Worthless It's probably worth less than you think.

3 min read

Sorting a bookshelf quickly

Books are heavy and mostly worthless. A twenty-minute pass per shelf finds the few that are not.

The physical fact that decides most book decisions is weight. A box of paperbacks weighs more than it is worth, and moving it costs more than it will ever sell for. Decide with that in mind.

The twenty-minute pass

  • Pull anything signed, anything with a dust jacket in good condition, anything older than about 1950.
  • Pull textbooks and professional reference from the last ten years.
  • Pull anything you know is a first edition or a small-press printing.
  • Everything else goes in the donate pile without being opened.

Check the ISBN, do not guess

The barcode on the back, or the number on the copyright page, identifies the exact edition. Scan or type it into a used-book search and look at what copies actually sell for, not what sellers are asking.

Ex-library copies have stamps, stickers and plastic jackets; they are worth less than the same title without them.

What is almost never worth selling

  • Book-club editions.
  • Encyclopaedias, whatever the year.
  • Reader's Digest condensed editions.
  • Water-damaged or musty books — the smell does not come out.
  • Old computer manuals and travel guides.

Where they go

Donation is the right answer for most of a house's books, and local donation centres and library friends groups are listed in the directory. Take them in boxes you do not want back, and call first: many places have limits on how much they will accept in one drop.

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