Seven years ago, I tried to list some books for sale on South Africa's online sales web sites. At the time, there were only five hundred books listed and the amount of people online looking at the items for sale was dismal to say the least.
South Africa has caught up with the rest of the world and there are several places to sell items online. The best of these is Bid or Buy, an Ebay company that is structured for South Africans.
Whether you want to sell off those old books lingering and mouldering away in the garage, turn an interest in reading into a way to supplement your next book purchase, or go all out and make a living buying and selling your books - you can do this on the Bid or Buy Website.
Buyer protection is vital and Bid or Buy will have some security features that you will need to comply with when you register. Big PLUS - Registration is free - or at the very most will cost you a bank verification fee of R10.00.
What you need:
Visit Bid or Buy by clicking the banner at the top of this page and register.
You will need to be residentr in South Africa.
You wll need an ID number
You will need a bank account.
You will need an email address.
You will need a telephone number.
Listing your Items:
Very important - have a camera handy. Pictures sell, so you need to take and upload lots of pictures to get the potential buyers interested.
Search the categories and see what other people are charging for books similar to yours.
List your item and in the description accurately explain what is wrong with the book. Put in the type of book - i.e hardback, paperback, publisher, date of publishing, title and author.
Remember that key words sell via searches. Most people arrive at your lisitng by searching a topic. The title and the first paragraph are therefore very important.
Example:
Selling a book called Mapolisa. This is a book about Rhodesia. Therefore try and use the word Rhodesia in the title and in the book description. Rhodesia is a hot search term on Bid or Buy. Mapolisa is a book about the Rhodesian Police, The British South Africa Police. Therefore you will need to explain this in the title, to ensure good search results.
Here is an example of this book title:
Rhodesian Book. Mapolisa, Stories of the Rhodesian Police Force. 1st Edition 1981.
Here is an example of the Item Description:
The adventurous life and times of a British colonial policeman in a bygone era of Africa. Retired police superintendent David Craven vividly details the wide range of crime and criminals that confronted the elite officers of the British South Africa Police. Included are first hand accounts of mounted police patrols in the African wilds and the early days of counterinsurgency operations in Southern Rhodesia's savage bush wars.
The British South Africa Police was a military regiment and was the senior service of Southern Rhodesia. They were a mounted regiment. There was a BSAP contingent in the First World War in East Africa.
This book written by David Craven. Published by Covos Day Books 1998 (First Ed). Good book. Spine slightly cocked. Light creasing to cover. Previous owners name inside front cover. Trade paperback
I sold this book for R97.00 - so why not go out and have fun. This is a lot of fun and you get to make money whilst you are at it.
In future blogs, I shall elaborate on where to find books for next to nothing, what makes a collectible book, How to research prices and demand, After sales service and getting great feedback and more.
Cheers for now
Jane
