Scanners and You: Should You Buy a Scanner For Your Book Scouting Business?



Posted: Monday, September 10, 2007

by
Book Scouting Success

I've been asked before if one should invest in a scanner for their book scouting business, and yes, I do consider buying a scanner an investment because of the high price tag on most of them and the fact that once you buy one, you'll probably have it for life.

My answer: yes and no. I believe a scanner can be a good thing to purchase once you're settled in and comfortable with book scouting, but if you're just beginning I would advise against it.

For one thing, you're just starting in a completely new environment and business world if you've never done anything like book scouting before. To go all out and buy a very expensive piece of equipment seems like a rash decision to me, because there's a chance that you might never use it. What if you decide that book scouting isn't for you? If that happens, you're stuck with an expensive electronic device that you'll probably never use. Be smart when it comes to selling books, and don't waste your money on high-tech gear.

So when is the right time to buy a scanner? I bought one six months after I started book scouting because I knew I was going to do this for a living after seeing what book selling is capable of. Once you have a decent inventory and experience on Amazon or eBay, and you've been out there in "the trenches" day to day, you should consider purchasing one.

The single most rewarding thing a scanner can offer you is saved time...and as we all know, time equals money. The more time you have at your disposal, the more books you can ultimately buy and sell. Scanners remove the monotony of typing in a 10-digit ISBN every time you want to check the price of a book too, and can save your fingers a lot of unneeded stress.

Now, scanners aren't always the right choice in a particular book hunting situation. Most older and rarer books won't have bar codes and you'll find that your scanner is useless in these kind of endeavors. That's why a lot of people are buying scanner phones, which combine the average cell phone with a PDA scanner. They work great and I can't recommend them enough.

All in all, scanners are your best bet if you want to maximize your time and efficiency, but some people enjoy hanging around the thrift stores and garage sales typing in the ISBN numbers because it gives them a chance to be around the thing that most of us love and are in this business for - the books.

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