Have You Bought or Sold Things on Half.com (Books, CD's, DVD's)??

[karina5]

I just listed some of DH's old textbooks and some CD's last night. So I'm curious if people use this site a lot, either for buying or selling.

[xmysticprincessx]

i'd also list them on amazon.com. i sell on both sites. when it sells on one, i just remove it from the other ASAP (espcially textbooks, which will be popular in the next month).

i've bought textbooks on both half and amazon. half.com is owned by ebay. and if you have a paypal account, you can print postage from your computer. delivery confirmation is free with priority mail, and 18 cents with media mail. delivery confirmation is well worth it since i get at *least* one email a week from buyers wanting to know when their stuff was shipped or when it will arrive since they didnt get it yet. (i'm not even talking stuff they bought 2 weeks ago... they're whining about things they bought earlier this week!) i noticed that when i use delivery confirmation, i dont get those emails. maybe i'm just cranky right now since i *just* answered one of those "where's my stuff" emails and i *almost* had the lady get delivery confirmation but charged her the lesser shipping rate.

there can be a significant difference in price on amazon vs half. some books are going for $10 more on one site vs the other.

i would also offer priority mail shipping. some people need the book really quickly and will pay more for yours if you offer priority. if its a smaller book, it'll fit into one of the flat rate envelopes and will cost $4.60 to ship no matter where in the US its going or how much it weighs. if its too big for that, the flat rate boxes are generally a good way to go (for $8.95). the mailperson at the counter will be able to tell you if its cheaper via regular priority or flat rate box.

half is owned by ebay, so its a reputable site. i've been using it for about 7 years (right after it was launched). if they are current textbooks, they will sell quickly. cds are hit or miss. the ones that are older or that there's a zillion copies for sale will take forever to sell, so i'd just take those to a used cd store and see what they'd give you. (at least you'd get rid of the clutter!)

[Areannasmom]

i love half.com
just my 2cents

[Semi_Crunchy]

I like half.com but I've only ever bought and never sold. I've never had any issues with any of the sellers, the prices are easy to compare so I can get the best deal. Shipping is always standard/media shipping...unlike ebay where they charge you unreasonable shipping sometimes (which I never bid on those anyway!). I will add that I usually only buy books from half.com

[Red Sonja]

I've bought and sold books on half.com, I've always been happy with my transactions there.

[heather_c]

I have also bought and sold on half.com. The transactions have been easy for me. I really like it for hard to find books.

[crunchy_mama]

I have bought and sold there

[miss_sonja]

Both! I love selling there because it's so easy, much easier and less stressful than ebay. No waiting for an auction to end or worrying that you've set the opening bid too low.

[nolansmummy]

Bought most my textbooks last semester on half.com. It was great i had no problems. If i had known, or thought about it, i would have gotten priority shipping cus i was nervously awaiting my books for a few weeks but otherwise perfect transactions. so much easier than ebay.

[queenginseng]

I have bought and sold my textbooks on half.com. I also listed them on Amazon at the same time. Very easy!

[kijip]

We buy on Half.com a lot for text books. It has always been great.

[HydeParkB]

I sell my textbooks (and some thrift store books) on half.com and amazon.com. This is also how I buy most of my textbooks. The newer the textbook, the more likely it is to sell.

I would recommend a good description of the book's condition, in addition to the general Very Good/Good/Acceptable classification. I don't like to buy from sellers who look like they have a million books listed and don't give the condition of the specific book.

My sales volume (we're talking 10's of books per year) is better at amazon. I like that amazon tells you exactly what amount of money you will get if you sell. However, their fees are higher for small time sellers.

Also, I've been burned by negative feedback on Amazon a couple of times. I think buyers have much higher expectations there. I got a negative for the post office mangling a new padded envelope. The buyer never contacted me, just gave me a negative feedback when I had only had a couple other sales. Also, if I list a book as Very Good on Half.com, it'll probably go as Good on Amazon. I'm also more likely to use reused packaging for half.com orders, but it's always clean and strong materials.

In the product description of a book or cd, Amazon has the sales rank. I find that very helpful in deciding if I what to sell a book or just trade/donate it. If it's a book that is going for $10 and the sales rank is over 500,000, I won't bother to list it. But if the book is in the top 100, I would probably post it because I suspect it will sell in a week or two.

I ship all of my books via USPS. I tend to use Media Mail through Paypal shipping. I only buy insurance on books over $30. Also, I take my books to the post office nearest to the regional sorting center; I think that helps me get my books to the recipients faster.

At first I thought I didn't think I didn't have anything else to add to this topic. There is good information above.

Good luck selling!