Understanding the weight of books is more important than it might seem at first glance.

For those who sell books—online booksellers, book scouts, or students selling their old textbooks—it’s a way to optimize logistics and profitability. Book weight directly affects shipping costs, the choice of the carrier, and methods for shipping.

In this post, we’ll take a look at the average weights of various book types and provide insights into calculating book weights accurately.

1. Why Book Weight Information Is Important?
2. Who Needs to Know about Book Weight?
3. How to Learn about the Weight of a Book?
4. So, How Much Does a Book Weigh?
5. How Much Does the Average Book Weigh?
   • How Much Does a Paperback Book Weigh?
   • How Much Does a Hardcover Book Weigh?
   • How Much Does a 300-Page Book Weigh?
   • How Much Does a Coffee Table Book Weigh?
   • How Much Does a Textbook Weigh?
   • How Much Does a Comic Book Weigh?
   • How Much Does a Children’s Picture Book Weigh?
6. Do You Need to Know the Book’s Weight to Sell It via BookScouter?

Why Book Weight Information Is Important?

When you sell books online, you should give accurate weight information. This helps calculate shipping costs, explore cost-effective shipping options, and offer reliable shipping estimates. It’s one of the parameters that can make a difference to your customers when they consider making a purchase from you.

Understanding book weights also helps eliminate unexpected shipping charges and improves the overall customer experience.

Who Needs to Know about Book Weight?

• Online booksellers need accurate book weight information to provide potential customers with precise shipping estimates.
• Used book traders often sell books by weight instead of individually, so book weight is also important for them.
• Brick-and-mortar bookstores that buy used books from customers can also weigh books to determine how much store credit or cash they can offer for them (if they sell in bulk, for instance).
• Mail carriers need accurate weight data to calculate shipping rates.

How to Learn about the Weight of a Book?

Undoubtedly, the most accurate way to determine a book’s weight is by using a scale.

So, if you plan to sell books regularly, investing in a basic postage scale is highly recommended. These scales are designed specifically for weighing packages and calculating shipping costs accurately.

1. Weigh Books with a Scale

Alternatively, a kitchen scale can also work for most books. Kitchen scales are readily available and can provide a reasonably accurate weight measurement for your books.

2. Discover Book Weights Through Online Resources

You can also look for book weight information online. In this case, make sure you’re looking for the correct edition. Check the ISBN number of your copy against the one you’ve found online to ensure accurate weight information.

3. Use Book Weight Calculator

To calculate the weight of a book, you can use online book weight calculators. These tools typically require you to input details such as the book’s dimensions, page count, and binding type to provide an estimated weight. Here are a few examples:

• Lugaru Software Book Weight Calculator requires details like book dimensions, page count, binding type, paper type, and printing location to estimate the weight and thickness of a book.
• Bookmobile Book Weight Calculator asks you to enter the book’s trim size, paper weight, number of pages, and binding type to calculate the weight of the book.
• Thomson-Shore’s Book Weight Calculation Guide provides a step-by-step guide with formulas to calculate approximate book weight based on trim size, paper weight, page count, and binding type. It also offers estimates for carton and pallet weights.

So, How Much Does a Book Weigh?

The weight of a book can vary significantly depending on several factors, including the number of pages, the type of paper used, and the binding method.

A standard book can weigh anywhere from a few ounces to several pounds.

In case you don’t have access to either a postage or kitchen scale, you can get a rough estimate of your book’s weight by considering the following factors:

• Paperbacks: A typical paperback book weighs between 6 and 12 ounces (170 to 340 grams), depending on the number of pages and the quality of the paper used.
• Hardcovers: Hardcover books are usually heavier, with an average weight ranging from 1 to 3 pounds (0.45 to 1.36 kg). Larger or more extensive hardcover books may weigh even more.
• Page count: As a general rule, the more pages a book has, the heavier it will be. A 300-page book can weigh anywhere from 10 ounces (283 grams) for a paperback to around 1.5 pounds (0.68 kg) for a hardcover edition.

How Much Does the Average Book Weigh?

So, based on the information above, you can roughly suggest that the average weight of a book typically falls within the range of 1 to 2 pounds (0.45 to 0.9 kg). However, this can vary based on the book’s format and dimensions.

Now, let’s get into more detail and check how much different books weigh on examples.

How Much Does a Paperback Book Weigh?

Paperback books are generally lighter than hardcover books.

A typical mass-market paperback book weighs between 6 and 12 ounces (170 to 340 grams), depending on the number of pages and the quality of the paper used. Most such paperbacks with coarse paper rarely exceed half a pound, except for some lengthier titles.

Trade paperbacks, which are usually higher-quality paperback versions (e.g., popular fiction and nonfiction books, comic books, graphic novels, etc.) usually weigh between 8 to 16 ounces (227 to 454 grams).

What a Plant Knows by Daniel Chamovitz, mass-market paperback, 7.6 oz

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman, mass-market paperback, 12.3 oz

How Much Does a Hardcover Book Weigh?

Hardcover books tend to be heavier due to their sturdy binding and thicker covers. The average weight of a hardcover book ranges from 1 to 3 pounds (0.45 to 1.36 kg), with larger or more extensive books potentially weighing even more.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, hardcover, 11.6 oz

The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle, hardcover, 11.7 oz

Amber Dispels The Darkness by Aquila Lucida, hardcover, 23.8 oz

How Much Does a 300-Page Book Weigh?

A 300-page book can weigh anywhere from 10 ounces (283 grams) to 1.5 pounds (0.68 kg), depending on whether it’s a paperback or a hardcover edition. The weight can vary based on the paper quality, binding method, and the presence of additional elements like illustrations or photographs.

Higher Education in America by Derek Bok, trade paperback, 480 pages, 1.36 lb

How Much Does a Coffee Table Book Weigh?

These books, along with art books and cookbooks, can vary significantly in size but rarely weigh less than 2 pounds (0.91 kg), with some reaching up to 10 pounds (4.54 kg).

Rothko by Jacob Baal-Teshuva, trade paperback, 12.8 oz

Bridges Explained by Trevor Yorke, trade paperback, 10.6 oz

How Much Does a Textbook Weigh?

Hardcover textbooks usually weigh between 2 to 6 pounds (0.91 to 2.72 kg), some heftier textbook volumes may exceed this range. Paperback textbook weight depends on the book size and paper quality.

Master the SAT, paperback, 3.44 lb

How Much Does a Comic Book Weigh?

The average weight of a traditional comic book is 2.2 ounces (62 grams). The small differences in weight between comics from different publishers suggest that they were made using different materials.

Graphic novels are likely heavier than comic books and can range from 8 ounces to over 1 pound (227–450 grams) depending on page count and binding.

The Okay Witch by Emma Steinkellner, graphic novel, trade paperback, 15.5 oz

How Much Does a Children’s Picture Book Weigh?

Children’s picture books have different dimensions and sizes; therefore they can weigh anywhere from 5 to 16 ounces (142 to 454 grams), with smaller-format books weighing just a few ounces.

