Yard Sale PRos..what is book scanning?

[hulagirl87]

My mom just had someone use one of those scanners at her garage sale yesterday. The woman told her that she owns a used book store of her own and likes to know what will sell and what won't. I happened to show up to visit my mom at the time that the woman was cashing out and recognized her. When she left I commented to my mom that it was the same lady who is always first in line at our library's book sale and scarfs up bags and bags of books.

 

[HockeyMomNH]

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!

If you have the full body Mickey or Minnie, or any of the Star Wars pans you can make some good money on e-bay. The other thing about Wilton Pans is they are worth more if you have the original paper insert.

Back to the topic, I have not seen anyone scanning books around here yet. I think it would be ok as long as they were not blocking any other potential customers.

 

[SandrA9810]

I've used the scanner app at the flea market, but not that many people have smartphones or know about the app to use those features. Plus it's only few and far between that I come across merchandise with the bar code.

Most the time, I'll just go to eBay and search. There's some times I do searches just to make sure I'm getting a good deal on stuff that I want. When I'm buying something used, I don't want to be paying retail prices.

 

[my3sonsagn]

I have the above barcode scanner, but it wouldn't "find" a lot of my older books, so I downloaded http://www.amazon.com/zezi-MyBookDr...1?ie=UTF8&s=mobile-apps&qid=1310963996&sr=1-1 which is an ISBN scanner. I don't use it to shop for sellable books; I have lots and lots of books, and I'm always on the lookout for more, but there have been many times I've ended up with duplicates without realizing it. I use this baby to scan my books then, if I find a book that looks interesting while at a yard sale, Goodwill, etc, I can scan it quickly to see if it's already in my library.

It's irritating to be at a Goodwill or yard sale and not be able to book browse as I'd like because someone with a scanner is doing his/her best to block the books until they're done, but I find the same thing happens with many other things, too, and there aren't currently any rules against it - at least at local Goodwills or flea markets.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

Ehh. I don't mind scanners, if they yell at me, I yell back. Unless it's in your hands or in your pile, it's not YOURS buddy. Suck it up. I'm little, but I'm mean and I can take you.

Also, I respect scanners, at least the non-nasty ones. I think I read where a good scanner works about a 60 - 70 hour week and can make about 40 - 50 K a year on average; they're mostly well-educated people; many were laid off from other jobs and can't find work.

For all their culling and hard work, I can now go online and get hard to find, out of print books. For example, DH has wanted a particular book on WWII battleships; technical specs and such. A copy just popped up in my price range on Amazon, probably from a culler. I jumped on it.

In fact, this caused me to remember to check ANOTHER rare book I've been watching for a while, looking for one in my range. And guess what? I got it! W00T!!!!

Thank you cullers!

 

[petlvr1064]

i work at a natinonal thrift store chain and we now scan books before putting them on the shelves and send the good ones to an online store we have caled e boks same dvds. i think thats pretty cool.

 

[GinnyEmma]

i work at a natinonal thrift store chain and we now scan books before putting them on the shelves and send the good ones to an online store we have caled e boks same dvds. i think thats pretty cool.

Good! That is what people want to happen with their donations!

 

[robinb]

I sell books on Amazon and have using scanners for years. Even I am annoyed by the rudeness shown by many book scouters. Between stampeding and pushing to get to the shelves, blocking the shelves once they get there and scooping everything in sight to check later, they give all book scouters a bad name. One of the library sales near me makes you purchase everything you put in your bag and only allows scanners after the first 30 minutes. That allows non-scouting people an opportunity to get books without scouters hoarding everything.

 

[GinnyEmma]

I could deal with those rules.

 

[NotUrsula]

If you don't want them at your yard sale, just get out your handy-dandy black sharpie and scribble a vertical bar through the books' barcodes; if you do that they cannot be scanned.

Lots of libraries now are using wrapped spine labels to cover the mfr. barcode. Part of the reason is that we've got folks browsing our stacks for scarce titles that they plan to re-sell. Most libraries have their replacement cost entered into the record while the book is still in print, so if the book becomes scarce and commands a high price, we won't know until AFTER the patron has paid for it at the old price and we try to buy a new copy. (And that is assuming that they actually check it out. We also get folks who study up on how to defeat our security systems.)

 

[snarlingcoyote]

If you don't want them at your yard sale, just get out your handy-dandy black sharpie and scribble a vertical bar through the books' barcodes; if you do that they cannot be scanned.

Lots of libraries now are using wrapped spine labels to cover the mfr. barcode. Part of the reason is that we've got folks browsing our stacks for scarce titles that they plan to re-sell. Most libraries have their replacement cost entered into the record while the book is still in print, so if the book becomes scarce and commands a high price, we won't know until AFTER the patron has paid for it at the old price and we try to buy a new copy. (And that is assuming that they actually check it out. We also get folks who study up on how to defeat our security systems.)

I've checked out books (mainly history) that I knew were rare, and I've made a serious point of telling the librarians, when I returned the book, "This book is rare and out of print. The lowest price on Amazon for this book, in this edition is $$$."

