THIS IS HOW I bundle and price books to sell on eBay (my exact process)
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- Опубліковано 5 лют 2025
- Today I will show you my exact process on how I bundle books to sell on eBay and also how I price the bundles of books to sell for the most amount of profit.
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Hi! My name is Mel - Back from Burnout! And if you’re wanting to learn how to sell online and how I run a successful small business then this is DEFINITELY the place for you! My goal is to inspire and motivate you and I hope you enjoy watching my videos to learn more about how I make money selling online.
My new norm is watching your videos as they come out every 2 days.
Keep up the great work Mel.
@@ayshlasimpson3621 thank you! My new norm is trying to keep up making them for every two days 🤣🤣
Western Book Lots: Like some other vintage paperbacks (like Sci-fi), in every big job lot there are a few gems. While checking on eBay to see what size bundle and bundle weight to target (the average book weight also helps me determine bundle size), I also do a quick glance at the single books by good selling popular authors, like L'amour, that will be worth more then the average bundle. I look before the sort, to keep those titles in the back of my mind so if/when I find those, they get pulled out for consideration as single book sales.
Sometimes bundled books will average only a buck a book, but for some reason that gem might be $20 on it's own. Could be a signed copy, first edition, etc. Watch for books by Jim Mayo, which was a Pen Name L'amour wrote under back when the publishers limited their authors to a certain numbers of books each year. I find it's worth a glance at the sold comps from Hight to Low for both lots and singles. 😉
The 1 Reject: I'll sometimes tape the cover before it pulls off, then add it into the shipping packet (but leave it out of the photos and count) so the "worst" bundle get a bonus book or two. Usually adding a free book doesn't affect the shipping cost and since that buyer is getting the worst lot, might appreciate the extra book for free. I hate to toss any L'amore book. 😉
Yes it's a pity to throw it out
@@uuu-eb1qi 😉 Yes, as with many old book lots, I tape it if need be and send it along with a lot, if it's at all readable.
I love Louis Lamour novels. These are my "camping books"! I am 75 years young and I live in Arizona, USA. I camp in our local mountains, up on The Rim at about 7,000 feet elevation. All of his books that I have read, which are many, are about The Rim area. So I can relate or pretend I'm part of his story. LOL
PS that mixed bundle, I wish you made a 6 out of the LL, then the o
3 odds go with Facebook pile.
BTW. It is pronounced Louis Lamoooooor french for love
Hi Mel, I have been watching your videos for years I'm not a reseller but I just find you and your videos so motivational. Sometimes I watch them while getting my stuff done because you encourage me so much , I love your energy and nature. From a fellow ADHD girl!
Thank you so much! That's awesome and I'm very grateful!
Will you be doing any videos on your stock taking? I'm curious to know do you put the books back on the same shelf? Or are you then redoing their SKU and moving them onto an empty shelf to consolidate them a bit more? loving all your videos 🥰 xxx
oh yes I'm curious about that too.
I can do a video stocktaking sure
Yes, I was wondering this as well!
@@backfromburnoutyes!!!! We’re all waiting for it!
@ Okay, I will film one next week doing stocktake.
Thanks for posting again and honestly fir a little positive giggle. Please take this as positive feedback …..l’amour is French for love❤ pronunciation …..say lamoooor . Love you so much, just wanted to make a note. Hope to see a video tomorrow 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
Yes🤩
@@DawnNobles ha ha. I need to ask Google to pronounce it for me 🤣🤣
She has an Aussie accent!! She’s not going to pronounce it the way you might. What difference does it make anyway?!?? Geeez!!
So happy when these come out! Look forward to them.
Looking across your shoulder at the start of the video, at your Bundle Shelves, I had a thought. I have some similar metal frame shelves and have found that magnetic backed printed labels (about the size of a business card) can help with the sorting process. Because the contents and arrangement of those shelves will constantly change, as the partial bundles come and go, a labeling system that can easily shift might be the ticket.
I've seen you stand at your sorting bench, scanning for an author's name, when you find another book to add to an incomplete bundle. If you put the author's name (or last name) or the book series name (Twilight., Harry Potter, Cookbook, etc) on the labels, adhered to those thin magnetic backer sheets (cut to size) you cold just stick them on the metal frame under the book stacks. Then once the bundle is gone, pull the magnet off and stick it on the side (someplace metal) where it would be staged and ready to go again.
Then wash, rinse repeat, making new labels as you need them for new authors or bundles and save time scanning the shelves. 😉
My gosh she is adorable. Ive read most of those Louis L'amour books, they are good reads. Comstock Lode was probably my fav.
