# What do you do with a ton of used Harlequin novels? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 7, 2006, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-with-a-ton-of-used-harlequin-novels/367681 "2006-08-07T14:07:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-with-a-ton-of-used-harlequin-novels/367681/1 "2006-08-07T14:07:19Z")
In the process of buying up used books for resale on Amazon and elsewhere, I’ve accidentally acquired a grocery bag full of romance novels. ($2 for ALL of your books… of course I only wanted two nice old ones, but it was easier to negotiate for the whole lot… don’t ask. While Mrs. Slant reads a few of these per year, I’ve got what would amount to a lifetime supply of these. I’ve determined these are one-cent-on-Amazon items. Any clues? ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Il_Palazzo)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-with-a-ton-of-used-harlequin-novels/367681/2 "2006-08-07T14:12:55Z")
How many total do you have? My gut reaction is sell the whole lot of them as one auction on eBay. You might be able to get more for all of them than you would selling individually. ---
**Author:** ![Avarie537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/48db29/32.png) [@Avarie537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avarie537)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-with-a-ton-of-used-harlequin-novels/367681/3 "2006-08-07T14:21:55Z")
Or just take them to a thrift store. They’ll sell anything. Or, if you have something like Half-Price Books in your area, they will recycle them. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-with-a-ton-of-used-harlequin-novels/367681/4 "2006-08-07T14:31:34Z")
Call local nursing homes and retirement communities. Chances are, they’ll be happy to take them. I used to buy books by the box at yardsales, and I’d take the romance novels and others I didn’t want to a retirement community near me. They had a little library in there, and they were delighted to get them. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-with-a-ton-of-used-harlequin-novels/367681/5 "2006-08-07T14:46:12Z")
> [@Lissa](#): > > Call local nursing homes and retirement communities. Chances are, they’ll be happy to take them. > > I used to buy books by the box at yardsales, and I’d take the romance novels and others I didn’t want to a retirement community near me. They had a little library in there, and they were delighted to get them. Right. Most used book stores won’t touch those. Either donate direct or give to Goodwill, etc. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingRamenMonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@FlyingRamenMonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingRamenMonster)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-with-a-ton-of-used-harlequin-novels/367681/6 "2006-08-07T14:53:17Z")
Kindling. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-with-a-ton-of-used-harlequin-novels/367681/7 "2006-08-07T15:04:17Z")
Goodwill will give you a lovely little receipt and then you can write it off on your taxes next year. Provided you don’t lose the receipt! ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-with-a-ton-of-used-harlequin-novels/367681/8 "2006-08-07T15:12:36Z")
Most used bookstores will take them at a steep discount, and sometimes merely for an in-store credit. (As **DrDeth** notes, some don’t want them, as a glut on the market, but I think his “most” is a local-area-specific case or else an exaggeration.) However, the idea of donating them to a hospital, nursing home, or other charitable institution, or to a not-for-profit thrift store (Goodwill, Salvation Army, Rescue Mission, etc.), has its merits. You know they’ll be entertaining people who might otherwise not be able to get them, and get a small tax write-off. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-with-a-ton-of-used-harlequin-novels/367681/9 "2006-08-07T15:27:13Z")
Thanks for that idea, Lord Il Palazzo. I’ll check ebay and see if there are any lots saying “5 lbs of romance novels”. I’m skeptical but I’ll give it a shot. Barring that, I like the senior center idea. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-with-a-ton-of-used-harlequin-novels/367681/10 "2006-08-07T15:29:57Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > You know they’ll be entertaining people who might otherwise not be able to get them, and get a small tax write-off. Very small if you list them as their fair market value. I would contact the media spelling out your outrage at these “sinful works” that “corrupt our young people” and “jeopardize the Christian family structure”. Hold a book burning in a public place. Note how many people join you in the crusade. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-with-a-ton-of-used-harlequin-novels/367681/11 "2006-08-07T16:42:29Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Very small if you list them as their fair market value. > > I would contact the media spelling out your outrage at these “sinful works” that “corrupt our young people” and “jeopardize the Christian family structure”. Hold a book burning in a public place. Note how many people join you in the crusade. Heh. If I ever do the book burning, I’d have to kill myself on general principal… I’m no Senator Bedfellow. Good point on the “Fair Market Value” for these books. I suppose the wholesale value would be somewhere in the penny range. One could argue that at a used book store, they might fetch up to 75 cents. I suppose that I could make a sane argument that the market value should be based on retail prices versus wholesale, although I would feel uncomfortable writing off any more than I paid for the items. Then again, this would be unlikely to be the first thing to come up in an audit unless I get crazy and claim the $6.95 cover price for these things instead of the 75 cent wholesale price. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-with-a-ton-of-used-harlequin-novels/367681/12 "2006-08-07T17:44:36Z")
