Modern Book Collecting discussion

There are much better places to scout than the goodwill store, but I find myself stopping in 2 of their locations on a regular bases.

Pros:
1. All hardback books are 1.89
2. I regularly find books I can trade up for.
3. I rarely have much competition in Goodwill.

Cons:
1. Books are not treated well by those who handle them causing minor flaws to books that otherwise may have been a good find.

2. In general all titles are very modern, rarely anything of much value.

The reason I hunt goodwill is the price. Nine out of ten times I can buy a few books at 1.89 and I know a few used book stores who would list these titles for minimal of 10.00, this being the case I would get 5.00 in credit from the given book store for each book they accept, so I come out ahead.

Keep in mind, all title must be 1st editions, 1st printings and be in minimal VG+ condition. Also be sure you established trust with a few used book dealers and understand what they want, otherwise you may find yourself losing money on books you really didn't need.

I know a dealer who wants murder/mystery books, so I make it a point to scout for hot authors in this genre. I know I can trade the titles in for a few dollars more than I paid. This may not seem like much, but believe me the credit builds up very quick, especially if you scout every week at least three days.

If you like murder/mystery, here's a tip. Michael Dibdin, Robert B. Parker, and Robert Barnard always move very well for me.

Yes indeed. Always take a quick look at your local Goodwill store! I found a few surprises over the years, and I know I'll be finding more.

Good call on Michael Dibdin, not only is he collectable, but he was a rather good writer to boot.

got you guys beat 10 books for a dollar, local store, and I just got a mountain of perfect reader's digest condensed books and a few I have never heard of. they are very pretty bought them just to read when I run out of new material.

Brittany wrote: "got you guys beat 10 books for a dollar, local store, and I just got a mountain of perfect reader's digest condensed books and a few I have never heard of. they are very pretty bought them just to ..."

We don't have a lot of options in the Chicago area (as far as good deals), we have plenty of used book dealers, but in general they are smart book people and know what they have, and the value of the product. Goodwill is our best bet, or garage sales, even the occasional estate sale can be lucrative.

lol I guess being a hick who lives in the country sometimes has its advantages.

Brittany wrote: "lol I guess being a hick who lives in the country sometimes has its advantages."

I bet you have some very good book people in your area also ;-)

Well some but few and far in between.

I found one of my best finds in Good Will. It was a 1st edition/1st printing of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. It had some writing in it, definitely not perfect shape. I sold it on Ebay for $450. Not bad for a $2 investment.

I also found a signed copy of the second Harry Potter book at a Good Will store. I'm reasonably certain the signature is real because she signed in the town where I found it.

Hey Kev, I've been meaning to ask you this since this post went up: Why do you list Robert B. Parker as a good find for hunting? His books were printed in rather large runs and are very easy to find.

David wrote: "I found one of my best finds in Good Will. It was a 1st edition/1st printing of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. It had some writing in it, definitely not perfect shape. I sold it on Ebay for..."

I'm replying to my own post because I found another 1st printing copy of Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone. Oddly enough, it was in the same Good Will store as the first one. This one is in better shape than the first. I think I'll keep it for a while this time. With the Harry Potter theme parks to help maintain interest in the series, I suspect the price on this book will continue to climb.

JDB wrote: "Hey Kev, I've been meaning to ask you this since this post went up: Why do you list Robert B. Parker as a good find for hunting? His books were printed in rather large runs and are very easy to find."

I should have clarified that the earlier titles leading up to the 1985 A Catskill Eagle are the Parker books to be on the hunt for.

I hope that makes sense Joe.

David wrote: "David wrote: "I found one of my best finds in Good Will. It was a 1st edition/1st printing of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. It had some writing in it, definitely not perfect shape. I sold ..."

That's a nice score, and to have it happen twice is a rarity indeed.

