Q&A: I bought a skid of worthless remainder books, what should I do?

QUESTION: I purchased a skid of 450 remainder books for $2.50 per book from a wholesaler on the Internet, thinking I'd resell them on Amazon. I didn't get to pick the titles, and it turns out they're all worth pennies. What should I do?

ANSWER: This is why I don't recommend that new sellers jump into the remainder or overstock business. If you're buying a pot-luck assortment, be prepared to lose most of your money.

But don't get too depressed. The only way you'll become a better bookseller is by making a few mistakes, so chalk this up to experience.

I see three possibilities here:

-- Group the books into small lots, three to 10 books per lot (grouped by author, genre, or theme) and auction them on eBay, listing the title and author of each book. Set just enough of a shipping fee to cover the postage. This seems to work well for lots of people on eBay -- in the "Books, Wholesale, Bulk Lots" category. This is the most labor-intensive option, but would provide the best financial return (and build your feedback score on eBay.)

-- Auction the books in larger lots (25 to 50 books per lot) without naming the titles. You should indicate in you listing that the lot is a great deal for book readers, but not for booksellers. Include a picture of the stack of books to encourage more bids.

-- Donate the books to your local library or charity such as the Salvation Army, and you can probably arrange pickup of the books and a tax deduction.

Don't dwell on your mistakes, look on the bright side. I've got about three tons of bookselling mistakes sitting in my basement, but I've learned a lot from it.