I can't throw away books at all. Anything else in the house, fine, but not the books.

I currently have two wallfulls of them. Perhaps I need to reconsider this policy...

I spend so much time in libraries during my persuit of a Ph. D. and then a post-doc fellowship that I just cannot bring myself to "let go" of old books...as a matter of fact, I add to the collection from Half-Priced Books, etc. , much to my wife's displeasure. I too must force myself to just let go of many types of books, some of classical interest, in various specialities, including travel, the sciences, the arts, etc. but not "this year".

Next time, just check out the current edition of the guidebook you need from the library. Most library systems will have them for most destinations, and if they don't, they can usually borrow them from another system.

Mind you, this works better for Frommers and Fodors (and perhaps Lonely Planet) than more obscure titles.

And it solves the problem of what to do with it with it after the trip.

BTW, if you DO have to buy one, in lieu of selling it on ebay, you could give it to your local library.

Great points, iaphx, but what therapy do you recommend for us book-o-philes?

I know, I've tried to change my ways. Then I see a great item at HalfPrice......

I found my favorite guide book for Nara Japan at Half Price and have never seen it any where else.

Although I did buy them all in the first place...at full price
It must be some Presbyterian thing. I was never, ever allowed to throw away books when I was younger. Result? Every corner of the house looks like a Foyles stockroom. I even kept old editions of the Yellow Pages for goodness' sake...

If it were just the most recent edition I'd say to fling it on half.com or someplace not charging an insertion fee. One problem with half, though, is that there are a few dishonest sellers who use the newest edition's ISBN and only put in the notes that it's the older one. Their price comes out lowest when the new edition is searched, and sometimes the buyer doesn't read the description and it comes down to negative feedbacks. (Actually it's not purely a case of caveat emptor because the seller violated the TOS by listing under the wrong ISBN).

Would not recommend eBay unless you're pretty confident it can sell. eBay's pricing is too weighted toward upfront costs, and too many others are trying to unload outdated editions.

In most cases the thrift store works fine, albeit not lucratively.

I do find that if I remember the trip especially fondly and it's 20-30 years afterward I might wish I had the book as a sort of time piece. It can be fun to look through old guides for known destinations and see the prices, hotels, entertainment, etc., the place had at the time.

I find old guides are a window on history. I have my guide from the early 80s on the Soviet Union. What a change! Even guides of places like London remind me of what wasn't there. . .and what was. Hold on to that guide for a while and it could be a treasure, if not for you, then for someone else.

If they're guides to a place I return to frequently, or particularly enjoyed I will keep them. Otherwise, I leave them in one of the hotel desk drawers hoping they'll be left and can be used by another traveler.

I think that's a nice thing to do, especially at a b&b type property.

On the other hand, if you donate your current edition guidebook to your local public library, I guarantee that other travellers will benefit from it.

I keep them. ^

Careful you don't give away or toss a classic. Otherwise give them to a half-price book store or to something lik http://www.abebooks.com

M8

if you want to sell them, half.com (part of ebay) is better than ebay because there is no listing fee, its easier to pay with a credit card, and the books will stay listed until sold (rather than 7 day expiration on ebay). you can also sell on amazon but their listing expire after 60 days and I doubt you would get many people looking for an old travle guide on that site.

Welcome to FT, henryford44 .



Moderator Note:

Due to the age of this thread since the last post (Sept 2006), we're going to close the thread and encourage a refresh of this or other topics.

Thank you all for participating.

Before this thread is closed, unwanted books (except RD condensed editions) and many other things can be donated to non-profit thrift shops (of which Value Village is not one).. Support a worthy charity.

It also allows me to indulge my hoarder instincts on the cheap.