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My mother passed away on the 11th of April leaving a semi-hoarded house (only semi because you can easily walk through it-- just the basement, garage, cupboards, drawers, closets etc are packed to the gills) among which is a large collection of Civil War books. I used to have an Amazon store and listed a few online, but things have definitely changed since I was a seller in 2006. They seem really CRAZY about their policies, and I am not sure that this is the best place to sell these books anyway. Some are out of print titles.
Does anyone have other suggestions? I use eBay regularly, and am using it now to list some of her jewelry, but I am not sure if this is the right forum either.
Ebay might be one way to move them. Depending on how many books their are (and their quality) a book dealer may come down and offer you a price for the lot. You will need someone who specializes in military/civil war books and is willing to come to you, so that may be an issue depending on where you live.
If ther are any good civil war collectors shows within driving distance, you could rent some tables and sell them there. If you want to move them in bulk, you need to mark them to sell.
You might want to use the Amazon, abebooks and Alibris to see what those Civil War books are being priced at. Most used books are selling for very cheap prices these days. Also, just because you see a book priced "high" doesn't mean that it's going to sell for that price anytime soon.
Start with bookstores which handle vintage books. Also, check with your local college or university library - talk with the rare book room librarian.
Much has been written about the Civil War - if these are 19th century books, particularly books by former generals, soldiers, politicians, office-holders, etc., they may be in high demand by Civil War reenactors or CW buffs. There are dealers who specialize in such things.
If you are near a Civil War historic park or site, check with the park rangers, tour guides, historic house managers, or historians. Or if there is a reenactment in your area, you might want to inquire about joining the vendors, once you establish values for your books.
If your books are 20th and 21st century "coffee table" books or books written for the Civil War Bicentennial or current Sequicentennial, you might want to donate them to your local college, high school, or public library and take the tax write-off.
Go to EBTH.com. Prices on vintage books are escalating in the market the past three years. Collectors will pay higher prices than those buying for resale
Have an appraiser come in and tell you what they are worth. Might cost you a couple of hundred but what you might find out is that an obscure looking book is worth thousands. I went thru the same thing with a friend that her dad died and left a house in the country with about 100 books from the Civil War era and a few from the Revolutionary War. One was an extremely beat up book that turned out to be incredibly rare. They could have bought a new truck for they were offered for it. Unless you're a book expert, you have no clue what the value is.
My mother passed away on the 11th of April leaving a semi-hoarded house (only semi because you can easily walk through it-- just the basement, garage, cupboards, drawers, closets etc are packed to the gills) among which is a large collection of Civil War books. I used to have an Amazon store and listed a few online, but things have definitely changed since I was a seller in 2006. They seem really CRAZY about their policies, and I am not sure that this is the best place to sell these books anyway. Some are out of print titles.
Does anyone have other suggestions? I use eBay regularly, and am using it now to list some of her jewelry, but I am not sure if this is the right forum either.
Thanks!
I sold random books and my textbooks on Amazon around 2007 for a few years. After being inactive, I listed and sold one book recently. I agree that it seems to have changed quite a bit.
Another place I'd try is AbeBooks, which has a section geared toward out-of-print, rare and collectable books. I've never sold on them before so I can't say what the seller experience is like, but I have had better luck buying nice (as described!!!!) copies of very old books from them compared to Amazon and eBay. Only bad thing is it looks like you have to pay a $25 monthly subscription in addition to the fees based on what you sell the book for.
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