I brought home a box of these just for the heck of it (I got a large box for dirt cheap). Now, I've separated out the ones that are in the best condition.
Any certain ones sell better than others? There's a lot of Harlequin Romance and some Silhouette, etc.
Here's one that looks interesting: "Between Roc And A Hard Place" by Heather Graham Pozzessere.
[ edited by loosecannon on Apr 3, 2001 05:55 PM ]
posted on April 3, 2001 06:20:42 PM
Hi,
I would try to group them by theme, after picking out any that might be older and written by people that now write full length novels and are popular ie; Nora Roberts. She happens to be my favorite author and was the first thing I sold on E-Bay a year ago. I don't collect her books, I read them and then sell them back, BUT I was amazed at how many people do. Some of the vintage ones seems to do pretty well; the doctor nurse themes from the fifties.
There's a ton of Harlequins, Silhouettes and others on E-Bay and they seem to sell in lots. Does any of this help?
posted on April 3, 2001 06:23:37 PM
I'm still listing the 400 that I got for the whopping sum of $1!
I might be able to help - do you have them catalogued anywhere? (So you could possibly send me a list?) Otherwise, I can go through my past auctions to see which authors did well - they are kind of all blurring together at this point!
edited to add that condition is not always a factor - even some poor to fair condition HTF romance novels do well.
[ edited by jmjones6061 on Apr 3, 2001 06:25 PM ]
posted on April 3, 2001 06:34:01 PM
There was a thread a while back (no I didn't save it) on how to get rid of smells. One involved kitty litter, it might be time for another thread like that. There were some wonderful ideas in there.
Do the books smell like old books, or some really vile 'eu de barn' type of smell. (I think I spelled that wrong.
I'm sorry to say, but the odor is very pungent. So much so that it makes me wince. It's a very musty smell, like they got damp and started to mold. Naturally, I didn't think to sniff them before I bought! Wish I would have. I'm well familiar with the "old book" smell, and this isn't that.
I can't send these out smelling like this. I guess I made a mistake buying them and will cut my losses by sending them to an auction barn or something.
posted on April 3, 2001 06:49:18 PM
Don't feel bad, I did that with a box of video tapes at an estate sale held in a barn. Well it never occured to me that these tapes were kept in the barn for years. Great deal 50 tapes, good titles for 5.00. THEY WERE FULL OF BUGS. I was only able to salvage a few and ended up paying the dump in town to take them off my hands.
posted on April 3, 2001 07:13:30 PM
I was 'given' thousands of these books a few years ago. I opened another ebay account just to sell them. The advise you have gotten so far is great... I wish I had it when I started.
The nurse/doctor themed ones do well, so do mystery/gothic/historical themed ones. Also sell in lots by author. I started by selling in numerical order and quickly learned that most collect by author. Nora Roberts is one that does well. I found the best author is Betty Neels. I usually get 1-2 dollars per book by her, I got $33 for an omnibus by her (an omnibus is multiple stories in one book).
Also, ship media rate. Get the sheet at the PO that lists the cost per oz. and guesstimate each lot. After awhile you get good at figuring out what 20 books vs. 28 books shipping weight is.
Have a good template. My son made me one with columns to list author, book title, condition of book. The ones that have text run all together look very unprofessional and hard to read.
I still have, at least, 5 large boxes of romances that I need to sell. I stopped selling them about a year ago and haven't gotten in the mood to list more. I pulled out my ledger of past auctions and it brought back the memories...
posted on April 3, 2001 07:29:55 PM
There is a series of Harlequin Romances that have just one first name as the title. They seem to relate to one event, such as the Johnstown Flood. (I only know this because I collect Johnstown items and that book always sells for $15 or so) Others in the same series go for much higher. I wish I knew more but I always get outbid so I don't have one here.
I did sell some historical romances for awhile. They seemed to sell around $3 each. And I enjoyed looking at the front covers!!