Do You Need to Know the Book’s Weight to Sell It via BookScouter?

When you sell a book via BookScouter, you don’t have to enter its precise weight. All you need to do is enter the ISBN and check whether the vendors offer the exact match to your edition (e.g., publisher, publishing date, binding, etc.). That’s it. The information about the book’s weight is already in the system, as we receive it together with the book characteristics related to its ISBN.

Men in Style: The Golden Age of Fashion from Esquire—book details on BookScouter

Men in Style: The Golden Age of Fashion from Esquire—book details on BooksRun; vendor page

Conclusion

We hope that today’s article will help you improve your bookselling experience.

After all, in book scouting and selling, the weight of books is more than just a number—it’s a factor that influences other things, shipping costs, specifically—and understanding the subject as well as learning how to weigh books and use book weight calculators are the surest ways to provide accurate shipping estimates.

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!

Online Book Arbitrage vs. Retail Book Arbitrage

Let’s define online book arbitrage and retail book arbitrage and then discuss how the business model we’d like to introduce in this article differs from both.

The major difference between retail book arbitrage and online book arbitrage is the SOURCING METHOD.

Retail arbitrage means you physically visit retail stores (in our case, bookstores, thrift stores, garage sales, etc.) and scan items to find books that sell below market value, then resell them online for a profit. In online arbitrage, you find books selling below market value and resell them online (e.g., on Amazon or eBay) for a profit.

Nowadays, it’s easy to enter the book reselling business, and both the above-described business models are well suited to get started and learn the basics. You can choose one or another depending on personal preferences, skills, and resources. Each model has its own advantages and disadvantages, so it’s important to do research and understand which model aligns best with your goals and strengths. However, after a while, you can hit a glass ceiling in terms of profit. To move on, you’ll have to be on a constant lookout for new business models. Here’s one of the options we’ll be describing further on. 

Next Level Book Reselling: A Business Model to Grow Your Book Arbitrage Small Biz into a Company

There’s a business model in the book reselling niche that will help you grow your small business into a company with 7-figure profits, and it definitely deserves your attention. Well-described by Omar Mohit, the founder of BookzPro, it’s a sort of book reselling arbitrage where you source and buy used books in bulk from non-profit and donation-based organizations like Goodwill, Salvation Army, Savers, and other local chains and then resell them on Amazon for a profit. 

In other words, in this business model, you’ll be creating a SYSTEM that can process a huge amount of books fast and operate large volumes. Here’re its characteristics‌:

Challenges

Like any other book reselling business model, this one comes with strings attached. Here’re some of the challenges you may expect when you choose it:

• Most likely, you will have to go six or seven months without seeing any cash because you’re growing while your earnings are financing the inventory.
• You will have to constantly monitor return on inventory, the key metric that illustrates how much liquidity you are generating versus how much inventory you are holding at any point in time, in real-time.
• You should also be able to employ pricing adjustment algorithms in order to win the buy box, as well as know what percentage of the buy box you are currently in so that you don’t have to compete with others.
• You must constantly find new inventory sources, as the availability of books can vary depending on the donations received by non-profit organizations.
• Additionally, you must invest in storage space and logistics to manage the large quantities of inventory received in each shipment.

Overall, this book arbitrage business model can be quite profitable if you understand the book market and can source inventory at a low cost.

Comparing Margins for Various Book Reselling Business Models

Judging by the interest in the topic and the number of people doing business on Amazon, used book reselling is profitable. However, as in any other business, you need to understand how to organize it and how to control your finances, profit, and losses.

Let’s take a look at some hypothetical numbers and compare the potential profitability: the gross profit margin (the percentage of profit made on the selling price before any expenses are deducted) and the net profit margin (the percentage of profit made on the selling price after all expenses are deducted). The former is useful for comparing the profitability of different products or transactions, while the latter is more useful for assessing the overall profitability of a business or activity.

In online book arbitrage, you typically purchase books from online marketplaces such as Amazon or eBay and then resell them on the same platform or on other marketplaces. The profit margin in online book arbitrage can vary widely depending on the price of the book, the seller’s fees, and shipping costs.

In retail book arbitrage, you buy books from thrift stores or other retail outlets and then resell them on online marketplaces or in person. The profit margin in retail book arbitrage can also vary widely depending on the factors we’ve mentioned earlier.

Once again, remember that these numbers are based on the examples of the two fictional books. Also, remember that the profit margins can vary widely depending on the specific circumstances of each transaction. With different prices, fees, and expenses, as well as such factors as time and effort required to source and resell books, these examples can only be treated as examples. Yet, you can get an illustration of the potential profit you can expect from selling used books.

Bulk buying book reselling business (where you source books from donation-based nonprofits and sell them on Amazon or elsewhere) has:

This means that after they’ve collected all the earnings and subtracted the costs of the books and other expenses, they have a net profit margin of 10%. This is a relatively good result if we take into account the fact that there is no one-size-fits-all answer to what constitutes a good gross profit margin and net profit margin for a book arbitrage business.

Ideally, you would expect something like this:

• Gross profit margin around 50% or higher
• Net profit margin around 20% or higher

Most Amazon sellers get a profit margin of 15%–20%, depending on their category (according to Sellerapp). Half of the sellers (52%) see profit margins higher than 10%; 27% see profit margins above 20% (according to JungleScout).

Yet, it’s important to remember that these are just general guidelines and statistics data based on a selected representative group. Additionally, it’s essential to understand that for a growing business, it’s hardly possible to reach such results fast and maintain them for long. Nonetheless, book arbitrage is a niche with great potential.

Return on Inventory as a Key Metric For a Book Reselling Business

It’s important to note that while book arbitrage can be a profitable business model, it also requires a good understanding of market demand and pricing trends for books, a significant investment in inventory and storage space, and an utterly critical approach to inventory management.

It’s a given that being a book reseller, you have to carry inventory, and often more than what you sell each month, as you need to buy ahead of time. This means it’s crucial to always know the real-time value of your inventory. You have to understand how much you paid out of pocket for your inventory and how much you are generating from it every month. That is how you estimate your return on inventory.

Book arbitrage also carries the risk of being left with inventory that was purchased for a high price but is now being sold for a lower price. 

Managing large quantities of inventory can be challenging and require efficient logistical processes. If you have $2.5 million in inventory and a six-month period before seeing any profit, a large amount of the earnings will go toward financing inventory.

If you are in a growth mode and have a large inventory, you must arrange your funding to cover any shortfalls, as running out of cash can risk your business. You’ll also need to be prepared to fund the additional inventory in advance.

Bookselling Tools

To manage the business, you will need a proper tool. The best-case scenario is finding a software solution that caters to all bookseller needs: product sorting, online item listing, and managing orders from thrift stores or bookstores. Alternatively, you can choose one of the available inventory management systems (check our article Book Inventory Management Software: Comparative Overview to get more details), or you can consider using BookScouter as one of your bookselling instruments. 

BookScouter gives access to real-time buyback prices, which is a huge advantage. Having such information as a part of the payout comparison process helps identify the most suitable sales channel for a book when it’s being processed. Therefore, many seasoned book resellers get a BookScouter Pro subscription and implement its powerful Pro Tools into their business processes and systems.

