SELLING ON IOBA TRADEBOOKS

As many of you know, I post somewhat prolifically on IOBA's Tradebooks listserv. I've noticed over the years that relatively few members post on Tradebooks and I've never really understood why. We all have books to sell, and it is a worthwhile venue to sell them on. Hopefully this will answer questions about the list and encourage more people to use it.

For starters, the Tradebooks list is an email list open only to fellow IOBA members. It is a list where, as is probably obvious, one can offer items for sale, or post wants for particular items. You do have to be subscribed to the list to send and receive postings.

I usually post 3 items a day, about 5 days a week, but one doesn't have to be that diligent. I've incorporated that into my daily business routine. By doing this I easily earn back my dues each year (and then some). Over the years I've developed a few strategies/goals in my listings.

1. I list items I think will appeal to other sellers and may not be in my areas of specialty.

2. I try to price the above items where I think there is enough room for another dealer to make money, while still making the profit I need off of it.

3. I list items in my specialties to establish recognition as that guy who sells zines, or whatever. This helps with my acquisitions, since other sellers may quote me things I am interested in.

4. I list bulk lots of books that are good general stock for open stores, but do not fit into my online selling model.

The use of Tradebooks has introduced me (virtually) to many wonderful colleagues. Most of the time they will ask if I have other items in the same area as what they bought. If so, I quote the items directly to them. If not, when I do acquire something in their wants, I email them a quote. These transactions often allow me to flip something quick without having to put a lot of effort into cataloguing/photographing, etc. Other booksellers are some of my best customers, and without the use of Tradebooks, I doubt I would have "met" many of them.

As far as what goes into the actual listing, I tend to catalog the item as I would if I were offering it elsewhere. That way if it doesn't sell on Tradebooks, it is ready to be offered to others. I price all items NET (this should be made clear in the post), meaning trade discount and shipping is included in the price posted. This way a potential buyer can evaluate quickly whether the item is priced for them to resell. If you do not post it net, you should clearly state the trade discount you offer to fellow members, as well as shipping costs. I make mention of accepted payment methods, my return policy and make sure to include all contact information.

Emails are then sent to tradebooks@ioba.org . Make sure you are sending them from the email you are subscribed to the IOBA lists with, otherwise the email will be rejected.

Related to the trade books list is https://www.bibliophilegroup.com/ which is a commercial list for booksellers and others. It costs $30 a year to subscribe and operates similar to out list

Another list is the Exlibris-l list, which mainly consists of librarians [including special collections librarians], booksellers and otherscholars. Commercial posting are allowed ONLY on Tuesdays. See https://list.iu.edu/sympa/info/exlibris-l for complete terms and conditions for subscribing and posting as a seller.

Hopefully this will encourage some of you to try an important, but often overlooked resource of the IOBA.

Richard Erdmann

IOBA Education Chair

Mare Booksellers, ABAA ILAB IOBA