Good luck. Be careful selling those books if they smell bad, though. You don't want nasty comments in your feedback! It might scare away bidders thinking all your items might smell.
posted on April 3, 2001 08:27:51 PM
I remember the smell thread - but now I can't find it.
If it's nice - leave them out in the sunshine and fresh air for a week to see if that helps - I know there was something about the kitty litter too - it absorbs smell.
If you email me, I'll send you a list of the authors that seem to do well - plus a list of hard to find and out of print romances.
I wouldn't toss them just yet.....
A few other good sellers are Georgette Heyer and I've done well with Helen Bianchin also. There is one person who also snapped up all of my Rebecca Stratton books. I listed some individually - and some in groups. I would definitely list by authors if you list in groups - certain authors have certain followings!
It keeps ratings and reviews of all the classic and new romance novels.
Some of my favorite authors: Roberta Gellis (a history professor who writes medieval romances that are incredibly accurate!), Jennifer Crusie (the restaurant scene in "Strange Bedfellows" is the funniest I've ever read), Susan Sizemore (interesting time travel & medieval), Dara Joy (hot hot hot!), and anything with Vikings!
El
"The customer may not always be right, but she is always the customer."
posted on April 3, 2001 09:51:17 PM
I have one of the most highly sensitive noses in the country to musty and moldy smells or so I've been told.I react with an asthma attack very quick. (Some people get to be Brittany Spears, I get a sensitive nose!)
Anyhow, I have used the cat litter trick a few times. Seal the book in plastic with cat litter and it has helped some books with a minor smell.
But if they are severly musty I do not think it is possible to get them completely free of this. They will make anyone sick with mold allergies.
I'd give it a try on a couple though if you have some rare ones. I've fanned the book and sprayed with febreeze also.
Also watch where you store them because if you have any clean books,paper or fabric close by the spores do spread and will make anything close by icky.
I've had to throw out several things where this has happened.
Maybe I'll just set them out on the open-air porch and let them air for a week or two. If they don't improve in smell I can't sell them on ebay, that's for sure.
posted on April 4, 2001 04:06:47 AM
Interesting thread. I have a short list of authors I watch for, but the saleable titles are [obviously] the hard to find. Other than that, I haven't really seen the market in these books. I enjoy reading favorite authors, myself, but there are just so many of them. I guess fiction just isn't my forte.
posted on April 4, 2001 05:50:35 AM
Morning, loose cannon. If I remember abacaxi's thread correctly, place the books on a roaster rack above the cat litter, then seal the container.
posted on April 4, 2001 07:16:38 AM
I don't know alot about removing odors, (I should, I just got rid of a cat that couldn't find the litter box) but I know baking soda helps with odors, as does charcoal. The usage would be about the same as kitty litter, I suppose.
posted on April 4, 2001 09:13:33 AM
Say, Jane (jmjones6061): Please count me in on your generous offer to send a list of authors that do well, and of hard to find and out of print romances. I'd love to have that. It makes me sick now that I've turned up my nose at boxes and boxes of romance paperbacks, $1 a box, at the auctions I go to! --Adele [email protected]
posted on April 4, 2001 09:24:06 AM
Hi ladies and gents,
This is turning out to be a very educational thread. I have hundred of these in my house. I wonder does anyone have, or know where to get a list of authors names used past and present. For instance Nora Roberts also writes under Robb, and there are many others. Care to share? Jane I would love that list too, I've started one but have only a few names on it. I was thinking of getting one of those electronic address gizmos, and putting them in there then when I'm at a book store, or thrift I could do a quick look-up. By the way I went to my favorite thrift this morning and found two of Neels and some others.
[email protected]
posted on April 4, 2001 09:42:27 AM jmjones6061
I would love to get that list from you! I just inherited 5 huge(& I do mean HUGE) boxes of these things. I was going to take them to Goodwill this weekend.
Good thing this thread came along!!!
