Yes, you read that title right! I literally bought books by the pound. Why, you might ask? Well, it’s not a short story.
As a lover of all things books, I dream of days spent running a used book store.
Is that the dream of every book reader?
Owning a bookstore is a big dream, so I needed to find a small beginning. I settled on a simple goal for the next three years: sell one book. And, that’s the goal that led me to buy books by the pound.
To sell one book, I focused on two goals.
1. Find the right venue to sell used books.
Spend any time researching used book sales, and you’ll soon discover Amazon. While I appreciate everything Amazon has to offer, it is not the niche I’m looking for. I’m not ready to go up against such large and competitive sellers. Plus, Amazon prefers when you use their storage, and I don’t have the volume to make that worth it.
During my research, I stumbled across Etsy. Etsy is well known for hand-crafted gifts. It also allows you to sell almost anything for a flat fee. Etsy’s biggest advantage, though, is the collection and distribution of sales tax.
If you’re a small business owner, sales tax gets complicated fast. Even with online sales, sellers must collect and submit sales tax. How much depends on the buyer’s state. If that sounds like a lot of math, it is. Several companies help collect on your behalf, but the cost exceeds any profit I will make.
I’m not a tax expert, so do your own research. I recommend reviewing Etsy’s policies on their website. Also, consult a tax expert with any specific questions or concerns.
2. Get more used books.
I can’t sell books if I’m selling them from my own collection. I have a very beloved library built over decades of reading. Those books are dear to me, and I’d rather not let them go.
I started collecting any books I did not finish, but that’s a slow way to grow a bookstore. I also looked on Etsy to see how people are using the platform to sell books. I found options like, a blind date with a book, books by the color, small collections, and books by the pound.
Well, that last option happens to solve both of my issues. For a relatively cheap price, I will add to my volume while experiencing book sales on Etsy.
I committed and bought the books.
There are A few different vendors to choose from. I settled on Books Liquidation and chose the Mixed Fiction Lot.
After a week’s wait, I received 18 books total, evenly mixed between hardback and paperback books. Of the 18, 16 were fiction with 2 nonfiction books sneaking in. One lists top mysteries for readers, so that one barely gets a pass.
I also ended up with not so not-so-surprising mix of genres. When ordering I expected all the books to fall into the thriller or romance category. Those are the books I come across most in bookstores. They’re also the most easily produced by publishers. I was right on the thrillers, ending up with 11 having some type of thriller-related content. Surprisingly, I received one solo romantic comedy which I also already own. The remaining fiction books include historical fiction and contemporary fiction books.
Books Received:
- Romantic Comedy
- The Pursuit of Alice Thrift by Elinor Lipman
- Western Thrillers
- Calder Storm by Janet Dalley
- Shifting Calder Wind by Janet Dalley
- Political Thriller
- The Enemy Inside by Steve Martini
- Police Procedural Thriller
- Harbor Nocturne by Joseph Wambaugh
- The Good Lawyer by Thomas Benigno
- The Cold Six Thousand by James Ellroy
- Hollywood Nocturnes by James Ellroy
- Eleventh Hour by Catherine Coulter
- Hollywood Moon by Joseph Wambaugh
- Medical Thriller (I didn’t realize this category even existed!)
- The Medical Detectives (Volume II) by Berton Roueche
- Contemporary Fiction
- House by Tracy Kidder
- Historical Fiction
- Atlantis and Other Places by Harry Turtledove
- The Enemy of God by Bernard Cornwell
- The Moor’s Last Sigh by Salman Rushdie
- American Housewife by Helen Ellis
- Nonfiction
- Tales from Q School by John Feinstein
- The Mystery Lovers Companion by Art Bourgeau
What happens next?
What does a reader do with 20 pounds of book?
Like any good reader, I need to judge all these books by the cover (and front insert). I’ll then decide which books I’ll actually read. I’m not patient enough to make my through all, some will not make the cut.
Those that don’t, will sit on my future bookstore shelves waiting for the right day to find a new home. Those that I read may end up on the same shelf, or they might find their forever home with me.
Was it worth it?
Well, it’s too early to tell.
The thrill of ordering the books was greater than the thrill of opening and unpacking the box. I knew I wasn’t going to get a bunch of bestsellers, but I was not excited about the books I received. My lengthy TBR list is also not looking forward to the additions. A week or two to make some progress on these books will give me a better answer.
I’ll admit, it’s a rather unconventional way of getting books. Next time you’re looking for a new book, maybe try ordering by the pound instead?
novel philosophy 
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