Recycling Books

For quite a while, every time I order a book from Amazon, I think, "gee, I have lots of books that I should get rid of". This comment has landed me at Half Price Books a few times, with a crate full of books. I anxiously await my name to be called over the PA, calling me to the buying counter. If lucky, I'll earn enough to pay for lunch, or admittance to one of my nephew's basketball tournaments.

I've managed to get rid of dozens of books over the years, but lately I keep thinking, I'm just "pushing" these titles into a system where I don't know if anyone will "pull" from. (For those of you familiar with Lean Manufacturing, you can relate).

So...yesterday, I decided to post some books on Amazon. While it took me a few minutes to get into the groove, very quickly I was spending about 60 seconds posting each title. Will it earn me any cash? I didn't know, but I was soon to find out.

Within an hour or 2 of posting about 20 titles, I was getting ready to close my computer, but decided to check my email first. Sure enough, I had an email from Amazon reading: "Sold, Ship now...". Oh my gosh, had I really made my first sale within a few hours? Yes, I had. I was pleased to learn that there were other lower priced books that the buyer didn't choose. Why not? The price was lower, the condition similar...oh well, I decided not to dwell on the psychology of buying. I'll just package the book and get it ready to mail.

The story continues...early this morning I checked email, and....you guessed it. Another email from Amazon reading: "Sold, Ship now..." for another title. Very cool I thought. While my basic instinct said "POST EVERY BOOK YOU OWN", I decided that wasn't a wise choice. At least not today. Maybe tomorrow. We'll see...

So, back to the Lean Manufacturing reference. By posting these books on Amazon, I didn't have to "push" these books out to clutter up the shelves of Half Price Books. The 2 books are now in transit to the people who have decided to "pull" from my inventory. Thanks Stephen in Florida and Mindy in Colorado. Thanks for helping me recycle.