Anyone who has a list of authors and/or titles that sell well, please email it to me!
I'm at work now, but I'll send it out when I get home.
I also have a URL that gives all of the aliases - I'll post it here when I get home.
Although, I think I'm finally getting to the dogs in the last bunch that I listed - oh, well - the first several did well, so I can't complain.
I did find through trial and error that the old Harlequins and Silhouettes do much better in groups by author - they didn't do well at all when I did a variety of authors.
posted on April 4, 2001 04:30:37 PM
jmjones - I too would love the list and am looking forward to the url as well! I own tons of these (unfortunately in numerical order from my overly organized days) and have been pondering selling them! Thanks so much!
The Locus Index to Science Fiction (1984-1998)
Another thorough and invaluable resource, this time for SF novels and short stories.
http://www.sff.net/locus/
posted on April 10, 2001 10:54:29 PM
Early Nora Roberts books can do very well--her first ones from the early to mid 1980s in particular. She became extremely popular after her 20th or 30th book and her print runs increased accordingly, so those later books do better in groups. Her newer stuff is printed in the millions of copies and tough to move individually for good prices.
Authors who have moved out of the romance genre to great success in mainstream fiction also do very well. Look for early Janet Evanovich (Bantam Loveswept), Sandra Brown (under various pseudonyms such as Erin St. Clare, Rachel Ryan and others), early Linda Howard, Iris Johannsen, Barbara Delinsky, Kay Hooper and Tess Gerritsen come to mind.
You can do well, too, with those who stayed in the genre: Jane Anne Krentz under her early psuedonyms--Stephanie James, Jayne Castle. LaVyrle Spencer's early genre romances are really hard to find and do well. Ann Stuart Harlequin books do well in groups, and her larger single-title books such as Dell releases and Gothic romances from the 70s and 80s do well alone. Real old Jude Devereux books with Fabio covers do well (the newer stuff does okay in groups).
Some of the current "rising stars" of romance who did not enjoy great print runs for their first books do well: Watch especially for Suzanne Brockmann's Loveswept books (lousy print runs), and you will really score if you can find her Precious Gems release written under the pseudonym Ann Brock (the title escapes me just now). ALWAYS be on the lookout for Robin Schone's first book "Awaken My Love" (that one can bring you $25 and up).
The "hotter" romances can do very well too--try Bertrice Small's books in groups, Schone's later books, Susan Johnson, Thea Devine, Nicole Jordan.
The romance sub-genre called "regency romance" has an ardent following--I'm talking here about the skinny little ones usually published by Signet although there are a couple of others. Older books in this genre can do really well in groups because these readers swallow them like candy and are continually craving more--few new titles are released so they're always looking for stuff to feed their habit. Print runs for regencies are historically abysmal and only a few thousand copies were ever printed of most of the older ones. Catherine Coulter's first books were regencies and while some have since been reprinted, there are a couple that can only be found as first editions from the 70s. Some Mary Balogh titles can bring upwards of $15. Carla Kelly is a highly collectible regency author.
The advice about selling category romances in groups by author is a good one--current favorites like Rachel Lee (Sue Civil-Brown for bigger single-title romances), Ruth Wind (Barbara Samuel for historicals), Jennifer Greene for example--they have legions of fans hungry for their older works, and real romance lovers seem to enjoy getting a group of books even when it includes one they already have, so they can give it to a friend! It's also a good idea to make up groups of similar sub-genre or settings--group time-travel romances together, for example, or Indian romances, or Regency-era big historicals (not the same thing as the skinny little straight regencies I talked about above).
edited to change <s to [s to avoid huge run-on paragraph
edited again to delete [s and just put in spaces, as it seems I left my memory of how to format these notes in the Caribbean during my vacation
And edited yet again because I got some dates wrong--I think I'll go to bed now.
[ edited by psyllie on Apr 10, 2001 11:07 PM ]