I live in Phoenix Arizona, One of the more recent phenomenons that I have run across at the Goodwill sores here in Phoenix are the rude people with hand held scanners perusing the books. What they appear to do is go book by book with the scanner - scanning the bar-code on the book to get a value of a book and then if appropriate to their needs, drop it into a shopping cart - the ones I have seen also take all ARC books - they are rude - barging in front of shoppers and browsers in the book sections, and monopolizing the complete sections at times. This is really beginning to P*SS me off - Just wondering if anyone else has run into this situation. It's beginning to take any joy of looking in these stores.

Karl wrote: "I live in Phoenix Arizona, One of the more recent phenomenons that I have run across at the Goodwill sores here in Phoenix are the rude people with hand held scanners perusing the books. What they..."

I haven't seen this in CT yet, but I guess it's just a matter of time. There must be a new app out there. Scanning all the books suggests a complete lack of knowledge about the books. What a pain.

I decided to do a search in the App Store. It's probably just the Amazon app because it allows you to scan books and compare prices. I'm thinking, if that's what they're using, it won't last long, since dealer prices there are often out of line with what you can sell a book for. I also find Amazon useless for buying collector books because the descriptions are often lacking and a lot of people selling there don't bother to list under the correct edition of the book. I don't buy anything other than reading copies there.

Kevin wrote: "David wrote: "David wrote: "I found one of my best finds in Good Will. It was a 1st edition/1st printing of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. It had some writing in it, definitely not perfect ..."

I'm not so sure how rare this will be. When I found one, I thought I'd never find another. Now that I've done it twice, I'm realizing what I'm working with is likely parents cleaning out the kid's room after they go to college. You have to know a lot to recognize a 1st printing Potter book, know what they sell for and know to look in the first place before you take that run to Good Will to clear out your new exercise room.

One piece of advice I can give in shopping Good Will for profit is know one area of books very well. It's impossible to know everything because there are just too many books to know. I know Science Fiction and Fantasy very well, everything from mass market to small press publishers and first editions. I also know a bit about vintage children's books. It allows me to scan shelves for small press publishers quickly. It gives me an advantage over most of the people book shopping at Good Will, even dealers who may not be familiar with the areas I have knowledge in.

I wonder what they do when they come to a book without a bar code.

Fortunately, I have not run into many people with scanners at the two locations I visit. The scanners wouldn't bother me, but if the people are rude that's a different ballgame.

I've been scouting for years, mostly mystery/crime/horror, I know what I'm looking for, so a scanner is useless to me. I also have a note book I leave in the car for reference just in case I draw a blank on something that may look promising. I don't scout goodwill for big profit, I scout for the accumulated credit and it adds up quick.

Kevin wrote: "JDB wrote: "Hey Kev, I've been meaning to ask you this since this post went up: Why do you list Robert B. Parker as a good find for hunting? His books were printed in rather large runs and are very..."

Yes, this makes more sense. I guess the signed later editions would also hold some value, this is yet to be seen as so many have been printed. I'm not sure how prolific a signer Parker was, but I imagine he signed quite a few copies in his time.

In response to the scanners: I have seen this on several occasions, but I have been lucky that these people were not rude. I get a kick out of this trend because it tells me there are people who know nothing about books and really have no desire to learn about books, yet they want to compete with those in the know, these cattle will quickly be separated from the herd.

JDB wrote: "Kevin wrote: "JDB wrote: "Hey Kev, I've been meaning to ask you this since this post went up: Why do you list Robert B. Parker as a good find for hunting? His books were printed in rather large run..."

I'm sure he signed many books, so even signed editions can be had for decent prices as of now. The ARCs and Proofs are a different story, they draw some attention if signed.

I found some 1st edition, signed by Dan Brown books at a Goodwill outlet store. Not DVC, but the two in the middle of the series. The books at the outlet are half price from what they are in the regular stores, so I think I paid $0.75 for each of them.

Kerry wrote: "I found some 1st edition, signed by Dan Brown books at a Goodwill outlet store. Not DVC, but the two in the middle of the series. The books at the outlet are half price from what they are in the re..."

Yes, Goodwill can be a treasure chest at times. Those are nice finds at great prices.