There are thousands of estate sales held on a weekly basis.\u00a0 Almost every home will have books.\u00a0 Identifying valuable, old books from the common books can be tricky.<\/p>\n
We’ve gathered some information and tips to help you properly identify and sell estate sale books at the highest value possible.<\/p>\n
As you stage an estate sale<\/a>, if there are a lot of old books, it\u2019s quite difficult to take the time and lookup each one.<\/p>\n Bulk pricing estate sale books is quite common.\u00a0 Companies will have a price for hardcover books, and another price for a paperback book, but is this enough to fetch good value?<\/p>\n Begin by looking at the visual appeal of each book on the shelf.\u00a0 A beautiful leather-bound book or one that may have a pictorial cover is eye-catching and worth the time it takes to research.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t be quick to include it in the bulk price pile.<\/p>\n Sift through the books and set aside the ones you find visually appealing.\u00a0 This will minimize the amount of time you spend researching instead of all the books on the shelf.<\/p>\n There are some definite details to look for in high-value estate sale books.<\/p>\n Sure, you can use online marketplaces to determine value, however as you\u2019re setting up an estate sale, you may need to pay attention to a few details to separate the possibly valuable old books from common estate sale books for further research.<\/p>\n Avid book collectors may focus their collection on the author.\u00a0 If it\u2019s a well-known author, the book can be valuable.\u00a0 But even the same author can have one book that\u2019s valuable and another that\u2019s not so valuable.<\/p>\n If the book is by a famous author, the next thing to look at is whether it has historical value or if it\u2019s the first time a famous character appeared in a book.<\/p>\n A book by Arthur Conan Doyle in 1887 called \u201cA Study in Scarlet\u201d<\/a> was the first time Sherlock Holmes appeared as a fictional detective in a book.<\/p>\n Besides a famous author and a famous character, keep an eye for books relating to historical or social events.<\/p>\n Book collectors generally collect based on interest.\u00a0 However, some prefer to only include first editions in their book collection.<\/p>\n Determining whether a book is the first edition isn\u2019t always an easy task.<\/p>\n If the book only has the words \u201cFirst Edition\u201d printed on it, you\u2019re in luck.<\/p>\n If a book is reprinted by a publisher, it may have the words \u201cfirst (publisher name) Edition\u201d, don\u2019t mistake that for a first edition book.\u00a0 It only means that a publisher is not the original.<\/p>\n Dates and numbers are other key details to look for.\u00a0 A first edition book will not have multiple dates or numbers printed on it.\u00a0 Multiple numbers or dates are indicators that it\u2019s not a first edition book.<\/p>\n Just because a book isn\u2019t the first edition, it doesn\u2019t mean the value is not there.\u00a0 Just because copies were made doesn\u2019t mean that many copies still exist in circulation.<\/p>\n As you\u2019re looking up books, pay attention to rarity.\u00a0 If it\u2019s hard to come by or the subject is relating to religion, military, aerospace, medicine and other unique industries, it may hold excellent value.<\/p>\n This is important to keep in mind if you\u2019re using online resources to research the value of old books by author, edition and publication date.<\/p>\n Condition plays a big part, and don\u2019t automatically assume that the same book found online is equal in value to the one you\u2019re holding until you’ve determined the proper condition.<\/p>\n Another key detail to look for is whether the old book you\u2019re evaluating had a dust jacket.<\/p>\n Over the years, the majority of dust jackets on antique books are destroyed.\u00a0 A first edition collectible book without a dust jacket can be worth $200 but one with the original dust jacket can easily fetch over $5,000.<\/p>\n Look for signatures inside the book.\u00a0 A family signature, and an author signature.<\/p>\n A book signed by a family member with a note or a message will quickly decrease its collectible value, but if the family member or original owner of the book is a famous person, that will increase its value.<\/p>\n Another signature to look for is the author.\u00a0 Book collectors prize author-signed books because they\u2019re quite rare.<\/p>\n A famous author, excellent subject, great condition, and signed?\u00a0 You\u2019ve got yourself a prized possession worth looking further into.<\/p>\n Reader\u2019s Digest recently published a list of worthy first edition books.\u00a0 As an estate sale professional<\/a>, you\u2019ll come across hundreds of books, here is a list of extremely valuable first edition books that are prized by collectors and worth finding:<\/p>\n Avid collectors generally rely on printed reference guides.\u00a0 There are many available, but each reference guide focuses on a specific book type.<\/p>\n In your profession, you\u2019ll run into so many type variations, you may need to start your own book reference guide collection in order to look up the variety of books you\u2019ll see.<\/p>\n Online resources tend to be much more efficient for an estate sale professional due to the time constraints during setup.<\/p>\n During the estate sale setup, quickly sift through the books to create two piles.<\/p>\n By doing this, you\u2019ve minimized the number of books you have to look up to handful instead of all the books you have at the sale.