to get it right. I photograph two or three of the best looking or most popular in the lot and post that in the free eBay photo space and then have thumbnails through my ads and text links to the other photos, also letting them know that it will open in a separate window. In the auction itself they can see all of the books, but if they're at a page with all auctions and looking at the gallery photos I want my books to be recognizable in the eBay thumbnail. I don't always run gallery shots though. Sometimes that is overkill when the author isn't over-represented in the auctions. People searching for their favorite authors will click on the ad if they can see that there is a photo in it somewhere.

Hope this helps! I think I'd enjoy trying the bookstore sales routine--it would allow me to combine what I already own with some newer offerings by the same authors so I could sell more complete sets.

Maggie (SRS)