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Searching for collectible books at thrift stores.
An often overlooked, productive, and inexpensive source of collectible books may be right down the street from you - at
your local thrift store! Thrift stores can be an excellent source of low-cost collectible books. The possibility of finding a collectible book, perhaps worth hundreds of dollars, and purchased at a small fraction of
its market value, can be an exciting, profitable and very satisfying experience.
Low prices!
- The most attractive aspect of shopping for books at thrift stores is that you'll be able to purchase books at exceptionally low cost. Because most thrift stores lack a staff with knowledge of collectible book values, most have resorted to pricing their books at a flat rate price based upon the type of binding. Hard cover books sell for one price, paperbacks normally sell for less. The majority of the thrift stores in our area (Texas) sell their hardbacks for $1 and paperbacks for $.25. Some thrift stores price books as a fraction of the book's original list price.
Where to find thrift stores
- Start with the yellow pages under "thrift stores". Many thrift stores are operated by the Salvation Army, Goodwill, churches, veterans' groups, or other non-profit organizations. When you get there, don't be disappointed if you find a limited book selection; try the next store. We have found that some stores are better than others when it comes to their selection of books. But don't give up on any one store; inventory at thrift stores constantly changes and one week the selection may be poor, whereas the next week at the same store, you may discover a treasure trove of collectible books.
Don't be bashful about poking around in boxes that you might find near the back of the store or in the vicinity of the book section. The employees don't seem to mind, and it seems that the management at most
thrift stores feel no urgency in getting newly donated books on the shelves.
Make the rounds
- plan on visiting each store in your area at least once each week if possible. Collectible books do not remain on the shelves of thrift stores very long. There are lots of retail booksellers, collectors, and eBay sellers who frequent these stores in search of a bargain. Also, visiting the book sections of thrift stores on a regular basis, will help you become familiar with the stock of books. A significant percentage of the books at thrift stores have little or no value and sit on the shelves until they are eventually given or thrown away. Instead of having to examine every book on the shelf, you'll remember which books you've already examined. It will be easy for you to ascertain if any newly donated books have been added to the selection and should command your attention.
Price negotiation
- Don't be afraid to haggle. Some thrift stores (such as Salvation Army) will accept offers on book sets. We once bought a 45 volume Britannica Great Books of the Western World set for $10! That set regularly fetches over $200 on eBay. Be friendly and get to know the thrift store management - it will help your price negotiations.
eBay auction source material
If you're an eBay seller, or want to become one, thrift stores can be an excellent source of material for eBay auctions. The low cost of thrift store books can
affect net eBay earnings in two ways; first, and probably obvious to most, is the high profit margin potential. We won't discuss any further. Second, is the potential for lowering eBay seller costs. eBay seller cost
can be mitigated in three ways by low-cost books: a) because the seller is confident that their small investment will be recouped, the books can be listed on eBay with a low starting price, which results in a
low initial listing fee, b) Also, because there is little invested on the part of the seller, the seller does not need to use the eBay auction "reserve" option. Setting an eBay "reserve" adds an
additional charge to the cost of the auction. and c) auctions with competitively low starting prices are more likely to attract buyers. A greater percentage of the seller's auctions will receive bids, and therefore
the seller will have fewer auctions that require re-listing (sellers are not charged for eBay auctions that are re-listed IF the auction does sell on the second try).
Advantages of using low-cost thrift store books in minimizing eBay seller costs - summary:
Low initial listing price (and therefore lower listing fee)
No "reserve" option is needed (option cost eliminated)
A higher percentage of sales (fewer relistings needed)
What books should you be on the lookout for? - What are you likely to find?
Although we have found books worth up to $300 at thrift stores, modern first editions seem to be most commonly found. We regularly find books worth $20-$30 in the auction market and at a cost of a dollar,
it's obvious that your profit margin is very high. We recently purchased a nice paperback copy of Cameron Crowe's Fast Times At Ridgemont High for $1.99 - relatively uncommon, the book regularly sells on eBay for
$75!
Some examples of modern first editions (published from the 1970s-1990s) that can be found at thrift stores and their typical e-Bay auction prices for nice copies with dust jackets:
Tom Clancy - The Hunt For Red October - $300-$600
Stephen King - The Shining - $200-$400
John Grisham - A Time to Kill - $50-$150
John Grisham - The Firm - $40-$125
Thomas Harris - The Silence of the Lambs - $30-$60
George R R Martin - A Game of Thrones - $50-$150
Larry McMurtry - Lonesome Dove - $50-$125
Clive Cussler - Deep Six - $30-$60
If you're not already
familiar with the value of books, it might be advisable to carry hard copy price guides with you in your car to the stores. For those books that you suspect might be of value, make a list of those books and later
refer to your price guide. Another option is to make a list and return home to your computer to look up values on Fadedgiant.net, eBay.com, or Abebooks.com.
For beginners - how to shop the inventory
Unless you're already experienced in browsing book inventories, or you have plenty of spare time with which you can examine every book on the shelves, there are a few things that you can do to make the
job of finding collectible books easier and sort out the wheat from the chaff. Most of what you'll find on the shelves in thrift stores has little or no value. That's primarily why most of the books ended-up at the
thrift store in the first place.
We've found the key to efficiently shopping thrift store book inventories is eliminating the books with little value. There are certain books that you should not waste time
examining, and essentially you should spend your time examining everything else. As you become more knowledgeable about book values and collecting, quickly scanning a shelf full of books and determining which books
deserve further perusal, will become second nature.
These are some examples of books that you should not spend time examining because they generally have little value:
1950s to present encyclopedias
Reader's Digest condensed books
Modern textbooks (non current) For tips on buying/selling textbooks go HERE
Book club editions, especially those without dust jackets
Most newer paperbacks - especially romances
Book Club Editions
Book club editions
- As we've stated above, Book Club Editions or "BCE"s normally have little collectible value. These are the books published and or distributed by the Book-of-the-Month-club and others.
How do you
easily distinguish which books are book club editions? First, many book club editions from the 1940s through the 1980s were published in a smaller format: 5.5" x 8", versus the 6" x 9"
format of a "trade edition". When you find a small format book such as this, your first thought should be "Book club". Second, a book club edition may be stated as such on the book. Look at
the bottom of the inside flap of the dustjacket. Some book clubs print a statement there as to the book's source. Also look on the copyright page, if the book comes from a book club it may also indicated there.
Next, does the dust jacket (if it has one) have a price? If it does not, you should be suspicious that the book may be a book club edition. Another indication that a book may be from a book club (and perhaps the
only one if the book is missing its jacket or it is price clipped) is the presence of a blind stamp. A blind stamp is a simple, small geometric design that has been embossed or pressed in to the bottom back cover of
a book near the spine. If one is present, you should be fairly confident that the book is a club edition.
A web page that provide excellent information on book club editions:
http://www.alibris.com/articles_features/articles/kaye.cfm
Although as we have stated, the majority of book club editions
have little value, we believe one exception might be Science Fiction Book Club editions. Although most Science Fiction Book Club editions currently have marginal value, we believe that the value of these books is
likely to grow considerably in the future.
Signed copies
Perhaps every several weeks or so, we leaf through all of the full-size format books (not book club) in search of signed
editions. We occasionally find first editions that have been signed by the author. Don't bother devoting much time to examining book club editions as most authors sign first editions. Very rarely, book club editions
can be found with signatures, but your time is better spent checking the full-size copies. Most authors sign their books on the first several pages, so a quick scan of these pages should quickly reveal whether the
book is signed or not. Refer to the Fadedgiant author autograph guide to authenticate the signature.
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