RMweb Premium polybear Posted November 29, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 29, 2014 Hi all, I have quite a large number of books to sell, inherited from my cousin. They're mainly SR, with a few others for good luck; there's four plastic crates full - so probably the best part of 50 books and a fair few magazines as well, some of which may be of interest (e.g. Great Western Journal Issue 1). I could obviously try RMWeb Classifieds, also Ebay. However, postage is always the killer with books, making them difficult to sell for a reasonable price. Has anyone any experiences of using specialist railway book dealers - did they offer a fair price, was it straightforward etc. etc? And finally, any recommendations as to how to approach? (I'm in Herts). Many thanks. polybear Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71 Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 ...try listing them in the 'Classified' section on this site....book dealers will give you s*d all for them. Dave Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norm81 Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 Unless they are relatively rare I discovered the book dealers weren't interested. You're right though, postage is a killer, particularly on hardbacks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted November 29, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 29, 2014 Amazon might also be worth a go. People tend to look on Amazon for books rather than Ebay so it's not a bad choice. The other route is via an auction house but you are then subject to how they lot them and many purchasers tend to be dealers - who don't pay high prices - although you can strike lucky with rarer titles. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EddieB Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 UInless they're specialist or rare, magazines are hard to shift and most preserved railways are inundated with donations. On the other hand if you happen to have just the magazine someone's been searching for, then you may touch lucky on eBay. Postage is a killer with books, but again sought-after titles should sell. You can open a private sales account on Amazon, which charges a fixed postage fee regardless of size/weight and charges a commission on anything sold. Otherwise eBay, or the classifieds here (preferred!). Best to check what prices dealers are asking (check abebooks and Amazon) to get an idea of value and rarity. There are some general railway books that are practically worthless (yet it seems everyone has a copy), for others it's finding the person(s) who might be interested. Books that are in good condition, of little or no rarity value and barely worth the postage might be accepted as a donation by your local heritage line (as long as they don't fall into the "impossible to shift" category). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 Polybear As I find eBay the cheapest place to buy books, then Amazon might be your best bet. There is also the club stand that might sell for you and with the St Albans show a few weeks off that might be another option Having rubbished eBay, there are always exceptions. The plan books being an exception, but advertise them in the model railway section. Postage may be a bit of a handicap for less valuable items but not those modellers require Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium polybear Posted November 30, 2014 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted November 30, 2014 Hi all, Many thanks for the replies and ideas - I'll post some of them on RMWeb and see how they go, as well as checking to see if any of the titles fall into the "rare" category (though I seem to recall that many books are so-called "rare" according to book dealers, with prices to match of course.... ) polybear p.s. The idea of St. Albans is a good one, though the thought of 'umping four crates of books down into the dungeons is somewhat off-putting Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonny777 Posted November 30, 2014 Share Posted November 30, 2014 UInless they're specialist or rare, magazines are hard to shift and most preserved railways are inundated with donations. On the other hand if you happen to have just the magazine someone's been searching for, then you may touch lucky on eBay. Postage is a killer with books, but again sought-after titles should sell. You can open a private sales account on Amazon, which charges a fixed postage fee regardless of size/weight and charges a commission on anything sold. Otherwise eBay, or the classifieds here (preferred!). Best to check what prices dealers are asking (check abebooks and Amazon) to get an idea of value and rarity. There are some general railway books that are practically worthless (yet it seems everyone has a copy), for others it's finding the person(s) who might be interested. Books that are in good condition, of little or no rarity value and barely worth the postage might be accepted as a donation by your local heritage line (as long as they don't fall into the "impossible to shift" category). Just to point out that Abebooks prices may not be much different to Amazon, because Amazon owns Abebooks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Bernard Lamb Posted December 1, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 1, 2014 Put 'em on here. Take 'em to St Albans in the new year. If that does not get them sold take a trip to Chinnor and donate them to a good cause. Bernard Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonhall Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 Re- StAlbans - I seem to remember hearing that they felt that books were a total waste of space on the secondhand stand because they don't sell any - JohnB o here runs the stand and might have a different perspective, but I wouldn't get too excited... Jon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EddieB Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 Just to point out that Abebooks prices may not be much different to Amazon, because Amazon owns Abebooks. I take your point, but there are differences. Abebooks charges a monthly subscription fee, so tends to be almost exclusively book dealers (at book dealers' prices), and they are able to set their own postage rates (this is a big factor since flat charges on Amazon deter many German dealers from shipping to the UK). They aren't necessarily the same dealers that also act as "partners" on Amazon (I don't know why some dealers advertise only on abebooks). Abebooks returns a full listing of international dealers with a copy of the sought book, whereas each Amazon site only displays wares available from partners in that domain (or acting as if they were). You won't find listings at, for example, French or German booksellers on the amazon.co.uk site. Amazon charges a commission on sales rather than a subscription fee, so therefore may be attractive to lower volume private sellers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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