Crushing FOL Library Book Sales

[@joesixpack2037]

Thanks Manny 🙂

[@MannysBookBag]

You’re very welcome. Hope it helps.

[@kathrynniles3898]

Great video Manny! I'm just starting out and I'm sure this will help me out alot..thanks again.

[@MannysBookBag]

You are very welcome. Thank you very much for watching.

[@RodEccles]

Big library sales in New England are brutal. You get folks who come with a small army. Tip: there are usually multiple book sales on a week end. Go to the ones that are not huge. There will be less competition, you can take your time and you will most likely end up with more books. I learned this lesson and I found more books at the "smaller" sales vs going head to head at the popular big sales.

[@endwatcher]

I'd like to add for you newbies. Put headphones on,and forget everyone around you. Don't let anyone stop you, intimidate, or detour you in any way

[@sidehustle2478]

I agree I try to get to the FOL preview days it is worth nit having to deal with 30 or more other people. The most I pay for that is 15.00 no more but most i have gone to its 10.00. Great video, i tried the paid site as well too pricey. I love the public libraries as well i have found some great books at libraries...also some always have a ongoing sales as you noted prices are very, very affordable....0.10 to 0.25 max 0.50. Love it!!! Wow nice haul Manny.

[@MannysBookBag]

A week with a good library sale or two always results in more books getting shipped to the warehouse. They’re still my favorite source to cherry pick.

[@mannya1282]

Thanks for adding value. Just subscribed... by the way my name is Manny too, lol

[@MannysBookBag]

Thank you Manny! That felt really weird to type that. I’m glad the video was helpful.

[@mikemarvelous]

Great video, very informative, short and to the point. I'm gonna have to pick up one of those carts...

[@MannysBookBag]

mikemarvelous that book cart still works as good as it did on day 1. I highly recommend it. Thanks for watching.

[@darlakiedrowski7820]

How do you prep 192 books in just one evening?

[@MannysBookBag]

By doing as little as is necessary during prep. On top of that, being able to determine a book’s condition in a few seconds helps. Also, by building up the speed in your listing workflow through a tool like Accelerlist. I would recommend viewing my video on whether stickers need to be removed as well as my Accelerlist walkthroughs. 200-300 books in a session is pretty common.

[@darlakiedrowski7820]

@@MannysBookBag Wow, I just discovered you today, great videos of which I am anxious to view all. Thanks-Darla

[@MannysBookBag]

I'm going to a library sale today for half off day. I already visited it earlier in the week for preview night, but it's the perfect sale to visit on the last day. Books were $3+, and I was one of the only scanners there. There's going to be plenty of quality books left today.

[@litestreamer]

Just found you, subscribed. Thanks for the useful info! Some feedback - I'd rather not listen to the peppy repetitious music - if you listen to your whole video, you may get my point!

[@MannysBookBag]

Totally agree. This was my third attempt at a video, I believe. No clue what I was doing, but doing helped me learn. I ditched the music very early on.

[@viewsfromorlandoecommerce4124]

I’ve avoided book sales too. First tomorrow.

[@MannysBookBag]

Enjoy the experience. I know it gets intimidating at first. Now, I just get a shot of adrenaline right before we start. Here’s a video where I describe a basic game plan for how to tackle the sale. kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZoeVlqaafrWal80

[@bGlennjamin]

I like that "Cosco 2 in 1 Hand Utility Cart Dolly"

[@MannysBookBag]

Benjamin Allen can’t beat it for $50. Still works today like the day I bought it. I thought for sure the front wheels may need to be upgraded, but no issues. I’ve tested it with 200lbs at least on three occasions. Easy to find at any Lowe’s.

[@chesterwatson3284]

Really nice video Manny! I look forward to more

[@MannysBookBag]

Chester Watson thank you very much for watching!

