|
Reader Responses & Reviews of "Online Bookselling:..."
This Page Last Updated 09/22/2007 Return To Online Bookselling Home Page |
||
|
Here are some sample book review titles from Amazon.com book reviews:
Insightful Tips
and Experienced Booksellers
Above are sample reviews of CD-ROM & Paperback versions, read all the Amazon.com reviews: CD-ROM Book, Paperback Book If you have read my book and are inclined to do so, I would really appreciate you taking the time to write a review on Amazon.com. Below are the hyperlinks to the Amazon website to make it easy for you to find where you can submit a review. After clicking on the hyperlink simply scroll down to the "Product Details" section and click on "Write a review." I thank you in advance for taking the time to write and submit a review.
If you purchased the CD-ROM version, Click Here to leave a review.
If you purchased the Paperback version, Click Here to leave a review.
If you purchased "Bookkeeping for Booksellers," Click Here to leave a review. For software, you have to scroll down to the "Customer Reviews" (near the bottom of the Amazon.com product page) to leave a review. February 28, 2007
Following is a series of emails I had with a customer recently. If you want to see what can happen to a brand new online bookseller, this is worth a reading.
This is her initial email dated: February 15, 2007
Dear Mike,
For the last few days I have begun putting many of the 200 books I am trying to sell, on Amazon with some small success. I would have been classified as a low ball seller! On just about every listing I was the lowest seller of some 30+ books thinking mine would sell first and the money would be helpful.
I immediately began reading your book after I received it late yesterday. I stopped at one of the library branches today and looked at their donated books. You will never believe what I found! Based on your suggestions on page 52, I went thru several of the books that fit in the category of college texts or books that would have been used in classes. Several books on finance had been donated.
I went to the computers available to the public and checked out several books on chambal.com (which was a great resource and certainly new to me). The first book I checked was The Junk Bond Revolution by Fenton Bailey and the price was $34.40 used!
After going thru a few more books I checked another finance book Margin of Safety by Seth A. Klarman . I almost fell off the chair when I checked Amazon and then Chambal.com and the value was $1323.00. I still can't believe this! I HAVE YOU TO THANK FOR THIS GOOD FORTUNE!!
My question now is some concern and fear about making a mistake in what to list as the price for the Margin of Safety. It's one thing to sell something too cheaply when it's less than $20.00. This is a whole different ball game! I am retired so have the time, desire and financial need to start developing a small business. There is always a learning curve for new knowledge and need to develop the "ground rules" which your book so well outlines. I'm anxious to finish my "homework" by completing your book and applying the things I read and learn.
In the meantime, I am setting up this business to earn some money and would like to be able to benefit from this "gift" which will indeed provide me a "margin of safety" in this new endeavor ! If it wouldn't be too much of an imposition, I would welcome your advice and any words of wisdom you might have regarding the sale of this book.
Thank you for taking the time to write this book and share your knowledge!
Patti L.
