A couple of years ago, I went through a phase where I bought used books from libraries who were going to throw them away.
I’m trying to sell all my old textbooks on Ebay this year, and I realized I’ve got a lot of old books sitting around my house. I know the library probably wouldn’t have sold anything really valuable for 25 cents, but hey, I can always hope.
My sister suggested checking Amazon’s used book section. Is there something online that’s really reliable? Like a used book appraiser or something?
Usually if it’s from a library, it has some sort of tag/sticker/or what-not that reduces the value. Books that were paperback but made into hardbacks I’ve never seen command any kind of decent price: you’d be better off trying to trade those in at a used bookstore.
Check the edition. First edition: good. 23rd edition: bad. (There can be exceptions, but I’m trying to be general here.)
Check the age. Something published in '92 is normally not worth as much as a similar book from '62, for instance. (This isn’t to say all older books are more valuable: there are a lot of variables here.)
Check the condition. Normally, the more ‘like new’ the book is, the better. (Again, there can be exceptions.)
Hope this helps!
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Until recently, most collectors turned up their noses at ex-library books. You could find them for $5 when true first editions sold for $100 or more.
Today the clueless who flood the net don’t observe such niceties and I see dealers charge what I consider to be outrageous prices for ex-lib books. Evidently they find buyers for them.
What works for dealers probably won’t work for you, though, and you sure won’t get anything selling them to dealers.
You can try going to bookfinders.com, a meta-search engine for a dozen top used book selling sites. You’ll get a dozen or a hundred hits for any halfway recognizable book. By carefully reading the entries there you should get a feel for what your books are worth.
Once you get an idea of prices, you might be better off selling them on something like half.com. It’s now a subsidiary of eBay, so you should easily be able to do so.
Personally, I will buy ex-lib books at a library book sale for a buck a bag, but I would never put real money (i.e. a dollar) into one. Just to give you one price point as an example.
Books, unless they are the first edition, no matter how old don’t command a price. I LOVE old books and every now and then find an old copy of a favorite novel on ebay for just a few dollars. Just recently I bought a 1860’s copy of David Copperfield for about $6.
First, I would search for the book at ebay.com & find out what it sold for…
BTW, I made a ton of money on exlibrary books this year. e.g. I sold a set of three
for $202.00, plus shipping on ebay. The books I bought right from my library for
$6.00
If I were you, I would search www.bookfinder.com , which searches all the online databases (including abebooks). You need to look for the closest match possible to the book you actually have, as many books are issued multiple times (especially if it’s a well-known title).
As others have said, the library has probably done bad icky things that decrease the book’s value. You can definitely get away with a higher price on ebay though.
It’s amazing what stuff can be worth–I collect books (mostly children’s). When I worked at a used bookstore, one of my bosses managed to snag two paperbacks for two bucks at Goodwill. However, these happened to be an unusual Salinger title, which we promptly managed to sell for $500.
I, too, have made some good money selling ex-library books on eBay. In college, I would visit the book sales, pick up books that I thought looked interesting (mostly ancient history), then sell those that I didn’t feel like keeping. No, they’re not of much value to collectors, but hard-to-find books in ancient history are sought after by individuals. For example, I sold a two book set on Byzantine history to a person who had several dozen recent purchases of books on that subject.
Check to see what a book is going for in forums where you’re able to sell – like eBay and Half.com (be sure, for the latter, that you’re looking at prices that sell, not just what people are asking). That’s always been the best gauge for me, but you never know. Sometimes, I’d sell a textbook on eBay and get more than I what I paid for it at the university bookstore (new).
Speaking as a librarian here, don’t discount everything sold at a library book sale as being worthless. Libraries get tons of books dumped on them by people and there aren’t enough people to go through all of them thoroughly enough to see whether or not each book is valuable.
The great majority of the time, books get tossed out because they have mold, mildew, or the dreaded booklice.
And a library is only going to keep a book if they think it’s worthwhile for the collection. Most books won’t sell for much unless it’s a big art book. But I would check those to make sure some bozo didn’t razor out all the good prints.
But every now and then you will find a gem among the detritus.
And just because it’s a first edition doesn’t make it valuable. Public libraries and peoples’ homes are filled with first editions that aren’t worth more than a couple of bucks, if even that.
A lot of ex-library books have sold for quite decent sums on Ebay, half.com, etc. It’s all about supply and demand.
I am a rare book dealer and may have some insight. First the best place to go to find a book value is www.abebooks.com. Look specifically for books that meet ALL of your book’s criteria. That is if your’s does not have a dustjacket look at prices without jacket. When you judge condition of your book be harsh. Collectors want the best condition they can find and generally any ink underlining or page tears are unacceptable.
The age of any book rarely makes it valuable. For a book to be worth - say $100 - or more just because of its age it must be several hundred years old. I have many volumes from the early nineteenth century you can take off my hands for twenty dollars a pop.
Don’t discount a book because it’s not terribly old. I picked up a first edition of Tolkien’s “Fellowship of the Ring” from Goodwill for $5. The clerk said she knew it was old enough to be worth anything. I sold it for $1800. Pay special attention to books written by popular authors. Early Stephen King for example can bring a bundle. Areas like detective fiction can be lucrative as well. Some Dashiell Hammett titles sell in the thousands.
Look for signatures by the author, but be careful when authenticating. Authors sign books with regularity, this adds value and how much value depends on the author. A signed John Irving books doubles the asking price, a signed Stephen King triples it. A fine contemporary author like Iain Pears signs so many however, that a signature is essentially worthless.
As my final note don’t get overly excited and make sure to do meticulous research before selling. Tell the potential buyer exactly how you know what you have. If it is worth a lot of money, ie. a Tolkien first, have it authenticated in writing by a reputable dealer. Good Luck!