Been watching you for years Mel ❤❤❤ your videos are so informative but my favorite are the pick and pack enve back when you were in the storage sheds . 😊😊😊 Love and best wishes from the states. ❤❤😊😊
Mel, I love this style of video, one of your best, even when I knew this that, it was super entertaining...more of this plz
Sitting here listing book bundles as I watch. 😊 I’m very jealous of all your space to organise the books! 😅
Great place to play hide and seek 😂😆
@@SteveSpendsaPenny it’s the best having the sorting bench!
I literally stumbled onto this channel, took a quick look, and it is a TREASURE amount of information about Books! 😮 ---> 😊
I think I can apply Aussie wisdom here in the United States...
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Just for the record, Mel, his name is pronounced: Loo-Ee Luh-more. I agree you shouldn't stop sourcing, despite all the inventory you currently have. What you do need, as you already know, is an employee to do the photographing, listing, shelving, and picking/packing/shipping. Your experience is invaluable for sourcing, grading, bundling, and pricing, so that is where you should be spending your time eventually, though until the cages disappear, you will have to be working on those I'm sure, even if you have an employee. That's my opinion, anyway. I know that training an employee will slow you down for awhile until he or she can get up to speed and work without you looking over his or her shoulder constantly, but it will pay off in the long run in growing your business. Thanks for the interesting video.
Employees are more $$$$$$$$$ than they're worth
@@emusaurus Well, that would certainly be true of a bad employee, but a great employee is worth every penny. If Mel wants to grow her business, and she has plans to do so, there will come a point where the amount of work involved will just be too much for one person to handle. She may already be at that point, with those massive cages of books to process. She is obviously working her ass off and is still struggling to get done everything that needs to get done. If she wants to stay a single person operation, she'll have to limit her business size accordingly, but that's not what she is saying she wants to do.
I like the Aussie pronunciation. That's why I tune in
I really enjoyed seeing and hearing your process. We all have preferences for our business. But hearing your reasoning helps expand my knowledge and understanding.
You rock!
Fantastic! Thank you for the feedback!
Oh wish I was in Australia!!! I buy and collect western paperbacks (but not Louis Lamour). I would buy all the others. You have some good ones. 😩
They are popular books!
Those books that are falling apart...a junk journalers dream. I've bought lots/bundles of damaged books for my Junk journaling hobby. And there a lot in Australia and New Zealand.
@@iturtleyloveit these books are great for their age. I’ve sold many in much worse condition.
I don't sell or plan to sell anything on ebay, yet, I looooooove looking at your videos. I'm from Belgium that's why I haven't bought anything from you, I would have loved it but it would kill me in postage 😜 My first language is frensh and I will tell you that the name " l'amour" should be pronounciate like "Louis" ^^ ( Amour = Love)
Thank you!
I really am enjoying all the videos while I am listing. So proud of you with all you have done these last few months. You are doing amazing!
Thank you!
Thank you for another great educational and fun video😊 Looking forward to your next one♥️
Enjoy your videos Mel. Those price marked covers took me back to childhood trips to local second hand bookshop with my Dad. As regular buyers we took books back after reading them & got a discount on next purchase. Thousands of books crammed tight on bookshelves had a distinctive odour. Thanks
That’s so cool!
Love these videos each day! Look forward to getting my work done and learning new things from you. Just the best, Mel!
Thank you so much!
I sell a bit of everything, but this is so helpful as I have sold a bunch of Mills & Boon bundles, and I can see where I can probably do better. Thanks again for an amazing video! ❤
Mills and Boon are very similar when bundling!
One of my all time favorite Louis L'amour books is Last of the Breed. (I think I've read them all).The main characters name is Joe Mack. I used to joke when I got with my husband I said I found my Joe Mack, my hero. Lol it was one of those rare Louis L'amour books that wasn't truly a western, it was a prisoner of war/survival story.
Love some L'amour!
I got a large lot of Louis Lamour books last year. The Sacketts do have a number order which you can usually find in the first page or two. May be worth considering selling Sequential if you have them.
If you are not as familiar with Louis L'amour books (which I have been reading since I was in short pants) you will find that among his many, many books are some written as mini-series, such as: The Sacketts, which has several books (about 30) so if you bundle those mini series together you can push the price up a bit. Some of those smaller bundles you are seeing on the site may be selected mini-series.
