So, I am trying to boost my bookshelf in order to trade more books. Today, I went to a bookstore that sells used books and a thrift store. I wasn't able to find any of the top 50 books from the wishlist, but I found some in good condition that looked like they would be popular. Aside from looking up each book on the blackberry, what can you do to know you are selecting books that people will want to trade? I know to stay away from John Grisham and other popular authors that probably have tons listed...any other ideas or tips?

Look at the "most requested books" list too, 7 day and 30 day.  Those are books that move that you might see in a thrift store.  When I was new I did buy books to post, sometimes I would buy one thinking it would be popular and I bet wrong.  Just don't spent too much on them, with postage it maybe cheaper to buy credits. But don't stress, as you start getting popular books, reading them and reposting them - things will keep moving along.

Erotica.  Cookbooks.  Some craft books.  Small press books.  Some non fiction.  First books in series. (if not reprinted yet)   Some YA.  (But that takes knowledge of the genre) 

Basically I focus on one or two genres and get an idea of what moves fast.  I stay away from buying books that I'm not familiar with.  So I rarely will get knitting books, even though I know they often move fast.  And I consider how much a book weights if I'm buying to post.  (Which is not an issue if I'm buying for me to read, then post.)

Where can  "most requested books" list be accessed?

I do what Emily does: I stick to 1 or 2 genres I know.  Craft books and cookbooks move pretty good but it depends on what.  I don't buy anything by the big mega-authors like Nora Roberts, James Patterson, Stephen King etc.. unless I know specific titles of theirs that are out of print and hard to find. Their books are usually only WL right before and right after they're released and then before you know there's litterally thousands of copies in the system. 

I've found that cozies, urban fantasy, erotica and paranormals move pretty quickly even if they aren't WL.  Cookbooks by Foodnetwork Chefs go pretty good but they're hard to find where it's cheap enough to make it worth buying just to post 

Unless you have a really cheap source of books, it might just be easier to buy some credits to start with.  You can get them from other members in teh book bazaar for than cheaper than PBS.  There are some members who have thousands of books posted and constantly do deals and so have more credits than they can possibly spend. 

After awhile you kind of learn what will move and what will just sit there. And many times, I've bought a brand new release for a quarter at a thrift store thinking it would be WL only to find there's already 100 copies listed. But because it was such a new release, it was still ordered quickly.  Other times I've grabbed something that ended up having a short WL, only to have it not taken by any of hte wishers and end up sitting on my shelf for months on end.

I second all the previously offered advice.  I still with YA because that's what I know best and I know where the long wish list lines are.  But even with that sometimes it's hit and miss.  It's a bit of a gamble sometimes. 

Definately take weight into account when thinking about buying a book purely for trade because sometimes it is cheaper to just buy credits once you factor in the cost of the book plus postage.  If I ever have a large wishlist book I want to post I will take it to the wishlist multiples thread either in the Book Bazaar or one of the genre forums because sometimes you can get a multiple book order and the cost per credit goes down a lot after that. 

Oh, and to answer Debbie's question, the Most Requested Books page is part of the Top 50s page.  Just change the tab at the top to "Requested Books".

I find that trade editions (the larger sized paperbacks) will usually move much fast than MMP (mass market paperbacks).

Thanks for the information, Alisa.

Erotic romance goes really fast.

Any kind of erotica moves fast.  It shows up on the banner of recently posted and disappears.  

The urban fantasy / paranormal romance move fast.  But you sort of need to know that genre to hit it right.  Jim Butcher moves fast.  But alot of Charlaine Harris and Simon A. Green are now available.

Often I have found some great American Lit books go as fast as I put them up , To Kill A Mockingbird , A Tree Grows In Brooklyn,  Up The Down Staircase, to name a few. Must be for a class