[@lgambis]

Ha! Just saw your reply pop up on my phone--I was wondering also: I have an alert for Craiglist for the search "library books" which returns a lot of folks selling entire libraries. Usually you have to buy their entire library. Sometimes they have pictures on their CL ad, but usually not. So it's a situation where you can't really start scanning like you would at a library. I see as an untapped potential especially because I see too much competition from other book sellers at library sales, thrift shops and estate sales. Have you done that before? Any advice? Thx.

[@MannysBookBag]

Lance Gambis I have, and I would tell you to be selective, don't force it if it's not the right inventory, and ask a ton of questions. If it's not dirt cheap, I'm not doing that level of work. Remember you're providing a haul away service, so it's not customary to pay premium for these collections. Find out how long it's been on sale, if they're the original owner (emotional attachment), and pay attention to whether they were well stored. Look for FBA removal stickers, and ask if they sell books, specifically online. Then ask to inspect a few boxes. I scan, I personally don't care if they have an issue. I'm not hauling that many books without some idea of what I'm buying. It's a ton of work, but it's a ton of fun and excitement.

[@boomieboo]

Love your tips. Can you do a live sourcing vid if u haven't already? Then we can see what goes behind your buying decisions. Thanks for all Manny.

[@MannysBookBag]

Ben BamBoo I've been thinking about this for a while now. Once I get a live action camera, I'll be able to shoot more live sourcing material. I still film almost everything with my iPhone6s. Thank you for the suggestion.

[@boomieboo]

Thanks so much Manny. I'd love to see you do that to get inside the decision making process of an expert. Scouting app vids comparing apps like FBAscan, ScoutIQ and Sellzee and/or whatever other popular apps you can compare would be great too. There are lots of great things said about all of these so it's hard to determine which would be best.

[@boomieboo]

Thanks so much Manny. I'd love to see you do that to get inside the decision making process of an expert. Scouting app vids comparing apps like FBAscan, ScoutIQ and Sellzee and/or whatever other popular apps you can compare would be great too. There are lots of great things said about all of these so it's hard to determine which would be best.

[@lgambis]

great advice--just found a list of public libraries in my state and plan to do exactly what you recommended. May do a FIVERR to have someone do the research for me! ;-)

[@MannysBookBag]

Lance Gambis this is well worth it. You will find out about plenty of sales that your competitors don't know anything about.

[@jetd9716]

What version of FBA Scan you suggest? Pro version?

[@MannysBookBag]

The professional version for $35 a month is the way to go. You’ll be able to take advantage of the downloadable database. There is no faster way to scan than with an app that has the database.

[@JulioVelezz]

Thanks for the tips man

[@MannysBookBag]

Julio Velez my pleasure. Thank you for watching.

[@robertwatson1477]

Hey Manny, Up processing books tonight. Appreciate you taking the time to share your adventures. Especially using condition notes to sub-categorize within conditions. I could fine tune to do that. Still dialing it my workflow. Robert (we are connected via FB, in a few groups). ;)

[@MannysBookBag]

Robert Watson thank you for watching and commenting. This business is simple, but it isn't easy. Here's to hoping my experience can help someone else. Keep the books flying.

[@Haunted-Halls]

Good tips! Is the database mode still working for you? I only ask that because I just bought a subscription and it's only showing one offer for every book I scan, and that only offer is for a 'new' copy. I manually check amazon and there are tons of offers for different conditions. I could check it every book, but that kind of defeats the purpose of the database mode..

[@MannysBookBag]

GoofyStorm these are really good observations, and you're not wrong. The database mode is essential because of speed. You're able to scan with great speed, and when you come across a book that is a potential buy, it's a best practice to hit the hourglass at the top to run a quick live search. Fbascan recently added the lowest of all FBA offers in live scans. The main issue is that Amazon restricts its FBA data to 3rd party softwares, so there will always be the potential for hidden offers. Also, I tap the FBA header when I quick look at all FBA offers page. Everything changes at the end of the month when ScoutIQ comes out. It will be a better database that will reduce the need for live scans and eliminate the need to check Keepa or CamelCamelCamel ever again.

