Kenneth Wolstrup answered:
Being from Denmark, I had to look up disposable books as a concept. It lead to an interesting link, I wanted to share, that describes disposable books as "the dregs of the book infrastructure" http://craigmod.com/journal/ipad_and_books/. So I assume, that your market is in some sense a niche market.
That leads me to my first suggestion, which would be that you build market knowledge from your existing ebay-customers - f.ex. through a newsletter or website with unique content from your area of expertise or just by asking, when they buy. Are they passionate about which books to read? Are they interested in volume - to look good on the bookshelf - or are they interested in individual items, and buy disposable books, because they are cheap? Are they price sensitive? Are they driven towards specific genres? Will they buy again, or is it a one-time deal? If enough people sign up, you get new distribution right there.
Also, I would want to understand how your business model works. Does it allow for price differentiation if you add value to the product, or is it low-margin high volume (which would explain your idea of selling more pr. transaction)? Does the model allow for you to make a living out of it, or is it a hobby? What drives the needs for "massive quantities"? How do you aim for driving individual books in massive quantities unless you are Amazon?
Then I would look into your distribution channels. You have two options: Stay on ebay, or go outside.
Let's start with ebay, which supports individual transactions, but "massive quantities" are a little harder. Here is a few things you could do:
1. Build better storylines on your sales - add value to the transaction. "I have read this book, and it is great" or "Here are some online reviews". Show that you are passionate about the product.
2. If you need the ebay platform for some reason - convenience, legitimacy - think in distribution through others. Could family, friends or someone else help you? You provide the storyline, they provide the phone number, you split the revenue. Low risk for them, some payment and better distribution for you.
3. Theme the content - sell packages about f.ex. project management, parenting, etc. These are disposable books - maybe some customers are looking for volume?
If you want to move outside ebay, consider some of these suggestions:
1. Build your own website, where you add reviews to the books - become the source of knowledge on disposable books, recommendations, etc. See what existing websites do, and implement a different one with the structure, you like.
2. Sell directly to bookstores or have them take your books in commission. If you have them in store anyway, they might as well take up space in a bookstore. Maybe they can also better buy volume.
3. Look for existing platforms, that support volume sales - f.ex. Amazon or similar - f.ex. this: https://www.goodreads.com/genres/disposable.
4. Build a physical store supported by webpresence, or get to go to book stores or libraries, where you sell the most interesting of your books.
5. Host disposable book meetups - like home parties, in cafés, in your own apartment. Create a cult.
6. Think about, who is in the market for massive quantities of disposable books at the same time. Could someone want to open a bookthemed cafe with lots of books on the shelf? Could a filmset be looking for a lot of nondescript books as a prop? Think of other situations, where columes of books are needen.
I hope this has helped you in your way forward. If you are interested in more suggestions or thoughts on this, feel free to set up a call.
Best regards
Kenneth Wolstrup
3 answers
•
about 9 years
