Since two people have asked about used books, let me give one opinion based on many years of collecting and more than 10 years of selling used books.
1. I don't make a living selling books. I am lucky to sell 2-3 books per month. Selling is part of my mission to get books into the hands of those who can use them. Books that have little monetary value I give away. I want to be known at shul as the book-man rather than the candy-man. 2, Very, very few used books have value beyond the cost when new. Even if you see a very high price on an old or famous book it is not likely that that the resale price is higher than what the person would have earned depositing the price of the book in a bank at time of purchase and accruing interest. Books to do not increase in value like the stock market. However, some books have a value far beyond money. Many books have influenced Jewish life and civilization far beyond monetary value. 3. Selling used books is costly. I have to inventory each book. Whereas a retailer of new goods can list an item once and keep changing the inventory numbers, I can't because I don't know if I will ever get another copy. 4. Young people who want books would rather purchase a new book because it looks nicer. I once had a whole Talmud to give away that no one would take for free. They wanted the latest printing because of the commentaries in the back. While I once sold a book for $600, there are few people who collect books like that. If one wants the intellectual content, it is available on-line for free or low cost. Few people can afford the time and space to build valuable collections. 5. On the other side, the libraries I have worked in have received as gifts books that they could not have afforded to buy when they first came out and can't afford the time and money to purchase on the new market. I accept books on the condition the library can keep, sell, or give them away. 6. In recent months members of the community have asked me to take their books. One was from the estate of a prominent rabbi. The children and grandchildren took a few books. I even insisted that one grandson who is starting his first job take some of the important books because they are basic Jewish books and because they belonged to his grandfather. The books could have been purchased new. Another collection I couldn't take anything. The important books were old and tired looking and had not monetary value. The others just had no resale value. While I love looking at collections that I could take for free, I have no room for more inventory. Last summer I took 21 boxes of books from a deceased professor. I was lucky to find buyers for many items. The buyers got good deals when the price was compared to retail and I made money for my time. Some items cost more than $200 when new and I can't even get $10 for them today. 7. Old Siddurim and Humashim have value only when someone wants them. I have been able to give away a few Hertz humashim. I try to have a collection of all the siddurim that the congregation has used. The extra copies will probably go in to shamot for burial. There is one interesting story -- the synagogue where my Aunt Rose was a member (she died in 1979) gave away their Hertz humashim to a shul in another city. One day I got a call from a distant cousin in that shul. She found the Humash that my Aunt Rose had donated. 8. Old books are a mixed blessing. Scholars and collectors can get good deals buying used books. They can get books that are out of print. The buying and selling process is very time consuming. Buyer and sellers must be dedicated to learning and books. I hope that helps. Shabbat shalom. On Fri, Jun 21, 2019 at 12:12 PM Amalia Warshenbrot via Hasafran < [email protected]> wrote: > Dear colleagues, > Since I have retired almost a decade ago I have a senior moment. > What is the name and contact info of that place that can take used books ? > Amalia > _ > > -- Daniel D. Stuhlman Chicago, IL dstuhlman at gmail.com Blog: http://kol-safran.blogspot.com/ LinkedIn profile. http://lnkd.in/ZBzHh5
__ Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) ================================== Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: [email protected] To join Ha-Safran, update or change your subscription, etc. - click here: https://lists.service.ohio-state.edu/mailman/listinfo/hasafran Questions, problems, complaints, compliments send to: [email protected] Ha-Safran Archives: Current: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.service.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html Earlier Listserver: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org -- Hasafran mailing list [email protected] https://lists.osu.edu/mailman/listinfo/hasafran
