Scanning Instead of Shooting

You don't always have to photograph the items you want to sell. If you're selling relatively flat items (books, comics, CDs, DVDs, and so on), you might be better off with a scanner than a camera. Just lay the object on a flatbed scanner, and scan the item into a digital file on your computer. Scanning something like a book or a DVD case is actually easier than taking a picture of it. You don't have to worry about lighting, or focus, or any of that. And when you're scanning compact discs, take the CD booklet out of the jewel case to scan, instead of scanning the jewel case itself.

Here's something else: Since your scanner operates just like a camera, you can scan practically anything you can fit on the glass. The item at hand doesn't even have to be perfectly flat. Just about any item in a box can be easily scanned, as can many other small objects. When in doubt, test it.