Inspiration

How we price secondhand books

Smiling young South African bookseller carrying a tall stack of secondhand books in a bookshop with shelves behind

We look at condition first. A clean copy with a tight spine costs more than one with torn pages or water marks. We also check how easy a title is to find. Common paperbacks are priced low, out of print or hard to source books cost more. We compare against other secondhand shops before setting a price.

We would rather sell a book for a fair price than let it sit on the shelf for a year. If you think we have priced something wrong, tell us in store.

Condition Matters

A clean copy with a tight spine earns a better price than one with torn pages.

EVENT INFO

“Bring In Your Books” @Leesnook
Shop 4, Main Road – Rosebank: Book Valuation Days
3 – 7 November / h 9 – 17

Even small things like a cracked cover or water stains can change what a book is worth.

Edition matters too. A first printing, a signed copy, or a title that has been out of print for years can be priced well above a standard reissue. We check each one before it goes on the shelf, because guessing costs us and it costs you.

Rare Finds

Under Rare Finds, we keep a small shelf for titles that do not come in often: early photography books, out of print design annuals, first editions of South African fiction. These do not follow the usual rules, because there is often nothing else to compare them to.

We would rather tell a customer honestly what a book is worth than make something up and hope nobody asks. That is the whole approach, really.

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