Starting an online used bookstore is easy to do with sites like Abebooks. You list your books that you want to sell on their website, and they will email you when your book sells. You ship the book, and Abebooks can collect the payment from the customer, or you can directly accept payment from the seller using Paypal or money orders. You can also check sites such as Amazon and Half.com for their selling programs.
To find used books to build your inventory, try a site like BookSaleFinder. This site lists book sales that are often put on by non profit organizations such as "friends of the Library". Check for book sales listed in your area.
Explore other sources such as:
Garage Sales
Friends
Family
Craigs List
There are places online that offer programs for you to easily track your inventory. If you start listing and selling large quantities of books, it is important to keep track of books you have, books that have sold, and books that are shipped. If you have listed a book on different sites, you need to remove it from all of the sites once it sells. Having an inventory program in place will help you do this much more easily. Check The Art Of Books to see their inventory program.
When you do start collecting used books to list and sell, research online to find out the market value of your books so you can determine your list price. It may take a little time for you to know which types of books will be worth selling and which might not be worth it. You'll become an expert in used books before you know it!
