Finding library books sales may seem like an easy thing to do if you know how to use the internet, but you may not even know where to start. Library sales can have some of the best books at really affordable prices and can make a great place find books that are actually worth selling on Amazon. However, If you have been to a few library sales before, then you may know that book dealers travel from far and wide to attend these events and it can be fierce competition. This article is designed to help you find library sales, and with less competition.
Use Book Sale Finder To Find Book Sales
Book sale finder is a great resource for finding book sales. They are essentially a marketing hub for book sales. friends of the library groups and other book stores advertise their sales on book sale finder for a fee and people like you and me can see when these sales are happening.
Booksale finder has a map of the US that will let you click on any state you want to look for book sales near. This can be quite handy if you're trying to double dip and turn a work trip into a vacation. Also, be sure to check the bookstores section, you never know what treasures are waiting to be found!
Search Facebook Events For Book Sales
I love finding book sales from facebook. Typically, if I find a sale from facebook that is not listed on book sale finder, I try to make sure I go. I have had many times when I go to these type of book sales and take home huge profits because other book sellers didn't know about it and I did with some due diligence. So how do you find these sales? Search for "books" or "book sale" in facebook in the events section. Facebook doesn't do a very good job of sorting them by day or distance so its a lot of trouble, but if you're willing to do the work, you will probably strike gold.
Call Libraries For More Information
Yes, calling libraries can be quite a headache but this can make you more money than any of the other methods. This is my secret sauce for finding library sales that are not advertised very well and I usually come out with some of the best books they have. They key to this method isn't just calling any library you can find on google. For it to be an asset in your business, you are going to want to create a spreadsheet and include important information such as library's name, phone number, county, address, and a notes section.
Systematically, you are going to want to look up all the libraries in say your state or at least within 2 hours of driving to start with. Search for them by county, and call and ask important questions such as "does your library have a friends of the library group?" "Does your library have book sales, and how often?" Collect your data and organize it within the spreadsheet. If you do this you will have a competitive edge on every bookseller and book dealer on your immediate area.
Using A Library Directory
If calling libraries seems like too much work, you probably will never discover some of the best sources of books. Unfortunately for you, I can't do the calling for you but I can help you discover a pretty comprehensive list of public libraries. Most state governments have a website that has a list of all the public libraries in the state. North Carolina Library Directory is a great example of how you can get majority of the information on the list without having to do all the data entry.
To find libraries in your state, just simply google your state name and public library directory. Once you are looking in the search results, it will probably be the top 1-3 results but you should make sure that the site ends in .gov. Download the list to get that data in your spreadsheet and you can start calling libraries and them them off as you go.
Sign Up For Library Email List
I have signed up for many library email lists and this has allowed me to be the only person scanning for books at a library sale. Its no better feeling than finding a good source and having it all to yourself. One particular sale i remember was a small christian library, It was a tuesday and I was one out of 5 people in the entire sale. Of course I bought every profitable book they had. Thanks to being on their email list, I heard about the sale and showed up and I was rewarded for it. So always ask if they have an email list, you would like to sign up.
Conclusion
Finding library book sales doesn't have to be hard, you may have just needed better information to find out how to go about the process. Now you are equipped with the various methods I use to find library book sales and how to find ones less advertised to ensure bigger profits. So the only thing left is the action. Don't hesitate to put this plan in action and soon you will have many library sales on your calendar and plenty of profits to enjoy!
P.S. - Also keep track of how you did at each sale to compare to other sales as well as same sales that are annually or biannually. You can cut out the book sales that don't perform as well after attending them a few times.