[Publib] Re:Library fund raising through E-Bay or Amazon.com

[Andy Barnett]

>To address a different aspect, either eBay or Amazon, I would say 
>Amazon. I both buy and sell on eBay (personally) and also on Amazon (at work).

In most cases, if you are spending staff time, it simply isn't worth 
listing, selling, packaging and mailing an item that doesn't bring 
you at least $15 net. Your time is just too valuable and you won't 
spend the money to replace it, but for other purposes.

For books, you will find that both Amazon and eBay have driven down 
the price of used books. Many titles basically sell for a little more 
than the shipping cost. So if you apply the $15 rule, you will sell 
most items locally for whatever you can get with as little fuss as 
possible. The goodwill and traffic have some value, as does not 
spending your time. Recycle the ones you can't get a quarter for.

Which will get you the best price with the least work? I think 
Amazon, since items stay for 30 days and can be relisted easily. No 
auction to mess with, lots of book related traffic, they cut you a 
check / direct deposit, they often have other copies for sale which 
makes it easy to price your item appropriately. The bad news about 
Amazon is that they don't let you set shipping, so large books get 
the same shipping allowance as paperbacks.  eBay does sell a lot of 
books, but books are a small part of the overall traffic. Many people 
only look at items ending soon, so timing matters, since you need to 
find the right buyer. Amazon takes one big cut of the sale, but eBay 
nickles and dimes you. Overall, I think Amazon is a little cleaner 
and faster to use, will get you a higher price and causes less 
home/work confusion, since many libraries have Amazon accounts already.



Andy Barnett, Asst. Director            McMillan Memorial Library
490 East Grand Ave. Wisconsin Rapids, WI  54494
                 www.mcmillanlibrary.org
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that 
matter.  -  Martin Luther King, Jr.