Conclusion

All in all, book arbitrage is an attractive and profitable business. Yet, the most attraction comes from the fact that nowadays, everyone can become a successful book reseller and make a full-time income from it. Book arbitrage has a low barrier to entry: anyone can start with a small investment and grow their business over time. It also allows for flexibility in terms of working hours and location, as well as other pros depending on your business model.

Yet, whether you choose online arbitrage or retail arbitrage as a way to enter the niche and generate your first income or shift to the business model we’ve highlighted in the article, after some time, you’re bound to grow and start scaling your business. At all times, you need to remember a few things. First, the ability to identify the potential profitability of a book by researching price differences and demand is an essential skill. Second, you should understand or be willing to learn a lot about the financial part of the business to make it generate a good profit margin. Besides, you should never underestimate challenges, from the necessity to carry out effective and efficient inventory management and inventory value management to sourcing-related problems to competition. 

Overall, the key takeaway is that book reselling can be a profitable business for those who are willing to invest time and effort to research and find profitable business models. It’s not a get-rich-quick scheme, and success requires hard work and dedication. Finally, we hope that you’ve got a few insights from this article and will be able to improve your business using this information.

If you’re in a book reselling business or are planning to give it a try, we highly recommend checking the following articles:
Retail Arbitrage Experts Roundup with Tips, Ideas and Strategies for 2023
Top 10 Questions about Starting a Used Book Selling Business
All You Need to Know about Resale Value
Best Book Scanner Apps Overview
Restricted Inventory Tip
How to Prepare Your Book Business for a Recession

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.

• How to Retrieve Book Information from a Book Database
• Book Databases Overview
  • Bowker
  • Ingram Content Group
  • ISBNdb
  • Open Library
  • WorldCat (Owned by OCLC)
  • Google Books
  • Amazon Books
• Book Price Information APIs
• Other Databases
• Final Thoughts

How to Retrieve Book Information from a Book Database

Depending on your goals, you can practice different approaches to working with book databases. If your objective is to find the information about a particular book by its ISBN, you can use one of the databases we’ll cover later by accessing it via the web interface. Singular requests can be made in the search fields, and you don’t need to have any specific developer skill or knowledge to do so. Here is the example from ISBNdb:

If, however, you need to retrieve large amounts of data automatically for commercial or other purposes, you need API access to book information. Most book database has an ISBN search API. To retrieve the data you need, you send an API request and get an XML or JSON response that can be further converted to a CSV file.

APIs allow searching for books via ISBN codes and, depending on your goals and the capacity of the database in question, you can get a file with all or some of the following book metadata: author, title, publisher, genre, subject, cover art, book reviews, and price information.

For instance, if you need to query college textbooks in the U.S, you need a list of their ISBNs. You will use them as an input to make a query via API and get a file with titles, authors, publishing dates, prices, etc.

Book Databases Overview

Book databases gather data from hundreds of libraries, publishers, book resellers, and various other sources. It is hard to tell whether a repository of all known ISBN exists; however, there are several extensive databases and some less complete ones with APIs for querying books by ISBN codes. There are also databases that allow querying books both in English and foreign languages. Let’s take a look at these databases and compare their offers.

Bowker

We’ll start with Bowker, which is the exclusive ISBN agency in the U.S. and Australia and the “world’s leading authority for bibliographic and publisher information.” Bowker database (Bowker Book Data) includes its own comprehensive data and the data from LibraryThing* and other partners. Bowker is the leader in aggregating all sorts of book-related data and has several options to deliver it to the end customer. Organizations can use Raw Data License and access the data via their own software. Alternatively, the Data on Demand option allows obtaining data via Bowker’s REST APIs. While the Bowker’s database is exhaustive, we can’t claim it has everything. Contact them to discuss your specific needs and access options.

Ingram Content Group

Ingram provides services to the book publishing industry and is a major book distributor in the U.S., distributing to 40,000+ retailers. Among them are such large publishers as Barnes & Noble and small local independent bookstores, libraries, schools, and universities. Ingram also provides enhanced data services for bookstores. The company collects data and images from 30,000+ publishers in a variety of formats and promises that it’s the most accurate data in the industry. To learn more about their services and prices, you need to fill out the form with your business name and description, contact details, and your plans regarding book data.

ISBNdb

ISBNdb is the oldest book database, founded in 2002. It has an API to access book information and allows you to browse the data by categories and obtain title prices from different retailers. It is not a free resource; Depending on your needs, you can choose one of the three plans offered ($14.95/mo, $29.95/mo, or $74.95/mo). However, we can say that the database access is well worth the price. The data is accumulated from scanning various libraries all over the world. Therefore each book has records received from several different libraries.

There are more than 35 million book titles in the database, and each title contains metadata with up to 19 data points (including such information as Dewey decimal number, weight, and subject alongside the usual ISBN10, ISBN13, title, author, publication date, publisher, etc.). Another great benefit of the ISBNdb database is that it’s updated daily and contains information about books in other languages as well as about used, rare, and out of print books.

Since 2004, ISBNdb has also been scanning book retailers for price information and has a lot to share with those seeking active and historic book price information. We can recommend it as one of the reliable resources for comparing book prices.

Open Library

Open Library is a non-profit initiative from the Internet Archive that allows you to freely browse and read books. It is “an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published.” At the moment, there are more than 20 million titles available in the Open Library database. The information has been collected from various large catalogs and is constantly updated. Since it’s an open project, we can’t promise you’ll have every possible ISBN there. Yet, depending on your needs, you will definitely find a fair share of book information in this database. You can access the library by the API, and you can also download the entire database (dumps of all its data are generated every month).

WorldCat (Owned by OCLC)

WorldCat is “the world’s largest network of library content and services” that connects you to an enormous book database and allows searching the collections of the more than 10,000 libraries participating in the OCLC cooperative. It enables you to access complete bibliographic records of these member libraries and integrate their resources into your website or application via the WorldCat Search API. WorldCat allows retrieving bibliographical records based on OCLC number, ISBN, ISSN, and other identifiers and finding information about the libraries that have cataloged a particular item.

If you are looking for a database with a multi-language ISBN search, WorldCat is probably your best bet. It has books in languages other than English: French, German, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese, Arabic, etc. It also has other types of media (e.g., DVDs and CDs) and information for titles published before 1980.

If you are affiliated with one of the libraries that contributes to WorldCat, subscribed to WorldCat services, and are interested in creating a new type of app employing library-created bibliographic data, you can access the WorldCat Search API for free. Otherwise, external unaffiliated access is restricted.

Google Books

Google Books is a digitized book repository maintained by Google. It allows you to search and access the database book content and create and view personalization around it. There are more than 40 million book titles in the database, and you’ll get metadata with the following data points: book information, ratings, reviews, and price information. The latter may be less reliable than the one you can get by accessing other resources. It is, after all, one of the best book databases if you are looking for content (according to some reviewers). Yet, again, it may, however, lack some of the newer books.

