tons of old and very old books

[stones]

So I have a bunch of old, older and very old books way to many to list.
What I am wanting to know is if there is any specific place, web site, person to whom I can contact in order to
possibly sale them to? OR I there is anyone here who may be interested in them please feel free to contact me.
I have looked each and every one of them up and most I was able to find and with prices, some I found but no prices,
and a few I couldn't even find anywhere.
Which means I do have somewhat of an idea of what I may want for them and that being said I am not expecting
miracles and know they are only worth anything if someone is interested, in other words there is flexibility in my price expectations.

Thanks for taking the time to read my post.

[talesofthesevenseas]

My suggestion would be to try using this site to get an approximate value:
http://www.abebooks.com
Abe Books is a massive hub of book dealers, with everything from rare manuscripts to college text books. One of my favorite Web sites!

[luxetveritas]

Nice suggestion with Abebooks sevenseas, that's one of my favorite sites too! I'm always interested in antiquarian books, but non-fiction ones. What are your oldest dates? Anyway, I'd take a look on abebooks like talesofthesevenseas said, there is a collectible books search "engine" you could use there.

[regularjoe2]

What part of the world do you live in , stones ?

[talesofthesevenseas]

Hmmm... my oldest purchase was a privateering document. It is not mine, but I located it and went in on it with the rest of the crew, as a birthday gift for the captain of the tall ship I crewed with. It was a list of people involved in a privateering venture and the percentage to which that person owned a share in the venture. I'm afraid I don't recall the date. I might still have photos of it, I'll check and see. I think I found that one on Abe Books, but can't say for sure.

The best Abe Books purchase I made was when I bought what was supposed to be a second edition trade copy (trade copy has no gilt page edges and no tissue paper liners) of the N.C. Wyeth illustrated Treasure Island. I got a first edition trade copy instead! I couldn't believe my eyes when I opened it up and checked all the pages for the tell-tale printing errors, and there they were! I had wanted a first edition for my husband's birthday, but couldn't afford it. But I ended up with one!

[Skinny]

Keep in mind that the prices abebooks or any other such site are are often what sellers believe the books to be "worth" when the "right buyer" finally wanders across them, not what price they could be sold for relatively quickly on a sight such as ebay. I've seen rare books listed at $250.00 on abe that no one on ebay would bid on at the price of $10.00. It IS a good way to find out if you have something quite rare and valuable, like an first edition of On The Origin Of Species, or if its a book as common as a Waverly Novel.

How old are your oldest books, just out of curiosity?

[luxetveritas]

Agree with Skinny, I have seen books on Abe that are priced around $250 that buyers wouldn't pay 10 cents from on sites like eBay.

@talesofthesevenseas: Now THAT is a real treasure find! Getting a first addition of such a popular book! I bet that was a nice surprise for your husband!

[Tim]

Short of putting them up at a garage sale or local auctioneer, to get top dollar you will have to put in the effort. You'll need to do an inventory of all your books listing title, author, publisher, any illustrator, printing, dj, overall condition and photos always help. Advertise your collection on ABE, Ebay and other book forums. There are several book sites you can list your books on, some more expensive than others.

And keep in mind that books are heavy, shipping is expensive, so your area of the country has to be taken into account. We have been on ABE for 10 years and I can tell you that you won't see any potential buyers with describing exactly what you have.

[KC]

The good thing about Abe Books is that you are likely to find out information/details there on older books that you might not find on other sites. If indeed you find that you have rare books that list for a price higher than you would get on EBay (which is likely...because Ebayers have more of a "garage sale" mentality - I know I am one at times) it will only help you in deciding the value you choose to list them for and find a select site for them.

If you have quite a few that are worth alot, you will have the values (can print them out) for insurance purposes.

The local school district has a book sale every year that our family volunteers at and all books are donated (schools, individuals, book stores, estates, etc.)  The "Book People" get to come in 1 day early before it starts and they have their fancy scanners and laptops with programs...you hear occasional whoops and other non-mentionable remarks made when they come across rare and valuable books.  They recommend Abe Books to people who ask how to look up values if you don't have their $$$$$ expensive program.  (The book sale generates over $50,000 after costs and the books are sold for .50 to $5 unless they are full sets and they generally go for $20)

[regularjoe2]

powells.com

Portland , Or.

Huge stock .
Cool store .
One of the biggest in the world .

Fair wholesale buyers , all in all .

I visit there every time I get down to Portland .

[stones]

Short of putting them up at a garage sale or local auctioneer, to get top dollar you will have to put in the effort. You'll need to do an inventory of all your books listing title, author, publisher, any illustrator, printing, dj, overall condition and photos always help. Advertise your collection on ABE, Ebay and other book forums. There are several book sites you can list your books on, some more expensive than others.

And keep in mind that books are heavy, shipping is expensive, so your area of the country has to be taken into account. We have been on ABE for 10 years and I can tell you that you won't see any potential buyers with describing exactly what you have.

thanks for the info..  all of you have been a great help, I will start doing as you suggest man that is going to be some work but hopfully it will end up being worth it right.
As for the oldest I think if I remember I have a couple of bibles from the 1700's,  but as for other books not bibles the early 1800's but I will be going through  them and if you want I can post a brief outline of what I have.
thanks again for your input to all who posted.

[regularjoe2]

If you ship via "book rate" , it will be the cheapest & slowest .

[kimb389]

Tim's advice is right on the money. While I have found books on Ebay, as a collector, I'm usually searching for a specific book. And not only that, I'm looking for it to be in certain condition, and most probably for as close to a first edition as I can get. Sometimes I'm looking for an edition by a specific publisher or for an edition published in a particular location, so all of that information is important to me.

When I'm on these type searches, I go to AbeBooks, Alibris or some similar site. In reference to books there priced at a couple hundred dollars versus not being worth a few dollars on Ebay, sometimes (often times) those on Ebay have no idea of a book's worth. I have certainly known of individuals searching for a particular book, or books printed during a certain time period (18th century books) or on a specific subject, that paid way more than $250, and considered the purchase price a bargain.

But as Tim said, in order to get those kinds of prices, you have to do your due diligence. As a collector, I want to know everything possible about the book before I lay down that kind of money, especially because I can't see it "in person" or hold it in my hands for a personal inspection. The more information you can provide, the better chance you have to sell your items for top dollar.