This article will explain a little bit about the job opportunities that await you in the area of selling rare books.
With the addition of Amazon and other on-line booksellers having link to independent retailers, you can open your small business up to a very large audience.
Rare books are a very "long tail" tail field, meaning that there is a very small audience for each one, but if you combine all of the sales for these very specific books, you will have a large income generating source.
You will need to have an understanding about the books you wish to purchase.
The money you make will be the difference in what you paid versus your selling costs and the final sales price.
You will need to constantly scour library book sales, on-line auctions, and garage sales, looking for diamonds-in-the-rough.
Start with a particular genre of books that you know well.
You have to know the market and how much it is willing to bear for a certain price.
First editions and autographed copies are worth the most.
You will have to create a rating system, explaining whether or not the books contain dust jackets.
You will also have to develop a method to ship the books and protect them from water damage without spending too much money to get it to the client, or else shipping could eat up your profits.
If you can handle it, and you are able to find books for such a bargain, try to fit the cost of the book and the shipping all in the shipping cost.
That way, even if the person returns it, you don't lose any money and if they do make a purchase, all of the sale money is yours.
Extremely rare books will generate a huge price tag.
Some books are museum quality.
They may be the last of a few copies on earth.
These types of books will require special handling and will also have a different set of negotiations with the client compared to just buying the book on-line.