You can access the database by using the Google Books API. It is free; however, at some point, the access may be restricted, and you’ll have to use OAuth 2.0 for authentication and authorization.

Amazon Books

Amazon is a bookseller; therefore, it’s only natural that it has a huge book database. If you want to access this information, you can use the Product Advertising API. It will allow you to search books by ISBN as well as other variables: title, author, publication date, publisher, etc. You can also get additional data on selected titles and verify book details when you need to refresh data.

While access to the Amazon database is advertised as free, it comes with strings attached. To use Product Advertising API, you must register in the Amazon Associates Program. In other words, you should become an Amazon affiliate partner that helps sell Amazon products. In theory, you can register and proceed without selling anything. However, the entire process of registration, approval, and so on seems like overkill unless you run a book reselling business and can integrate Amazon products into your resource naturally. If you simply need access to book information, you should probably choose a more basic alternative.

Book Price Information APIs

If you are specifically interested in accessing book price information, here are several ways you can obtain it:

• • 1. You can use one of the resources mentioned above that provide book price information.
    2. Become an affiliate partner to one of the book merchants. For instance, AbeBooks will allow you to access their price data if you join their affiliate program. Register, get the client key, and follow the user guide for API access.
    3. Alternatively, you can check the book price comparison engines (e.g., BookScouter) that have their APIs and are ready to share them.

With BookScouter, you can get access to buyback prices of all top buyback vendors (real-time and historical).

Other Databases

There are other book databases that you can utilize effectively depending on your goals and needs. We’ve looked at the largest and the most popular resources above, and here are some examples of more specific and thematic databases and their APIs:

• • • Goodreads has probably the greatest collection of book reviews: 10 million reviews across 700,000 titles. They used to have the Goodreads API (free) that allowed developers to access the database and use all this precious data to create personalized book-related experiences. However, “as of December 8th, 2020, Goodreads no longer issues new developer keys.” Therefore, the database is no longer accessible to new users.
    • The New York Times Best Sellers. If you need to retrieve information about New York Times best-seller lists and look up reviews, use the NYT Books API. The service lets you get NYT book reviews by author, ISBN, or title—for free.
    • Penguin Random House. If you need access to one of the largest publishing house’s databases, you can use the Penguin Random House API to get information about books, authors, and events.
  • • Bookshare. Bookshare is a service that provides books to readers with print disabilities (e.g., blindness or a learning disability). If you want to design an app with books and reading materials available to such people, you can use the Bookshare API.
    • Digital Bibliography Library Project (DBLP). It is a computer science bibliography resource currently operated and maintained by Schloss Dagstuhl—Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik. A database and logic programming bibliography site, DBPL also has its API search options: for publications, individuals (authors/editors), and venues (journals/conferences/etc.).
    • The Web of Science, the information and technology provider for the global scientific research community, has an API that provides access to the extensive database.Web of Science API allows exporting “high-quality full item-level metadata and times-cited counts” of Web of Science documents. It is a great tool for publishers, editors, librarians, researchers, research managers, and information analysts. The API access is paid.
    • ScienceDirect, one of the largest online collections of published scientific research in the world, provides ScienceDirect APIs access to retrieve and integrate full-text content from their publications on third-party websites or applications. The use of the APIs is free.
    • Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) is an online directory that “indexes and provides access to high quality, open access, peer-reviewed journals.” It provides open access to 17,628 journals and 7,470,016 article records from 130 countries in 80 languages and has a free DOAJ API.

You can check a more complete list of various book APIs on the Programmablewe website. It even features such interesting ones as ESV Bible Lookup API, University of Toronto Libraries API, and Bhagavad Gita API, to name a few.

The Final Thoughts

As you can see, there are quite a number of options to access book information via ISBN. You can choose the database most suitable for your needs and objectives. Unfortunately, there are few cheap databases that provide high-quality data. Moreover, most “free” databases either have restricted access or other conditions you have to comply with (e.g., affiliate program membership). Some of these resources may only give you access if you are a book-related or accredited organization or individual. If you are interested in learning more about book APIs, be sure to read the article on the top book APIs.

As of today, we can only conclude that to get the information you need fast and without hassle, you’ll have to resort to paid options. And from our analyses of the existing database offers, ISBNdb seems to be the best in terms of price and quality, with a relatively cheap subscription plan, multiple data points, and high data quality.

We hope that our book database overview will help you find the data you are looking for and that it’ll be of use to everyone in search of quality book data in general.

As the retail and e-commerce landscapes continue to grow and evolve, many entrepreneurs and online business enthusiasts are looking for ways to profit by reselling items. One of the easiest and low-budget strategies to make money by selling goods is to engage in retail arbitrage, which involves buying and reselling products for profit.

Are you interested in starting a retail arbitrage business but unsure where to begin? Or maybe you’re an experienced reseller or someone who built a company based on your unique reselling strategy? Or you’re a product founder who acquired specific experience in the reselling niche and then launched a branded software tool for resellers that helps improve processes and operations?

The following material is based on the stories, tips, and insights from real retail arbitrage experts and reselling enthusiasts. We’ve collected the pieces of advice and the experience they agreed to share in hopes that you’ll find it interesting and instructive regardless of the group you refer to.

1. Types of Products Best to Resell
2. Product Sourcing Secrets
3. Retail Arbitrage Trends in 2024
   • Future Growth Potential
   • Increased Automation
   • New Channels Acquisition
4. How to Start a Reselling Business
5. Tools & Software for Resellers

Types of Products Best to Resell

The first thing we were interested in was the best retail arbitrage items. So we asked our experts what types of products are most effective to work with to build a successful reselling business on Amazon and other popular marketplaces. See the most interesting answers below.

“Books are the best category to start with for newer Amazon sellers.
The main advantages are:
1. Books are cheap.
2. Books are abundant.
Anyone can start with $25, list some cheap used books on Amazon, and start making money fast.”

– Peter Valley, a 15-year Amazon seller, specializing in reselling used books

“The demand for physical books is still high. And with the latest trend of being eco-conscious, it isn’t going to die anytime soon. If you’re planning to start a reselling business on Amazon, used books are the best product to go for.”

– Marcus Arcabascio, CEO Founder of Random Names, a former Founder and Managing Partner of SEOPledge

“Unlike some other popular resale products, postcards are easy to ship and list, which is how I’ve been so successful (I started my business in 2021, and it’s grown exponentially each year). I haven’t visited a post office or scheduled a pick-up in months; every morning I swing by a blue mailbox on my way to work. Postcards are scanned, not photographed, which takes seconds. I can list 50 postcards in one hour (and my average sale price is currently $15.22, so that’s about $761 of gross future sales in a single hour).

Sourcing products can be one of the more difficult aspects of the business, as almost any other reseller will tell you. I won’t give away all my secrets, but online auction sites – like HiBid, Invaluable, and Live Auctioneers – are some of the best ways to find inventory without leaving your home. However, some of my best buys have been at postcard shows, antique malls, and from local collectors.”

