Now, like most folks in this day and age, I enjoy scanning over news articles on my phone with my morning coffee, but since I spend enough time in front of a computer screen every day due to my day job, eBooks just don't cut it for me. I have to have the physical thing. Fortunately, I'm not alone in this, and pound for pound, good ol' fashioned paper books tend to be a great entertainment value since a lot of people are keen to get rid of theirs. I have a serious love-hate relationship with Half-Price Books and other resale shops. Since starting to scour through garage sales, I'm finding myself also spending time sifting through the various bins of books that people are getting rid of -- and finding the occasional goodie.
As a kid, I was taught to treat books with respect. Because of this, 30 years after I read them, I still have an entire set of "ValueTales" books in near-mint condition, most of which are first or second printings. The same goes for a complete set of the Target Doctor Who novelizations and a selection of Hardy Boys books. Now, the Who I'm not getting rid of -- I've been a fan of the show before I knew my multiplication table, but since my son isn't very interested in the ValueTale books (preferring stories that involve Mater and Lightning McQueen), I asked a friend of mine who used to work at various bookstores to take a look - she taught me a very useful tip: look at the printer's page at the beginning and check which edition. This little bit of information along with noting that first editions tend to sell on eBay have affected my buying technique when I'm at a sale.
Today, I shipped off my first eBay book sale -- a copy of Ayn Rand's "Anthem" -- the 1961 Signet version, first edition. Good condition, it was -- hell, the thing probably was never read (which is a shame, but I digress). A little yellowing due to age, some cover scuffing, but otherwise in great shape for the fact that it's 50 years old. Since I didn't particularly want it for my own collection, I listed it and was quite surprised when it sold. Now, again, I am not an expert, so I'm unsure if I sold it at what it's worth or less... while I saw copies going for far more than what I listed it at, I had to factor in the slight wear and tear to the book into my listing price and also consider that an item unsold does me no good. Well, thanks Ayn... you paid for a morning treat of an iced coffee from Dunkin Donuts... Chalk up another victory for capitalist objectivism!
...was that the sound of Ms. Rand rolling in her grave? Oh well.
So, on the way to the post office, I noted a listing on CraigsList for a garage sale in the area and decided to pop by. Using the same technique, I ended up bringing home 8 books and will be listing 7 of them on eBay here in a few minutes, including first printing paperback copies of L Ron Hubbard's "Mission Earth" series (nos. 3, 4 & 6). I won't tell you how much I paid for them, but it's all about perceived worth when it comes to this sort of thing anyway... After muddling through the first volume as an exercise in masochism a few years ago, I can tell you that I paid X for them and that's X too much. :)
The one book that I won't be putting up is surprisingly the first one to catch my eye due to that "oooh, it's old" notion... a 1937 copy of the American Red Cross's First Aid Textbook. When I got back home and looked it up, I was slightly bummed out that there are several copies in FAR better condition currently listed for a song. You win some and you lose some. Frankly, if any one of the others sell, then I'll make back the money that I spent and if none of them sell, well... Ayn Rand will have her payback.
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