Book Buying Addicts Anonymous discussion

What brought this question to mind is I was just given a gift of a book Chicago and Its Makers, that was published in 1929 and is #499 of 2000 limited editions. It's age and being limited made me want to learn more about it. One of the things I found is that several places online people are selling copies for $275-350. It looks like a fascinating over 1000 paged book that I think I want to keep, but I am a small bit tempted to sell it if I could for somewhere around those prices. Would you sell it? Have you sold any of your books before? Any major sales you'd care to share?

I have sold books in garage sales before (Had to move on short notice, sold almost half my collection :( Still trying to make it back up.)

But I have a few "special books" that every now and again I will check the value on. One is a Sword in the Stone 1st edition Hard cover printed in 1938. Unfortunately, it is missing the dust jacket, but I have seen copies go for $3,000 Sadly, without the dust jacket, don't know if it is worth anything, even though it has a beautiful gold sword etched into the cover with the title. They just don't make them like they used to.

Even if I could sell it, I don't know that I would.

I have lots of ways of getting rid of some of mine -- paperbackswap.com is a good example, or there's a Little Free Library down the street I can donate to (or the used shop takes donations). If I have all the books in a series though, I try to sell them.

I've sold/given-away/swapped many books. None that I've found have had such a high price though. I don't blame you for being tempted.

I have never had a book worth that much. I have sold/traded/loaned out and never wanted returned type books, but none worth more than a couple of dollars. I am not sure I would sell the book if it had any sentimental meaning to me. But, with that being said I may have it appraised just to see how much it is truly worth and decide how much meaning it really has! Good luck Joseph.

I have not sold yet. Have a first edition The Dead Book with the record still in it and signed by several band members. Also a first edition of Larry McMurtry Leaving Cheyenne-will never part with this. My most valuable but sadly deceased Book was a first edition first printing British version of the second Harry Potter. Unfortunately my Slitherian English Setter ate it.

I haven't sold any but I do donate books that I feel like I wont reread.

I give away books to our local library because I won't reread them just as Tammy says. I think it's better to give them away rather than just have them sit on a shelf.

I've a few times taken a few bags to a second hand book shop and traded them in, but mostly I give books away :-)

My trusty pre-Goodreads Excel sheet to keep track of owned books shows I've sold about as many books as I've left on the shelves.

Juvenile material, dull "must-reads" by uni professors, must-read classics stocked by a thousand libraries, sheer disappointments... the weeding has left an 80% military history library of high quality, with many titles either wholly unavaliable in Belgian libraries or, at best, in a single academic one somewhere.

Good deal, if you don't contemplate the financial loss inherent in re-selling books to the secondhand circuit.

I collected books over a 25 year period buying most at auction in book lots. So i ended up with many which i would never read or want to read. When i retired and moved to Mexico, i had to clear out a barn and a house where they were stored . Gave lots to the local Good Will until one time i saw the worker throw the very old ones into the trash bin. So i started listing them on Ebay , starting the bidding at one dollar and free shipping. sold many, I just wanted them to go to someone who might really want them and not throw them away. was surprised to sell some for as much as a hundred dollars. donated a lot to the state prison also. the ones i have here in mexico, i donate to the local library when i finish reading them..

I have a few books that might be worth selling, been collecting for 40 years or so. Unless I am really hard up for cash I probably would thin about selling. Some of the books I spent years looking for and don't want to give up.

Not selling, but I was organizing gifts for friends and relatives last night and it's actually helping cut down on what I own -- I never thought I would give my own books away but I have so many that are in near-perfect condition that I'll probably never touch again that I figure I might as well.

John wrote: "I collected books over a 25 year period buying most at auction in book lots. So i ended up with many which i would never read or want to read. When i retired and moved to Mexico, i had to clear out..."

Goodwill is one of the places I donate to, is it only old books they throw away? I hate to think of even that.

I went to the manager later and was told the rule was to throw out any damaged books. Well many of the books i donated were over 100 years old, i told her i am only 70 and am a bit damaged but still worth keeping , what ever the policy is does not matter too much. It is the worker that takes in the donation who decides.

I took two books to my ftf book club meeting for a member who prefers non-fiction. He decided he didn't want to read one of the books, Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend and immediately there was a slight disagreement about who was taking it home with them to read. Love it! Two people "fighting" over a book I was just trying to give away.

I have sold some books over the years. Most of the books I sold were novels or non-fiction that were required reading for college courses that I took. The ones I sold were books that I just didn't like and didn't want to keep around or re-read.

Storage issues demand I get rid of books now and again, since I won't quit buying new (to me) ones. Most of my purchases come from Goodwill or other thrift shops, or library discards, so a lot of what I get rid of goes right back. Sometimes I'll take a stack of reasonably good condition stuff to Half-Price Books, or a local used-book store, but even for valuable book, I'm not going to realize much of a profit, if any.

I do have a few books that I've managed to acquire that really do have some value--hundreds of dollars, maybe one that would even top 4 figures. My rule with that is that unless the amount of money I could realize from a sale would change my life (like pay off my house, or let me retire early) then I'd rather have the book.

i don't sell i donate to the local library where i do my buying so they can sell them

I donate to my local goodwill store

Ha, I used to take the odd book to a used store but I have not in a long long time. A few years ago I went through my shelves and culled a bunch of books. My plan was my next trip to my Mom's place I was going to visit the great used book shop and sell them. Flash forward three years and I still havent made the trek back home. I work from home a lot and noticed one of those Little Free Library on my daily walk at Lunch. I noticed it was pretty much empty so I filled it up. A couple of days later about half the books were gone, so I brought some more, I made about 5 trips over a two week period.

I miss the Goodreads book swap section. :(

Most heartbreaking sale was a photography book that I bought for $80 at gallery opening where I met and had signed by photographer, sold 5 years later for $1400.

I have sold books and use the money from the sale to fund more book buying.

I usually sold those on Ebay.

I also send some to my niece and donate to the library to. I have so many books that sometimes I have to thin them out so that I stay away from the "hoarding" label.

Melissa wrote: "I have so many books that sometimes I have to thin them out so that I stay away from the "hoarding" label. "

Melissa, it's not hoarding if it is ONLY books. ;-)

I'm currently wanting to sell my whole collection, actually, with the exception of probably three or four books. I just don't know the best way to do that as they probably aren't worth much. About 250 books in all that are mainly military history. If anyone has any suggestions on a good way to sell them, I'd be interested. There are no used book stores near me, and mailing off each individual book is more time consuming than I'd like.

I sell most of my books on EBay and after a couple of attempts of selling them and they don't sell they go to one of the charity shops near where to I live. And the money I get from selling goes into buying more. 😁😁 just can't help myself really.

Bridgette wrote: "I sell most of my books on EBay and after a couple of attempts of selling them and they don't sell they go to one of the charity shops near where to I live. And the money I get from selling goes in..."

Do you find that it's worth the trouble with the fees and shipping? Sometimes I think of doing EBay, but it seems like a hassle. Are you selling rare books or brand new?

I sell new books. I find it much hassle to be honest I make sure I use the free listings that they do sometimes. 🙂🙂