I have been thinking of ways to make money my whole life. Some of my schemes have worked - dog training made me a little pile of money - and some, like childbirth education, haven't worked out quite as well. But this time, I think I stumbled on something foolproof.
It all started a couple weeks ago when I read about a book sale taking place over on the east side of the state. They advertised over 10,000 books, all priced at $1 each.
I went to the sale on Saturday about two hours before they closed. The sale had been open for two days prior, so I knew I probably wouldn't be getting the best of the best, but I was shocked when I got there and found literally only a few boxes of outdated health books left. The people who ran this sale easily sold 9,500 books in three days. That's almost ten grand!
So I came home and thought about this a little, and realized that I have been buying books for pennies for many years. I usually buy my books at goodwill when they run they 8 for $1, or at the library book sale where you can fill a bag for $1. I easily have two thousand books in my possession, most of which I don't read anymore.
Why can't I hold my own book sale?
I put an ad on facebook saying I'd come pick up books leftover after a garage sale or estate sale, and all of a sudden I had a dozen people offering me books, for free. They just didn't want to deal with them. I went to one lady's house and she gave me forty brown grocery bags full of books. I could barely fit them all in my car. I asked what she wanted in exchange, and she said nothing, she was just really relieved to not have to sort them for sale and store them in her house anymore.
I started looking up some of these books people have given me and I can sell them for $8-$50 each online!
So I have been sorting books. Anything under $8 goes in boxes, to be sold at my big book sale in a few months (where everything will be $1.) Over $8 and it goes in a separate area where I will sell online.
My goal is to sell 15,000 books by July 2019. I believe this is an achievable goal because I have the room to safely store thousands of books, I have the ability to transport them, and I have a place to sell them.
It has been very therapeutic to just sit and sort books for hours at a time. I have found so many good ones that I am going to read first and then sell. I like to read nonfiction books about spirituality, people and places, history, DIY, things like that. I don't read fiction but I was given tons of fiction books, murder mysteries etc. These are pretty easy to sell, as they are really popular. I also got a ton of military books which sell at higher prices than you could even imagine. Some of these books sell for $50-$90 each. My husband is tackling the military books and getting them listed.
I have big dreams of owning a little bookstore some day. But until then, I am going to keep collecting books until I have enough for a huge book sale. I am hoping to earn enough money to pay off my court fines and also get a new roof for my house, because it leaks in many places when it rains.
I think this is my favorite money making scheme so far. I love to read and I love to share books. This is right up my alley. I am so excited and happy about this idea.