I had a thought that maybe some of you might like to know some of the things I do in the real world to earn a bit of Play Money. Its nothing exciting, nor will it make you rich. But it can put a decent little chunk of change into your play money fund for not much effort or expense.

I have been selling new and used books online for decades!

I was one of the early adopters of Half.com, which eBay bought5 and put out of business. I made some GOOD money on their site! The system was easy to use for buyers and sellers. The fees they charged let sellers list lower prices and still make money while saving the buyers money... THANKS EBAY!

There are a few other small audience selling systems out there but for ease of use, low overhead and not causing a tax headache, Amazon is about the only game in town now...

Signing up for an amazon seller account is easy! Go look under your current Amazon Account for the Sellers Account option.  Amazon.com

Once you signup and they approve you it comes down to finding inventory, listing it, and then completing the sales.

I get much of my inventory at Library Book Sales and local Thrift Shops. I recommend you start there also.

I tend to not deal in Hard Cover Books as they are a slower turn-over. My Father likes Hard-Covers and has a larger shelving space than I do and he makes some REALLY GOOD money, but it takes longer.

I tend to go with paperbacks and trade paperbacks. Smaller and cheaper to ship. But lower return.

Pick ONLY books in new or Like New condition. Stay away from spine creases and missing Dust Jackets. If you would not buy it for your wife (or husband) don't get it to resell! (One exception, if you can get all 20 of a series, then grab them and list them on ebay)

To list a book, sign in to your seller account. Under Your Inventory Tab select "Add a product". Then enter the ISBN number of the book (usually on back cover or inside the front cover). Find the book in the list of items Amazon brings up. Select its condition, how many you have and then for price, put what you want for it. (Don't be afraid to be the highest price or above what they recommend.) Then decide if you want to use just normal Media Mail from the USPS or if you also want to offer Priority Mail (I offer both).

When Amazon gets a buyer for your book they will email you. Login, pack up your sold book, and use Amazons Shipping Label printing and off ya go to drop it off at the Post Office, in a mail box or give to your carrier.

You can shave a bit off your shipping if you use Pirate Ship. But it takes a few more steps and I wanted to keep this short and sweet!

So, if you are looking for a side gig, have a bit of room to store books, this might just be the thing for you!

I cleared about $600.00 last year. Not too shabby for a hobby! I could make this into a Home Business but its not worth it to me. I had a home biz (computer parts and service) back in the 90's and the record keeping is a NIGHTMARE!!!! 

If you want to discuss going deeper into this business, comment below. I'll be glad to share my experiences with ya and maybe get you into this too!

Here is a link to my Amazon Site if you are interested: LyonCoDad on Amazon