Yard Sale PRos..what is book scanning?

[DisneyScraps]

I was reading a blog about yard sales and they talked about asking a guy to leave that was book scanning. Anyone know what this is?

 

[java]

Are they the guys that use electronic scanners to see how much the book is selling on Amazon? If your stuff is priced fairly I don't know what the problem with that would be?

 

[DisneyAndRedSox]

They scan the barcode and there is software that tells them what the books is going for used on Amazon Marketplace, etc. My local library has an huge used book sale and there is a big sign "No Scanners!". The resellers are still there in full force and annoying as heck to the locals who just want a few good used books... they bring in thick binders with print outs of prices and hoard all the good books. They make huge piles and cover them with a blanket until they are ready to pay. This is all in a very small room with a ton of people and thousands of books. Several times I was looking for a specific book only to see it in a resellers pile.

 

[Lovin' Disney]

Book scanners are people who use their cell phones along with a bar code app to scan the bar codes on the books and check if they are worth any money online.

If you did have a ton of books to sell, it might be worth looking into and scanning them yourself to see if you have any hidden gems. Or you could black out the bar codes on the books with markers to hinder them from doing this.

It seems that they usually target Goodwill and other thrift stores, but they must be hitting garage sales, too, nowadays.

They also go after DVDs, CDs, computer games, video games, etc.

You can read more about it here:

http://www.bookscoutpro.com/faq.shtml

 

[pyrxtc]

I don't think that's a bad idea.... I would scan it to see if I was getting a good deal.

 

[LilyWDW]

A sale is a sale is a sale. Unless the person is making a butt out of themselves, I don't see the big deal if someone is doing this at a yard sale.

 

[abcboys]

A sale is a sale is a sale. Unless the person is making a butt out of themselves, I don't see the big deal if someone is doing this at a yard sale.

I agree. What difference does it make to the person selling them??

 

[GinnyEmma]

Eh, their property, their rules.

I don't donate my books to the library anymore. I dont have any need to help strangers make money.

 

[Boston Tea Party]

Eh, their property, their rules.

I don't donate my books to the library anymore. I dont have any need to help strangers make money.

As a teacher, the library sale is where I get most of my books for my classroom library.

 

[GinnyEmma]

As a teacher, the library sale is where I get most of my books for my classroom library.

I donate my little kid stuff to my neighbor who teaches either first or third, my school books to new homeschoolers, and adult literature to the literacy center and the senior center.

I use to donate totes Of books to the sale until I realized what the people pushing and grabbing were doing. Sad.

 

[*Seanaci*]

We just donate our used books to my moms work.

 

[rszdtrvl]

In our area, the book scanners have been out full force for a few years.

They take the media area at yard sales (DVD's, CD's, Books) and totally block it off from everyone else until they are done scanning each and every item. And if you try to get an item to buy out of "their" area you get yelled at by them. As if they are buying the entire collection.

They are annoying.

DH has a book scanner on his cell phone. We never use it.

 

[aboveH20]

Ya learn something new every day!

 

[pklein09]

In our area, the book scanners have been out full force for a few years.

They take the media area at yard sales (DVD's, CD's, Books) and totally block it off from everyone else until they are done scanning each and every item. And if you try to get an item to buy out of "their" area you get yelled at by them. As if they are buying the entire collection.

They are annoying.

DH has a book scanner on his cell phone. We never use it.

I'm glad I ran across this thread....my sister and I are doing a yard sale next Saturday and we will have a lot of books. I think I'd call the police if someone yelled at me...it's my merchandise not his. That being said, I have some needlepoint books from my MIL, and I think I'll go check out Amazon for them. I've also checked ebay for some items, and marked them accordingly (lower than ebay's prices, but higher that I initially thought).

 

[starwood]

Don't forget to check half.com for your books also. I sell more books on their than Amazon. Amazon charges .99 plus commission for each book you sell. Half.com only charges commission. Amazon has lots of sellers selling books for .01 (I don't know how they can make money). Half.com has a .75 minimum.

 

[DisneyMissy318]

I'd love to go through my personal library with this ap - do you guys have the name? I'd love to check my books before making a selling blunder - like I almost did...

We had a yard sale about 3 weeks ago - I had a bin of Wilton cake pans - on a whim - I went to eBay and checked the pans and found that one I have has sold for as much as $80(!) in the last month - a lot more than than the $3 I had it marked for (yikes!)

Thanks for any info!

 

[rszdtrvl]

This is the one I put on DH's phone :

http://www.amazon.com/Tyler-Smith-B...FCII/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1310908205&sr=8-1

 

[phred52]

who knew? I've NEVER run across this .. guess I've been lucky...

 

[pigletto]

I'd love to go through my personal library with this ap - do you guys have the name? I'd love to check my books before making a selling blunder - like I almost did...

We had a yard sale about 3 weeks ago - I had a bin of Wilton cake pans - on a whim - I went to eBay and checked the pans and found that one I have has sold for as much as $80(!) in the last month - a lot more than than the $3 I had it marked for (yikes!)

Thanks for any info!

Slight t/j... Good thing you checked those cake pans!! I have a good friend who makes cakes and the Wilton pans (especially ones you can't get anymore) are really valuable!

 

[pklein09]

Slight t/j... Good thing you checked those cake pans!! I have a good friend who makes cakes and the Wilton pans (especially ones you can't get anymore) are really valuable!

I just checked the Wilton pan I put in the sale....it's only worth $5 on ebay, and I priced it at $2. It's just a plain star shape, so I wasn't expecting much.