Making Money With the Public Domain

I sold digital download items on eBay for a few months, up until the new policy brought that business to a crashing standstill... I think that you are right, in that you have to consider selling these sorts of things as an actual "business" with an actual "plan" to achieve sales. With the old eBay, you could simply put things up in a store for next to nothing, and even if it only sold for a dollar or two every once in a while, you still managed to turn a profit. There are people who still claim to be able to make a living selling items from the public domain, even after eBay's shut down on digitally delivered products. I suppose that it's a matter of finding, making sure that the rights are free and clear, re-packaging, and finding people who are interested in making a purchase. Thanks for your reply!

Do know the way around ebay's new rule for digital items? You can sell them on disks and ship them. That is an option. But it is hard to make money if you build a website and direct traffic with your own time and money.

I've heard that many sellers who still want to sell digital items on eBay have simply gone to the "send a disc" routine and method of delivery... sometimes even outsourcing the disc production to a third-party company. With anything that's sold on eBay, you have to be able to make a profit on the item plus be able to cover your shipping charges with the purchase price... which was always the challenge for me whenever I tried to sell any physical items on the site. I never ventured into selling anything there from the public domain, though, although I have read enough reports that have told me how much money there is to be made from those kinds of ventures (as well as reselling reports that I have which have given me resale rights...)

I'm always encouraged when it seems that we seem to be thinking along similar lines; it makes me think that I must be on the right track! ;) Some writers have written of the public domain as a "lost city of gold" and have spoken glowingly of the treasures that it holds and the financial potential for the adventurer who is willing to mine its depths. (Doesn't that sound enticing?) And while it is legal to use materials in the public domain, some care does need to be taken to verify that materials have actually fallen into the public domain before actually using them (and risking the possibility of discovering the penalties of copyright infringement(!) There are also some issues with copyright laws not being the same from country to country, so that where something may have legally fallen into the public domain in one locale, one might not be legally able to sell elsewhere. A little bit of research (and perhaps some good legal advice) can clear these roadblocks. As you have said, finding the really good stuff can be an expensive "dig" (aka: a fun day searching on eBay or at Abebooks) - because if it is already readily and freely available to the world, you're going to have a hard time convincing the world to buy it from you. (Is the Wattles book in the public domain? I have seen it published by various publishers. You, of course, can put your copyright on the revised version that you publish...) A trip through the public domain certainly can turn into an "Indiana Jones" quest for ... whatever valuable treasure you're looking for, but if you know what you are doing (or have the team to help you do it), the public domain can be a lucrative source for profits. Best wishes to you and your team!