– Daniel May, reselling business owner Mailseum, sells part-time and has a 9-5 job, YouTube channel

“Antiques are the best product that works effectively for a resale business.

Antiques can be bought below market value. However, these pieces are sold for much more than their actual price. Reselling them means anyone can earn a huge profit.”

– Elisa Bender, Co-Founder of RevenueGeeks

Product Sourcing Secrets

Product sourcing is a crucial aspect of retail arbitrage. Success in retail arbitrage depends on your ability to find products at a lower price and sell them at a higher price. As for the sourcing, we have the following advice from our interview participants.

“Identify high-demand items”

– Eric Jones, CEO of Couture Candy, a 15-year-old special occasion fashion e-commerce business

“Choose the product that is running hot in the market”

– Jessica Shee, Marketing Manager at iBoysoft

“Scanning for deals…through the use of apps that scan barcodes”

– Saj Munir, Chorlton Fireworks Founder

And here’s our top-secret advice on product types to build your reselling business with, which comes from Yoni Mazor, CGO and Co-Founder at GETIDA.

“Identify popular products that are hard to source”

– Yoni Mazor, CGO of GETIDA.com

And here is an alternative point of view on the matter.

“Be able to recognize potential forgeries”

– Robert Zeglinski, Managing Editor & Researcher at BreakingMuscle

Retail Arbitrage Trends in 2024

Now let’s explore the trends in the retail and e-commerce markets that may affect your reselling business. We are happy to provide you with valuable insights and knowledge from retail arbitrage experts that can be useful in making informed decisions in business or investing and adjusting your strategies accordingly.

What trends to expect in the retail arbitrage business in 2024? We’d like to highlight a few that deserve your attention: further growth, automation potential, and evolving channels.

Future Growth Potential

“Reselling will continue to gain massive growth in 2024 as the secondary market becomes more acceptable, not only as a means to save but because of the increasing awareness of sustainability and ways to help the environment.”

– Pinky Chong, Resale Consultant and Luxury Brand Authenticator at The Resale CEO Academy

“I would say that 2024 is a good year for arbitrage sellers to be in business. The reason is that inflation has hit the US economy and retail prices are going up. So, a good reseller should be able to source products to resellers at a really competitive price, and pass the price discounts and savings to consumers who in these challenging economic times, would be more likely to purchase from the most competitive resellers out there.
Therefore, if you are a reseller that is able to source really popular products for really good prices, you should be able to win big on the Amazon marketplace and beyond.”

– Yoni Mazor,
CGO of GETIDA.com

Increased Automation

“The latest trend here is using tech to automate the whole process. Apps like SellerRunning can help source items, set prices, and sell to customers all on their own. With such apps doing everything on their own, resellers can greatly cut down on costs.”

– Marcus Arcabascio, CEO & Founder of Random Names, a former Founder and Managing Partner of SEOPledge

New Channels Acquisition

We’d like to share the experience of a successful reseller who shares a few ideas on new channels.

“Have Moved Away From Amazon More Towards eBay
I’ve been reselling for years and in the recent past I’ve moved a bit away from Amazon and more towards eBay. And I never thought I would say that because I was tremendously successful back in the day selling on Amazon. It just seems like they’ve made life too difficult for individual sellers, although that’s just my opinion.
OfferUp Has Been A Huge Success
I’ve recently had tremendous success with OfferUp. It’s mostly an app rather than a website, so you’ll need a smartphone to make it work. But I’ve sold a ton there and actually, the experiences have been mostly positive. As a side note, I rarely meet with folks – I make them come to me. Only because my pricing is on point. However, the environment we meet in is as safe as can be.
Instagram Showing Promise
I’m starting to get involved with reselling on Instagram, which so far has shown some promise but I’m mostly selling sneakers there. At least that’s what’s getting the most traction. All I can tell you about that is that high-quality images are a must and a multitude of them no matter what you’re selling.”

– David Bakke
from DollarSanity

How to Start a Reselling Business

Here’re the tips on how to start a successful reselling business and what tools and software are great to use.

When it comes to selling books, the whole process seems very simple. That’s what our experts say.

“The scanning app will tell you what the books are worth”

“Here’s everything you need to get started: 1. Smartphone. 2. Scanning app (Scoutly is my personal choice for best app). 3. Amazon seller account. 4. Place to source used books. Find a couple local sources of cheap used books. This can be anything from thrift stores, to garage sales, to library book sales, to any place that sells second-hand merchandise. The scanning app will tell you what the books are worth, and how often they’re selling. Realistically, a very small percentage of books are worth money. But since most book sources have thousands of books, you shouldn’t have trouble finding profit. That’s a proven formula for anyone to get started selling and making money on Amazon fast.”

– Peter Valley, a 15 year Amazon seller, specializing in reselling used books, wrote a book on Amazon selling

“Following other resellers on social media”

“Regarding how and where to source items in retail arbitrage, the biggest piece of advice is to continually monitor when there will be sales. For example, the Nordstrom Rack “clear the rack” sales and the TJ Maxx yellow tag sale. You can become aware of these events by following other resellers on social media because, with deals this exciting, every reseller wants to share the good news! It is also best practice to visit your local stores often. You can even ask an associate if they are aware of any upcoming sales. Also, ask if there is a certain day of the week when they perform markdowns. The software I use to house my inventory is Vendoo. They offer flexible pricing, top-notch customer service, and all of the essential tools, including multi-quantity listings for when you pick up a few of a certain Item.”

– Amanda Manera, Founder of  The Resale Doctor

“Look for tags that are marked 75% off”

One strategy that has worked for me as a reselling business owner is to visit Goodwill and other thrift stores and look for tags that are marked 75% off. While browsing through the CD/DVD section, I focus on items that are new and sealed, as these tend to sell well on marketplaces like Amazon. I’ve found that complete seasons or shows can also be profitable. While buying used DVDs at full price may not always be the most cost-effective strategy, it’s worth keeping an eye out for unique or rare items that have the potential to fetch a higher price. For example, I once found a used Prince DVD that sold for close to $50.

– Peter Koch, a retail arbitrage enthusiast and Dollarsanity.com founder

Tools & Software for Resellers

As for the software, we’d also like to mention a few more recommendations we got from fellow resellers.

“Use price comparison tools such as Google Shopping, CamelCamelCamel, and Keepa to help you identify products with a high resale value.”
– Eric Jones, CEO at Couture Candy

“Inventory tracking and management tools are the best for keeping track of your sales. These tools help predict profit based on the data you provide.
Lessonly is the most effective tool to use. It helps track the performance metrics. Through this, the pace of the business can be assessed.”
– Elisa Bender, Co-Founder of RevenueGeeks

“Tactical Arbitrage is stellar software that can help you find tons of products from retailers. The best part is that it runs its own tests. Plus, the results are error-free. These products can be sourced from places like Walmart, which are already visible, so that’s a win win!”
– Donnie Rand, Marketing Coordinator at American Association of Owner Operators, LLC

The final thought and smart advice that seems to be the key to success is to focus on the niche and especially the one you’re familiar with. Check out a great comment related to the tip.

