I sell my used books on Amazon (also tried half.com for awhile). I started out when my spouse had a bunch of art books no longer needed, and I thought I'd get back a few bucks from her former investment.
Now one must admit it is easy to place a book for sale there, but did you know for most books Amazon takes in excess of 40% of the sales price? That's right--check out this table:
Yes, until one gets to a sales price over $9 Amazon takes more than the old industry standard of 60% to the publisher, 40% to the retailer. Yet they never physically even touch a book.
For some time I put many of my books on half.com, but to date haven't yet sold one. A little advertising to combat Amazon is in order. Since their take is less, I price my books there to allow for me to pocket 50% of the savings, and the buyer likewise.
And these prices assume you won't make money off of shipping--with media mail running at $2.82 for a 2 lb book, add in a label and an envelope...well, no one's getting rich here (except Amazon, of course). (Update 7/1/15: Media Mail is now $3.22 for a 2 lb. package)
Here, calculate it yourself with this Excel spreadsheet.
OK, on to something productive.
