In accordance with my newly found minimalism (I’m redecorating my apartment, and I think a good start will be divesting myself of all the stuff I’ve been collecting over the last few years), I should probably begin by selling stuff that has real value, at least to me.
Who has tried selling collections of books? Is it worth the trouble? Do you get anything like genuine value? In my case, I’m talking about a few hundred first editions, some signed, some inscribed by author, mostly of 20th century literature. Also a few hundred baseball books, mostly not valuable as books in themselves (Leo Durocher’s THE DODGERS AND ME, probably published in the 1950s is perhaps typical–not very rare or in very fine condition, I would think some baseball nut might like to own it. Likewise Connie Mack’s MY 66 YEARS IN BASEBALL–published in the mid-1950s, it’s ex libris from some library, but still intact, hardbound with photos, etc.)
Am I better off keeping these things, and letting my kids deal with disposing of them someday? I’m sure they’d rather have the money, if they’re worth any money at all. Since I’m in no hurry, I’d like to place an ad for someone to bid on the whole shooting match, or large areas of it, and sell it all at once, but am I very likely to find a buyer?
Have I just spent a lifetime accumulating stuff that’s tedious to sell ? (I certainly don’'t want to be having extended correspondence over every volume in my collection). If I wouldn’t get anything for it, or if I would be spending my remaining time on earth bargaining with people, it’s probably worth it to me to store them or to modify my redecorating plans.
Have you ever tried unloading such stuff–books, records, art? What has your experience been like?
Try auctioning them through an auction house. First, they will be able to tell you what the true going price is. Plus, they have those “niche” auctions that will draw the crowd you’re looking for. http://www.hugginsandscott.com/
I’ve never done it, but it might be a good starting point. Good luck!!
As a close relative of a mad book collector, let me just say that if you’ve got books, especially first editions, and even more so if you have niche collectibles (movie tie-ins, your baseball books, detective novels from the olden days, sleaze paperbacks, etc.), it would be well worth your effort to sell them. You can sell them in small lots, as a single collection, or individually. I’d steer clear of Ebay as they don’t seem to do much to discourage deadbeats, I’ve heard, but there are other sites and even print publications where you could place an ad. You could also look for somebody to consign them for you, I suppose.
Book collectors are nuts (in a cool way), and as long as you don’t have a pile of romance novels, self-help books, and “__ is for _______” mystery novels, you’ll find a buyer.
Books are rarely worth what you paid for them, and the market is very thin. You might try Craigslist or eBay, but good luck with that. We have somewhere between 1500 and 2000 books that we can’t unload, even to second-hand book stores. My collection of Alaskana, which is probably worth over $4,000, got an offer of $1500 from a book dealer. It’s sad. You’re probably better off donating them to a local charity and taking the tax writeoff.
I don’t have a suggestion for you, I think the ones so far have been good. But, if you do compile a list of what you have (or decide on a method to sell and come up with a listing), let us know! I know I’d be interested in hearing what you have, especially the first editions.
Signed first editions are probably worth something. Most antiquarian book dealers (aka rare book dealers) pay about half what they expect to sell something for, so you won’t make a huge amount of money, but it’s worth looking into. If you sell things as a collection, rather than individually, it will certainly be less of a PITA for you, though you may not get optimal prices. Look for someone associated with the ABAA – they’re all legitimate businesspeople who won’t rip you off.
twicks, who worked for a rare book dealer about 20 years ago.