Q&A: How much should I pay for my friend's books?
QUESTION: A friend of mine has over 200 barely used nonfiction books he is willing to sell to me. He wants me to either buy them all outright, or give him a percentage of the sales. I don't know where to begin on giving him a quote for all the books.
ANSWER: My instinct would be to buy the whole lot -- but only if I could get them for a couple dollars apiece.
I usually pay no more than $2 or $3 for a book, and that's when I can hand-pick them at a sale and know that on average I'll have a nice profit.
Unfortunately, I have a hunch your friend is expecting more cash.
If you haven't gotten a good look at the lot and don't have any idea what it's worth, my suggestion would be to sell the collection on consignment. Give your friend the proceeds in return for, say, a 20-percent commission. That way you could eliminate the risk of losing money -- and you'll probably learn a bit about book picking.
I hope your friendship survives this venture too.
ANSWER: My instinct would be to buy the whole lot -- but only if I could get them for a couple dollars apiece.
I usually pay no more than $2 or $3 for a book, and that's when I can hand-pick them at a sale and know that on average I'll have a nice profit.
Unfortunately, I have a hunch your friend is expecting more cash.
If you haven't gotten a good look at the lot and don't have any idea what it's worth, my suggestion would be to sell the collection on consignment. Give your friend the proceeds in return for, say, a 20-percent commission. That way you could eliminate the risk of losing money -- and you'll probably learn a bit about book picking.
I hope your friendship survives this venture too.
posted by Steve Weber at 6/20/2006
1 Comments:
Steve is so right about the friendship surviving. When money enters a relationship it's fraught with possible problems. I wouldn't give a quote, but ask him/her how much they want and that should give you a good idea of expectations. However, the only way I'd do it is how Steve recommends--commission only unless this is your very best friend on earth who trusts you totally and won't be second guessing you.
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