If I don't want to keep a book in my permanent collection, I usually either do one of the following four things:
1. Register books on Bookcrossing and pass them along to another avid reader.
2. Donate books to the public library for them to sell at one of their library book sales.
3. Pass a book along to a family member or a friend that I think might want to read a particular book.
4. And on rare occasions, I'll try selling a book through Amazon or to a used bookstore.
In the past four months, I've sold five books... One through Amazon and the remaining four at a used bookstore. All said and done, I sold all five books for roughly $18, which is peanuts compared to what I paid for the books in the first place.
It's almost not worth selling used books as used bookstores set the price for what they'll pay for the books... Another words, no room for negotiation on the price they'll buy the books for... And selling books on Amazon is a pain. If your book sells, Amazon gets a percentage of the sale price of the book. You receive shipping credit from Amazon to mail your book, but it doesn't fully cover the cost of buying a padded envelop or shipping costs... So, selling books is kind of a let down.
So, what do you do with books you no longer want to keep in your permanent collection??
1. Register books on Bookcrossing and pass them along to another avid reader.
2. Donate books to the public library for them to sell at one of their library book sales.
3. Pass a book along to a family member or a friend that I think might want to read a particular book.
4. And on rare occasions, I'll try selling a book through Amazon or to a used bookstore.
In the past four months, I've sold five books... One through Amazon and the remaining four at a used bookstore. All said and done, I sold all five books for roughly $18, which is peanuts compared to what I paid for the books in the first place.
It's almost not worth selling used books as used bookstores set the price for what they'll pay for the books... Another words, no room for negotiation on the price they'll buy the books for... And selling books on Amazon is a pain. If your book sells, Amazon gets a percentage of the sale price of the book. You receive shipping credit from Amazon to mail your book, but it doesn't fully cover the cost of buying a padded envelop or shipping costs... So, selling books is kind of a let down.
So, what do you do with books you no longer want to keep in your permanent collection??
I usually sell them to the used book store for peanuts :(
ReplyDeleteSome money is better than noting!! I usually use the money I receive from selling books to buy more books to read. :-)
DeleteI don't usually bother with the selling option because, like you said, I know I can't get much at all. I usually just donate them or give them to people I know who may like them.
ReplyDeleteI usually give most of the books I don't want any longer to other readers too or donate them to the library.
DeleteBookCrossing is such a lovely site. I only discovered it recently and I really love the idea. Definitely the best way to "get rid" of the books you don't want anymore.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Jen @ thebookavid.blogspot.com
I absolutely LOVE BOOKCROSSING!! I've been an avid and very active member of Bookcrossing since 2007. A few of my books have even traveled around the world to different readers via bookrays and have participate in many readathons, readalongs, and and other Bookcrossing fun.
Deletethe thought of one of "my" books eventually making it to another country is just insane!! where do you put them though? in my country we have these open bookshelf things where everyone can take a book out if they leave one of theirs in. I would have no idea where to put the books so they wont get damaged.
DeleteOkay, I leave my books at Official Bookcrossing Zones (OBCZ) when I wild release books or at places like (coffee houses for instance) where they've already set a place to swap books. Otherwise, books tend not to get logged in other cases.
DeleteI've had more success though with controlled releases through Bookcrossing.... Where you find someone through Bookcrossing that has your book title on their wishlist, send them a private message through Bookcrossing to see if they still want to read the book, ask for their address and mail the book to them... You can also visit the forum section on Bookcrossing and start a bookray of a book title and have your book travel the world.... Or participate in bookboxes/swaps through Bookcrossing as well.
I've hosted many bookrays through Bookcrossing and had successes with books traveling the world. For instance, I read The Vagina Monoligues by Eve Ensler a few years ago and it's still traveling the globe. It's been in the USA, several countries in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and off to Asia soon before returning to North America! How awesome is that?
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ReplyDeleteI do what you do with my books. However, I rarely give my books away, and that's a big problem, seeing how many I do collect. It's tough trying to decide what I love to keep and what I wish to give away.
ReplyDeleteYay, I've culled my books over the years and some of them I've regretted giving away. But for the most part, I am happy that I have moved some of them along to other readers.
DeleteI can't think of any time I would ever want to give away books although if I was going to I'd definitely donate them either to a library or a children's home. Great post!
ReplyDeleteLaura @BlueEyeBooks
Thanks for stopping by and leaving me a comment!
DeleteSelling books is a pain. I'm too lazy to commit for now, unless it's worth enough to make a good profit.
ReplyDeleteI like to send my books off on Paperbackswap for book swapping credits (so I can get a book from another person). Downside is that sometimes it takes a while for people to request your books. I've heard of Bookcrossing but didn't know there are official zones so that your books don't just disappear off the graph. lol. For books that are a bit more worn, I drop them off in the "sale" section of my local library. Thanks for sharing!
GBL
I've heard of Paperbackswap, but have never used it before. I've wanted to use Paperbackswap, but been so consumed/busy with Bookcrossing and swapping with other Bookcrossers that I just haven't found the time to try Paperbackswap.
DeleteI trade my books with other readers online. (Readitswapit) Those I can't trade, I donate to local charity shops or move on through Bookcrossing.
ReplyDeleteI've heard of Paperbackswap, but not Readitswapit... I'll have to check the Readitswapit site out.
DeleteI love Bookcrossing and have seen your screen name around the Bookcrossing site!!