Great, easy way to sell books (greenmetropolis.com)

Member Name: jennyf16

Product:	greenmetropolis.com
Date:	10/11/09 (23 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: easy to use, books get removed after 6 months

Disadvantages: none

I came across this site after someone mentioned it on www.moneysaivngexpert.com It's basically a site where you can buy and sell books.

I have used this site for a few years now and think it's great. I mainly use it to sell book and, as yet, I haven't bought a book from the site although I envisage that I will do so within the next few months.

I have been a member of the site for a couple of years now and use the site for selling books. I haven't, as yet, bought a book from the site but I envisage that I will do so within the next few months.

Listing a book to sell is really easy. All you have to do is log in (you need to create an account to use the site). Once you've done this you enter the ISBN number of the book you want to sell, this is above the bar code on the back of the book. Once you've done this then all the other relevant details appear. These just need checking, if anything is different then there is a notes box so you can let potential buyers know what is different about the book that you're selling. You can also put other bits of information in this notes box too. The final thing to do before your book is listed is to select the condition of it. There are 4 options - as new, excellent, good, acceptable. It's your own judgement but there are some guidelines in their FAQ's if you're really not sure.

All books cost the buyer £3.75 - as standard, no matter what condition (see later). Of this price, 75p goes directly to The Woodland Trust and £3.00 goes to the seller. From this £3.00 the buyer has to pay the postage out of it. I'd say that generally, postage is around a £1, so you're getting about £2 a book. When you sell a book you get an email saying which book you've sold and where to send it. All books are posted second class and then you mark it as sent on your profile - doing this automatically marks it as sent on the buyers profile. The money is credited to your account - which you can either have transferred via BACs or you can donate it to The Woodland Trust.

In terms of selling books, as the postage is included - sometimes Green Metropolis will take the decision that your book is heavy and increase the postage but you can also do this yourself when listing your book - it's just near the condition options so you can add 50p, £1 etc. You can also deduct 50p, £1 from the price. I often do this if the book was a freebie with a magazine and I write in the notes why I have put the discount on there, just so the buyer knows.

The website itself underwent some changes and it now features a forum and members have star ratings (out of 5) based on delivery etc. I have used the forums but only briefly.

I haven't bought any books so I cannot comment on this aspect of the website - but it seems great for presents - you can just find the books that are 'as new' condition.

Books stay on there for 6 months, after which they will be removed, or you can extend the time they appear on the site.

I haven't had any problems with the website at all. Some books are a bit hit and miss if they sell. But to be honest it's so easy to use.

Summary: great alternative to amazon/ebay