Whether or not I'm listened to is another story, bit I have at least TRIED to inform the librarians.

 

[pklein09]

Thank you for the android app!!! DH put it on his phone, and we scanned the books that had bar codes. There were a few of MILs needlepoint books that did not have bar codes, so we looked those up on Amazon. One of her books was listed at $161 I'm guessing this is the type of book that the scanners would be looking for. Of course, you'd actually have to find someone to buy it at that price to make your money back.

The yard sale is Saturday, and I still have so much to do. It also doesn't help that I'm bringing everything to my dad's office which is over an hour away. I've brought 3 van loads down, and I hope I can get everything else in on the last run on Friday nigth. I live in the country, and his office is right on a major road with MUCH better traffic. My sisters are also joining me, so we've got a lot of merchandise. I've only done 2 yardsales before, and my sisters have never done one at all. My dad is a part-time auctioneer, so we can do auctions in our sleep, but yardsales are sooooo different. It should be interesting!!!

Thanks for all the tips!!!

 

[ellone]

Thank you for the android app!!! DH put it on his phone, and we scanned the books that had bar codes. There were a few of MILs needlepoint books that did not have bar codes, so we looked those up on Amazon. One of her books was listed at $161 I'm guessing this is the type of book that the scanners would be looking for. Of course, you'd actually have to find someone to buy it at that price to make your money back.

Yeah, I don't know how the resellers come up with the prices on amazon. Sometimes I think they just make a number up - there's no proof a book has actually sold for the ridiculous prices they list it at.

I do notice that many times when I list a rare-ish book on amazon and then beat the lowest price by $20 or so, those other sellers beat my price within hours! So many of them are using some sort of software to watch prices.

It really tempts me to list a rare book really cheap, watch them match my price and then buy theirs at the low price!

 

[sorul82?]

We have yard sales quite often because we are 1) trying to clear out too much stuff and 2) Dave Ramsey said so. LOL

I need to state that we aren't interested in donating because we didn't have enough deductions to itemize last year.

AND

We tried to sell items on Craigslist, but either people weren't interested in what we had, didn't show up, or lived too far away to meet.

Anyhow, I have mixed feelings on people who shop yard sales who are looking to resell something. On the one hand, kudos to them for finding a way to make some $. But, on the other hand, I want people to buy our stuff to use it.

I have joked about opening a thrift store, but they seem to be popping up all over here recently.

Oh, a lot of Target clearance items can be found on Craigslist, thrift stores, etc.

 

[bumbershoot]

Thank you for the android app!!! DH put it on his phone, and we scanned the books that had bar codes. There were a few of MILs needlepoint books that did not have bar codes, so we looked those up on Amazon. One of her books was listed at $161 I'm guessing this is the type of book that the scanners would be looking for. Of course, you'd actually have to find someone to buy it at that price to make your money back.

Well, list it yourselves! Perhaps a bit lower.



For DVDs and CDs, check on abundatrade.com and/or secondspin.com, by the way. Could be better to just sell to them. Sometimes the most random things are worth money...hubby's ancient CD of the Two Men and a Little Lady soundtrack went for something like $30 last year...his Conan the Barbarian soundtrack was $23? His Paula Abdul CDs, however, were worth 5 cents.

 

[sorul82?]

His Paula Abdul CDs, however, were worth 5 cents.

I wonder how much I can get for my Paula Abdul cassette tape?

 

[snarlingcoyote]

Anyhow, I have mixed feelings on people who shop yard sales who are looking to resell something. On the one hand, kudos to them for finding a way to make some $. But, on the other hand, I want people to buy our stuff to use it. .

Think of it this way: they go out and drive around and go hither and thither and yon and find good stuff and then aggregate it in one space. Then they sell the things they have collected (with a profit margin to take care of their own salary, the cost of gas, equipment, rent on their retail space) so that people who don't want to put those hours of effort in can buy your stuff and use it!

 

[bumbershoot]

I wonder how much I can get for my Paula Abdul cassette tape?

It's a good question! If only I knew the answer. We have soooo many cassette tapes it's not even funny.



I think that when you sell something, you have to let go of the need for the buyer to be the END buyer. Even selling our CDs through abundatrade/secondspin, I knew that there was someone else that was going to pay THEM even more than they paid me! But...I can't get in touch with that buyer, you know? They can.


Now the issue with someone hogging all the books until they are done scanning makes me annoyed. So I would probably try to curtail that sort of behavior somehow. But just scanning, or scanning with the purpose to resell, doesn't make me annoyed (but I've done a LOT of work in being able to just *let go* of the wish for the buyer to be the end user...).

 

[sorul82?]

Think of it this way: they go out and drive around and go hither and thither and yon and find good stuff and then aggregate it in one space. Then they sell the things they have collected (with a profit margin to take care of their own salary, the cost of gas, equipment, rent on their retail space) so that people who don't want to put those hours of effort in can buy your stuff and use it!

Good point.

 

[sorul82?]

Bumber,

The Paula cassette is worth about 5 cents.