Part of the learning experience of being a college student is managing your own finances for the first time. That independence can also introduce a wealth of pitfalls! Here are some common money mistakes college students make. Learn from our mistakes so that you can avoid them.
We talk a lot about how easy it is to make money flipping books. Today we’re going to show you how to do just that.
Here are the 9 steps to Making Money Flipping Books
1. Begin with an inventory.
You can begin with just one book. Maybe it’s a book you used for school or one you found at a thrift store. Don’t feel intimidated by the future of your bookselling business when you begin. We all began with one book. If you have more than one book, that’s great too! We recommend starting small before investing too much money in purchasing new inventory to flip. (We’ll get to purchasing new books to flip a little later in this article).
Begin making money by flipping books you already have in your own home.
2. Research the going rate for your book based on its condition and edition.
By typing in the book’s ISBN into the search tool at BookScouter.com you’ll see the going rates for either “buying” or “selling” that book within seconds. The BookScouter app acts as a scanner that can speed up your research. Simply scan the code and see the prices offered by all of our online vendors. If you have hundreds or thousands of books you want to research, tap into our Pro User subscription to access the Bulk Lookup tool!
The BookScouter mobile app makes it easy to find the going price for a book fast. Selling books is easy on the app too!
3. Search for the best platform to post your book to sell.
BookScouter.com is the fastest way to flip your books. If you sell to one of our vendors, you ship the books immediately and get paid as soon as the book(s) is processed There are several other places our users have mentioned posting their books in the past like eBay and Amazon. If you think you may get a higher price by selling on another marketplace platform, create an account and list your book there. You’ll need to be more patient with this option, as you have to wait for your books to sell. If you use a marketplace, you will need to account for shipping costs (while shipping is free for books sold on BookScouter). You may also want to check out Amazon FBA. With this option, you ship your inventory to Amazon and set your pricing, and then Amazon ships your books directly to the customer when they sell (like consignment). Of course, there are fees associated with this service, but it is a popular option with book flippers.
4. Sell your book.
On BookScouter this involves: typing in the ISBN, viewing the best prices, choosing a vendor, clicking “sell”, following the steps on the vendor’s website. With other marketplaces, such as eBay and Amazon, once you post your book for resale you’ll wait a little bit of time before a sale takes place.
5. Ship your book.
Shipping books is a big part of the flipping business. Factor shipping costs and materials into your profit margin.
Once your book has been purchased, package your book(s) ASAP! When packaging your books include the packing slip inside and add the shipping label on the outside of the box. Be sure to package the book in a safe way that minimizes any damage. You want your customer to receive the book in the same condition you described. Here’s another pro-tip: notify your customer of the tracking number or at least keep the tracking information until the package is received by your customer.
6. Send the invoice.
While each platform is different as to when you receive your funds, it’s most common that your payment will arrive once the book has been processed and the customer confirms the condition is as described. Many marketplace platforms require payment for the book upfront, so you should receive your money fast. However, other places like Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace depend on what you and the customer have agreed upon (typically pay in person or PayPal once the item is received).
When cash begins to pour in, designate funds to your profit as well as what you want to invest back into your business.
7. Designate your funds.
As with any business keep track of your revenue (you can use something as simple as a spreadsheet or invest in Quickbooks). Make sure you pay yourself and team for your work, pay any bills your business has (this type of business has low overhead, but as you grow you might add on additional paid services to streamline your work) and invest in your business. As you grow the business consider your own business license and bank account. Don’t forget to keep track of your revenue and payments for both personal records and tax purposes.
8. Add to your inventory.
To help your business grow, we recommend investing a few thousand dollars to really kick things off! It may take some time (a few weeks to a couple of months) but it shouldn’t take too long for you to begin seeing a return on your investment, especially if you time it right. For the best resale profits, we recommend selling close to the start of a college semester (specifically if you’re selling textbooks). You can find books to add to your inventory in several ways: online, college students, liquidation sales, estate sales, and thrift stores. We discuss a few of these on our blog Best Resources for Reselling Books.
9. Repeat!
Once you take these steps you’ll be able to confidently move forward with consistently making money by flipping books!
Additional tips:
- Note the book condition. The condition of the book plays a role in how you should price for a sale. The conditions listed are typically Good/Like New, Acceptable, and Unacceptable. To make a profit you want to resell books that are either in “Good/Like New” or “Acceptable” condition.
The condition of each book plays a big role in how you can price the book for profit.
- Make sure you’re adding profit margins into the resale price. Take into consideration packaging and shipping costs in addition to the time you’re spending researching, posting, selling, and purchasing books.
- While our world is still experiencing changes due to COVID-19, continue to work safely. Trust your own intuition with visiting brick and mortar shops or meeting people in person to make book sales. If you are increasing your inventory from someone locally, consider having them pay you through PayPal, Venmo, or Cash App. Consider drop-offs (at a neutral location) while keeping as much distance as possible. Much of the work can be done at home, so we hope this gives you peace of mind when your health and safety is concerned.
