As part of our decluttering and downsizing project, the wife and I are trying to reduce the number of physical books we have (digital copies are ok). So I'm wondering what's the best way to get rid of them or better yet sell them.
Some things we've considered include:
(1) Using a book trading site like BookMooch. Essentially, you send books to people who request them in exchange for points. You can then use the points to get books from other people. However, aside from the points one banks, this is neutral from a downsizing perspective.
(2) Donating books to the library, goodwill, etc.
(3) Selling books at garage sales.
(4) Selling books online at a site like half.com.
My questions are (1) if you've tried selling books on a site like half.com was it worthwhile? (2) are there other sites that would be better? and (3) Is there some other method of getting rid of books we should consider?
How to downsize our book collection
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AlexOliver
- Posts: 461
- Joined: Tue Aug 03, 2010 7:25 pm
Selling directly to used bookstores. You bring in the lot, they look them over and place an offer, and you take it or leave it. It's very easy.
I've used paperbackswap in the past and while I'm content with it (because I don't have a used bookstore near by), your books could be offered for a VERY long time. I assume this would be the case with Amazon or Half.com too.
I've used paperbackswap in the past and while I'm content with it (because I don't have a used bookstore near by), your books could be offered for a VERY long time. I assume this would be the case with Amazon or Half.com too.
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movetoportugal
- Posts: 23
- Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2010 1:08 pm
I've had great success with Amazon and although the fees are quite high [now] it's easy to list stuff.
Books worth over £2.50 go on Amazon, anyhting else gets donated.
Like eBay you can occasionally make a surprise amount on something; I remember once selling a Josh Groban video for £40, my Dad originally bought it for £5 - it;s all about demand
Books worth over £2.50 go on Amazon, anyhting else gets donated.
Like eBay you can occasionally make a surprise amount on something; I remember once selling a Josh Groban video for £40, my Dad originally bought it for £5 - it;s all about demand
In preparation for my move to a cheaper apartment, I've listed 70% of my book collection on Amazon. I guess I have some sought after titles, because I've already sold 19 of the ~60 books in about five days. At this rate I'll have collected $450 when it all goes.
It was wrenching to decide to get rid of everything except:
* economics/personal finance texts
* bicycle reference
* 30" of alt comics
* poetry and music books
But it's going to make for a much easier move, and a lot less guilt about "I've owned that book about Mideast politics for five years, and I've only gotten 20 pages in."
I put 18 books on Paperback Swap, but I'm trying to own *less* stuff, so now that I've used most of those credits, it's less attractive to me.
BTW I got a used Sony Reader, the smallest of the previous generation, for $80 and have started virtually "checking out" books from the library. It's pretty nifty.
It was wrenching to decide to get rid of everything except:
* economics/personal finance texts
* bicycle reference
* 30" of alt comics
* poetry and music books
But it's going to make for a much easier move, and a lot less guilt about "I've owned that book about Mideast politics for five years, and I've only gotten 20 pages in."
I put 18 books on Paperback Swap, but I'm trying to own *less* stuff, so now that I've used most of those credits, it's less attractive to me.
BTW I got a used Sony Reader, the smallest of the previous generation, for $80 and have started virtually "checking out" books from the library. It's pretty nifty.
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AlexOliver
- Posts: 461
- Joined: Tue Aug 03, 2010 7:25 pm
).Over the last few years I sold a couple hundred pounds of books. I like Jacob's breakpoint; if over $4 Amazon, otherwise pbswap or bookmooch... After I collected a mess of credits on both sites I just donated the remainder of my books to the library.
The only hard cover books I kept are reference books that will be valuable if the net goes down: gardening, survival, medical, mechanical, farm/sustainable living. The collection is pretty compact.
All other books are in ebook form and it feels great. My ebook reader is a PRS-505, a fantastic piece of tech. Although, ERENYC's PRS-300 might be even better if you don't read technical books (it has a slightly smaller screen, but same resolution).
The only hard cover books I kept are reference books that will be valuable if the net goes down: gardening, survival, medical, mechanical, farm/sustainable living. The collection is pretty compact.
All other books are in ebook form and it feels great. My ebook reader is a PRS-505, a fantastic piece of tech. Although, ERENYC's PRS-300 might be even better if you don't read technical books (it has a slightly smaller screen, but same resolution).
I've been getting rid of quite a few books recently, and though I still have tons of them, I think I've got a handle on this bad habit.
I can classify the books I own into: classics, read-and-loved, read-and-enjoyed, haven't-read, and read-and-ambivalent.
