View Full Version : Donating books....should I?
I tried to sell some of my books and CDs to a used book store and they didn't want any of them. Since then, I have been donating them to the local library which has a book sale every Fall. The money goes to bettering the library.
I had a big bag of books ready to go and when I sat down to write down their original worth (for tax deduction), I looked them up at Amazon. I discovered that several of them have actually increased in value and some are considered "collectible". Dangit. I almost got them out the door! haha
Why should I care what they are worth if they are a burden to me? And its too much trouble for me to sell them on Craig's list or eBay. I guess I'm just looking for encouragement to donate them, since they are just a weight around my neck.
But this little voice keeps saying "Ohhhhhhh......they will be so valuable some day".
The other voice says "Ohhhhhh......you'll forget all about them and love the empty spaces!" Ho Hum........
I would maybe hold on to the TRULY "collectable" ones if you like the books and feel they're worth keeping. I was just talking to my daughter about this. Books have glutted the market. I've tried selling a lot of my books on half.com and at local second-hand bookstores, and there is NO market for them. I got ZERO interest in any of the books. I'm ready to throw them in the recycling at this point! Even our library is selective.
In short, I would just donate most of them.
Given what you've said about other tendencies to collect and hold onto things, if you can let go of these books, by all means do so! There's an opportunity cost to holding onto things forever, you are putting off that peace of mind you seek. Yes, there's no physical money there, but there's a cost all the same. Isn't that worth more than you would get for the books on Amazon, and then you'd actually have to do the selling, packing and shipping work.
I would tell that little voice, thank you I heard you, now shut the hell up. :laff:
loosechickens
2-1-12, 4:58pm
It's very easy to set up an account to sell them on Amazon, and that venue has the benefit of being free to list the book, so you only pay the commission, etc., if the book sells. Not good for old, pre-ISBN number books, but for anything published in the last few decades, certainly, an easy place to sell them.
But......if that seems like too much work, know that you are donating something to the library book sale where not only the library will benefit, but someone will get a nice bargain book.
edited to add another but.......you've indicated difficulties in other areas in getting rid of things, so make sure that isn't what is driving this reluctance to donate the books. You MAY just be making an excuse to yourself as to why you want to keep them..... ;-)
Very few books have great value or even enough to spend the time and money trying to sell them. My husband is even getting out of ebay and he was a niche bookseller. (4000+ 100% positive feedback rating)
If they are $25 and up PROVEN sales value maybe, but less than that or questionable or in not pristine condition with dust jacket and no markings, donate. Buyers are incredibly picky these days and want new condition even for used books.
Husband just said if the used books store doesn't want them, donate.
ps: I had a declutter book morning and have a huge box to go to the library including all my simple living books. I will make others happy.
From 31 years at the IRS, your tax deduction for used personal goods is the fair market value today not worth in the past. Not what you paid for it or such. It is what someone is willing to buy them for right now in an arms length transaction.
So books have little value. We value our donation at the library's selling price. We dont donate junk that would end up in the dumpster.
I agree with loosechickens about easy selling on Amazon. I've sold a number of books that way.
I also would at least try selling on Amazon. I sold off a good part of my academic book collection when we sold our NYC apartment. I only had about a month to do it, and made about $3000 total (a fraction of what I had invested originally, but still a nice sum that offset our moving costs). About 2/3 of that was from Amazon sales, including a couple of books that had gone out of print and were worth a fair amount. The other 1/3 was from an academic book reseller in Pennsylvania who I sold the rest of the academic stuff to as a lot, plus a sale of one lot of specialized books to a colleague. It was stressful at the time, especially considering I had to package up the books that sold at home, haul them on the subway to the office, get them mailed at the post office near work during lunch. But if you have a car and more time, I would say it is definitely worth considering.
It was interesting to see which books were most valuable. DH has one very specialized foreign language dictionary that is now out of print that is worth several hundred dollars -- we kept that one!
Oh, and you probably have realized this already but one way to make money is actually on the shipping reimbursement you get from Amazon. You can make a little bit on each sale because the reimbursement is generally higher than the cost of shipping if you use media mail. That is why there are so many books for sale for $.01 plus shipping. Personally I made a rule that if the lowest list price for a book on Amazon was under $2, I wouldn't list it. In retrospect I probably should have set that limit at $5 or higher, given my challenges. But again, if you have a car and ample time, you may find it worth your while.