Now that you know how to make a profit from flipping books, use appropriate resources to make the most money. Start today by using BookScouter.com!
Finding online jobs for college students can be an adjustment, especially if you had an on-campus work-study position or a job that required you to perform your responsibilities in person. As the most technologically connected generation, you have an advantage in securing an online job in this unprecedented season (ahem, COVID-19 pandemic).
To help you in your online job search, we’re listing five of the best ways you can make money online — all with the flexibility you need.
Gift-giving is such a fun and exciting part of the holiday season! But every year you likely find yourself burdened with some gifts that you really don’t want. Never fear – you can sell unwanted holiday gifts with minimal effort, and you can use your profits to buy something you actually want…like groceries or that trip to Iceland!
The Humanities are a large field, including subjects as widespread as theater, visual arts, film, music, English language and literature, history, and foreign languages. If you’re studying the Humanities, you have probably had someone ask you how you plan to make money with that degree. Someone inconsiderate may have even mocked your degree because it doesn’t necessarily include “transferable skills” like some others (e.g. math or biology). But what they don’t realize (and what you may not even realize yourself) is that you have developed plenty of really useful skills – skills that can score you some cash and an incredibly fulling career.
Hopefully, you have some long-term plans for what to do with your degree, but if you’re in need of some money in the short-term, here are some side hustles for which those in the Humanities are particularly well-suited.
1 Birthday Party Performer
For all of you theater folk, have you considered working for children’s birthday parties? You might roll your eyes at being a clown, but birthday party performers have come a long way since the days of terrifying clowns! Many parents like to hire their child’s favorite princess or superhero to hang out, stay in character, and take pictures with party guests for a few hours. All you need is a convincing costume, some acting chops, and a high tolerance for sticky hands and high-pitched squealing.
Use your talent to make children happy! You can also make lots of side-cash with birthday party gigs.
2 Musician
If you’re a music major or you are proficient with a musical instrument, you may be able to set up some side gigs as a musician. You could advertise your services online with platforms like GigSalad and note your availability to play at special events like weddings, bar mitzvahs, and other parties. Or you could try to set up a regular gig playing at a local bar. While some gigs could be done solo, it might be worthwhile to team up with other musicians to offer a well-rounded ensemble.
3 Freelance Composer
Music majors are typically required to take music theory and music composition classes. If you discovered a knack for composing music, you could try your hand at freelance composing. Businesses, television shows, and plenty of other groups are often in need of original music and will pay good money for it. This website provides some basic information about getting started as a composer.
4 Freelance Translator
Humanities students often take language courses. If you have become fluent in another language, you might be able to work as a freelance translator. Find out more here. Depending on the language you speak and where you are located, this could be a particularly lucrative side gig!
5 Tutor
Check to see if your school has a Tutoring Center. If so, they are often hiring tutors to assist students struggling in certain classes. If you’ve previously succeeded in one of those courses, you might be able to make some extra cash working as a tutor – as a perk, reviewing material that you previously learned in class can help you to really master it.
Make a difference and make some money tutoring.
6 Campus Tour Guide
Your Humanities degree may have required theater classes. If you enjoyed being the center of attention in your theater class, you might consider applying to be a campus tour guide. Being a guide is excellent for those who are comfortable in front of a crowd. The schedule is often flexible, allowing you to squeeze this in as a side hustle.
7 Community Theater Actor
If you’re an arts or theater person, check to see if your local community theater has any part-time gigs. While performers in community theater productions are not typically compensated, sometimes community theater does have a budget to pay other staff, like set designers or ticket sales managers. If you’re interested in pursuing something related to your career, this can be a good way to make a little money while earning some lines for your resumé.
8 Artist
Have you thrived in art classes? Do you enjoy making art on your own? Consider opening an Etsy shop to sell your artwork. This is great because it allows you to earn some money while also refining your skills as an artist or craftsperson. If Etsy isn’t your thing, you could consider setting up at local events, like craft shows or farmer’s markets, which often reserve spots for arts and crafts vendors. Some events may also offer vendor discounts to college students.
Use your talent and passion as an artist and admirer of the humanities to make extra money.
9 Living History Interpreter
History buffs, take note! You can turn your encyclopedic knowledge of George Washington into an income-generating side hustle. History museums, special events like pioneer day festivals, and even nerdy birthday parties sometimes enlist the services of living history interpreters. This job basically entails role-playing a certain historical figure. Remember that episode of The Office when they hire a Benjamin Franklin role player for Phyliss’s bridal shower? It’s pretty much the same idea! Your historical knowledge will be handy, you’ll make money, and you’ll have some fun too!
10 Caricature Artist
Are you working on your art skills? Consider working as a caricature artist. You might be able to score a part-time gig somewhere local, like at a zoo or amusement park. Or you could advertise your availability for special events and parties.
