What to do with Old Books?

[Amethyst]

How best to get rid of old books? Mr. A. has hundreds of old paperbacks, mostly mysteries from the 1950's -1980's, and a bunch of hard-cover political-science books dating from the Kennedy to Bush II Administrations. He is finally willing to part with them. OK, most of them. Well, some of them anyway...They are in good condition.

One possibility would be to use the books to build a fallout shelter in case North Korea nukes the U.S. (paper books are supposed to be great at stopping gamma radiation) but we prefer to get them out of the house. Neither of us can stomach just throwing them in the landfill. Giving them to our public library isn't an option - it doesn't even have room enough to stock books people WANT to read.

What to do?

Amethyst

 

[FIREd]

I gave mine to Goodwill.

 

[happy2bretired]

Recycle bin is where I put mine.

 

[omni550]

Random thoughts:

Check around, other nearby libraries may have book sales by "Friends of the Library".

What about offering them on Freecycle.org?

Have you listed them on Craig's List?

What about eBay, half.com?

What about donating to a Senior Living place (assisted living, nursing home, 55+ community, etc.) nearby?

Would a VA Hospital possibly be interested?

In some communities, AAUW collects books and has a big sale.

Mensa has Project Inkslinger where they collect books to restock libraries that have been destroyed by floods, etc.

 

[Amethyst]

It's a thought, but how to attract buyers? I don't have the time or energy to list 100's of titles. Would anybody be interested in "100's of old, dated Mysteries from Back when Detectives Had to Use Phone Booths"?

Thanks,

A.

Random thoughts:

Have you listed them on Craig's List?

 

[haha]

What to do?

Amethyst

Some of the mysteries might be valuable. I'd at least check prices on Amazon, sometimes you can really get a surprise.

Ha

 

[omni550]

Some of the mysteries might be valuable. I'd at least check prices on Amazon, sometimes you can really get a surprise.

Ha

Oh, yes, I forgot...check Amazon. And it's very easy to list books there...after you create an account, you just enter the ISBN, book condition and price.

 

[omni550]

It's a thought, but how to attract buyers? I don't have the time or energy to list 100's of titles. Would anybody be interested in "100's of old, dated Mysteries from Back when Detectives Had to Use Phone Booths"?

Thanks,

A.

Someone who likes mysteries of a certain genre would probably love getting a whole slew of them. How to find those people is the issue.

I am only aware of books being typically sold one at a time, not in large batches.

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There are many used book sellers, too...like Powell's in Portland OR and abebooks.com.

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There's also bookcrossing. com.... where you release (leave) a book in a public place, to be picked up by someone else who reads it and then puts it out someplace else for someone else to pick up.

 

[ShortInSeattle]

Here we have a chain called half price books that buys books. You might have something similar?

 

[spncity]

You are in luck!

You're within driving distance of The Book Thing. The Book Thing of Baltimore, Inc. - Welcome!

Open weekends only. If downsizing is your goal, try to take fewer than you donate.

The FAQ is kind of humorous.

Kindest regards,
spncity

 

[Alan]

We take our old books to the library. They are very happy to receive them, and from time to time have book sales.

 

[easysurfer]

I gave mine to Goodwill.

+1. My old books go to Goodwill also.

 

[W2R]

We donated ours (even including some outdated technical books) to our public library. They were glad to get them, even though we had 20-30 boxes full, I guess. They have book sales and sell donated books there, to get funds for books they actually want.

 

[Bestwifeever]

I second the VA hospital idea, or the Salvation Army.

I personally would not try to sell them--if you donate them you should get a nice tax deduction for them

 

[Meadbh]

During my last move I needed to dispose of literally thousands of books. I sold a few, but most went to a book sale for a local charitable foundation. Search to see if there is something like that in your area.

 

[Walt34]

For us either the library or a used book store. The used book store is kind of a neat place (if you like old books) but it is one of those places with books stacked all over the place on shelves, in carts, plastic bins, the whole place is just overflowing with books.

A great place to spend a day when the weather is yucky.

 

[braumeister]

Paperbackswap.com is a nice way to get rid of old books. You send them to people who actually want them and acquire credits from each one that entitle you to get (free) books you want from others.

Definitely not a quick way to dump the collection, but I've sent many old books out to appreciative new owners this way and received quite a few in return.

 

[bUU]

Our church holds a book sale as part of its annual fair, and are very happy to receive any and all donations. (Interesting side note: We've noted a sharp drop in donations over the last couple of years, especially this past year... apparently the stock of hardcover and paperback books folks are "done" with is dwindling, as folks embrace e-readers.)

 

[audreyh1]

I gave mine to Goodwill.

Places like Goodwill are able to sell old paperbacks online through Amazon and raise money that way. Some public libraries also sell old books through Amazon to raise money. It's a great recycling program.

If they were clean and readable, and I didn't want to do the above, I would give them to a used paperback book store before throwing them in the trash. People will read them.

 

[Grigori]

Can sell a few at a garage sale.
Used bookstore (Is there a store called Half priced books where you live?)

 

[Badger]

If you would like to donate books check out military.com for a list of organizations that can help you. You might also try a google search for book donations to military.

Cheers!

 

[freebird5825]

Every VA hospital and outpatient clinic, as well as American Legion and VFW posts, has a reading room. They are provided at the VA sites for people waiting for appointments and for taking home for free. The general rule is "take 1, leave 1".

 

[Sarah in SC]

I like paperbackbookswap, too, but you still have to list all of them by ISBN.
The old mysteries might have some value if they are in good condition. There are authors who have avid readership and enjoy collecting various covers.
I have the entire works of John D. MacDonald, and have paid anywhere from $2 or $3 up to $80+ for rarer ones.

 

[eytonxav]

Omni had some good suggestions, especially the charitiable suggestions. Also might consider taking them to your local fire department or if you have a Half Price Book store, they purchase used books.

 

[powerplay]

There is a BookCrossing shelf at my local communty center and I drop my books off there. It is a great way to share books you no longer want or to pick up something you may enjoy reading. If you want to register your books before letting them go into the 'wild' and create labels you can, I just let them go. It's a great concept.

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