[From the May/June issue of the NAPO-NY Newsletter]

"'Never clutter up your house with books,' was a piece of advice she often repeated."--Denton Welch, "Brave and cruel."

One of the biggest challenges personal organizers face with clients is helping them to weed out their book collections and discard, rather than hide, the rejects. Most people have formed sentimental attachments to their books, (which may be gifts, or hold memories of schooldays or travels), or refuse to believe that they will never be able to finish, or at least start, that great read. (Perhaps they will have the time once they get organized). Of course, organizers face the same problem in their own lives.

Organizers will often suggest to clients that the books, like pets, will find a "better home" somewhere else, where someone can actually use them. Take them to a charity shop or used book store, and think of the joy someone else will have when they find the book they've been searching for! The psychological "lift" will motivate clients, and provide an additional benefit to clearing off those dusty shelve.

The problem is - unless it's different in your part of the world - most "used bookstores" aren't worth the trouble. Here in New York City it's practically impossible to sell or even give anything away to them. I quickly grew tired of hauling large heavy boxes of important and valuable books (I don't buy junk) across town to indifferent store owners who would reject most and make laughable offers for the rest. Charities (like Housing Works in NYC) will usually take anything, but after a while I ran out of books I was willing to just give away, and was left with lots that I might have been willing to part with for a small return.

One day, while searching eBay, I discovered a way to find a good home for
the books I no longer wanted, and make a bit of money as well. I noticed a little icon at the bottom of the screen suggesting that I search something called Half.com. I took the plunge, and I'm glad I did.

Half.com is a subsidiary of eBay. Don't stop reading! Unlike eBay, which charges for each listing (even if you don't make a sale) and requires you to wait days for the end of an auction, Half.com listings are free, and you can simply set your own price (as long as it's no more than half the list price; get it?) I'll talk more about setting your price later on.

Half.com acts as a middleman between you and millions of potential buyers on the Internet. Through it, you can sell books, cds, and videos through a storefront website that buyers can search and send orders through, just like amazon.com or cdnow.com. Except here, each item is actually a second-hand copy sold by someone like you. Potential buyers will see a page containing a description of the item, pictures, reviews, and a list of one or more copies in various conditions and prices.

After setting up a Seller Account with some basic personal information, you're ready to create your inventory. Listing an item is easy with a UPC or ISBN. Never heard of them? Click on the link for an explanation. Can't find one on the item? You can still list it by searching for the item in the database by keyword, just as you would if you were looking to buy the item, and then clicking the "I have one to sell" link. If a book or cd has an easy-to-search-for title, I often prefer to do that since I can check out the page the buyer will see, including the prices other sellers are asking.

Half.com will suggest a price, based on previous sales of items in the same condition. It will also tell you the average price and the last price it sold at. Based on this information, you can then set your own price. Since I'm mainly interested in clearing my shelves, I usually lowball it, matching or undercutting other offers.

Now it's time to sit back and wait for the orders to come in. It won't take long (imagine how many people are searching the internet for merchandise), but some members may have already put an item on their Wish List; these orders will come in as soon as you list it. If you're willing to make an instant sale at their preferred price, just click the button and it's done. Talk about instant gratification.

Usually, though, you'll receive an email notifying you of each sale. You must confirm the item's availability within 48 hours by simply sending a reply to the email; then you have 24 hours to ship it. The email also includes tear-off sections you can print out for a mailing label and packing slip. Envelopes can be purchased in bulk from a store like Staples, and rather than use mailing labels I prefer to just write the address in big letters with an indelible marker.

Half.com receives the money from the buyer (who has set up a similar account with them which gives Half.com access to his/her credit card), adds the cost of shipping (MediaMail is the basic service, though you have the option of offering First Class), then subtracts a sliding percentage of your price as a commission. Your money is added up in two-week installments (say, 1/1 to 1/15) and paid out a few days after the first and last day of the month. After I had gotten a couple of checks and deposited them successfully, I decided they were on the up and up, and gave them my bank account number. Now my earnings are automatically deposited, just like a paycheck.

Recently, I had my first "problem" as a seller. Half.com acts as middleman for buyer and seller communications, just as it does for transactions, so one day I found an email in my mailbox relaying an inquiry from a buyer. She had expected a hardcover book, I had sent a paperback. I checked the listing in my "Transaction History" and saw that I hadn't noticed that while the ISBN was for a hardcover book, I was actually selling a paperback book club edition. Since I was just glad to get the book off my shelf, I accessed the Transaction Comment page, chose the option that lets the buyer keep the book and get a refund, and added an apologetic comment. Half.com handled the rest, deducting the amount from my next payment.

You can access your account page with your web browser. In addition to your inventory, it also maintains running statistics on items sold, payments pending, feedback from buyers (based on which sellers receive a rating) and more. For example, I can tell that since Feb 15 I have sold sold 313 items for a total of $2,412.31. Not enough to live on, but a good chunk of change, and representing about 6 shelves newly freed-up. And my seller rating is still 5/5!

One limitation is that Half.com currently only sells popular, not classical cds. For this, I have been using Amazon.com's Marketplace, which operates in a similar way.

Any client who enjoys using the Internet can use Half.com to clear out that book collection. Finally there's an easy, free, safe and profitable way to do what organizers are always suggesting : recycle your books to those who can really use them.