11 Freelancer with Fiverr
Whether you like to write, craft, draw, paint, or something else, consider offering up your services on fiverr.com. Fiverr.com is a freelance marketplace where you can offer up almost any service – you can translate documents, make a drawing from a photo that a buyer provides, write a custom story about a child using their name and interests (e.g. “Laney’s Trip to Monkey Island”), and on and on. The possibilities really are endless, and while the prices start as low as five dollars you can earn much more depending on the requested work.
12 Copyeditor
As a Humanities student, especially if you’ve taken a lot of English classes, you’ve probably been writing your butt off. Along the way, hopefully, you’ve gained some mastery over grammar rules. If so, you can put those grammar and writing skills to good use copyediting! Here are some currently available copyediting gigs.
13 Freelance Writer
peaking of writing your butt off, don’t forget that writing isn’t just for term papers. You could try your hand at freelance writing. Many websites will pay for content. Check out this list of websites that compensate writers for generating new articles.
14 Blogger
Maybe writing for websites doesn’t quite scratch your writing itch. You could always take a shot at writing your own blog. Monetizing your blog with ads will allow you to (eventually) earn some money.
Writing opens so many doors for your career or as a side-hustle.
15 Publish an eBook
Writing and self-publishing an ebook might allow you to flesh out some ideas that you have had while working on assignments for writing classes. It could be freeing to write without the usual constraints you have when writing for school. Plus, if you’re lucky, you’ll be able to make some good money from selling your ebook!
Of course, you shouldn’t limit yourself to the ideas on this list. As a student of the Humanities, you may have other talents totally unrelated to your major. If you’re a math or spreadsheet whiz, you could try freelance bookkeeping or accounting. And no matter what your major is, using the BookScouter app to sell your used textbooks is always a simple way to earn some extra income!
Peruse this list of 50 ways to make $50 online to spark some other ideas for how to get a side hustle going.
This article was written by BookScouter contributor Crystal Koenig.
Crystal Koenig is a freelance writer and adjunct college instructor based in Southern Utah. She holds a PhD from Washington University in St. Louis.
Ever feel stuck when it comes to side hustle ideas? We have a new one for you that you might have not thought of ever before!
We recently spoke with someone who is making money in a creative way. Always inspired by how people earn extra cash or supplement their incomes (We did start a podcast about Studentpreneurs after all), we want to share this real life story with you.
Meet, Jan!
Jan finds free furniture.
Jan is tapping into an opportunity that few of us have embarked on before. Jan is flipping college furniture!
Believe it or not, his profit on this side-hustle is impressive.
What are the numbers on flipping college furniture?
In Jan’s case, he is earning between $500 – $1,000 a month! That is pure profit. His overhead includes a garage that averages $60 a month and driving a car to pick up the furniture which average less than $8 each trip. With minimal overhead, Jan is able to sell his lightly repurposed pieces at a reasonable rate and still make a great profit.
College students use furniture temporarily.
How does Jan flip college furniture?
- He picks up the discarded furniture from the streets
- He takes photos of the furniture found
- He stores the furniture in the garage
- Places the images and prices on Facebook Marketplace
- Once he sells a piece, he delivers the furniture for an extra $15
What rates can you sell repurposed college furniture?
Check your local rates on spaces like Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, or eBay to help inform the rates you set. In Jan’s experience, he is able to charge about $50 for a single bed and $75 for a double. To help him store the pieces, Jan rents a storage garage. In this storage unit he is able to keep about 10 pieces. He is constantly restocking with new pieces.
If he sells one full garage worth of pieces, he has made roughly $500. Since he often sells pieces quickly, he is able to make more than $500.
A simple add on that increases his profit is charging for delivery. For students who need their new furniture delivered, Jan charges an extra $15.
How often can you sell repurposed college furniture?
You can sell college furniture at any time. Although the challenge comes with the supply of free furniture. The supply of used college furniture is based on the academic calendar. While you may be able to find free pieces at the end of a fall semester, it is more likely that you’d be able to find a plethora of furniture at the end of the spring semester.
College students returning to school are in need of furniture. Capitalising on the influx of students at the start of the fall semester (occasionally start of the spring) can be incredibly profitable for you. Keep in mind, that you don’t have to sell to just college students. Try selling the repurposed furniture elsewhere to make a profit during other seasons.
Recycle unwanted college furniture and help new students make their dorms feel more like home.
How does Jan not have to pay for the furniture he flips?
Jan understands that many college students leave furniture behind at the end of the semester. If they are unable to sell the pieces, they will store them outside–making them free to the community. Understanding your local college’s academic calendar, can keep you aware of dates when free furniture may be lining the streets of apartment complexes around the local college.
Another resource he uses to source the furniture is Facebook groups. While many of us use Facebook Marketplace, you can connect with groups on Facebook where people give items away for FREE. Search for terms like, “free stuff + city” or “free items + city” on Facebook. You can pick up the items, freshen them up (if need be), then turn around and resell on Facebook Marketplace.
You can follow Jan on Instagram @thatguyvasary.
For more side-hustle inspiration, check out The Studentpreneur Show!