“By focusing on a specific product category, such as toys or electronics, you can become an expert in that area and identify deals more easily. This strategy can also help you build a loyal customer base and increase your profit margins.”
– Saj Munir, a business owner with over 20 years of experience, established a retail site in 2012 without investment.

We hope you can use these insights to the best advantage of your business regardless of whether you’re a seasoned reseller with years of experience or someone who’s just started or plans to become an Amazon (or any other retail) seller. With so many people getting started selling and making money, with our tips and recommendations, we’re sure you can also succeed in retail arbitrage.

Feel free to explore our other articles about retail arbitrage and reselling business:

The 11 Best Book Scanner Apps
Determining Book Condition Guide
Tips on How to Prepare Your Book Business for a Recession
Book Inventory Management Software: Comparative Overview
Restricted Inventory? BookScouter Help You Sell It with the Bulk Liquidation Tool. ]]> https://bsblog.wpenginepowered.com/pre-isbn-era-books/ Mon, 15 May 2023 08:49:25 +0000 https://bsblog.wpenginepowered.com/?p=5732

There’s plenty of information about listing and selling regular ISBN-13 books. However, what about the books that don’t have an ISBN? How do you deal with them? For one thing, such old books may not have any value; for another, some out-of-print books can be rare collectibles you can sell quite profitably. Therefore, knowing how to find and evaluate as well as where to sell books from the pre-ISBN era is an advantage you can use as a bookseller.

1. What are Pre-ISBN Era Books?
2. What Do Pre-ISBN Era Books Look Like?
3. How to Understand the Value of a Book with No ISBN?
   • Identify Your Book
   • Determine Its Condition
   • Find Your Book’s Value
4. How to Deal with Pre-ISBN Era Books?
5. What to Do When You Learned Your No-ISBN-Book’s Value?
6. How to Buy Pre-ISBN Era Books?
7. How to List and Sell Pre-ISBN Era Books?
8. Where to Find Bookstores Specializing in Pre-ISBN and Antique Books?
   • Where to Sell Pre-ISBN Era Books?
9. Can I Sell Pre-ISBN Era Books on Amazon?
10. How to Sell Pre-ISBN Era Books on eBay?

1. What are Pre-ISBN Era Books?

As you probably know quite well, ISBNs were first conceptualized in the 1960s. However, they only became widely used in the 1970s. The first ISBNs had nine digits; the ISBNs of the 70s had ten digits, and, in 2007, the 13-digit ISBN format was accepted worldwide to facilitate the commercialization of books.

Books that were printed before the 1970s are usually referred to as pre-ISBN era books. You can check whether your book is one by looking at its spine and cover: books that pre-date the ISBN system have no ISBN number or a barcode.

2. What Do Pre-ISBN Era Books Look Like?

Pre-ISBN books usually look like, well, old books—hardbacks and paperbacks. Depending on their history and storage conditions, they can be in Acceptable to Good condition. Here’s an example of the Scrambled Eggs Super! (Book Club Edition, pre-ISBN era) listing from Biblio:

Another example is Mencius (UNESCO Collectio of Representative Works – Chinese Series):

3. How to Understand the Value of a Book with No ISBN?

Identify Your Book

Before the ISBN system was introduced and formalized in 1970, book identification was based on other information. Here’s what you can check now to understand the value of a book:

• Make a note of whether it’s a paperback or hardcover.
• Most likely, you’ll be looking for the book by its title and author, so check this information first.

• Then, also check the illustrator information (if applicable). While this is optional, having more information is always an advantage.

• Find the name of the publisher.

• Find the publishing date (check the copyright page; in most instances, you’ll find it there if it’s nowhere else to be seen).

• Find the information about the book‘s edition; pay special attention to first editions (they’re usually valuable and can be quite expensive, depending on the book in question).

• Check the book for any signatures or inscriptions (depending on the case, they may add or reduce the book’s value).

Determine Its Condition

The next step is to determine your book’s condition (feel free to read our article on Determining Book Condition Guide):

• Check it for any signs of damage: water damage, stains, yellowing, creases, tears, signs of shelf wear, etc.
• Check for present or removed price (or other) stickers.
• Look closely at the binding and the spine; note if there’re any defects.
• Examine the book closely inside: any signs of markings, notes, writing on margins, etc.

Find Your Book’s Value

Now that you’ve got all the information, you can try checking online bookselling marketplaces to understand the value of your book. Among the most probable places you’ll be cross-checking are:

• AbeBooks
• Addall
• Biblio
• eBay

On some of them, it’ll be easier to find an exact match by author, while on others—by title. The information about the edition, publisher, binding, condition, and other identifiers will also help you better understand the value of your book (we also previously prepared a detailed guide on How To Find The Value Of Old Books).

You may be lucky to find the exact match at once. However, in most cases, your best bet is to check for copies or similar titles and cross-check their prices to understand how much your book is worth.

4. How to Deal with Pre-ISBN Era Books?

Understanding the value of pre-ISBN books is not always easy. After all, there’re books that can be interesting from a collector’s point of view, and there’re just old books, poorly made softcovers. So, here’s a piece of advice from one of the booksellers on Amazon regarding the “value of books with no barcode” you can follow:

5. What to Do When You Learned Your No-ISBN-Book’s Value?

A good question. If you suspect that your book might be not just valuable but some rare collectible, for instance, you can:

• Contact a professional appraiser. It’s a clever idea, even if you don’t plan to sell the book just yet. To find a specialist, you can check The Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America, American Society of Appraisers, Appraisers’ Association of America, or International Society of Appraisers’websites.
• Sell the book to a dealer. Mind that you can get less than market value, though.
• Sell the book at auction. Rare and antique books can be sold at Sotheby’s and Heritage Auctions, to name a few. While you have to pay for the appraisal, you also have a higher chance of getting a proper valuation and the highest price.
• Sell the book online. There’re online bookselling marketplaces that deal with pre-ISBN books, too. We’ve mentioned some of them already, and we’ll focus on a few more in detail later.

6. How to Buy Pre-ISBN Era Books?

Pretty much like any other book, but you should know the places. Most online booksellers prefer not to deal with books that don’t have ISBNs, so if you’re looking for books with no barcodes or ISBNs online, check these websites first:

• AbeBooks
• Addall
• Biblio
• eBay

7. How to List and Sell Pre-ISBN Era Books?

Listing a pre-ISBN book for sale may not be an easy task. As we’ve already said, not every bookseller accepts them; not every marketplace has functionality for listing such books. Here’s an example from the BookDeal’s Book Acceptance Guidelines:

So, yet again, for books that might come as rare or collectibles, you can check Bauman Rare Books or Peter Harrington books, as well as AbeBooks and Biblio. Here’s the information you must provide about your pre-ISBN title to present it to Peter Harrington for valuation:

“In every case, we need to know:

• The author’s name

• The title exactly as it appears on the printed title-page (inside the book, not on the front cover)

• Edition number if stated

• The place of publication, name of the publisher, and date if any

• The binding (leather, boards, cloth, dust jacket, etc.)

