A Money Experiment- Reselling Books From A Storage Unit

This weekend, I did a small experiment with a box of books for a friend. The box had been in storage for years, and I wanted to see if we could turn those books into money.

So, she brought the box to my condo. Then she divided the contents into four piles- books to sell, books to trade, books to donate, and books to keep.

The books to sell were listed online. Some apps can scan the barcode and give you all kinds of information about the book and its value. Over the weekend, she made about $13 by selling two of them—it cost her about $5 to mail them today, so she made $8 minimally. I am confident she will make more over the next few weeks.

Next were the books to trade, which she posted on paperbackswap.com. She mailed three off today (which cost a little bit), but she is getting free books she has always wanted to own in exchange. Buying them new would have been expensive, but now they will come to her in the mail for free.

Next were the books to donate. These were books too big for shipping or books we weren’t sure someone would pay more than $.75 for. They were dropped off at the thrift store down the street, and they gave her a receipt. She may be able to write them off, depending on her tax situation.

Lastly, there were the books to keep. Some were photo albums with pictures of her in tight-rolled jeans and big bangs. Some were books bought but never read. Some were journals, full of thoughts from what seemed like a past life. Sometimes, a good laugh at your past is worth a million bucks.

So we have a two-day profit of $8, substantial savings on two new books, a possible tax write-off, and a really good laugh—all from one box of books and about an hour. It makes you wonder what else is in that storage unit.