Most generous book buyer in Seattle?

July 1, 2007 5:54 PM

Is there a used book buyer in Seattle you've found to be more generous than another? I want to get the best deal on my 6 bags of various and sundry books. Thanks.
posted by tristeza to shopping (7 answers total)

It depends on what sort of generosity you are looking for. Epilogue will let you buy things entirely with credit (used items only), no need for cash. But I don't think they give high prices for them.

And if you have any books left over, Couth Buzzard will take anything and give you credit (but you buy books with half cash, half credit), and the selection is what you would expect from such a policy.

Half price books sells things for the highest price, I don't know if that corresponds to how much they give sellers.
posted by Margalo Epps at 7:01 PM on July 1, 2007

I can't speak for Half Price in Seattle, but the branches in Texas smell desperation. They give crappy prices generally, and the more books you bring in at once, the worse prices get. I was once offered $15 total for 6 boxes of books -- most of them fairly desirable in the used book trade -- because they were betting I wouldn't walk back out hauling those 6 boxes. They lost that bet. I gave the books to Goodwill rather than sell them to Half Price for $15.
And if I were going to be screwed like that, I think I'd rather it be by an independent than a large chain.
posted by katemonster at 8:21 PM on July 1, 2007

Ravenna Third Place sometimes buys at an ok price, they'll give you more in store credit than in cash, and they give you a coupon for some percentage off that's good for the day you sell your books. So if you're looking to trade a few boxes of books for some other books, they're where I'd go. Avoid Half-Price; their offers are usually insultingly low.

Honestly, if you itemize your deductions for your taxes, you might be better off donating them to Friends of the Library or somewhere. Or selling them on craigslist/ebay/a yard sale.
posted by hades at 9:30 PM on July 1, 2007

I don't know the Seattle used book scene, but in about 15 different used book stores in California, the standard rate seems to be 1/5 cover price in cash or 1/4 cover price in trade.
posted by BrotherCaine at 9:52 PM on July 1, 2007

Magus pays better than any used bookstore I've been to in Seattle, but they are *extremely* selective about what books they'll take. However, you might get more there from four or five books than you'd get for five boxes at another place, if you have something Magus wants.

For the best prices though you'd need to sell privately--bulletin board at Cloud City Coffee, craigslist, ebay, your own website/journal, friends who have been ogling your copy of ---.
posted by digitalis at 11:20 PM on July 1, 2007

Yeah, my usual approach is to take my books to Magus, sell them for store credit, and then take the 2/3 of my load that they didn't want across the street to Twice Sold Tales, who will usually take almost all of what's left.

It all depends on what kind of books you have to sell. Magus will take my more scholarly/intellectual stuff, and Twice Sold will take the MMPB science fiction and odd-format novelties I end up with. Of course, there's a good chance I'm selling the books back to the same stores I bought them from...
posted by hattifattener at 11:49 PM on July 1, 2007

Just for the record....I took one bag of books, probably about 15-20 paperbacks of various kinds, to 1/2 Price Books and they gave me $13.
posted by tristeza at 3:34 PM on July 18, 2007