• Any major defects (torn leaves, stains, broken joints, etc.)

We will need to see at least two photographs of each item: the printed title page and the binding.”

All in all, they’ll request the information we’ve already mentioned earlier.

Here’s an example of a listing page from the Biblio’s seller account:

Most booksellers use bulk upload; however, in the case of pre-ISBN titles, you should use the “click here to add your listings directly to the site” link and enter the details manually.

To understand the value of a book before listing it, you can check it on Addall. For instance, let’s check the book we featured earlier Earth Resources Voice of America Forum Series. After entering the title and publishing year in the search fields, we can see two similar results and their approximate price offers:

8. Where to Find Bookstores Specializing in Pre-ISBN and Antique Books?

We’ve already mentioned online booksellers that deal with pre-ISBN books. Among them, AbeBooks, Addall, and Biblio are the most popular. However, there’re other resources. Smaller and less well-known booksellers work with pre-ISBN and antique books.

Where to Sell Pre-ISBN Era Books?

One of the places you can check is The Penguin Chap, a bookseller focusing on old and out-of-print items. Here’s what they’re looking for, “I am chiefly interested in 1st editions published by Penguin and Puffin (and various imprints such as Peacock, King Penguin, etc.) from 1935-1970 (pre-ISBN era) in good, saleable condition.”

Symposium Books, an independent family bookstore on Rhode Island, specializes in books and vinyl records, and they’re specifically interested in “Pre-ISBN only, reasonably well-known authors and titles (e.g., George Orwell, Aldous Huxley, Albert Camus, Lord of the Flies, 1984, Little Prince). Condition isn’t critical. We understand they were inexpensively made back in the day.”

One of the ways to find a local bookstore specializing in pre-ISBN books is by checking the list of Biblio bookstores. They boast hosting “7,000 of the finest online bookstores and booksellers,” including those dealing with pre-ISBN books. To find the bookstores, look at the PRE-ISBN tag:

To find out more useful information on the topic, you can read our article about Where To Sell Antique Books & Rare Books.

9. Can I Sell Pre-ISBN Era Books on Amazon?

If you’ve tried to research the topic of selling pre-ISBN books on Amazon, you’ve probably seen similar questions:

As we’ve made it clear in the course of the article, books published before the 70s and even in the early days of ISBN use don’t have this identifier. So, with Amazon, you have to apply for an Amazon ISBN exemption.

In our research on the pre-ISBN book listing and selling, we’ve concluded that due to the often counterintuitive nature of the Amazon search and listing process, it’s quite difficult to deal with such titles.

According to the sellers’ reviews, you have to apply for an exemption every time you want to list a book without an ISBN. Most of these reviews recommend going to eBay instead, as Amazon makes it hard (not impossible, but hard, especially if you sell in bulk) to sell pre-ISBN books.

10. How to Sell Pre-ISBN Era Books on eBay?

Here’s what eBay Community recommends on pre-ISBN listings:

“It’s an old book, you can list under antiquarian books which you can leave the ISBN section blank.”

“Just put in N/A and keep moving.”

“use Does Not Apply”

Judging by the answers and the number of books from the pre-ISBN era on the platform, eBay is definitely a better place to sell such books.

Conclusion

We hope that this question and answers series shed some light on the topic of pre-ISBN books, even if you’re a seasoned bookseller who happened to deal with such titles. We also hope that it’ll be useful to everyone interested in the topic of bookselling and publishing.

If you’re looking to sell books that have an ISBN but don’t know where to start, you might find helpful the following articles: Book Databases Overview, How To Make Money Selling Books, How to Sell Used Books with Maximum Profit, Top 5 Best Websites to Sell Books. ]]> https://bsblog.wpenginepowered.com/first-sale-doctrine/ Thu, 02 Feb 2023 15:03:36 +0000 https://bsblog.wpenginepowered.com/?p=4989

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.

This is exactly what millions of people do by selling used (and not used) goods—not only works of art. When we buy something, we don’t buy copyright rights for it; we just own a physical or digital object that we can rent, resell, destroy, or give away—at our own discretion.

Or can we?

Here’s an example. As a student who majors in bridge engineering, you may have probably bought The Tower and the Bridge: The New Art of Structural Engineering by David P. Billington for your collection at some point in your studies. Say, you bought it new from the bookstore. Now it’s your property—this exact physical paperback copy.

Yet, there is a bit of a situation around the first sale doctrine regarding used books (there’s always, isn’t there?) Let’s try to decipher why it looks pretty much like the shadow library dilemma we discussed in one of our earlier posts and how it can affect everyone who’s closely related to the book industry and book resellers in the first place.

• What Is the First Sale Doctrine?
• Exceptions to the First Sale Doctrine
• The First Sale Doctrine and Goods Made Overseas—The Unhappy Publishers’ Case
• The First Sale Doctrine and Libraries—The Internet Archive Case
• How Does the First Sale Doctrine Affect the Used Book Market?
• The First Sale Doctrine Today

What Is the First Sale Doctrine?

Let’s define the first sale doctrine to get the terms straight.

In the 1908 Supreme Court case Bobbs-Merrill Co. v. Straus, the Court held, “In our view the copyright statutes, while protecting the owner of the copyright in his right to multiply and sell his production, do not create the right to impose, by notice, such as is disclosed in this case, a limitation at which the book shall be sold at retail by future purchasers, with whom there is no privity of contract.”

The Copyright Act of 1909 and the current Copyright Act of 1976 are both based on the same principle.

According to the  American Library Association, “The “first sale” doctrine (17 U.S.C. § 109(a)) gives the owners of copyrighted works the rights to sell, lend, or share their copies without having to obtain permission or pay fees. The copy becomes like any piece of physical property; you’ve purchased it, you own it. You cannot make copies and sell them—the copyright owner retains those rights. But the physical book is yours.”

So, let’s take a look at another fantastic book in your collection: Guastavino Vaulting: The Art of Structural Tile. As an owner, you can sell, rent, share it with friends, burn or drown it—whatever you want. Ok, we’re joking; the book that chronicles the architectural legacy of Rafael Guastavino should be treated with utmost respect and care.

However, we should remember that the first sale doctrine is very narrow—you can only apply it to a specific copy. Besides, it has exceptions.

Exceptions to the First Sale Doctrine

The doctrine of first sale doesn’t empower the owner to “reproduce, adapt, publish, or perform the work without the authorization of the author.” So the exceptions do not apply to

Licensed Works

You can’t apply the first sale defense to licensed goods.

Digital Transmissions

As we’ve already mentioned, the first sale exception only applies to the copyright owner’s distribution right—not to the reproduction right. Every new digital copy is generated by the transmission, which is technically reproduction.

Important Fact: eBooks fall exactly under this category—therefore, the first sale doctrine doesn’t apply to ebooks, and libraries cannot freely lend them indefinitely after purchase—only under a license and only during a set period of time.

Certain Types of Displays

Only copies publicly displayed directly or one image at a time can be covered by the first sale exception.

