If you are new to the business of buying and selling acim searchable online, or are even just toying with the idea, then here are a few tips to help you get started. In this article I’m going to discuss a number of issues, such as what to look for, what sort of start up costs are involved, some of the places you can potentially find books to resell for profit, and more. I don’t mean small profits of 10%, 25% or 50%, either. I’m talking about 1000% profits, sometimes even more. I’m not kidding. It’s big profits we want, isn’t it? Not chickenfeed.

I don’t really subscribe to the idea of putting books up on Amazon for a penny and earning off the postage. I’ve never been comfortable with the concept of bumping up postage and packaging costs as a way to boost profits, either. I’d rather let the books make the profit, then offer free postage, or send the item first class when the buyer has paid for second. Stuff like that.

I’d rather look for books that have the potential to give me a healthy return, and that can sometimes mean stepping out of my comfort zone and buying books I have never come across before. Sure, I do research. I try to keep abreast of what sells and what doesn’t. But you can’t keep track of everything and it’s virtually impossible to keep all that data in your head. It’s like most skills you spend time on, you develop a nose for what sells and what doesn’t. My partner’s almost made it into an art form!

In the early days, I used to jot things down on bits of paper and that helped to some extent. Initially, you may struggle to make a profit on the stock you have. In which case, I’d work on the 1 pound rule, if at all possible. That is to say, unless you know that a book is definitely going to return a profit, don’t buy it for more than a pound, or a dollar, or whatever currency you deal in. That way you won’t make any huge mistakes. You may miss some real gems, but so be it. Another opportunity will always come along – and it may be next time. Ideally, what you’d like to do is buy for 1 pound or less and sell for 10 pounds or more. That equates to 1000% profits. Once you’ve been in the business a while, and you’ve done some sound market research, you’ll be doing that on a regular basis, believe me.

You can start with minimal costs. Whatever you want to put in. Even £10 or $10 could be enough to buy you 10-20 books, if you know where to look. Target first edition hardbacks, preferably, and be prepared to dig deep to find those hidden treasures. You’d be surprised where the next signed book is lurking, just waiting for you to grab it. Look for non-fiction titles on fishing, Americana, book collecting and autobiographies. In fiction, look for titles by authors such as Stephen King, Agatha Christie, David Gemmell, Conn Iggulden etc. If you don’t think you have a chance of finding any of the stuff I’ve just mentioned – think again! You can. And if you keep on looking, you will.