19 June 2011

Books going cheap

| Skyring
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Im my pre-cabbie days, I was an online bookseller, and acquired a shedload of books, which I’d sell on the internet, usually overseas. This was great in the days when the Aussie dollar was weak and insecure, but with Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard building it up into a raging tiger, the profits fell out of my bookselling career. So about five years back I turned to cabdriving.

I still have many of the books. I’ve held garage sales and given them away, and now with a move to a smaller house rapidly approaching, I’m forced to clear them out. My personal collection was boxed up and taken away by a local bookseller – and I’ve got to say that I had very mixed feelings as I watched thirty years of collecting drive off on a truck, and now I’m down to the last few thousand books.

These are good books, fiction, non-fiction, computer books and history, large, small, new old, paperback and hardback. Whatever I gleaned from garage sales and bookfairs or job lots. I’m selling them on eBay, with a nominal 99c price here for local collection only. You’ll need a van or a light truck, but you’ll get years of reading.

There are other collections to come:
-hundreds of classic old science-fiction and fantasy paperbacks and magazines from the Seventies and earlier.
-hundreds of war history and fiction paperbacks.
-hundreds of old board wargames. SPI, Avalon Hill, The Gamers, Game Design Workshop and many others.

I don’t care about how much I get for them so much as seeing them go to people who love this sort of stuff. My darling but exasperated wife suggested hiring a skip and tossing them all in. If they don’t sell, I’ll ring up Lifeline and ask them to send around a truck, and they’ll handle that end of the process, and make a few dollars for a good cause.

But I thought that Canberrans would be interested in cheap books in large numbers. And I know that there are science fiction, fantasy and gaming geeks out there.

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“…Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard building it up into a raging tiger”

Yeah right. As if those two are responsible for the current strength of the Aussie dollar!

That’s beside the point… I’m off to check out your eBay listing!

I would be happy to take any Terry Pratchett/ fantasy-fiction novels off your hands! I agree with Brianna and Pooks – smaller boxes of books in categories would be great.

I was so excited when I saw this! I’m doing teaching at uni and trying to collect as many children’s books as possible. Sad the bidding is up to $200! (Sad for me, not you. Well done!)

Good luck selling them all!

However…if you do have any more kids books you want to get rid of, my future students will love you! lol

To stonedwookie : “but its better to make some money while you can then let things go to waste and get old then be taken by dust n moths”

This does not make sense…make money, then let things go to waste, then be taken by dust n moths? Oh, wait a minute, I get it. You mean “than” not “then”.

Wow, I L.O.V.E books, especially dated ones.

It’s sad to see you only have one Ebay sale going. I would love to purchase a few boxes. Have you thought of breaking up your stash a little? Will you be offering your books for sale in smaller increments?

random said :

Good luck! I’m eagerly awaiting the wargames, but just in case they’re from an old hobby that you don’t keep up now, you should know that many games from that vintage are now quite valuable and would be worth selling separately.

I know that many of my games are worth a bit, but honestly, I don’t have the time to list them, photograph them, describe them, arrange payment and packaging and posting. The house has got to be decluttered in a couple of weeks and I’m committed to time-consuming night cabbing until at least November. There may be an opportunity here for someone to make a few thousand, if they put in the time. I’m a procrastinator of the worst sort, and I’ve put it off too long. I might as well put on a cheerful face as worry over what I should have done!

Good luck! I’m eagerly awaiting the wargames, but just in case they’re from an old hobby that you don’t keep up now, you should know that many games from that vintage are now quite valuable and would be worth selling separately. This list has a number that regularly go for $200+.

I would love to see them divided into categories. Perhaps that can be arranged?

Oh, I love scifi books. I’ll keep an eye out for that lot (as well as the military stuff for my dad).

stonedwookie said :

Goodluck with it i know it seems hard to let things go but its better to make some money while you can then let things go to waste and get old then be taken by dust n moths.

The decision to get rid of things was not an easy one. But they were just gathering dust. Never (or rarely) even looked at. If someone can enjoy them, it is better than throwing them out.

stonedwookie10:05 am 19 Jun 11

Goodluck with it i know it seems hard to let things go but its better to make some money while you can then let things go to waste and get old then be taken by dust n moths.

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