Also, many folks don't know that after he died, the family had other authors still writing under his name. Those earlier books actually written by him are also good bundles to make. Your eBay seems to pull much better prices, which I would expect, since they are harder to find there then here in the US. When I have that many, on a theme, I do sometimes pull out the pristine and the worst and build the bundles to try to get the lots made up of books of the same grade so I don't have to type an explanation, just select: Good, Very Good or Acceptable. 😉
Glad to see you spotted The Sacketts and even used the cover art distinctions to separate the lots. Since you split the stack of Sacketts you had into smaller groups, those I would split into bundles by date. Buyers often want the next ones in the series they have yet to read and a quick glance a them will help order them. There is often a series list inside the cover and you can then group them in order.
Some collectors will only buy Very Good or better, while other will buy any one they haven't yet read. It only takes a few extra minutes and an to be observant I as you handle them and it can help with sales. 😉
Loving the frequent videos...feels like "hanging out" while we work 😊
I am so very happy I came across your channel! I'm located in the state of Minnesota in the United States. Thank you so very much for teaching us so much about how you run your business!🙏 My husband and I also have a small business and I get way to caught up in the (small) details that don't really matter at the end of the day. Your reminder to keep going and efficiency really helped me! Also the other day you reminded us that sometimes you just need to get started, momentum creates momentum!!! Just what I needed to hear! THANK YOU!!! You are an absolute joy!!!💖
I'm a 69 year old grandma. I'll bet I've read most of those 34:46 old books. I love westerns.
i love these types of videos! can you do one of the these types of videos with one of the book cages 😊
Hii Mel! Send my love to Thom and the workers. I hope you're all well and happy. Can't wait to sit and watch
Hi Mel. Love your videos! Question on bundles ( sorry if I missed you answering this): do you put the specific titles in the description?
I first started reselling books on Amazon back in the beginning of Amazon days and I had so much fun and I did pretty well. I didn’t do anything smart like you know taxes but I wasn’t probably doing so well that I was a big cheater, but I was a little idiot. It was homemaker pin money. Anyway, it’s fun to see what you’ve been able to do with your business. I kind of had that in mind until I realized my personal limitations at that time.
This video is brilliant. Thank you for sharing the process Mel.
Thank you for watching!
Brilliant video Mel. I've got a few things I want to bundle up and this has really helped me work out how I'm going to do it.
Thank you so much! I've struggled with how to make bundles, so this is a big help. Have a wonderful day.
No struggle at all. Just put like items together
I fully understand not passing up a deal, this is how we also accumulate inventory which can be good and not so good. Ultimately inventory accumulates when it's not moving or moving fast enough and one is buying more than what the market demands. I think many resellers are guilty of this, id rather have too much inventory than not enough.
Being from Australia, you definitely get more for the books that we do in the US. First, people tend to over-price them at yard sales thinking they are worth more than they are. I guess if you're just buying them to read, $1.00 a book isn't so bad. I usually avoided his books though because they just didn't get that much as you would like. If I happened onto a good size lot for 25 cents a book, I may buy then if they are in good condition. Typically, they are hard to sell in small lots and you don't get much. I rarely got much more than $1 per book on eBay though. That being said, I would have definitely bought your books at 6/$1. I would've sold them all for one bulk price though. For 160 books, I'm guessing I could get at the most $250 for them. I looked up prices before I wrote this and lots with over 120 books or so were fetching about $200. Turning $25 into $250 with only one listing would've been great. I see how it works for you though, if you can get $40 for 5 books, I'd do it that way too. Other western series do much better here, money wise. William Johnstone for one.
I dont sell books but I get inspiration and tips that apply to some of what I sell.
Awesome! Thank you!
Thank You for the information. It’s awesome you learn from the Video and tips from the comments. You have a great process. Cheers.
Thanks for the bundle lesson. Just got home from my vacation and watched your video to calm down. ❤
I loved this. I love seeing you bundle and sort to
Thank you once again for your video.yes i love your giggle too. It makes my day i wish i could meet you but i live in Greece. Dont ever change fir anyone just keep beig yourself you are a great person😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊
I'm glad you discovered that there are potentially series within that lot. I see others have shared info on popular series by this author that you can look out for. It's definitely advantageous, when time permits, to put those together. What has helped me is printing off a list of the series that I can reference as I sort 💫
I sell stamps and list many of the same stamp. I get around the title thing by changing SKU at the end and also save it in SKU so I sell similar and change the SKU number only.
We read a bunch of those in the 70’s. Tom Selleck played in more than one movie made from Sacket series.
Very popular books and movies!
