Opening a book is like opening a door to a whole new world. For many avid readers, the thought of owning and running their own bookstore is a dream come true. It can offer a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction to see people come in and leave with a book in hand. However, starting a bookstore business is no easy feat. It requires careful planning, research, and execution to make it a success.
In this article, we’d like to share a book reselling business model you may have never heard of and a few insights about the benefits and challenges of running a book reselling business based on bulk used book supply. Tune in!

If you need to pull up book data for millions of books (e.g., from the standard information book title, author, and cover art to less conventional data such as book reviews and price info), where can you get it? By accessing a book database, obviously. In this article, we’ll review and analyze the most popular book databases (both paid and free) with relatively open APIs that can help you retrieve book information by ISBN.

Copyright law protects the exclusive rights of creators of various works: writers, artists, musicians, etc. You can’t take someone’s painting and display it in a gallery as your own; the same goes for music and books. You can’t copy and sell these works as if they are your own works, either. However, there is a limitation to copyright law: you can buy and resell the works of others—according to the first sale doctrine.

In the publishing industry, each book is given a unique identifier called the ISBN (International Standard Book Number). This code acts as a digital fingerprint, simplifying cataloging, distribution, and sales tracking. The ISBN system assigns meaning to the numbers, providing a range of information about the book.
As the publishing industry progresses, so does the ISBN system. It has transitioned from a 10-digit to a 13-digit format and now includes a 979 prefix to accommodate the diverse range of published materials. This blog post will explore what an ISBN is, how it came about, and its role in simplifying the complex world of books and publications.
Hey BookScouters!
Need a few helpful tips to help you while you’re scouting? We’ve got you covered!

Image by Ashley Van Haeften via Flickr
It feels like everyone’s been talking about a recession for the past year and a half. Yet, have we really entered a recession? And if we have, what is the best strategy to develop during the worst economic period? In this blog post, we’ll cover the key points about a recession and reflect on the impact of past recessions—from the bookselling industry’s point of view. We’ll also try to understand what booksellers can do to stay ahead of their finances during the recession.
The Amazon Marketplace is a profitable venue for many booksellers. However, selling books on Amazon comes with strings attached. There are so many bottlenecks, and inventory management is one of the biggest problems each bookseller faces. Yet, regardless of how you sell on Amazon (FBM or FBA), it’s very important to handle your restricted and stranded inventory most effectively.
In this blog post, we’ll take a close look at the problem of restricted inventory from the bookseller’s point of view specifically and try to understand if there is a way to take full control over it.
There is a great channel to sell your book inventory with profit and diversify your reselling efforts you probably didn’t know about. No, it’s not Amazon. It’s BookScouter Bulk Liquidation Tool.
Some of our Pro users might have known its earlier version—Bulk Lookup, but now, it definitely deserves a separate review.