Bookscouter: A Review

Making Money tool – Bookscouter, a book scouting lookup tool 

There’s still an opportunity to flip books on the Internet and turn them into cash, and while it takes savvy and energy, it doesn’t take much commitment: A stack of books, a computer, and a vehicle is the minimum requirement. That’s about as low a bar as you might want, so it’s easy to get into the business and just as easy to get out. The tool I want to discuss here is indispensable: The Bookscouter App.  

What is a Scouting Tool? 

It’s really just an app on a smartphone. Something as unforgiving as book flipping requires a scouting tool. You just can’t guess the value of a book online and expect to hit the mark more than 50 percent of the time. The number of copies of many significant books has driven the used price to almost nothing, making an effort appear to be fool’s gold.  

A scouting tool scans an item’s UPC or ISBN code and sends it through your smartphone to a satellite and onto the Amazon marketplace. There, a price is fetched with extra information that helps you make wise decisions about buying books.  

Why is Book Flipping Fool’s Gold? 

Single-unit Book flipping requires you to find many valuable books that you pay very little for. Then you sell at a high price. The whole game of sourcing from thrift stores and selling online is predicated on your abilities, your savvy, and your experience. The profit margin looks impressive. Unfortunately, you must discover each title one book at a time. Many people have joined the fray with such a low bar to the entrance, but the competition is crushing. Many experienced booksellers have given up because the price wars make World War I vets blush. Besides, thrift stores scan the donations for valuable items they list online, and book dealers that patronize their stores never get a whiff of valuable books. 

Bookscouter: Why is it Still a Worthwhile Pursuit? 

The volume of donations occasionally overwhelms thrift store chains like Goodwill. Do they always get around to pricing inventory and putting it on the floor? I would assert “no.” Instead, they ship it to the Goodwill Outlet Store. They offer it at a reduced rate. It’s offered by the inch spine with books, making a single book with a one-inch spine worth something like .15 cents to the store. So you can still find worthwhile items at thrift stores. It’s just not like it used to be.  

As a result, there are still one-off sales to be found. It’s a tough hoe if you want to make a living at it. People increase their revenue by looking for more than books. They see everything in the inventory of a thrift store as a potential sale. That way, they can see profits in five figures.  

Bookscouter: ISBN Code

The information gleaned from the UPC/ISBN look-up communicates how marketable a book is. That’s where the app Bookscouter tool comes in. This app downloaded to your phone is free. That makes it a bargain in a world where most ISBN/UPC lookup tools charge money, from $10 to $50 a month and more!  

Because you may be new to this business, it might be wise to not invest money in a look-up tool right away, and Bookscouter provides you with the opportunity to sell online without feeling much pressure. If you don’t enjoy it, then you can get out painlessly. If you have an Amazon account, you can download the amazon seller tool for free to your smartphone and combine it with a tool like Bookscouter to expand your buying potential in thrift stores.  

Factors that Influence Book Value 

Demand for a book is how many people are looking for it. The book’s rank at Amazon.com suggests the demand for a book title. High-demand books sell faster than low-demand books.  

this article was originally published in 2021. It has been slightly edited.

If you liked this blog, please subscribe to my newsletter below!