What's My old book worth?

You're cleaning house and you come across a bunch of dusty old books in the attic, or you inheret Uncle Milton's collection of Zane Gray westerns. Maybe you watched the Antiques Roadshow and you see something that looks like one of your books. How do you find fair market value for your stuff?

1. VISIT YOUR LOCAL BOOKSELLER. Your local antiquarian bookseller will be able to determine condition and local market value better than anyone. Mid-Michiganers are fortunate enough to be surrounded by several reputable antiquarian booksellers. Take your books to one of these folks:

• Archives Bookshop - 517 West Grand River Ave, East lansing. (517) 332-8444 http://www.abebooks.com/home/ARCHIVBK/
• Curious Bookshop - 307 East Grand River Ave, Lansing. (517) 332-0112 http://www.curiousbooks.com/
• Gibson's Bookstore - 128 West Grand River Avenue, Lansing, MI 48906. (517)332-8681, and 316 North Capitol Avenue, Lansing, MI 48933 (517)487-3769 http://www.gibsons-books.com
• Old Thyme Books - 780 West Lake, Lansing, MI 48906. (517)332-0580
• Way Station Books & Stuff - 223 South Washington Square, Lansing, MI 48933. (517)853-1336
  

When you visit, ask questions to get an idea of how they are thinking, especially about condition. Book collectors are very interested in condition and that is going to be the primary determination of the value. Are the end papers in good shape? Is the spine cracked? Are pages bent? Does it have it's original dust jacket? Are there any library markings or writing? Does the book have an unhealthy smell? You know, you could have a first edition of 'Gone With the Wind', but if pages are falling out and it smells like gym socks, you're not going to get top market value.

While we at the library love our patrons and books, we are not going to be the best folks to ask about value since we don't buy and sell antiquarian books, so go and visit your local antiquarian bookseller.

2. VISIT THE INTERNET. OK, so it's raining and your knee hurts and you don't want to get out the house. Then let the booksellers come to you. There are several Internet sites that are searchable databases of millions of books sold by thousands of booksellers. You can do a search for your title to get an idea of what your book might be selling for across the United States. Remember that these prices on the Internet may not be an adequate reflection of what someone may pay locally.

And while 99.99% of all antiquarian booksellers are ethical and beyond reproach, using the Internet to verify the validity of their price they quoted is just sensible shopping. However, remember that condition is so important to value!

3. START COLLECTING ANTIQUARIAN BOOKS! Who knew something like collecting books could be so entertaining and rewarding? Generally speaking, collecting books is a safe investment of your time and money, and prices for books tend to be reasonable. You know that you can own several first edition Steinbeck's for one Michael Jordan rookie card. The value of collecting books and sharing them with your children truly can't be measured.

4. DONATE YOUR BOOK TO YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY. If you don't get the price you want, and you don't want to start collecting, donate your material to one of your local libraries and share them with your community. While we appreciate the generosity of the donors of books and other materials, each library reserves the right to make disposition of all materials received, guided by professional staff and by standards which apply to purchased material. The items donated will either be incorporated with the regular library holdings or may be sold to rasie money for the library or the Friends of the Library Group.We are not in a position to provide an appraisal service, suggest value, nor provide lists of donated materials. We will however provide a donation receipt to you which may give you a tax break if you itemize your tax returns. If you have any questions, please contact us at 669-3156 or email rprado0618@yahoo.com. Have fun!