Don’t overlook boxed sets!

Hey everyone! Sorry for the long delay between posts. What can I say – I’m a very, very bad blogger. No excuses!

However, today I’ll try to make up for it by offering some real, practical advice for those of you that, like me, sell books on Amazon and/or eBay: BOXED SETS!

Here’s an example of what I’m talking about – this boxed set of Harry Potter paperbacks at Amazon:

Harry Potter Box Set 1-4

Now what’s interesting about this set is that it isn’t what you might think of as “valuable”, for several reasons:

1. They’re paperbacks.
2. They’re not first editions.
3. They’re not the complete Harry Potter series, just the first four.

Yet check it out – even if you’re not selling through Amazon FBA, you could still charge $20 or more with a reasonable expectation of getting it. For an investment of about $5.00 at at your local Goodwill store, that’s not too shabby!

Also, take a look at the seller listings for these paperbacks. Notice how many of them say “No Slipcase” or “No Box”? Amazingly, a lot of your competitors don’t seem to feel any compunctions about offering a “boxed set” without a box!

So think about it: if you’re a buyer, and you want to buy a BOXED SET, wouldn’t you be more likely to buy from a seller who says, “BOX INCLUDED!” and posts photos to prove it? I would!

Another issue with boxed sets is that more than once, I’ve found one in a thrift store where one of the books was missing or in bad condition. Here’s an example that I just sold:

The Second Chronicle of Thomas Covenant by Stephen Donaldson

I purchased this boxed set from a local Goodwill store for $5.99. When I got it home, I found that one of the books had sustained some serious damage and brought down the condition of the entire set from “Very Good” to “Acceptable”. So I purchased another copy of it, the cheapest one I could find on Amazon ($3.99) and replaced it in the set. It sold for $25.00 – not a huge profit, but a decent enough return.

So don’t overlook boxed sets – if it has a good sales rank on Amazon, and you can get it for less than $10.00, it’s worth your attention!

Thanks for reading! Tune in next time when I’ll have some tips about Book Club Editions that can be surprisingly valuable!