Make money selling books and DVDs online

Go to www.play.com There will be a list of navigation tabs at the top of the window. Hold the mouse pointer above the tab labelled Sell Your Stuff and a list appears giving you the option to sell a DVD, CD, game, book or a games console – click the appropriate option. We are going to sell an old copy of the first Lord of the Rings movie so have chosen DVD. Don’t worry about whether you have a Play account at this point, as you will be prompted to set one up if needed as part of the process of selling your item. If you have bought goods from Play before, you will still need to set up a Playtrade account, which again you will be prompted to do.

Playtrade makes it easy to find the appropriate listing for your item. You can type in the name of the item and then browse through a list of possible matches on the main site, but it is far simpler to type in a DVD’s barcode number (also called a Unique Product Code, or UPC). If selling a book, you can also search by the International Standard Book Number (ISBN), which is usually printed near the barcode. For barcodes, type in every number below the black and white lines, but don’t include any spaces or other characters. ISBNs have 13 digits but if it ends with the letter X: you should include this with the number. We’re going to search by barcode so we have clicked the down-arrow labelled Product Area to select DVD, and typed the number into the box below.

Once Playtrade has found a match for the DVD, you need to describe its condition. Click the dropdown menu labelled Condition and select an option: ‘New’, ‘Used – very good’, which indicates that at a casual glance the item appears new. If you select ‘Used – good’ or ‘Used – average’ give some detail in the box beneath the list. Be honest and list any minor defects. If a CD or DVD has jumped or is scratched, don’t try to sell it. Beneath the box is a list of options for where you are prepared to post the item to, and there’s a link to the site’s dispatch and delivery guidelines, which we advise you to read carefully.

Now it Is time to set the price, which must include what it will cost you to post the item – this cannot be added later. Beneath the box where you enter your charge are some notes on Play’s own price for this item, with the lowest charges for second-hand versions in very good condition and the cheapest version overall. This will guide you on setting a fair price for your copy. If you exceed Play’s price there is no reason for people to buy your used copy. Select the country you are dispatching the goods from (UK for most of us) and the quantity you are selling, then click Continue. Now you will be asked to enter your Play.com account username and password if you have one, or to set one up if you don’t. Click the appropriate option.

If setting up a new Play.com account, follow the on-screen instructions. You will be asked for a postal address, credit or debit card details (which are stored securely and not used unless you buy something from Play) and a delivery address. Then you will be prompted to set up a Playtrade account for selling. Choose a nickname, provide your contact details (which are used to notify you when your item is sold) and bank account details so the profit from sales can be transferred to you from the Playfunds account created for you. Finally you will be asked to activate your account – Play will send an email to the address you provided, which contains a link you must click to verify everything is in order.

Now you’re ready to add your item to the main Play site listing. A summary of your item, its price and the profit you will make if the item is sold is displayed, along with an explanation of the charges made by Play. If you are happy that everything is correct, click ‘Confirm Listing’. If you change your mind and want to cancel the listing, manage your account, transfer funds or have other queries, then sign in to the main Play site and choose the appropriate option from the panel on the left-hand side of the page.