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[Lee Haslup <biglee AT haslups.com>]

The algorithm...

1) Go through the books and pull out the ones you think might be 
valuable and/or collectible.
2) Do an eBay search for each book you pulled out requesting completed 
auctions.  Note the prices at which each book has sold.
3) Most of the books you thought were valuable will be a dime a dozen on 
eBay.  Sigh once, and put them back in the main pile of books.
4) Sell the (very few) valuable books on eBay.  Use lots of pictures 
(books scan well on a flatbed scanner.)  Casual collectors are very 
excited by scans of the copyright page.  Even if it shows it to be a 
high-number printing of an undesirable edition -- they won't know that 
and will assume that, since you went to the trouble to show it, they 
should be impressed.
5) Have a yard sale.  You will probably have at least one book dealer 
offer to buy the lot.  The dealer will come early (while you are setting 
up and before your sign says the sale starts).  Don't sell your books as 
a lot early in the day.  A dealer who likes your selection  may come 
back towards the end of the sale and try again.  You can sell as a lot 
then, if you want.
6) Rather than put the box of books back in your garage put it in your 
car and take it to Nice Price books on Hillsborough St.  Call ahead to 
make sure there will be somebody there who can look at your books.
7) Take the remainder across the street to Reader's Corners and donate 
them to their outside sale for Public Radio.  Resist (if possible) the 
temptation to shop.  (This has been difficult for me since I found a 
book for a quarter there once that I had seen two days before in a rare 
book shop for $50.)

BigLee

Thomas Beckett wrote:

>     Anybody have advice on the best place to sell loads of used 
> books.  I finally decided to unburden myself of the boxes and boxes 
> I've been lugging around since college.  (I finally acknowledge that a 
> room full of bookshelves was not in my near future.)
>
>     I spoke to Barry at Nice Price about it, and he said he'd come to 
> the house to examine them, since he lives in the neighborhood.  That 
> was a month ago and he seems to have lost interest.  He's got an 
> oversupply apparently.
>
>     What's the wisdom?
>
> TaB
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