Best way to make a little money off old books?

[Viper187]

I have a lot of old textbooks (college and otherwise), and a few other odd books (Halo series, Box Car Children) that I'd like to get rid of. There's all kinds of major chains that buy games and movies locally, but I don't remember seeing any place that buys books. There was one site I saw that seemed promissing. textbooks.com? Anyone had experience there? Ebay sucks nowadays, and I really prefer a B&M approach to ridding myself of some stuff.

[mlemmond]

There are a few used bookstores in the greater Charlotte area that I sometimes go to if I'm looking for something out of print and the buy books. You might want to look around for something like that.

[Liver&Onions]

http://www.powells.com/info/buying.html

[dick_grayson]

what about books that are worth money?

[Bill Geiger]

Could always try http://www.biblio.com/booksellers.html

[djmont]

Old textbooks probably aren't worth anything. They become obsolete pretty quickly.

The way to get the most money for used books is to sell them yourself over the internet (Amazon, eBay, etc.). But that's time-consuming and a pain in the ass. So you can try to find a used bookstore or book dealer in your area that will pay cash for them. (A somewhat rare commodity.)

The truth is, however, that most books aren't worth anything. When books are brand new, they have some value. When books are rare and/or collectible, they have some value. Other than that, not so much.

Your average used book is nearly impossible to convert into cash.

[kakistos]

Do you have a Half Price Books (http://www.halfpricebooks.com/) near you? They buy books, but I'm not sure if they'll take textbooks.

[Joe Molotov]

I sold a bunch of books recently. I sold all the HB and TPB's at Hastings because they give the best prices around, but they won't buy back regular paperbacks. Then I took all the PB's and sold them at Half-Price Books. Out of about 20 HB's and 60 PB's I probably got around $60-70 cash.

[Viper187]

I don't suppose old Playboys (80s?) or video games magazines from the mid-late 90s are worth anything. I did a quick search on ebay and someone was asking quite a bit for some random EGM issues though. I dunno. I think I even have a Nintendo Power calendar from the early 90s somewhere. lol

[outlander78]

The value of used books is that they can get you more used books. Find a used book store that exchanges books - you'll get more credit than you would dollars.

Sadly, text books are very hard to sell, unless it is to the next session of the same course.

[Geofferson]

Do you have a Half Price Books (http://www.halfpricebooks.com/) near you? They buy books, but I'm not sure if they'll take textbooks.
That's what I do. They don't pay much, but it's better than nothing.

[Seeker]

I'm trying ebay - but they don't yield much, indeed....

(secondstarontheright - seller - if you want to BUY sci-fi books)

<s>example of own current ebay link deleted</s>

ABSOLUTELY NO:
• Promoting links to and Ebay auction or other auction site (this is considered advertising)
__________
-rolleyes-<font color=blue> [Benedict]</font>

[GreenMonkey]

The value of used books is that they can get you more used books. Find a used book store that exchanges books - you'll get more credit than you would dollars.

Sadly, text books are very hard to sell, unless it is to the next session of the same course.

Agreed. I trade in lots of books to my local used bookstore.

I've sold some hardcovers on ebay lately. Like I sold 5 Terry Brooks hardcover books I wasn't a huge fan of as part of my weeding down my collection and got $10, and $15 for 4 Wheel of Time hardcovers.

I wouldn't even bother with paperbacks unless it is a whole series or something.

[Seeker]

(Sorry for the post you didn't like above)

It's really a matter of supply and demand - I sold my Harry Potter Hardbacks fo about $80. My Elric series by Moorcock (paperback) went for $42 ($6 per book) - and my Babylon 5 paperbacks went for $113!

That said, almost everything else yields little to nothing.

The hard part - knowing which items have value and which do not.

I certainly don't know either - I just learned as I sold the stuff.

[MrE]

Have a garage sale. Or give them to Goodwill and take it as a charitable deduction.