Guidelines
Books by Chance sells used books, CDs, and DVDs on consignment for clients in the Ann Arbor area.
Basic Requirements
For everything you need to know about selling on consignment, please see How it Works.
Preparing Your Items
- If a book is signed or otherwise extra special, make it obvious to us.
- Put your books, CDs, and DVDs in reasonably sized, sturdy, boxes or bags, preferably closable. For example, printer/copier paper boxes work well. All types of shopping bags are fine.
- Clearly put your first name, last name and phone number on every container.
- Move your containers close to a convenient entrance (for pick-up).
- You do not need to make a list of the items.
Type and Condition
- No books printed before about 1970 (without prior consent).
- No mold. No mildew.
- Nothing stinky.
- Absolutely no cigarette odor or discoloration.
- No caked-on dust.
- No moisture damage or stains.
- No romance novels.
- No loose pages.
- No missing covers.
- No teeth marks.
- No encyclopedias.
- No advance readers, previews, or promos.
- No Reader's Digest condensed books.
- No dirty books. (If they are visibly dirty or they make your hands feel grimy, please clean them off.)
- No textbooks more then 3 years old.
- No textbooks with missing CD/DVD if it came with one.
- No books published by Scholastic, specifically those that are distributed widely through schools.
- No pre-1985 children's books. It is unlawful to distribute children's books printed prior to 1985 to children due to toxins in the books.
What items work especially well?
- Non-fiction (it holds its monetary value better than fiction).
- Very current fiction.
- College books.
- Textbooks less than 3 years old.
- Technical books.
- We love CDs and DVDs.
- Books with an ISBN (International Standard Book Number), and if it has a barcode, even better.
- Slightly esoteric.
- Anything academic or scholarly, especially if published by a university press.
The Sweet Spot
The personal and monetary values of a book are often at odds. The book you could not finish might have the best resale value, and the book you loved might not be worth a nickel. The market will decide.
Between the bestsellers of 3 years ago (worth little) and the highly rare and collectible books (worth a lot) are millions of great books with good monetary value and potential for resale. That's where we come in.
We have developed highly sophisticated software for estimating salability based on comparables offered online. It works exceptionally well.
If we think we can get at least $2.99 for an item, we'll give it a try. We can often get $3 to $5 for popular items priced by the competition as low as $1. Below $1 it is really tough. If you want to get a rough sense of what your books are worth, check the lowest used price on Amazon.
What about collectible and antique books?
We are not interested in selling collectible or antique books. Ask, and we'll recommend Ann Arbor dealers who are.
Simply Charming
It is a common mistake to think of old books as being monetarily valuable. Of course, sometimes an old book is worth money, but not usually just because it is old. Simply old books have charm, and charisma, but not much of a market for resale. This is especially true of fiction. And while a book has to be old to be an antique, it doesn't have to be old to be collectible. If you think your old books really are special, by all means, get them appraised. This is not something we do.
We'd love to sell your books, CDs, and DVDs on consignment!
Please contact us to get started!