<\/p>\n Now, you can begin looking at each book for the key factors mentioned above.\u00a0 Author, date, condition, and first edition or not?<\/p>\n Once you\u2019ve identified a few books that possibly need further value research, begin your search.<\/p>\n The easiest way to find out how much a book is worth in the current market is to check online for similar copies and what they\u2019re selling or sold for.<\/p>\n There\u2019s always the common websites and marketplaces such as eBay<\/a>, Amazon, and Worthpoint, however, it\u2019s best to stick to industry-specific sites when you\u2019re researching a possibly valuable book.<\/p>\n Prices you find on bookseller websites include dealer markup.\u00a0 You also need to take the details mentioned above into consideration in order to determine a fair market price.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Click on the used books section and fill out the form, including the publisher and date in the keyword section.<\/p>\n Complete the form on the page with details from the book you\u2019re researching to find similar books and value.<\/p>\n Complete the form on their home page to find rare old books, out-of-print books and compare their prices.<\/p>\n A quick search on Facebook and you can join many groups dedicated to specific categories.<\/p>\n From antique furnishings to antique jewelry<\/a> and even collectible books.\u00a0 Each group has its guidelines, so be sure to read and follow their specific rules.<\/p>\n Members within these groups are generally very knowledgeable and helpful.<\/p>\n It\u2019s always good to have a good list of contacts in various industries as an estate sale professional.\u00a0 Keeping these contacts handy will prove fruitful as you continue to conduct estate sales.<\/p>\n These organizations bring together booksellers, book collectors, and professional book appraisers.<\/p>\n \u201cI have built a professional relationship with a book dealer. I pay her for her time and she pulls the rare books aside and prices them. I\u2019ve made thousands off of this investment.\u201d Said Rachel Fitch with Fitch estate sales<\/a>.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t discount the odds of coming across an extremely valuable book.\u00a0 As an estate sale liquidator, you will see hundreds of books, educating yourself on what to look for is extremely important and worth your time.<\/p>\n We attended a few sales and noticed that each company prices books differently.<\/p>\n Some companies will group certain books together, others will separate the hardcovers and series from the common everyday books and price them individually.<\/p>\n We reached out to our private Facebook group of estate sale professionals<\/a> and asked them about their method of <\/a>pricing and\u00a0here\u2019s what a few had to say:<\/p>\n \u201cOur company will bulk price books except for vintage and coffee table books which are separate,\u201d Peggy Wolf with Manning Wolf Estate Sales.<\/p>\n Another member of our group Gail Dyer Moore with Fresh Start Transitions<\/a> said:\u00a0\u201cBooks these days are selling so much better now than 5 years ago.\u00a0 If it is a large collection of contemporary fiction books, etc.”<\/p>\n She continued “We price hardback\/softback at the generic prices.\u00a0 We do research and price volumes and sets separately\u201d.<\/p>\n As you can see there are some common methods companies use, but each owner will set their own estate sale rules<\/a>, pricing, and sales methods.<\/p>\n When a client decides to hire a liquidator<\/a> and signs the estate sale contract<\/a>, they do this knowing the company will do whatever is necessary to properly inventory, research, and sell their items at the highest value possible including their estate sale books.<\/p>\n As an estate sale business owner<\/a>, your experience never stops growing, the more you know about properly researching, pricing, advertising, and selling the items at the highest value possible, the more you will increase the bottom line for your client and yourself.<\/p>\n At estatesales.org we aim to provide you with resources to help you do just that.\u00a0 List your company online with us and get estate sale leads.\u00a0 List your sale and get more shoppers.<\/p>\n Log in to the online estate sale auction where you can list items for sale and reach buyers worldwide.<\/p>\n Whether you’ve held sales for years, or just started your estate sale business<\/a>, there\u2019s no better place to be than around other experienced professionals where you can ask, share, and open discussions relating to a profession you share.<\/p>\nWhat to Look For?<\/h2>\n
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Who\u2019s the Author?<\/h2>\n
When was it Published?<\/h2>\n
Don\u2019t Toss the Book Aside Yet!<\/h2>\n
Condition of High-Value Books<\/h2>\n
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Signed Estate Sale Books<\/h2>\n
Rare Old Books Worth a Fortune<\/h2>\n
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Book Resources<\/h2>\n
Efficiently Researching Estate Sale Books<\/h2>\n
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Websites to Compare Pricing of Valuable Old Books<\/h2>\n
Addall.com<\/a><\/h3>\n
Abebooks.com<\/a> (The Advanced Book Exchange)<\/h3>\n
Bookfinder.com<\/a><\/h3>\n
Book Collecting Facebook Private Groups<\/h3>\n
Rare Book Industry Organizations<\/h2>\n
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Pricing and Selling Estate Sale Books<\/h2>\n
In Summary<\/h2>\n