Unauthorized Copies

Only “lawfully made” copies can be protected by the first sale doctrine. It can’t be applied to the distributions or displays of illegally made copies.

Now that we’ve defined the first sale doctrine and specified its exceptions let’s try to understand why there’s controversy around books and the first sale doctrine application and take a look at the two most prominent cases.

The First Sale Doctrine and Goods Made Overseas—The Unhappy Publishers’ Case

The first case can be related to the last exception we mentioned earlier—unauthorized copies.

It’s not news that American textbook publishers create identical or very similar international textbook editions and editions that are intended for sale overseas at lower prices. While these editions are not unauthorized copies, there’s a similarity in how publishers react to the first doctrine application in their case. Here is an example.

In the Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. case in 2008, Wiley & Sons sued Kirtsaeng (a Thai student living in the United States) for copyright infringement. Kirtsaeng’s family in Thailand helped him purchase and ship to the US about 600 textbooks published by Wiley Asia (John Wiley & Sons’ foreign subsidiary.)

Wiley Sons alleged that the company had never given permission to import books to the United States, and the notice on them contained an explicit prohibition as well as a label for exclusive distribution in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, “This book is authorized for sale in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East only [and] may not be exported. Exportation from or importation of this book to another region without the Publisher’s authorization is illegal and is a violation of the Publisher’s rights. The Publisher may take legal action to enforce its rights. The Publisher may recover damages and costs, including but not limited to lost profits and attorney’s fees, in the event legal action is required.”

Kirtsaeng used the first sale doctrine to defend himself in court. He stated that he didn’t need the publisher’s permission to resell the books in the United States. The federal district court sided with Wiley & Sons, and so did the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit: the first sale doctrine can’t be applied to works produced abroad.

Image Source

However, in 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the decision and ruled that there’re no geographic limits on the first sale doctrine—physical books produced and purchased abroad could be imported into the U.S. for reselling purposes—there’s no violation of the copyright owner’s distribution rights under copyright law.

The case caused a stir. The publishers weren’t happy.

To sum it up, now you know that if you happen to buy a copy of Shell Structures for Architecture: Form Finding and Optimization published by Routledge—which is a British multinational publisher—you can bring it to the U.S. and sell it any time on a second-hand market without any worries or concerns. It’s absolutely legal.

The First Sale Doctrine and Libraries—The Internet Archive Case

The first sale doctrine copyright application has always been important for libraries. It’s the basis that allows them to lend books to the public. And while there’s always been some tension between publishers and libraries, in the case of physical books, things are crystal clear: libraries purchase books they lend to patrons—in this situation, the first sale doctrine is 100% applicable.

However, in our digital world, things got complicated. You can’t apply the doctrine’s digital transmissions exception here, as the process for lending eBooks is different. As we’ve already mentioned earlier, libraries rent eBooks from publishers under a paid license. Therefore, they can only lend an eBook a certain number of times; then, the license needs to be renewed. Licenses are expensive, and not every library can afford them.

In this respect, the Hachette Book Group et al. v. Internet Archive case is interesting. In 2020, the Internet Archive—which offers scanned books available to the public for free via their website—was sued for copyright infringement by the four publishers: Hachette Book Group, Harper Collins Publishers, John Wiley & Sons, and Penguin Random House. They accused Internet Archive of copyright infringement and violation of their exclusive reproduction and distribution rights under the Copyright Act of the U.S.

According to the publisher, the first sale doctrine does not apply to the unauthorized reproduction of a work (which they accuse the Internet Archive of doing). The Internet Archive insists that they stick to the best practices of controlled digital lending, where they buy (they become owners), scan copies of these books (as allowed by the first doctrine) and lend them online to patrons one at a time (pretty much like physical books in physical libraries are lent) for free.

But for publishers, scanning books to make digital copies is an act of reproduction, not distribution, which makes the first sale doctrine immediately redundant and impossible to be used as a defense in court, which also means that Internet Archive is breaking the law.

On the other hand, for those who advocate for open access to books and study materials, the case illustrates how anxious publishers are about losing a share of the eBook market and their profits from expensive licensing agreements.

While the case isn’t ruled out when we’re writing this article—the lawsuit has been ongoing for over two years now and will probably take years to resolve—we can only wait and see the outcome.

So if bridge engineering is your major and electronic music is your hobby, you may have already read Techno Rebels: The Renegades of Electronic Funk—this comprehensive study about Detroit Techno, its origins and impact. If you haven’t and are of two minds about renting it from the Internet Archive, you should probably do it now, as there’s a chance you won’t be able to use this option in the nearest future.

How Does the First Sale Doctrine Affect the Used Book Market?

So what’s the current situation?

On the one hand, there’s the copyright first sale doctrine that allows a fair share of activity in the book world—from garage sales to libraries and used bookstores—with plenty of organizations and companies (e.g., the American Library Association, the American Association of Law Libraries, Goodwill, Powell’s Books, eBay, etc.) using it to support their activity. There are also plenty of online used booksellers that can actually function as a business solely due to the existence of this doctrine.

On the other, there are publishers and their annoyance regarding the profits they lose due to the entire used book reselling business (and the entire digital book business they are hysterically trying to control). Textbook publishers are understandably vexed (more than others) by the first sale doctrine copyright application, and they’re constantly trying to interfere with any business or organization that eases access to textbooks and study materials (remember shadow libraries?)

In other words, the first sale doctrine protects used booksellers (as well as a million other retail businesses). Without it, you’d be unauthorized to donate books to charities and libraries, libraries won’t be able to lend books, and book businesses and book buyers would be cut off from a fair share of affordable books (again, a million other retail businesses and users—from jewelry to used cars—would suffer according to the same scenario).

That would be the world where your act of selling a copy of Beyond Bending: Reimagining Compression Shells to a used bookseller (or even giving it away to your fellow student) would be considered a copyright violation. The thing is that while the representatives of other industries—say, automotive—don’t see it as a problem (it’s hard to imagine Chevrolet interfering with your selling your dear old Chevy to a local used car dealer), book publishers are pushing right into this direction. Not nice, right?

The First Sale Doctrine Today

We should take into consideration that the first sale doctrine was enacted at the time when books were accessible only in psychical formats, and it was hard to reproduce them in large quantities manually (or even industrially); there weren’t any digital books on the agenda let alone the problem of their ownership and sharing. Yet, things are changing fast.

There’s little surprise in publishers’ attempt to interfere with the first sale doctrine, as it was not convenient for them in the first place and hasn’t done them any favors ever since. They’re doing everything in their power to prevent potential profit loss in the digital market and counter the reselling business. They are backed up by software companies that also try to outsmart the first sale doctrine by introducing licensing.

One thing is clear: the first sale doctrine is no longer an ace in any copyright dispute; there’re many factors—with the advent and flourishing of digital technologies—that need to be taken into consideration regarding what practices can be considered fair use or not (not only regarding controlled digital lending). There’s a definite necessity for a better definition (and regulation) of how works created by authors and produced by publishers can be shared. At BookScouter, we advocate for more open access; however, as we’ve already said, we can only wait and see. ]]>