Q&A | Amazon selling+ a really great thermometer
Any feedback on selling on Amazon? I have books that I would like to move over from half.com. Early in the half.com years, I did amazing. The last 5 years have been really slow and now it is closed. I have inventory, including some vintage children's Italian books, that I am ready to move.
-Jill
I feel your pain about half.com closing! So sad.
I haven't sold tons of books on Amazon yet, but here are my thoughts so far.
Pros:
- Amazon has a huge customer base, so things sell really quickly if you price them competitively.
- Printing a shipping label directly thru the seller interface is easy (though maybe not quite as simple as through half.com).
- Listing a book is super quick; much less work than eBay.
- Setting up a seller account is quick and easy, especially if you already have an Amazon buyer account.
Cons:
- Amazon does seem to charge higher fees than half.com did. They are upfront about them, though, so take a look when you list your item, and price it accordingly.
Usually when I sell books, I want to get them out of my house, like, yesterday.
So for me, it's about decluttering speedily + getting a little cash + getting the book to someone who will use it rather than making a bunch of money.
Because of that, the quick selling time on Amazon and the ease of listing mean that I'll keep selling my books there instead of on eBay.
If you have very valuable books, thought, it might be worth it to list them on eBay though, after you check to see if there's a market for them there.
Hello Kristen,
I am a huge fan of your blog and I you have helped me understand how to live a more frugal lifestyle. Thank you for the beautiful, inspiring and quality content you share on your website!
I have tried many of your delicious recipes and purchased several items that you have recommended. I was wondering if you had a moment to recommend a meat thermometer. What is your favorite brand and style?
Chrisanna
Aww, I'm so, so glad my blog has been helpful to you. Yay!
I used to have cheap digital kitchen thermometers, and that's plural because they kept on dying on me.
The batteries wore out quickly, and sometimes the digital displays just stopped working altogether.
I got fed up with replacing them (and more importantly, with discovering a dead thermometer just at the moment when I really needed one!), so I added a really good one to my birthday list one year.
I have the Thermapen classic, which is $79. I've had it for years with nary a problem, and I haven't even had to replace the battery yet!
(It automatically sleeps after 10 minutes, so you never accidentally leave it on, draining the battery.)
It gives a reading really quickly, and since the sensor is at the very tip, I can temperature check even fairly thin cuts of meat as well as whole chickens and the like.
I love, love, love my thermometer, and I highly recommend it!
Now, there IS a newer model, the MK4, which is $99 instead of $79. As far as I can see, the big advantage with this one is that it takes a AAA battery instead of the flat watch-like battery (sweet!).
It's also more waterproof, and it wakes up from the sleep cycle via a sensor (to wake up the original model, you have to snap the probe in and out of its clip).
But honestly, the classic model works just fine, so if you'd rather save the $20, go with that one.
On the other hand, your Thermapen should last you for ages, and over a period of years, $20 extra doesn't average out to much more at all.
(How often have you spent $20 on takeout? Or gone over your grocery budget by $20?)
So, if I were buying one today, I'd probably go with the MK4.
But if you can't stand to fork over $20 extra, buy the classic, and you'll probably still be very happy.
(These are not affiliate links and I am not connected to Thermoworks in any way.)
P.S. If you aren't cooking with a thermometer, I highly recommend giving it a try! That way, you'll never under or over-cook your meats again. Plus, you can use it for baked goods AND for making yogurt.
P.P.S. This thermometer may give you sticker shock, I know. But I'm perfectly happy to pay more for an item if it will last a long time and if the cheaper options aren't very good.
Selling books on Ebay takes a lot longer to list on than on Amazon! I use Ebay for textbooks and Amazon for all other books.
And Kristin, have you ever used a meat thermometer that has a wire and can read the temperature of the meat while in the oven? I've seen those, but not bought one (we still use a hand-me-down analog one). Those thermometers look intriguing for baking turkeys and such since you wouldn't have to keep opening the oven.
My husband bought one of those for summer grilling season. We love it especially for the grill (except for when I grabbed it barehanded out of the meat to check another piece in a 450° grill and got a pretty remarkable burn) and the oven. I think I'd prefer a stab and read one (like the one in this post) for stovetop cooking, as that's what I'm used to using, and it's less likely to cause burns.
The Thermopop is a viable alternative to the Thermapen. It's made by the same company, at about a $30 price point. The accuracy is within 1 degree (Thermapen is 0.1) & the read time is a bit slower at about 5 seconds compared to the Thermapen's 2 seconds.
http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/11/thermopop-equipment-review-thermapen.html
I have one. It's made my cooking better. And they come in lots of kicky colors!
I bought one of those thermometers last year on your recommendation and I love it! I initially got it to make yogurt but I've used it for all sorts of things, including checking them temps on meats and frozen meals.
Thank you for the honest review of Amazon and Half.com.
Half.com reminds me of those old college days when I was trying to sell my used books and make some extra cash.
I didn't list them on Amazon because their commission fee was much higher. I'm so sad to see Half.com go out of business. It brings back lots of memories 🙁
If anyone wonders about the thermometer, it's amazing! We do BBQ competitions, and they really are worth the money! I use it everytime I cook!
I bought my Thermapen online last year on Black Friday w/a $10 off coupon and free shipping. Not sure if they'll have that deal again this year, but might be worth waiting to see??
For those selling books: look into Powells.com. But I’d try eBay for the voyage Books. Powells only takes Books with an ISBN number and they don’t do textbooks.
I also Have a Therma pop. It's made by thermapen. It works amazingly well for me. I don't know if I could bake bread without it. It's also much cheaper than the thermapen.
I've always been on the fence about a Thermapen. In the end I did buy a Chef Alarm (Same company ) but so far I'm still using the old digital instaread thermometer which is still working despite being melted in one spot.
I miss Half dot com but when I have books to get rid of, I usually just donate them to a place like Half Price Books. I don't get much for them, but they're out of my house!
I've been decluttering books and have started selling directly to companies for cash - you can definitely make more selling directly to customers, but I too just want them out of the house and am happy to earn a little cash on them. Kids books I sold to a physical kids consignment store that pays cash (you don't have to wait till it sells). Online I've been using bookscouter.com, where you enter the title or ISBN and they will search out "who's buying" and what they're paying, among 35 or so book buyback companies (e.g. Amazon, Powell's, TextbookManiac). So I might send one box with 2 textbooks and get $20, and another box with 30-some books and get $25 (with individual books worth anything from @$7 down to 25 cents, which was most of them). The buying company pays shipping, so I figure it's money in (even a little), clutter out... Win!
A meat thermometer is on my Christmas list this year! Partially because of your post about the right temperature of pork. 🙂
Just read an article about Decluttr, but haven't tried it yet. Also accepts DVD's, CD's.
The makers of the Thermapen make a less expensive version called the Thermopop. Slower, but still very accurate, and about $29.
Honestly, you are better than consumer reports! Very useful info on both questions, thank you!
I've relied on my Thermapen for years. A few drops on the floor and the outside casing began to crack. Finally it would no longer work. I sent it back to Thermapen for repair last year (I believe I paid around $30). They sent me back a brand spanking new one!