No increase in book and magazine listings

[Riverwood]

I've found the market in fiction hardbacks over here to be just about dead. No one wants them, not even genuine first editions, and I suspect that the ones that they do want are not the sort that you would be selling in quantity.

I think people still do collect the fiction hardcovers for their favourite authors - I know I do, and I prefer the hardcovers but it seems many people have cut back on the non-essentials (like fiction books) this year and are being more frugal in their spending habits.

I still sell quite a few fiction hardcovers, but mostly on am*zon, and now mostly only within my own country - Canada. I still send the occasional one if it's a more scarce title to the U.S., but mainstream books (fiction, anyway) seldom leave the country for me anymore. As far as overseas, I pretty much only get orders for non-fiction, or more scarce titles as the shipping costs are too high. We don't have services like M-bag unfortunately.

As far as getting the book counts up here, I'm trying too. I have to give most of my time to the venues where I do make money as it's been terribly slow me here - hopefully that will change in the near future.

[booksntings]

Hi to all booksellers here on ebid.

Have been selling over on ebay fror around 4 years, forthcoming price hikes will make it almost impossible for sellers of low to medium priced paperbacks.

So will be starting to try my hand with ebid from mid September, once i've got my annual buying trip out the way.

I generally list sci-fi, fantasy and children's books with as many horse and pony books I can get my hands on.

I get the feeling from reading message boards on that other place that many more may follow, all we need to do then is attract our regular buyers over as well.

Maybe a bit more advertising from ebid would help, they've nothing to loose.

Cheers For now Mel @ booksntings

[klj]

Welcome Mel! Glad you are coming over. Let your buyers over there know that you are moving over here - think you'll find that they will come too (it's worked for lots of us).

[leapingcat]

Very few people want hardbacks, they prefer paperbacks which they can fit into their pocket or handbag. The few hardback fiction books that I have, other than the science fiction ones, have now all gone into my bargain section at prices that I hope are low enough to tempt casual buyers. I don't see them selling in any other way.

[dingledell2BAITS]

I have also been slowly cutting down on my selling since eBays notification of the price rises ( E.O.S.V. ) on the 24th September.
I am now in the process on cancelling my pre - selling listings for November and transfering the book stock to my eBid " dingledell2 " Shop and Auction during November.
I must say that I have enjoyed selling through eBay and found it to be very professional company to deal with.
Unfortunatly eBay began to giving me the impression that I am beginning to work for them ? I DO'NT
HELLO to all on eBid. Colin.

[klj]

My guess is, if you are looking for a book to read you will prefer a paperback because it will cheaper and cost less to post.

There are still many collectors of books out there. When hardbacks are signed, first editions, rare, or simply by an author that someone collects or a subject someone collects, the buyers aren't nearly so worried about the postage or book cost.

Keep hearing it's a dying interest though. More and more books on tape, books online, etc. Wonder if that will make a good library more valuable or turn books into the 8 track tape of the next generation?

[PeakbloomNaturals]

I just opened a bookstore here 3 days ago. The only comment I can make--being new here is: on the other online site they make it so easy to list with the pre-filled info. I almost have 100 books up--but it's very time consuming with the difference. That won't discourage me--but I think it might discourage some of the really big booksellers from coming over. I'm in Colorado and sort of keep track what my fellow sellers are doing on the other site (since I am curious and see them at book sales) One of them has over 200,000 listings and most of the others have in the several thousand range. I used to have thousands of books running--but as a one-person operation with limited computer skills and a rather small house I have toned it down. AND I noticed my sales went up percentage wise with less books when I specialized and got rid of the junk books. I went to one local competitor (they were having a book yard sale of sorts) about 160,000 books--I only bought a few hundred! LOL! And I got a glimpse of their operation in a warehouse in an industrial park--probably close to half a million books--tons of computers and employees. So I'm not an expert since I am on the low end of mega sellers--but I think the system here might have to be tweeked to get them to come over. Most book sellers I've run into--or know of at least and see them toting away dozens of gaylords of books--run their businesses out of industrial parks and list hundreds a day. Again--I'm not at that level--but I think I understand a little about how they operate. One seller I know a little runs about 20,000 books--sells about 30-40 a day. (Actually I got to that same percentage with much less books by studying the market some) He has two brick and mortar bookstores and has the employees listing in their spare time.. So they are relying on these systems like feebay, Abe, the river and similar ones that one can fly through with 90 percent of the books popping up with stock photos like magic. I can relate a little--cause I am not a rare bookseller and volume is what matters. Actually been told feebay is bad for rare books--and it is for me. Here's a reason I don't have one of those book scanners linked to the river or whatever. I had a rare book--signed in 1930--very good condition. Price came up $149.95 on the river. I listed mine for $99--even though the others weren't signed. It didn't sell for over a year on feebay. I lowered it to $9.99--another year. Then I sold it on auction for under $2! BUT it worked out since the customer saw other books in my store and bought about 10 books total. I get more for mass market books--sold quickly in volume. Just my opinion coming from years selling on feebay--but the system has to be a little better to get these folks coming over in droves.