After researching her find myself, I was hesitant to tell her what she should do, but offered her an explanation of what I would do if I had found that book. She followed my suggestion, and today (February 28, 2007) she again emailed me and said:
Dear Mike, You would be most welcome to use my initial email to you for the Forum, which was about finding an expensive book (Margin of Safety) and asking for your help to figure out the price for listing. Now, as Paul Harvey would say "the rest of the story". I did exactly what you suggested. I listed the book for $1395 and today someone bought it! I could not believe it. Again, I have you to thank for giving the wise counsel to start out at the listed market value of the book. The only small down side of the sale was that Amazon is now conducting a review of my selling account and I will be unable to list anything for approximately 30 days. After contacting them this am, apparently this is common when there is a large sale and they need to have input as to the quality of my services. None of the 23 people who have bought books have complained or praised my books and/or service. I'm trying to look at this as an opportunity to spend more time searching for books and getting better organized. I live in REDACTED during the winter months and in REDACTED the rest of the year so it will mean hauling the books back to REDACTED. I think it will be well worth the effort as the opportunities for finding books are not nearly as great back there as they are in REDACTED. I currently have 123 books listed for sale (of course during this period when Amazon checks with the purchasers my books aren't even listed for sale). Goodwill and the libraries here in REDACTED seem to be my best sources. After heeding your excellent advice of "don't buy a book until you know how much it is worth" I've been going thru the process of getting a long list of ISBN's at Goodwill, going back home to check out the prices on my PC and then returning to the store. Of course, there were the couple of times when no matter how carefully I placed the books that looked really good in an inconspicuous shelf of other books, I come back an hour later and the great ones (in my mind) were gone! Fortunately at the library I use their computers for checking chambal or Amazon. After checking with Scout Pal and Verizon for comparability I think that that small investment will save me a lot of time and help discover more books in a timely manner. Again, I cannot thank you enough for your kindness in helping "launch" this new enterprise. I continue checking out the forum and realize this probably is designed for "journeyman" booksellers, but I'm learning a lot just reading the conversations! Regards, Patti
This was Patti's first ever book scouting trip and she found a book that profited her over $1,390.00 in her first two weeks! Kudos are in order!
February 25, 2007
A customer left me the following feedback that I really appreciate. I get a lot of very positive email feedback, but a small percentage of customers take the time to comment on my book and I, like other authors, do like to see people leave feedback, particularly Amazon.com reviews. You can select the buyer name to link to the Amazon.com seller feedback page.
5
out of 5:
"Excellent book, this book will make me an extra income of $25,000 a
year, so if your a book seller do not buy because i don't want you to
know this."
January 30, 2007
Following is an email I received yesterday from a customer regarding the spreadsheets I include on the "Bookkeeping for Booksellers" CD.
Hello Michael, Thank you so much for sharing your bookselling knowledge to all of us. Your book and especially your program, Bookselling for Booksellers, has been a tremendous help to me. Your generosity is greatly appreciated. I’m asking for your help. I’ve used the Business Projection part of your program to project income for the next 11 months. I added 10 columns to the last, one for each of the next 10 months. These columns were all based on the last one. I’ve attached the spreadsheet to this email. Since numbers aren’t my forte, words are, I ran these numbers by my brother and asked him to pick the projections apart looking for any weaknesses. He is a former business owner and a highly successful businessman with a great business sense. He sold his last business for several million dollars. He was only too happy to oblige. To my surprise, he was surprised and very impressed at how well thought out your bookkeeping program was. After reviewing everything, he couldn’t find any weakness in the program or the numbers I had input. He felt it had everything necessary to start this business and make a success of it. However, he had two concerns. As you’ll see from the attached spreadsheet, I projected income based on acquiring books at $1.50 on average and turning them around for an average $11.00 price. I used the conservative sales ratio of newly acquired books at 28% and remaining stock at 6.5% for all months. So, his first concern is: are these numbers realistic or too optimistic? What do you think? I’m not starting out completely green. I’ve been acquiring books from friends of the library, estate sales and thrift shops for over 20 years and have built up a substantial collection. I have a reasonably good feel for books. I even ran a part-time bookselling business for one year back in 2002, though after reading your book, I now realize everything was done in the wrong way and guaranteed my lackluster sales (about $300 per month working about 10-15 hours per week). My main mistakes were not refreshing my inventory every week and focusing on bargain basement books instead of quality books at high profit margins. I’ve also bought a scanner and will use <XYZ Scouting Software> to help me at various booksales and other book buying venues. Plan to set <XYZ Scouting Software> to indicate a buy only for books that will sell for a minimum of $11.00 with an Amazon sales ranking of 600,000 or less. My brother’s second concern was the very aggressive inventory growth rate I chose. He wanted to know if based on a 60 – 70 hour work week, is the growth rate practical or as he asked pie-in-the-sky? To say, can one person do all this working the hours just noted or will they need help? He was especially concerned about monthly finding that many books for $1.50 average that will sell for $11.00. So, is this growth rate sustainable with the figures I’ve indicated? What do you think? I live in the Detroit metropolitan neighborhood with access to at least 60 public libraries that sell books and about 40 thrift stores within driving distance. Also can buy books from about 2 dozen brick and mortar used bookstores, one the biggest in the Midwest. One has no online presence the biggest a very minimal one only for antiquarian and rare books. Thanks for taking the time to read this letter. I highly value your opinion and would greatly appreciate your thoughts and opinions on this matter. My email is <XXXX@XXXXXXX.com>. You can also call me at <XXX-XXX-XXXX>. Thanks again for sharing invaluable information, much of which can be found nowhere else. You are truly a great human being! Sincerely, Don P. (Note: those things between < and > in bold are things I edited.) I sent Don a detailed response after reviewing the projections he developed. In short, what he forecast for a business growth is doable for an ambitious entrepreneur, particularly since he is located in the Detroit metro area and no doubt has access to some good resources for buying inventory.