Use old grocery bags and other recycled materials for shipping to save money.
lhamo
Thanks everyone. I suppose it will end up being what mood I'm in as I grab the bag of books and walk out the door! But I do seriously doubt that I will ever miss them. Its the moment of separation that is so painful.
sweetana.........I used to put down what I thought the books/clothing was worth now, in its present condition, but our accountant said to put down its original value. Then we get something like 10% of that......which isn't much. I'm ashamed of all the stuff I bought and hardly ever used. I have the feeling the Caring Center people get excited when I come in, 'cause its usually good stuff. I've learned my lesson! Not much comes into this house any more.
Thanks everyone for your thoughts and encouragement!
Cathy, just donate them as most bookresellers want books from the past three years.
The library in our area now donates some of the books leftover from the booksale to the hospital gift store and then the balance goes for paper recycling if another avenue is not available. The library is also being more picky since some people have stored the books in their basement/garage where they go moldy/dusty/smelly and they become a health hazard so are not accepted.
Assuming there are only a few books that are collectibles and that they're in good or better condition, why don't you try to sell those on Amazon and donate the rest ? You might do the library more good by selling them yourself and then donating the money to the library.
My advice is to NOT spend precious life energy in trying to realize monetary value from old books. That is, unless you are set up as a small business or as a regular income stream and know the market value of your products.
Several people have done that here, but they are savvy at knowing what sells.
You, the OP, are just delaing with the books you have lying around.
Here's what I did last year: I took out some of the books I wanted to be rid of. I checked Alibris or Half. com etc to see if there were others listed. It there were listings for the titles at $10 or more, I donated them to a local, nice, used bookstore. I didn't try to sell them--I donated them. They were art books and were hefty.
I pitched the rest of them.
I did the same as Iris Lily. I quickly looked mine up on Amazon, and if the net profit was greater than $10.00, I sold them. If not, I donated them. (I made about $500 on book sales last year)
Our library system's budget has been gutted and it needs every single dollar it can get. Also, the donations person at our library is very savvy, and so she'll check anything that might have value and price it accordingly at the book sale -- giving even more money to the library. I don't really give a darn about the tax write off, myself.
I don't work outside the home and feel like figuring out the worth of things for taxes before I donate them is my small way of contributing some money to my family.
I have been book-free for years now. I've donated each and every single book I owned to my local library - irregardless of it's value - years ago and never looked back. I look at it as a way to support my library - which I use almost everyday and from where I am typing this right now via their free wi-fi. It helps keeps the library afloat so that I can get books for free anytime I want and it doesn't cosy me a penny - ever! Why pay for something when you can get it for free? And best of all, I don't have that weight around my neck anymore. Book-free rocks!
About a year ago, my mom gave me over 1000 books. I cherry picked the ones I might want to read, and tried to shop around the books to used book stores and list online. I think it became such a huge PITA that I gave up. Even the library denied them. Books truly have no value today. They were all good books, read through only once, and no degradation. Of the huge stacks she gave me, I would grab a small bag full, and leave them somewhere - think doctor's offices, hospital waiting areas, etc. Also, our local rv park has a free "take one, leave one" type deal, and I left a bunch. One time, I felt really "spunky" and drove up to the library's drop box and shoved some good books in the slot. Dh then reminded me they could have camera on the box, and I would be arrested. Made for some good conversations for a while.
Did you make a decision yet, Cathy?
I am with the donate camp, myself, FWIW.
I don't normally mess around with selling books, but last Saturday I took one of my rare, collectible books into the local Fine OP book dealer and asked if he was interested in selling it for me on consignment. He listed it at $705, entirely his choice. I thought a lower price would be good, but whatever.
I paid $7.00 for it in 1997. Let's see if it moves at that price. My copy is priced lower than any others on ABE.
Fidgiegirl............I'm on my 4th bag of books to take to the library!
I'm on a roll! :)
I donate to the library too. It's such a great thing that anyone can use it for free--I heard someone say it's the most democratic thing in our country. Our library is so great--you don't have to pay for late books, just not get any more till those are in. This is a real poor state, so that's important--not costing borrowers money.
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