Nice video Mel! Question? Listing the bundles in the description do you list the title of each book into your description? Blessings
Very helpful walkthrough! Thanks Mel!
Great video Mel, great to see your process in action, how your sort your books out ,how you find your price.its always a rollercoaster with you👍
I am a long time water first time commenting but I’m here to say that thanks to you Mel and all of your videos that I am mear days away from launching my side hustle (card stock crafts) keep up the awesome work can’t wait to watch the next one!! ❤
I love to see your work process! Thanks Mel!
L’Amour has a series of books called The Sacketts. 18 books in total. I would sell those as one bundle. You would get a better price!!
Yay! Another video from Mel. You are awesome.
Great video, love watching your process! I usually check the book series and lot mine into the book series order. Louis L'amour actually has a few different series that follow different characters/families so I lot mine up that way. Westerns are becoming popular again so may sell sooner than 9 mos! Keep up the good work!
Just FYI if you need to get a sticker off of a book that could bring you a good price a hairdryer works wonders.
good video! thanks, Mel!
Mel, enjoyed your Lamour sorting video! If you ever get a giant pile of SF that would also be fun to watch...!And it's Lamour like Dorothy Lamour....!
Floor suggestion foam garage mats for your knees
This was really interesting. I’m a new subscriber and have been enjoying your content. Question: what is your goal to getting through those stacked cages in the background?
good info, perhaps you could also make a video about how you find these lots of books to buy?
Thanks for posting this!!
Thank you for explaining Mel!! Would you list these all at once or would you mix these in with other listings? Can’t wait to see a picking video with some of these new listings in it ❤😊
Have you considered selling books that are not saleable as pages for crafters? I am not a scrapbooker but maybe someone can offer their knowledge on if it is worthwhile.
Was curious go see how many more louis lamour books was in the other lot too
There are some but it’s more a mixed lot
I was going to ask if you organized them by publisher. Because you watch the covers, the books ended up bundled by publisher. Thanks for sharing.
Great Video!! Very informative. Thank You!
Been binge watching your moving videos today it's just after 4pm here now in South Africa .. now on the video where you are figuring out where your packing station will be located.... I've seen your newer videos too 😀 and how your setup is working now. May I ask a question though regarding the flow of setup of your different working stations? ( I know the cages are near the door and in future they will be gone.) your sorting station is located perfectly.... Will it move in future to where the cages are now?
Why not put the photo station next to it for now? Then the packing station ? Sorry for bothering you with questions just wondering about the work flow of your stations... Loving your videos and your journey upto here. You really inspire me to take one day at a time and 1 thing at a time... It's ok to feel overwhelmed but afterwards keep on going.
This video was very helpful, thank you!
Hey Mel, Love all your vids and learn something from most of them. One thing maybe I've missed in the past. ... Can you please tell us how you get your photos to the listing. Do you use an app? Thanks CJ
Mel, please also do a video showing us how you lot up childrens books and also how you price your childrens books. Thank you.
Great haul Mel!
My son is named after a character from the Sackett series.
That’s so cool!
How do you know you got the right bundle when picking for orders if they're stacked on the same shelf? Love the efficiency and organization!
@@WindieWindy the bundles get a little number sticker which is done while I’m photographing
I'm sure you do not have to mix up keywords - In UK just adding Bundle # 1 , Bundle #2 Bundle # 3 etc etc to the title gets over ebay restriction . I mention this as you will struggle to make 20 odd variations on just the keywords
I’d rather use different keywords than use bundle numbers as know one is searching those numbers.
@@backfromburnoutsorry should have explained more clearly. You use same title with all the same keywords in same order and just add #1 # 2 etc at end of same title. For some reason here in UK eBay does not see the keywords in same order as a duplicated listing. Try and see if it works for you. I’m sure you know but also you can used “variations” to list multiple bundles under one listing title. Not sure I like this as a bit more complex to set up a listing using variances. I tried an experiment when I had 2 sets of exactly same books worth over £25 or more each. One lot I listed each book separately the other lot listied as single listing with variations. To date I have sold more of the separately listed books than the single listing with variations. I think buyer must find the separate listings easier than a single listing with multiple variations. Thanks for this video I find your approach really refreshing and thought through. As an aside most books typically have zero value in UK unless a specialist subject. We have a number of wholesale companies that sell single books at £2.50-£3.00 with free shipping. You cannot compete with that. CDs and DVDs have gone the same way leaving those of us with large personal collection and no way to resell our collections…..
FYI - Louis L'Amour Last of the Breed is not a Western book. It is still a great story! I'm enjoying your videos!
