Do I buy books?

I get asked all the time "Do I buy books".

That is hard to answer. Most of the time, it is no. Once in a rare while, it will be yes.

And why is that?

What most people have is mass market paperback books. For example. I get asked most often to buy sets of VC Andrews and Nora Roberts.

Well, I have about 3 of everything VC Andrews wrote. While it sells fine, I have plenty turned in for trade. So why buy? In fact, I have many of the VC Andrews on my clearance rack. The Nora Roberts are the same. I have most in either paperback or hardback....many in both. And while they sell, I get them turned in for trade. So why buy? Again, I even have those on my clearance rack.

Sets also do not sell well. So unless someone really, really must have the set, most people prefer to buy one at a time. And once set is broken up, it will sell slow and you are always left with that one or two that will just not go away.

And lets face it, if the bookstore at the college did not buy back your textbook, will anyone else? I have been to 3 colleges, been in college bookstores in about 8 cities and if a college bookstore doesn't want it back, no one will want it. Not meaning to be rude - just telling it like it is.

BUT.... BUT I take books in on commission. I put them out on the web. Either on Ebay or other places and sell them that way. I get a 20% commission of the overall selling price. I will also keep a list of books just in case someone comes in wanting to buy a certain author or a set.

There are a few books I will buy outright. Most often, the buying price for a softback book is $.25 and for hardback book is $.50. The same as yard sale prices for the most part. And that is only for books I either think I can sell or that I feel will sell. I have to see them first.

Some books the price is negotiable, most are not. I have to see the books first. Generally, if it is mass market paperback or mass market general fiction, I will not buy the book.

Fair? That is up for you to decide. Truth of the matter is, I am just a small bookseller. I don't have a lot of free cash laying around. The majority of my business is on trade. I do not deal in new books and people do not generally come to my store for new books or sets or collectors items. Those are the types of books that are bought outright.

If you wish to check around, there are two more bookstores in town. One is the Bookstore on Lincoln Trail. Their phone number is 270-351-1801 and the other is the Bookrack in Elizabethtown. Their phone number is 737-9500. The Bookrack also trade books so you can check there for their trading policy when you call.