Question on selling language books

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księżycowy
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Re: Question on selling language books

Postby księżycowy » Tue Apr 12, 2022 8:45 pm

CarlyD wrote:
rdearman wrote:There is a swap area.
https://forum.language-learners.org/viewforum.php?f=27


But you can only use the swap area if you're going to get another book back. I want less books overall. Too bad we don't have a "destash area" where people can move books along, whether by selling or giving them away for the cost of shipping.

I almost used the swap area myself, but I have similar thoughts. What if I just want to get rid of stuff, and don't want anything in return? Can that be done in the swap shop?
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Re: Question on selling language books

Postby tangleweeds » Tue Apr 12, 2022 8:52 pm

Lisa wrote:I've found used book purchasers to be wildly erratic and unpredictable in what they will take and how much they'll give you, from one store to another and one month to another, of the same general mix of books in the same general area. I've been unable to find a pattern.
Everyone uses scanners to get market rate these days. My guess on the unpredictability is that when a book gets mentioned on reddit or a forum like this, or referenced in an article, the price will spike especially if it's rare and out of print. On those, as a buyer, you're looking for the naive seller who doesn't scan prices, but sometimes you need to act fast or dig deep.

Lisa wrote:If I recall, Powell's books used to be able to give you a quote online for what they would pay for a book, if you enter the ISBN number.
This is a very convenient option. While they have packaging, labor, & shipping costs, so would I, only theirs have been optimized by consultants--whatever good/bad that might do--so it's cheaper for them even if I don't "pay" myself for my time. Add in gas & driving/waiting time and general annoyance, and really not worth my while at all to ship stufff to new homes on my own.

Except that it would be if I destashed here. I like knowing things are going to good homes.
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Re: Question on selling language books

Postby rdearman » Tue Apr 12, 2022 9:46 pm

księżycowy wrote:
CarlyD wrote:
rdearman wrote:There is a swap area.
https://forum.language-learners.org/viewforum.php?f=27


But you can only use the swap area if you're going to get another book back. I want less books overall. Too bad we don't have a "destash area" where people can move books along, whether by selling or giving them away for the cost of shipping.

I almost used the swap area myself, but I have similar thoughts. What if I just want to get rid of stuff, and don't want anything in return? Can that be done in the swap shop?

Sure. Go for it.
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Re: Question on selling language books

Postby księżycowy » Tue Apr 12, 2022 11:12 pm

Cool. Thanks for the clarification!
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Re: Question on selling language books

Postby Herodotean » Wed Apr 13, 2022 9:54 pm

MorkTheFiddle wrote:6. As Herodotean says, Half-Price books lets you walk out the door with cash, but in my experience their offers are insulting.

Indeed. I suppose to sell at "half-price," they have to buy at "quarter-price" or less!
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Re: Question on selling language books

Postby sirgregory » Tue Apr 19, 2022 3:57 pm

Little Free Library

These are public bookcases for neighborhood book exchange. You won't get any money but it's a convenient way to get rid of excess books.
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Re: Question on selling language books

Postby CarlyD » Tue Apr 19, 2022 8:48 pm

sirgregory wrote:Little Free Library

These are public bookcases for neighborhood book exchange. You won't get any money but it's a convenient way to get rid of excess books.


I'm not sure if we have them here. I did find a person in my local Facebook group--she spoke German as a child, but has forgotten most of it. She came and picked up ALL the books with the agreement that she'd keep what she wanted and donate the rest to the SPCA for their annual book sale to fund their low-cost spay/neuter program. So that was good.
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Re: Question on selling language books

Postby rdearman » Wed Apr 20, 2022 12:47 am

Raises a good point. In the UK many of those picturesque red phone boxes were donated by BT to local communities or sold for a £1 and they turned them in to little book swap areas, libraries, ATMs or even little rest areas.

Many places have the around with books. There are 3 in my area alone.
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Re: Question on selling language books

Postby lingua » Wed Apr 20, 2022 3:08 am

I recently purged most of my beginner level Italian books, Italian novels with their tiny font, Thai books, dupes in multiple languages where I had subsequently bought ebook versions, etc. I looked into selling them to Half Price books but when I saw how cheap they sold them for it didn't seem worth the time and effort given that I wanted cash rather than credit so I ended up donating to a local charity.

In the future I'll offer them for free to others in the US since most of what I kept were purchased from European sources and aren't readily available here.
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Re: Question on selling language books

Postby IronMike » Sun Apr 24, 2022 11:53 am

lingua wrote:In the future I'll offer them for free to others in the US since most of what I kept were purchased from European sources and aren't readily available here.

We have the book swap section here as well, you could offer them up here. If I ever attempt Italian again, I will most definitely be interested in getting free Italian novels! (Don't tell my wife, though.)
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