Last Updated on November 19, 2022 by Barbara Trapp
Downsizing Books
My clients were downsizing books and had 11 boxes to get rid of. Here’s what happened when we tried to sell them to a used book store.
Recently, I helped a brother and sister purge their late mother’s collection of books. They had lived abroad in the 1960s during their father’s foreign service work, and their mother had amassed a small library including cookbooks, books on travel, history, religion, art, culture and more.
The sister culled the collection and filled 11 banker’s boxes with unwanted books. Since they had no preference for disposal, I offered to take them to Chamblin’s Bookmine, a local used book store in Jacksonville, Florida to see what could be sold.
This was the process:
Step 1: Load boxes into my Mazda hatchback. Since my car is small, I could only take half at a time. (If I’d known I would be doing this full-time I would have bought a bigger vehicle!)
Step 2: Drive 45 minutes to the used bookstore near my home.
Step 3: Carry six boxes into the used bookstore. Note to self: Get a small dolly.
Step 4: Wait for review and purchase.
Step 5: Carry five boxes out of the used bookstore. That’s right: five. They only purchased one box of books. Store credit: $44. Cash value: $26.40 (60% of store credit)
Step 6: Drive home and unload the boxes of books. Set outside for donation pickup.
Step 7: Repeat Steps 1 – 6. Out of the five remaining boxes of books, they only purchased about half a box full. Store credit: $12. Cash value: $7.20
Was it worth it?
Maybe… if the books were in better condition and my client wanted store credit to get more books. But in this case, it would have been more efficient to call for a donation pickup. Unlike international best-selling author Steve Berry, who purchases 300 – 400 books for research at Chamblin’s for each novel he writes, store credit was not a priority for my clients. (In case you wondering, Steve brings those books back six to nine months later to exchange for his next novel’s research material.)
To summarize, I drove about three hours, spent another hour at the store, used up gas, did a bunch of heavy lifting and all for a $56 store credit. You do the math!
One bonus: Before Vietnam Vets came for pickup I invited my neighbors to take a look. Their young children were happy to take a stack of art and geography books. Another neighbor, a writer, took a few more. This was a nice surprise! It is satisfying and easier to get rid of things when you know who is getting them.
Other ways to dispose of books
Donating Books to Schools
Years ago I needed to downsize and get rid of at least one-third of my collection. These also included my daughter’s books. I sorted those by age and donated them to the local elementary, middle and high schools she’d attended. I gave a few others to friends, and the rest I took to Goodwill.
Selling books online
Another method of downsizing books is selling them online. Some of the books I have donated were current and in mint condition. Yes, I could have tried to sell them to a used book store or online through Amazon or eBay, but my time is precious and I am not in the book-selling business! Considering selling yours? Ask yourself if it is worth your time to do this. Is there another task that has a bigger ROI for you?
I had a client who had over 500 books in her library. Most were current and in great condition. After we sorted them by topic, however, she chose to donate half of them for a tax deduction. This was more valuable to her. I stacked all the books spine-up in boxes, took photos for her records and had them picked up. Her collection was more manageable and she gained more office space after removing two of four bookshelves.
Your reading style
When I ask prospective clients if they consider themselves a visual, auditory or kinesthetic learner, I give the example of their preferred book format: “Would you rather read a book on an e-reader, listen to an audible version, or do you want to hold the physical book and turn the pages?”
Most say they want the physical book, but at the same time, they want to downsize. Book exchanges and libraries can be a good compromise. Check out the Little Free Libary.
My vintage apartment has two built-in bookshelves and my rule of thumb is to have no more books than will fit on those shelves. I read physical books to take a break from technology – and some I just love to look at and touch – but my preference is to read them on my Kindle (it’s easy to hold) and or listen via Audible (I drive a lot!).
The number of physical books you keep comes down to space, aesthetics and learning style. The way you dispose of them depends on the ROI – return on investment – for you.
Libraries are pitching out unread books rather than promoting them. Many are extremely important. I just read ‘cover to cover’ a small book by a UNC professor that was published in 1936. Everything he said about the South is still true. Southern region still wastes most of our resources. But his perspective puts meat in the data bones.
I was once a librarian who somehow ended up with my own private library. In advance of a move, I packed up 26 boxes of books. Then I placed the rest in my circular driveway and invited my neighbors to come help themselves. A few brought their children. Our shared pleasure in finding buried treasure is one of the happiest memories I carried with me when we moved.
Thank you for sharing (both your thoughts and books!), Katharine! I love books and when I have to part with them, try to get them to appreciative homes. I clearly remember “library time” in middle school when we could just roam the shelves and pick out anything to read. I chose historical biographies and it opened up a whole new interest in reading for me.