Best Practices

Flippiness can be a primary source of income. The top users make over $3000 a month by investing less than $1500. You can even more than double your income with Flippiness. However, if you don’t pay attention you could end up wasting your time (though not money).

Who hasn’t heard of the adage Measure Twice Cut Once? But we forget it at times when it is most needed. If there is a flip that makes you unbelievably good money, make sure the following things are in order:

1) Books must match on titles and editions

sometimes people list the wrong books under the wrong ISBN. Make sure the author’s name(s), book title and ISBNs match on both buying and selling sites. If they don’t, stay away from that flip. Also, make sure it is not a different edition, as older versions and international editions are usually way cheaper. There are also teacher editions, which is not what you want.

2) Book conditions are not shabby

The buyback websites know that students have used these books for at least one semester. So, they don’t expect a book in bubble wrap. However, they won’t accept a book they cannot sell. Therefore, if the book condition is “usable” or “acceptable” you might not want it. You will get better at identifying books from their description as you go forward, but don’t start your journey with a book that has missing pages or a torn cover.

3) The seller has some reputation

Sellers who have great reputations care about their customers. They would not cheat you with inaccurate descriptions. However, new sellers give better prices so you might have to take a chance at times. You will get better at identifying sellers as well, once you have flipped a ton. However, stay on the safer side while you build your confidence.

4) Start Small

If you have no idea how to flip a book and you haven’t bought or sold items on eBay or Amazon, you should start with books that are not very expensive. This will give you a good idea of what to expect from a given description. Also, it will get you acquainted with the process and you will know which sites you should deal with first and which are less preferred.

Also, buy only one copy of a book in the beginning. Once you know you can handle it, you can then start buying multiple copies of a book. Make sure you read through a website’s terms and conditions to see if there is any limit on the number of copies you can buy.