Just the simple fact of having an e-reader has done a lot to allow me to get rid of classics, which are about 15-20% of the books I own... they were picked up at library book sales, etc. Things like Dickens, Crane, Plato, etc. Most of these I am in the process of getting rid of right now. Unless I've read a classic book and truly like it, and also like the edition I have, it's safe for me to get rid of.
The other easy to handle category is read-and-ambivalent. These are books that I've read but don't really care about. Thus, I can get rid of them.
Read-and-loved are books that I have no desire to get rid of. There's nothing to think about there.
Read-and-enjoyed are books that I'm hanging onto for now, but would get rid of after a re-read or prior to a move. The trouble here is that in part the books I own are a record of what I've read. My memory isn't so good, and when I get rid of a book, particularly a non-fiction book, it feels like I'm throwing away some of the knowledge that was gained from that book.
The trickiest books for me are books that I own but haven't read yet, which probably account for 40-50% of the books I own. Usually they were picked up on holidays, or in cheaply in bulk. The problem here is that I often haven't evaluated why I'm hanging onto these books. Some of them I definitely want to read, so it makes sense to hang onto them. Others, I doubt I'd read, but I hold onto because I think my opinions might change in the future. Still others are 'status' books that I think look good on my shelves. Even if I wouldn't ever read them. The difficulty with this category of books is that I don't feel comfortable getting rid of a book unless I've read it. What if I read it in the future and it turns out I love it? I'd have gotten rid of a copy that I already owned. But I'm forced to acknowledge that given the rate at which I'm currently reading books - about one per week - it would take me years to plow through all these unread books. And that's ignoring re-reads.
As for getting rid of books - at this point I'm basically either donating them or giving them to family, or both (lend to family for a few months and then donate). Many of the books I own aren't worth the effort to re-sell. If I start to get rid of books I bought new, I might try to sell them on Amazon.
I used Paperback Swap for a while, and probably exchanged 30-40 books through, but I don't entirely consider it worth the money it takes to ship a book, which was about $2.50. Also, I don't entirely trust that my credits will be there forever, so I don't want to stockpile a lot. I might use it on occasion in the future for paperbacks. Hardcover is too expensive.
I can classify the books I own into: classics, read-and-loved, read-and-enjoyed, haven't-read, and read-and-ambivalent.
Just the simple fact of having an e-reader has done a lot to allow me to get rid of classics, which are about 15-20% of the books I own... they were picked up at library book sales, etc. Things like Dickens, Crane, Plato, etc. Most of these I am in the process of getting rid of right now. Unless I've read a classic book and truly like it, and also like the edition I have, it's safe for me to get rid of.
The other easy to handle category is read-and-ambivalent. These are books that I've read but don't really care about. Thus, I can get rid of them.
Read-and-loved are books that I have no desire to get rid of. There's nothing to think about there.
Read-and-enjoyed are books that I'm hanging onto for now, but would get rid of after a re-read or prior to a move. The trouble here is that in part the books I own are a record of what I've read. My memory isn't so good, and when I get rid of a book, particularly a non-fiction book, it feels like I'm throwing away some of the knowledge that was gained from that book.
The trickiest books for me are books that I own but haven't read yet, which probably account for 40-50% of the books I own. Usually they were picked up on holidays, or in cheaply in bulk. The problem here is that I often haven't evaluated why I'm hanging onto these books. Some of them I definitely want to read, so it makes sense to hang onto them. Others, I doubt I'd read, but I hold onto because I think my opinions might change in the future. Still others are 'status' books that I think look good on my shelves. Even if I wouldn't ever read them. The difficulty with this category of books is that I don't feel comfortable getting rid of a book unless I've read it. What if I read it in the future and it turns out I love it? I'd have gotten rid of a copy that I already owned. But I'm forced to acknowledge that given the rate at which I'm currently reading books - about one per week - it would take me years to plow through all these unread books. And that's ignoring re-reads.
As for getting rid of books - at this point I'm basically either donating them or giving them to family, or both (lend to family for a few months and then donate). Many of the books I own aren't worth the effort to re-sell. If I start to get rid of books I bought new, I might try to sell them on Amazon.
I used Paperback Swap for a while, and probably exchanged 30-40 books through, but I don't entirely consider it worth the money it takes to ship a book, which was about $2.50. Also, I don't entirely trust that my credits will be there forever, so I don't want to stockpile a lot. I might use it on occasion in the future for paperbacks. Hardcover is too expensive.