What is the difference between an online used magazine seller who struggles to make a profit and one who sells hundreds of magazines for $10 to $30 each every month? The difference is in the details, the everyday business decisions that can make or break any business. Here are a few secrets about selling old magazines online that can boost your profits or kickstart your new online magazine business.
Sell the right magazines. Not all old magazines are popular with collectors or nostalgia buffs. Mention “collectible magazines” to the average person, and they immediately think “National Geographic.” Sure, everybody saves their back issues of National Geographic, but that has created such a surplus there’s no demand from buyers. Back issues have flooded the market, so you’re wasting your time ever trying to sell them online. Only very old issues or leather bound volumes of National Geographic sell well.There are dozens of magazines that do enjoy steady demand from collectors, such as Time, Life, Fortune, even Better Homes & Gardens or Good Housekeeping. Many collectors prefer to buy “runs” of several issues, for example, all issues from one year. Other buyers are looking for magazines about a particular topic, like monsters, motorcycles or woodworking.
Famous people. Another “hot” area for selling to collectors is famous people. Whether they are dead or alive, celebrities like the Beatles, John Denver or the Lone Ranger, sports stars like Michael Jordan, Roberto Clemente, or Vince Lombardi, or VIPs like Albert Einstein, Harry Truman or John F. Kennedy, you can be sure lots of collectors are willing to pay big bucks for old magazines that feature their personal heroes. It’s best if the hero is on the cover of a magazine, but even articles clipped from old magazines sell well on eBay. Several successful sellers bundle several articles about rock stars from the past, like the Grateful Dead or Janis Joplin, and sell them for over $100 per bundle on eBay.
