A weekly series, in which I tackle a Q from a reader looking for green advice.
Question: hi, there. i just finished up grad school and i’m stuck with a mass of old (and mostly out-of-date) law textbooks. do you have any ideas for getting rid of them?
i’m fairly certain they’re not worth much to a school (i already asked), but can they be recycled in the basic city recycling bins? thanks a mil. great site. nb
Answer: nb –
Being a graduate student myself, I’m gonna order my recommendations in terms of my personal preference, based on a confusing mishmash of potential for income, possibility of recyclability, potential for public good, etc. etc.
So this is what I’d do in your position, step by step.
1. Send a “for sale” email to your law school student listserv. Clarify what exact edition you’re putting up for sale, and be realistic about the prices you ask for.
2. Sell them to USC, or some other nearby institution of higher ed. I’ve sold a helluva lotta books back — including silly self-help books — and gotten 50% of the purchase price. You’re actually asking this Q at a great time, cuz most univs. buy back books at the beginning and ends of semesters. Here’s the USC Bookstore site; keep an eye out for the buyback dates.
3. Put up an ad on Craigslist. Not only will you be able to possibly make money off your old books, you’ll also be able to unload ‘em on someone who lives locally — no shipping.
4. Sell them on half.com. This is another option that requires a lotta waiting time. Put the books up for sale at the min price you’re willing to accept, then wait for them to find a buyer.
5. Give ‘em to someone who can use ‘em. This might be easier, cuz you can put all the offers up on one day and just take the first request. Put up an email or post on your law school listserv, Craigslist, and/or freecycle naming what books you have avaliable, and letting ‘em know that they’re free to anyone who’s willing to pick them up. Interested respondents are likely to actually need the books.
6. Donate them to Goodwill. No, I don’t recommend trying to donate these books to libraries, mainly because many libraries aren’t all that interested in taking in textbooks, especially older editions. However, I’ve found that Goodwill’s democratic bookcase will offer everything from the silly romance novel to the pricy textbook (just as their shoe racks offer everything from Payless to Ferragamo). If you’re at #6, you’re prolly already exhausted. Haul your heavy books to Goodwill, and hope for a happy new home for ‘em.
7. Put them in the recycling bin. This is only on the very off chance that you’re living in one of those places where Goodwill sez its full. In this case, put ‘em in the paper recycling bin. I just hope that your city has a decent recycling program. If it doesn’t, the books may give you a good reason to start your own compost –
In lawyerly solidarity,
Siel
Tell us about the WorldChanging party last night :)
Comment by Andy — December 3, 2006 @ 9:09 am
I have found that even slightly (1 year) old textbooks have next to no resale value because publishers put out new editions so frequently.
The best use of them is for you to keep them as a personal reference in your library. But if you don’t see yourself reading up on aldehyde bond structure again any time soon, the best place for that o-chem text book may be the recycling bin, sadly…..
Comment by Rafi — December 4, 2006 @ 9:47 am
Very very rarely, I hear about people collecting old texts for schools and scientists in developing countries, like Africa. However, this is a rare event, and the cost of shipping makes your “donation” something of a burden.
Old scientific journals are also solicited in this way.
Comment by Rafi — December 4, 2006 @ 9:48 am
Andy — I put up a somewhat censored post up on WorldChanging, but will post more here later… Were you there?
Sad to hear about the lack of resale value. However, I would imagine there must be some buyers on places like half.com or eBay who are looking for a less-expensive reference book, even if it’s a bit old. I’ve sold a few books this way, but they were political science / history stuff, not law. I would imagine law textbooks are revised more frequently than some others?
Comment by Siel — December 4, 2006 @ 5:59 pm
Sadly, no : (
Comment by Andy — December 4, 2006 @ 6:02 pm
Well, you’ll get to the next one, hopefully. Here’s the post :)
Comment by Siel — December 6, 2006 @ 8:59 am