Pack Books Well To Get Top Dollar

You’ve entered your ISBN, learned what BookScouter’s vendors will pay, and decided where you’re selling your book. You’ve evaluated your book’s condition with a critical eye and are happy about the money you expect to receive. There’s just one remaining step: packing up the book to keep it safe in transit. And by packing books well you can avoid damage during shipping to ensure they arrive in their best condition and qualify for a top resell value. In other words, taking the time to pack them well increases the odds your book arrives safely and you receive the money you expect.

Here’s a checklist for you to follow:

Choose Your Next Box Carefully

Choose a properly sized box, and make sure it’s at least as sturdy as a shoebox. Damage during shipping can occur with flimsy boxes, especially during times of inclement weather. Check to see if you have a box from a previous online purchase. Brick-and-mortar stores usually have boxes you may take. As you sell more books online, you may need to buy boxes in bulk. You can order boxes from Uline or eBay.

It’s A Wrap

Place your book(s) in the box with the packing slip. If your box is considerably larger than the book, wrap it in bubble wrap to ensure that it doesn’t move around doesn’t get damaged in transit. You can buy bubble wrap in bulk online or you can use newsprint, bubble wrap, or packing material from previous shipments. Shake the box to make sure you can’t hear the book sliding around. If the book gets jostled on its journey, its corners could get crushed or its pages wrinkled, resulting in less money for you. Make sure you have the correct packing slip with the corresponding books. If the packing slip and the books don’t match up, you won’t get paid.

Seal The Deal

Tape the box shut. You never know what weather your package may encounter, and you don’t want rain seeping into the box and damaging your book. Seal the box with packing tape, taking special care on the corners and seams. Sealing the box well should prevent any possible water from ruining your books.

Sense of Direction

Tape the shipping label to the top of the box. To avoid damaging the shipping label, tape down the entire label. If you start shipping in bulk you may look into buying pre-made label slips from a shipping company (UPS, FedEx, USPS) or just off Amazon. They are fairly inexpensive and save time, effort, and tape.

Finish Line

Drop off your package. All vendors on BookScouter use one of the three major carriers in the United States: USPS, UPS, or FedEx. You’ll need to drop your box of books at the carrier so it can send the package to the selected company. Depending on where you shipped your box and what carrier you used, it can take anywhere from one to ten days for the vendor to get it. UPS and FedEx usually take three days or less, while USPS can sometimes take 10 business days.