Mel,have you thought about paying an editor for your videos? Saves you time and you can focus on ebay and recording content.
Question: If you had books that were originally listed as individuals but are very old listings, would you A) delete the listing and combine them with books of the same genre in a new listing or B) put them on a sale even though the price would be break even or even a possible small loss?
Hi mel❤ Eric great to see you
Hi Mel. Do you tell people you are a reseller when purchasing from fb marketplace? Thank you for all your videos and helpful information. Shane
Yes if it comes up in conversation or they ask. They don’t care, I’m solving a solution to their problem and they just want the books gone and the cash in their pockets.
@backfromburnout thank you
I would have done bundles of SIX 6️⃣ NOT 5 so you could stack two stacks of 3 and then wrap them so the would go nice in the mailing package.
Kinda funny....years ago I sold a huge lot of Louis L'Amour books and they went to Australia. Nice coincidence
I'm surprised you're not checking out authors or books on sites like Goodreads that have lists of books and series from authors and you can sort them by publication order or recommended reading order . For Louis L'Amour there's 4 series with such books.
The Sacketts is the largest with 17 books - maybe you could split the series in 3 parts and sell bundles of 5-6 in the series. Talon & Chantry series has 8 books - if you have all 8 books it may be worth selling those as a bundle of 8 books, complete series.
I did split the Sackets and bundled them together.
Awesome video!
Would you list all the bundles on the same day or stagger into different days so you won’t have all of the same listing type one after the other
Possibly stagger this quantity so I don’t flood my store with only westerns.
On the US eBay, when using a Laptop, we can make multiple draft copies from the first draft (as many as we want). You mentioned using "Sell Similar". Does your eBay software have that feature?
Using the draft copy feature, I normally make a boiler plate draft for this type of listing, putting in all the common info that won''t change from bundle to bundle, so that I don't have to take time deleting the changing data. Then I make 12, 20 or 30 draft copies in one click and push on, uploading photos and finishing the draft. Does you eBay software have that feature? 😊
Yes we can do drafts like that also
@@backfromburnout I find making multiple draft copies a bit faster then Sell Similar, when I'm doing a group of similar items. When I make a Sell Similar from one of my own listings, I have to then delete all the photos and type over the any Item Specifics that are not thee same. By making multiple Drafts I start with only the common data and then ad each items specifics. Saves on all the data deleting. But both methods are great time savers.
Thanks Mel 😊
Are you able to show us the actual profit of your high end and low end books? I know you work on averages, but it would be nice to see the actual numbers after fees.
I look at my weekly numbers as an overall and not individual items. I use the eBay calculator to know my margins. I explain it more in this video: ua-cam.com/video/ycDU2IxkxSI/v-deo.html
I've always heard it pronounced "La Moo+urr" ... makes sense, since its a french sirname.
Thanks for the post Mel. You are to cute and I've learned a lot from you. Thank you.
How do you setup Ebay to combine shipping when you have a customer that buys multiple items? I have setup a business policy to add $1 for every other item that sells in any category, but it never combines. It goes through as if they are paying for each item independently and I have to manually refund them which is a pain.
Mine is free postage so I only have to combine orders during the shipping process
Hi, do you not factor in COG when figuring out bundle pricing? I would add COG (bulk lot price / # books x books in lot) + approx fees + shipping - (if doing free shipping) and then see what my per bundle profit would be to make sure it meets metrics of profit per sale. But public math is hard 😂
Mel said the whole haul cost $25 so it really wouldn’t be worth the time to do that in this case.
Sometimes you need to run the numbers prior to purchasing the haul if you’re not familiar with the items. In this case, I’ve sold these books many times and knew prior to purchasing how much they would roughly sell for and that it would be a profitable haul for me.
@@laserflip8094 thanks but I meant in general. Mel was explaining how to do this in general. I always factor in the cost of goods.
@@backfromburnout that makes sense. Thanks Mel for answering.
I'd like to know about mailing books in bags vs boxes. I'm concerned that people will complain If I mail books in bags. Any tips?
Hi Mel from Essex in the UK
Thank you for your informative video
Hey, was that an op shop sale for 6 for $1, or are your oppies cheaper on the East coast, My bundles i brought yesterday was 6 for $10... great educational i would have never known to do westerns..
Will you list all thirty bundles at once or a few a week?
In the description, do you write the title, isbn etc of each book in the bundle?
Nope. I copy and paste my title and have a generic saved description that I paste below it.
Awesome video