January 27, 2007
Following is an email I received from a customer recently: Dear Mr. Mould, This evening I ordered your book & the bookkeeping for booksellers package using PayPal. My friend loaned me a copy of your book shortly before Christmas. I have found the information you provide about online book selling to be invaluable. After reading your book I subscribed to "asellertool", which is compatible with my pre-paid cell phone. Immediately, I was able to identify used books (at thrift shops/yard sales, etc.) appropriate for resale online. My inventory is still small (350 books), and my time for book scouting is limited to weekends. During January I have purchased over 100 books for resale, thinking I would like to increase my inventory. However, it's hard because they sell so fast. As of this evening, I have sold enough books to have a $750 profit for the month of January 2007, after all expenses (except income taxes). I look forward to having my own copy of your book, as well as the bookkeeping spreadsheets. I will contact you again to sign up for the bookseller forum on your website when the book and spreadsheets arrive. I would like to thank you for the inspiration you have provided to move forward with bookselling as a part time hobby/business. It is very enjoyable, and the additional income is great! Please have a nice day. Thank you again. Sincerely, Emily C. I never get tired of hearing from my customers and having them tell me that my book has been a big help to them. I didn't write it to get rich, I wrote it so that other people with the ambition to run their own legitimate home business could realize both success and profits.
March 10, 2006
"This is the sixth book covering online bookselling that I
have read and by far the most comprehensive. The 209 pages of information
stuffed into the CD-ROM was filled with information and topics on every
facet of the business. Michael E. Mould explains in extreme detail who to
sell through, what books to look for, where to find books, how to arrange
your business, prepare books, software to track your inventory plus much
more." "With this book any person could generate additional monthly income proportional to the number of books in your inventory, for example, if 3000 books are listed for sale online, then expect sales of approximately $1 per book listed for sale or $3000 per month. This sales approximation is realistic and having an inventory of 3000 books is a small investment in time each week searching for books at the local Salvation Army or Thrift store. Most folks I contacted online had an inventory of 10000 or more books and still held down a day job. Mould must be some kind of Engineer or Rocket Scientist as this book is brilliant at simplifying the business into something an average person can understand and do. Thank You Mike Mould :)"
An eBay buyer writes: "Great book, quick ship. thank you!! AAA+++" "Fantastic book (Online bookselling) and fast service. Would definitely buy from them again. Thanks."
"As a beginning book seller or even an experienced one, this is the book to read. Everything you need to know about online book selling. I highly recommend this book."
J. Child, Portola, CA. "Worth every penny to the serious online bookseller"
safe_harbour_books, Acworth, GA
"Fast shipping &
great product. Thanks." "New seller gets turbo charge.., April 10, 2006"
"I contact Michael Mould about his book and he was very helpful in answering questions before I purchased. After receiving the CD-Rom (which he signed for me, thanks Michael, I will auction it 1st ed autographed...just kidding) I read through it and put many of the principles into play. I have since built an inventory about 300 books (been at this 3 weeks now) and intend to grow this to about 2,000 or so. I have seen significant profits on some books which I bought for $1 and sold for $50. Bottom line, is that this manual provided by Michael is real, authentic, time tested, and practical. Most of all it works. You will not waste your money on this if you are serious about your book online book business. Thanks for sharing Michael, our family is having a lot of fun with this."