( **Mr. Slant** , an aside. Every time I see your username I always think “How much is he going to charge us for _this_ advice?” :D) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-with-a-ton-of-used-harlequin-novels/367681/13 "2006-08-07T17:54:46Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > Most used bookstores will take them at a steep discount, and sometimes merely for an in-store credit. (As **DrDeth** notes, some don’t want them, as a glut on the market, but I think his “most” is a local-area-specific case or else an exaggeration.) My friends own Recycle Books, in San Jose. They won’t touch them. However, you are correct in that it could be a local thing. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-with-a-ton-of-used-harlequin-novels/367681/14 "2006-08-07T18:04:29Z")
If you tear them up into 5- or 10-page sections, they make pretty good garden mulch. They’ll keep the weeds down and the water in. All that love and lust in the stories might be psychically good for the plants, too. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-with-a-ton-of-used-harlequin-novels/367681/15 "2006-08-07T18:08:16Z")
Be sure to weed out all the ones with mysterious stains before selling them. Seal them in a biohazard bag. Jettison. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-with-a-ton-of-used-harlequin-novels/367681/16 "2006-08-07T18:43:18Z")
> [@davenportavenger](#): > > Be sure to weed out all the ones with mysterious stains before selling them. Seal them in a biohazard bag. Jettison. Anyone who leaves a stain after reading about heaving bosoms and pulsating manhoods needs professional help. That said, it is a courtesy to weed out the yucky ones-- the ones which have mold or are falling apart. There are lots of recycling ideas, like using them for mulch or to line birdcages, but I generally just toss them.\* A tip for those who get bulk books at sales: Make sure you flip through all of them. I’ve found some very interesting things tucked in books (and money, too!) - I admit whenever I do so I have a nightmare fantasy in my mind that archaeologists twenty thousand years from now will find this cache of “literature” preserved in a landfill and base their working knowledge of our culture out of the text. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-with-a-ton-of-used-harlequin-novels/367681/17 "2006-08-07T19:15:37Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > ( **Mr. Slant** , an aside. Every time I see your username I always think “How much is he going to charge us for _this_ advice?” :D) Hmmmm. Given the quality of half of my advice, I suspect if there were to be a final accounting and collection, I’d be cutting them a check large enough to either take the boards free again or provide the hamsters with good benefits, a substantial raise and a healthy supply of cocaine… ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-with-a-ton-of-used-harlequin-novels/367681/18 "2006-08-07T19:57:16Z")
I hope that everyone that suggested destruction of some sort has his tongue firmly in cheek. I used to work for a large national bookstore. Until the PTB stopped us, we would take several large boxes of “tears” (books with cover ripped off as “returned, unsold”) very month to a home for low income senior citizens. Our visits were much looked forward to, and the staff and residents thanked us warmly. Some dudes can’t afford much to read, and the Bookmobile doesn’t carry a lot of “trashy romances”. I’ll still call them that, but when you’re a senior citizen and poor, I say you’re welcome to go for any of lifes little pleasures, “trashy” or not. More power to 'em. So donate, not trash, please. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-with-a-ton-of-used-harlequin-novels/367681/19 "2006-08-07T20:24:47Z")
> [@Mr. Slant](#): > > Hmmmm. Given the quality of half of my advice, I suspect if there were to be a final accounting and collection, I’d be cutting them a check large enough to either take the boards free again or provide the hamsters with good benefits, a substantial raise and a healthy supply of cocaine… Oh no. A really good zombie lawyer could find a way around that too. You could say you were providing a bad example, see, and thus send in a bill large enough to keep YOU in the blow. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-with-a-ton-of-used-harlequin-novels/367681/20 "2006-08-07T20:29:27Z")
Paperback Christmas trees? ;j [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-with-a-ton-of-used-harlequin-novels/367681.md?page=2)