[@Haunted-Halls]

I sure hope so with the ScoutIQ. But with FBAScan, I know it shows the lowest FBA price, but for example: I would scan a book. One listing shows up as new (I'm in a horrible cell service, so it would take me about 5 minutes to do a live scan). So I buy the book, I get home and I find out the lowest FBA offer is like $5. This happened with every book I scanned

[@Bryan-lu4du]

How many books for sale would be considered a “large” library sale?

[@MannysBookBag]

Bryan Campbell while there isn’t a set rule for what a large sale looks like, I travel several hours away for most sales over 10,000 advertised books, and I usually do so with a planned route of other establishments to go to. I’ll even go to sales under 10k that are closer to home or that I had success at in previous years.

[@Bryan-lu4du]

Manny's Book Bag Excellent! I went to my first library sale but it was only 3,000 books (though local, so I didn’t have to drive far). One is coming up with advertised 50,000 books but I’ll gave to drive 2 hours. Sounds like it will be worth the time and gas. Have you found any textbooks at the library sales?

[@MannysBookBag]

Bryan Campbell oh, I would attend for sure. I do find textbooks at Library sales quite often. Keep an eye out for anything that has a used sticker on the spine or the obvious campus bookstore stickers. Also, scour the psychology / sociology sections thoroughly. Many books do not look like textbooks that are, while many others there will be used as required college course reading. Good luck.

[@murrayzuckerman123]

Just found your site & subscribed.

[@GoldAndSilver988]

There seems to be an increasing number of libraries that disallow scanning at their sales, especially at the preview nights. This is an arbitrary rule set up by a lot of the FOL cartel groups.

[@MannysBookBag]

Terry Gray I've noticed that it can be quite a bit worse in some regions of the US. These restrictions are usually a response to poor book seller behavior. For every one of us polite sellers that leave the area as we found it or better, there's a handful of tactless sellers creating conflict and trashing their facility. Here in Ohio, there's only one regular sale that prohibits scanning. My favorite is when there's no scanning at a bag sale. Those can be fun tests. In truth, when they're $3 or less per bag, I don't scan at all anyway.

[@biljohnson9490]

Good content. Thanks for making the video Manny. Sub'd :D

[@MannysBookBag]

Bil Johnson thank you very much. I really appreciate the comment and the sub. What the channel lacks in production value will hopefully be more than offset with relevant content.

[@murrayzuckerman123]

Saw that u had some book with remainders marks-how do u grade them & where do u sell? Thanks. Murray

[@MannysBookBag]

good question. Almost all of my inventory is graded good with the occasional very good or acceptable item. Per amazon condition guidelines, you could technically list a book bearing a remainder mark as high as like new if it is otherwise pristine as long as you disclose it in your condition notes. Hope that helps.

[@biljohnson9490]

Hey Manny, If you have time do you mind if I run a question by you. I went to my first book sale recently and I was amazed by how fast the other scanners were. The FBAscan app sometimes shows "hidden fba offers". In a book sale, do you open up the FBA page? You said you use triggers, but do the triggers still work with the hidden fba offers? Just curious as to what the best strategy is b/c I can see it's very competitive and efficiency is key. Any info you may have is greatly appreciated! Thanks again Manny!

[@MannysBookBag]

Bil Johnson really good questions. The full FBA offers page is accessed when you tap the FBA on the header. Also, the triggers will only respond to what is on the initial screen. Whenever I receive a buy trigger, I analyze what is on the screen, and if I am still in doubt, I check the FBA offers page.

[@MannysBookBag]

Bil Johnson I would also add that if you are going to go the route of setting triggers, you may actually want to get around data restrictions by setting those triggers to merchant fulfilled prices. What I can tell you is that there is a very strong correlation between merchant fulfilled price and what you can get for it fulfilled by Amazon. The next time you go sourcing, when you get your books home, scan them again and begin making your observations about what the merchant fulfilled pricing looks like. Begin setting some triggers based on sales rank and low merchant fulfilled prices. Set them particularly low so that you still get some not so good books with buy triggers. That will still save you a lot of time while preventing you from leaving money on the shelf. The reject trigger means that you don't stop to look at the screen, but a buy trigger tells you that it's time to analyze what you see on your screen.

