Selling books I've read

[Targarama]

I have a shedload of books which I've read and I am not likely to read again (OK, they're not actually in the shed, but YKWIM). 90% of these are fiction, some hardback and some paperback. Lots of titles people will want to read (i.e. good sellers even today). I normally give these to charity shops, but I was wondering about selling them. I see places such as Amazon have a secondhand option on many books, but does anyone actually select them? Is the process any good?

Any experiences?

Thanks.

[KaraK]

Targarama said:

I have a shedload of books which I've read and I am not likely to read again (OK, they're not actually in the shed, but YKWIM). 90% of these are fiction, some hardback and some paperback. Lots of titles people will want to read (i.e. good sellers even today). I normally give these to charity shops, but I was wondering about selling them. I see places such as Amazon have a secondhand option on many books, but does anyone actually select them? Is the process any good?

Any experiences?

Thanks.

I'll buy books second hand if a new one is significantly over priced or hard to obtain. Availability of a cheap second hand copy often induces me to take a punt on a book I'm oherwise unsure on.

[Mx_Stu]

Play trade on play.com works really well.

I have listed quite a few dvd's and Xbox games on there when I dont think i'll watch a film again or get bored of a game. The things I've listed so far have sold surprisngly quickly. You do have to offer free postage and the fees can be quite heavy so bear that in mind when setting a price.

ETA:... and when I do buy books I always check the playtrade sellers first as they are far cheaper than play.

Edited by Mx_Stu on Tuesday 3rd November 17:12

[soad]

I used to sell books (and CD's + DVD's) on Amazon a few years ago.

Seller fees are quite steep; also to stand a good chance of selling your items quickly, they have to be priced cheaper than competitors.

A lot of older books for sale can be had for as low as 1p each (plus postage)-it's not worth the hassle for heavy books as you'll probably be out of pocket by the time you visited the Post Office to post your orders.

Having said that, never had any problems selling on Amazon in the past.

Play.com probably worth a go - also car boot sales if that's your thing.

Edited by soad on Tuesday 3rd November 17:41

[HOGEPH]

Targarama said:

I normally give these to charity shops,

Why change then?

[mikeyr]

will libraries accept donations of books?

(like to do that with mine if they do)

[Marcia]

mikeyr said:

will libraries accept donations of books?

(like to do that with mine if they do)

Yep,i've given books to the library before.

[Targarama]

HOGEPH said:

Targarama said:

I normally give these to charity shops,

Why change then?

Why do you think? I once gave something away, now I may be able to realise some cpaital from it.

[dreamer75]

I use Green Metropolis www.greenmetropolis.com because I read a lot. Not had any problems so far

[J-c]

I read a lot of books two a week and the ones i finish i give to the rspca shop they sell them on and the cash goes to the pet rescue fund thingy.

Saying that i could sell them on flebay or amazon but i think the rspca is a worthy course!

[_dobbo_]

I can't bring myself to sell or give away books. As a result we're double stacked on all our bookshelves with boxes full of other books in the garage.


When we move house I think I'm going to have to build a library in one of the rooms....

[br d]

I had a massive clear out recently and just started chucking everything (I felt like I needed a new start). My gf came round and went mad, salvaged all she could (books, DVD's, games) and started selling them on Play.com, she's got a nice little float built up now and says it's dead easy.

[Shaolin]

You'll get peanuts for them. If you are prepared to work for peanuts, then sell them, if not take them to the charity shop and it's the end of it.

Definitions of peanuts may differ however. I have tried this and made less than a quid a book profit to do all the listings and checking, confirm payment, address, wrap, take to PO. It just wasn't worth it, so I took them to the charity shop, depends on how valuable your time is and how much you want the (little) money.

[Halb]

When I decided to part with some of my weighty tomes I tried a carboot, then a 2nd hand bookshop and what was left I gave to the charity shop. Still got hundreds left though

[northwest monkey]

If what you've got is just novels etc then your local charity shop will be more than happy for them. Forget ebay - introduction of free P&P on books has killed the private bookseller market as you don't get the free 99p listing. Carboot is ok but a lot of hanging around - I just bought Filth by Irvine Welsh & a Jeremy Clarkson book for 50p each.

If they are a bit rarer, it might be worth emailing some sellers off Amazon that specialise. I bought 3 boxes of books at an auction for £2. Apart from all the tat, there was a set of 4 books called "I Was There" from WW1. No way I was going to sell these anywhere as postage would have been crippling. Couple of mails to dealers specialising in War Books & before you know it I'm £50 better off

[chimera40]

You could always contact these guys, they seem to be having some serious supply problems

[sensa]

dreamer75 said:

I use Green Metropolis www.greenmetropolis.com because I read a lot. Not had any problems so far

I also use Green Metropolis, and have had quite a good success rate so far, on some unusual books I thought no-one would want too!

[Famous Graham]

When I left to go travelling last year, I had about 20 books left that I just left outside my flat in Edinburgh.

They were all gone within about half an hour, except one. Martin Johnson's biography

[Nickyboy]

I love the Amzon Marketplace, i just bought 4 Michael Palin travel books, hardback and RRp of £19.99 each for 1p each!!