I thought I’d post another update on my efforts to sell used homeschool books, maybe it will encourage you to try it. If you recall, I began this little project mid March. In the last 2 weeks of March, I cleared about $80. Then, in April, I earned close to $400 selling books mostly on Amazon and Cathswap, which is a moderated yahoo group.
May was another productive month in my efforts to purge some of our no-longer-used homeschool materials and recover some value for them. In spite of taking a break from posting additional items during the 3rd week of May, I earned almost $340.
I would think that spring is a popular time to purchase homeschooling materials and this may have boosted those numbers. I also tried to keep prices fair and take into consideration how old the edition was in spite of its condition and whether I got multiple uses out of it. I find it highly unsatisfying to make a trip to the post office if I’m only making a few dollars on a book, so I tended to list higher value items or bundle low value items in one lot.
I will continue to list things and will likely try to limit my trips to the post office (that’s part of what burned me out that 3rd week in May).
In addition to the resources I listed in my first post on this topic, I have since discovered another forum which allows the sale of used homeschool materials. The Well Trained Mind has a well-organized, easy-to-navigate board for discussing homeschool issues and selling used homeschool items. In order to minimize spam and fraud, however, they require a 50 post minimum before listing an item for sale. I think this does protect the members and boosts member confidence on both sides of the transaction. Although I would have happily participated on the board as another homeschool resource, I’m not interested in spending time doing that at this point and can’t vouch for the activity there. I’m sure it’s a valuable resource, though.
I’d love to hear whether you have tried selling any homeschool books. Please share other ways to get rid of used materials.