[@biljohnson9490]

Really good info, Thank you Manny. I'll Definitely try that.

[@Entsfarm]

Nice work! From your experience, How long does your scanners battery last?

[@MannysBookBag]

imakealcohol when I go on long trips, I try my best to wear it out. I go hours and hours of continuous scanning before I lose the first bar. Generally, one lasts me almost all day. The others are for backup. I love the kdc200i.

[@Entsfarm]

I think the most I've used min is 4-5 hours. I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on another one for a little redundancy.

[@RedNet5]

Great video . Can you really find good stuff at a used book store? Don't they scan their books? Any tips? Thanks again for this awesome video

[@MannysBookBag]

Luis Alvarez thrift stores and book stores are just as important to my business as library sales. I constantly hear about the stores around me scanning, but I know for a fact their version of scanning involves getting a green or red light. They typically will have a MF trigger criteria, so not only do they do a poor job, but selling FBA means they leave tons of money on the shelf for us. My tip is to scan everything in the beginning, but make observations about which kinds of books are winners, what their titles are, how they look, how they feel. Over time, you will have to scan less and less.

[@haykm783]

Thanks Manny, Great video, I am a newbie and started went a few local library booksales and honestly i found some great books which i paid only $1.. and some books valued over $ 70.. My question is this, When you price the book to send to FBA what is the minimum should be in our opinion, since fees have increased. Thanks in advance for your advise.

[@MannysBookBag]

Fees have changed pricing a lot. It used to be fairly cut and dry, but not anymore. You'll be able to find profitable books at $8.95 while finding books that represent a loss if you price them at $12. Profit varies wildly depending on weight and dimensions. Knowing your fees by using fee calculators is key, especially on books over 12 oz or over 8" long. Be sure item cost and inbound shipping costs are entered as well. My standatrd minimum on a small light book is $9.99 and goes up from there on heavier, larger titles.

[@haykm783]

Thank you so much for all the info.I am new at this as a hobby and still a lot to learn and still doing EBAY and some FBM. I just wanting to make sure i do everything right before i send my first shipment to AMazon. Will be following our videos.

[@MannysBookBag]

Hayk Mendikyan learning this is very worthwhile. Thank you for watching.

[@haykm783]

Thanks Manny. I also watch your comments on FB group. Been very helpful.

[@MannysBookBag]

Hayk Mendikyan The rule of thumb is roughly $10 for light, small books. Your minimum sales price should increase as you source larger books. The best advice that I can give you is to always use the fee calculator and do a live scan of every book you are going to buy to ensure it is profitable.

[@jonathanmosebach7107]

At booksales, SCANNERS ARE A PAIN IN THE ASS. MOST OF US GO FOR THE LOVE OF LITERATURE. SCANNERS ARE A SUCH A PAIN! MOST BOOKSALES AROUND MY AREA FORTUNATELY...FORBID THEM!

[@MannysBookBag]

Pretty sure you came into the wrong channel.

[@thewinsofchange1493]

Love the video. I'm going to book sale in a few weeks. The season for books sales is picking up here. I've started sharing some of my reselling adventures online also. Check me out if you have time. Thanks again for the video.

[@MannysBookBag]

Side Hustle Pro thank you and will do. We'll have the first truly good ones coming up in a few weeks.

[@thewinsofchange1493]

Manny's Book Bag I just switched from pda to phone with kdc. So excited about my first sale with it. Going to the preview sale after work 5 to 8 5 dollar entry. Wish me luck lol

[@MannysBookBag]

Side Hustle Pro good luck to you. I think you'll really like the change to the phone. Very versatile setup without any real loss of speed.