Bibliomaniac "Soli Dio Gloria" (Atlanta, GA USA) "Product arrived on time. The e-book is very useful, and has a lot of good information."
"Quick delivery. Good product."
"Prompt, efficient and professional service. Item exactly as described and well worth the purchase price. Thank you!"
"Super Fast Shipping, great book, I'm learning alot."
"Nice job!" "Great transaction, thanks!"
"AWESOME INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIAL ~ A MUST HAVE FOR THOSE WANTING TO LEARN THE BUSINESS OF BOOKSELLING, May 4, 2006"
"IN A NUTSHELL, EVERYTHING IS HERE FOR YOU IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING LEARNING ABOUT BECOMING AN ONLINE BOOKSELLER. WITHIN THE FIRST WEEK OF STUDYING THE INFORMATION THAT MICHAEL HAS SO EFFECTIVELY PUT TOGETHER, I FOUND BOOKS AT BOOK SALES, LIBRARIES AND EVEN GARAGE SALES FOR ANYWHERE FROM $0.25 TO NO MORE THAN A DOLLAR EACH. ALL OF THESE BOOKS CAN BE RESOLD FOR $25.00 OR MORE EACH, MY BEST FIND SO FAR BEING A BOOK PURCHASED FOR $0.25 THAT CAN BE RESOLD FOR $85.00. I AM THRILLED THAT I CAME ACROSS MICHAEL'S AD FOR THIS BOOK AND PURCHASED IT; IT IS WORTH MANY TIMES OVER THE SMALL INVESTMENT FOR SUCH PRECISE AND USABLE INFORMATION. THANK YOU SO MUCH MICHAEL MOULD FOR YOUR EXCELLENT BOOK!"
coloring dreams (Phoenix)
"Excellent! Thanks!"
"Shipped very fast and professionally."
"Very quick service - valuable information"
"Very quick delivery and I'm very happy with the book. Thanks a lot !"
"After reading Mike's website about online bookselling and receiving a thorough answer to my question via email, I got the impression that his book was what I needed as a novice. I purchased his book and I was thoroughly satisfied. This is really an A-Z guide on how to sell books online. Before I purchased Mike's book, I had no clue about how to start an online-bookselling business. Now, I feel very confident that I have the knowledge and a great reference book that will ensure my success. I am looking forward to putting this knowledge into action."
Thanks again Mike, Bridget B., Walnut, CA I received the following in an email from a customer on June 5, 2006
... "I'm reading it online now and I'm VERY impressed. This was truly a labor of LOVE? on your part with all the details you included. You did not scrimp at all.
The book feels like you wrote it to your best friend. I've bought e-books before and been stung. Not this one. After I finish reading, you can count on a heartfelt and detailed testimonial.
thank you so much,"
Allen O., Dearborn, MI
I was very pleased to get this message and was really surprised when I read the review posted on Amazon.com by this same customer on June 7, 2006.
"I've read several books
about bookselling in the past 3 months and NONE of them has the detail
that Michael Mould delivers for a price that is much too low. This is an
incredible value. (Dearborn, MI) "Fast shipping and honest!"
"Quick, as described,"
"what a great book! the book arrived sooner than I thought it would which was great."
You are visitor:
To This Page Thank You For Visiting
|
Look Up Any Book On Amazon.com, Just Click Icon Below
Click Image To Order
Click Image To Order
Click Image To Order
|
|
As real as it gets
Delivers just what the title says it will
Comprehensive, Easy to Follow Guide to Online Bookselling
This Book is Worth Every Penny!