[PeakbloomNaturals]

I already like this forum--rarely went on the ones at feebay. What's occurring to me--there probably is a huge difference between book selling and markets in Uk and elsewhere. I'm here thinking about sellers I know of (have briefly met or seen their operations) and they are relying on these scanners and listing hundreds a day. What's in like in the UK? Is it slower and less volume oriented? I believe ebid started in UK? Scanners and warehouse book sellers there? Or mainly people (like me) who do volume but in the spare bedroom of the house? Obviously feebay started that way--when I first got on--there was less than 500,000 items. People on the chat boards predicted feebay would have to limit the influx of items being sold someday--or sink. Now it's big business and mega sellers. I've kinda been on both ends--selling a few items a month and then selling about 400 to 500 most months. I think most sellers fleeing there--like me--would like a site that keeps it's integrity and allows feedback to go both ways--no funky beta testing with no warnings--no excessive fees--no regulating paperless payments, etc. But on the seller end--the site has to market and have an easy system to do volume sales--while keeping the identity of mom and pop. Tall order, huh?! What do forum posters here want? In one way--do you want the mega sellers to come in--the book sellers in particular. What's ebid's identity right now? To go up against feebay and the river (which I found almost feebay like in excessive fees and not that great in sales even)? From what I can tell the folks in the Uk have a better idea of the identity of the site and good trackrecords--where the USA sellers have just been coming on recently--and some have feedback of under 10 even being on a year with a good amount of listings. I'm torn--I want a good alternative to feebay--but if the mega sellers come in I wonder what it will do? I have nothing against them (the people with 200,000 books listed at one time) cause I've seen what they have up (nothing categorized and often junk books) I think anyone who knows what sells has a chance to compete fairly and happily. I just wonder about the identity and goals--and where feebay went wrong...

[iwiw60]

A big welcome aboard to all our new booksellers here at Ebid...you'll love it here!

I thought I'd post to this thread today as I have been remiss in listing more books for the past two weeks or so. But things are calming down around here now, and I should get back in the swing of things in the next few days.

About the best advice I can give anyone new is to hang in there...while it's true sales are a bit slower here than on the 'other' site, eBid is growing by leaps and bounds!!! It won't be long before we overtake eCrater in auction listing numbers, which will place eBid THIRD WORLDWIDE...WOO-HOO!!!

All the best in your ventures!

[SalusLibrorum]

Welcome to mel and Colin and BookerooBanzai, it's nice to see you all here.

If you want to upload in bulk and all your books are on Amazon, it's fairly easy to do. Get an open listings report from Amazon, then copy paste the relevant bits of it onto the bulk uploader spreadsheet.

Now I've got used to it, it's not taking me much time at all, although I'm still not putting pictures up, I'm trying to make the descriptions a bit more detailed and putting them all into the right shop categories etc. I don't think photos would be too difficult really either in the general scheme of things, but in the interests of getting the book up there, it goes up without on a bulk upload, I can always add a picture if someone asks a question.

I don't bother (much) with the very cheap remainders market, it's almost impossible for a sole trader to make any money like that working on their own, there are megalisters over here on Amazon, but they haven't made it onto eBid yet, the prospect of uploading a hundred thousand books on the bulk loader spreadsheet wouldn't inspire me to either - its perfectly possible to do, but as you may noticed, a few of us have lost the will to live half way through, and put almost all of them into a generic category to go back to later.

I really can't see megalisters arriving until they have software they can use to control sales over multiple sites and which include eBid - something that isn't happening any time soon. The software they use like Monsoon, Aman, Fiilz etc. doesn't do eBid, so we should be safe for a good few years yet. (Not that I think we're in competition with them, I'm certainly not on Amazon, they are welcome to the list-a-2Kg-book-for-a-penny-and-make-3p-per-sale market.)

I'm pretty sure that there are enough different titles in the world that we're not really in competition with each other at all to be honest, especially those of use that don't go in for newer mass market paperbacks.