Selling Craft Books, Pamphlets and Patterns on Amazon FBA

When you are out “thrifting”, don’t overlook those old craft books, pamphlets and patterns!  While many of them are “long-tail”, they can still be worth picking up.

We will be having a podcast about this topic on Friday, March 15th, 2013.  You can listen live at 2pm EST at:  http://thriftingforprofit.com/listen .   If you miss the show, it will be posted in our podcast archive here: http://thriftingforprofit.com/podcast

Types of Craft Info that Sells on Amazon FBA

• Craft books and pamphlets
  
  • pamphlets from publishers like Leisure Arts
  • Cross Stitch, Needlepoint, Crewel
  • Jewelry making
  • Holiday Crafts
• Patterns
  • Sewing patterns
    • dog clothes
    • baby
    • character
    • holiday

Some Examples of Craft Books & Patterns We Have Sold

•   Book – Bought for $1 in August Used-VG, sold for $17.44 the following February. This is one I goofed and repriced incorrectly – but hey, it sold and I made some nice return on my $1 investment – can’t complain http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1579542662
• Sewing Pattern – Sold this pattern (Used Uncut) for $12.99, paid $0.25. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001VA3LKO
• Pamphlet – Paid $0.25, sold for $18.98 (U-VG)http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000OJL7E0
• Sewing Pattern – Bought in Jan. for $2.50 @ GoodWill, sold Nov. $25. Used – VG (envelope worn, pattern uncut) http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005U2OKDG

Important Notes About Condition

• Books and Pamphlets
  • We aim for items that are “Used – Very Good” or better.  This means that they may have some shelf wear, but are ultimately neat, clean, unwrinkled, no writing…etc.
  • If an item has writing on it (even the previous owner’s name) we list it as “Used – Good”.
  • The books need to have ALL pieces included.  If it came with a fold-out pattern, then it needs to be included.  It is important to watch out for this – look for mention of an included pattern on the front cover.
• Sewing Patterns
  • We sell un-cut patterns.  These are ones that have not been used – not cut.  We also look for ones that still look brand new inside the envelope – they haven’t been taken out, haphazardly folded and shoved back in to the envelope.  They still look like they did when they were first put in the envelope.
  • Many times the envelopes themselves are worn even though the pattern inside is pristine.  Even though the pattern may have been untouched, I will NOT list it as New due to the envelope wear. I will put in the condition notes that the pattern itself is “un-cut”.

The “Barrier to Entry” for Craft Pamphlets

Here’s the thing that deters most FBAers from selling craft pamphlets….  99% of the time, when you scan them, NOTHING shows up.  It isn’t found in Amazon’s catalog.  Like many other things that come up “not found”, they get put back on the shelves.  And just a few times of those craft pamphlets being “not found” could be enough for most FBAers to never bother glancing at them again.

99% of these pamphlets don’t have an ISBN # associated with them either!  So there knocks off the few FBAers that would type an ISBN into their phone to look up an item.

How then do you look up craft pamphlets with useless UPCs and no ISBN’s?  By title!  Yes, this can be time consuming.  This is why I will buy large amounts of pamphlets at one time.  They are cheap, and I’d rather go through them at my leisure than sitting (usually on the floor) in a dusty thrift store going through each of them.  If I do take the time to go through them in the store it is a quick zip looking for the best ones and leaving behind the rest.

Keep an eye out for these types of craft patterns/books

• Character books/patterns (Mickey Mouse, Dora, Thomas the Tank Engine…etc.)
• Doll books/patterns.
• Baby books/patterns.
• Holiday books/patterns.
• Pets/animals.

Other craft related items to look for:

• Instructional DVDs and videos
• Kits

 What to Pay for Craft Books and Patterns

• For craft booklets/pamphlets I’ve paid between $0.25 and at most $1.  And I’ve only paid $1 when they are in very-very good condition.  I’ve also paid about 10 cents a piece when buying in bulk.
• For regular sized craft books those can range from $0.25 up to a couple of dollars.
• For Sewing Patterns – I have paid from $0.20 to $1.50 per pattern. I also have paid much less when I made an offer on two very large boxes of patterns that had been sitting on a thrift store shelf for months.

• A note about buying “in bulk” or buying “lots”:
  • When I buy large quantities I usually do not sit there and go through all of the items.  I know that there may be several which will be unsaleable and I take that into consideration when making my offer.
  • For the ones that aren’t good to sell on Amazon, I can sell them on other venues (eBay, Etsy) or donate them back to a thrift store.  Of course, if they are totally unusable or just plain gross – they get disposed of.

Discussion in our Free Facebook Group about Craft Books, Pamphlets & Patterns:

• Different kinds that sell, packaging them…etc. http://www.facebook.com/groups/thriftingforprofit/permalink/437131606335513

(Note: If you’re not a member yet, go there and click on the “Join” button and we’ll add you ASAP.)

Tagged as: craft, patterns, sewing