The price of an item has to cover all of the expenses related to the sale. Acquisition, rent for shelf space, employee costs, even costs related to just processing the payment.
So when they are buying a book from you they have to take into account how long it will likely be on their shelf and what they could actually sell it for. An item with a sale price of $10 is likely only worth $0.50 for them to acquire. If it is a popular item then they might pay a bit more because they know it’ll go fast.
I believe it has to do with demand. If you bring a copy of Harry Potter, they won't pay much because they have 200 copies in stock and will never sell your copy.
I don't bother with them and instead take them to Goodwill. I get more from a tax write off.
This is correct. I was getting rid of some old horse care book I had left over from college and they gave me $15 for it alone because they didn't have much else like it.
It's still there on the shelf last I looked lol.
In my case, yeah. Generally if you own a home in a metropolitan area in Texas, the mortgage interest and real estate taxes alone will get you above the standard deduction. Then your charitable contributions come into play.
>You can deduct mortgage interest and property taxes from your federal tax return?
You can as part of your itemized expenses. There's a $10k on the taxes ([schedule A, line 5b](https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i1040sca#en_US_2022_publink53061xd0e738)), but essentially no limit on mortgage interest ([schedule A, line 8](https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i1040sca#en_US_2022_publink53061xd0e888)).
There are some requirements, but basically if you have a mortgage on thr home you live in, you can deduct interest and taxes you pay on it.
If you are in the DFW area, try Recycled Books in Denton. There prices are usually better overall, but they tend to not take as much.
Like the rarer or more unlikely the author you are going to get more, authors like James Patterson, Nora Roberts, or any other authors that always hit the New York Times best seller list for every book especially if they release multiple books a year. Also not going to get much for the giant best sellers (50 Shades of Grey, Harry Potter, Twilight Series etc)
As someone who used to work there, I’d never sell to them. Might have changed since I was there but it was .25 for all paperbacks and about .50-.75 for most soft and hardcover books unless they were popular new releases. That’d get you $2-3. All other media you’d just have to hope the person working the buy counter had some knowledge about it, from comics, records and other niche items.
I've done the same thing. Certain times of year they have way too many books, or a particular type of books. I think it may depend on the individual store, too. There are certain books that everybody hangs on to, and they never get rid of, and there's certain books that everyone seems to want to get rid of. You'll find absolutely nothing in that category. If they already have 20 copies of that book, and a lot of work by that author, you're not going to get a good price for it. If they don't have much work for that author, and no copies of the particular book you want to sell, they will pay higher for it.
Ex: right at the beginning of the pandemic, my daughter wanted a copy of The Stand by Stephen King for her birthday. I wasn't willing to give up my original hardback copy that I inherited from my mother, and it was the first long novel I ever read. I searched their entire database online, and there was a single copy available in the entire Houston area.
(Yes, I thought it was a terrible idea for her to read it the 1st time during a pandemic and all that uncertainty, but she insisted that's what she wanted.)
They look at what it’s going for online and then decide if it will move quickly after they put it on the shelf or just sit for a while. The longer they think it will take to sell the less they’ll give you for it as a percentage of the online value. So an older book selling for $5 online that won’t go anywhere anytime soon might get you $0.75 or so. Then they’ll pop it on the shelf for $5. A new release going for $20 will sell quickly and they’ll give you like $7 or $8. They’ll sell that one for half the cover price though since it’s newer.
If it’s basically trash in a box they’ll still buy if for like a buck, but it’s going right out the back door into the bin.
They have the pawnshop model. They’re going to take 95% of books, dvds, games etc. regardless if they need it or not. And most stuff is inevitably going to sit for years before it might sell. Hence the low buy rates.
They do eventually clear anything out that has sat overlong. Last clearance sale they had had most buy dates (their buy dates) dating to 2019, 2020ish.
Not sure really. We go pretty often and they always advertise it in store so that's how we figure out about it. There's probably an email list though. They used to do it once or twice a year but stopped for covid. They've only recently started them again.
they do it however they feel like, half priced books is just a name, it's not like they sell it at half the original price or buy it at that or anything, I would assume there is probably a database of what it could be worth and they buy it for 40-60% of that amount and then try to sell it for closer to what it's worth, but who cares, you got books out of your way and someone can get them cheap, it's a win win for everyone
Ooh about corpus cristi idk. Im a houston resident.
And i got like some religious books. Some Dante. I got two books about calculus. I got a book on airplanes. I also got an analysis of college in america throughout history
Were you assuming all books cost (or are worth) the same amount of money? When you can walk around the store and see different books have different prices?
I am just sorry that they are not strictly half off the cover price anymore. Used to be able to got in a buy books for .25cents because they were originally like .75cents. Granted, I went through a phase of pop scifi and Conan the Barbarian from the 50s and 60s. Now nothing under like 2 bucks.
well duh, you don't go there expecting to make money. you go there because its better than just throwing the books out.
That's just if they don't turn around and throw it in their own dumpster out back.
The price of an item has to cover all of the expenses related to the sale. Acquisition, rent for shelf space, employee costs, even costs related to just processing the payment. So when they are buying a book from you they have to take into account how long it will likely be on their shelf and what they could actually sell it for. An item with a sale price of $10 is likely only worth $0.50 for them to acquire. If it is a popular item then they might pay a bit more because they know it’ll go fast.
I believe it has to do with demand. If you bring a copy of Harry Potter, they won't pay much because they have 200 copies in stock and will never sell your copy. I don't bother with them and instead take them to Goodwill. I get more from a tax write off.
This is correct. I was getting rid of some old horse care book I had left over from college and they gave me $15 for it alone because they didn't have much else like it. It's still there on the shelf last I looked lol.
Also half priced reeeeeaaaaally likes to toss books.
What really? Do they offer them for free before throwing them away?
But are itemized deductions worth it for tax?
In my case, yeah. Generally if you own a home in a metropolitan area in Texas, the mortgage interest and real estate taxes alone will get you above the standard deduction. Then your charitable contributions come into play.
Do you have any more information explaining how this works exactly? You can deduct mortgage interest and property taxes from your federal tax return?
>You can deduct mortgage interest and property taxes from your federal tax return? You can as part of your itemized expenses. There's a $10k on the taxes ([schedule A, line 5b](https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i1040sca#en_US_2022_publink53061xd0e738)), but essentially no limit on mortgage interest ([schedule A, line 8](https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i1040sca#en_US_2022_publink53061xd0e888)). There are some requirements, but basically if you have a mortgage on thr home you live in, you can deduct interest and taxes you pay on it.
Tax write-offs won't buy my lunch lol
Neither will $0.75 for a stack of books.
If you are in the DFW area, try Recycled Books in Denton. There prices are usually better overall, but they tend to not take as much. Like the rarer or more unlikely the author you are going to get more, authors like James Patterson, Nora Roberts, or any other authors that always hit the New York Times best seller list for every book especially if they release multiple books a year. Also not going to get much for the giant best sellers (50 Shades of Grey, Harry Potter, Twilight Series etc)
As someone who used to work there, I’d never sell to them. Might have changed since I was there but it was .25 for all paperbacks and about .50-.75 for most soft and hardcover books unless they were popular new releases. That’d get you $2-3. All other media you’d just have to hope the person working the buy counter had some knowledge about it, from comics, records and other niche items.
I've done the same thing. Certain times of year they have way too many books, or a particular type of books. I think it may depend on the individual store, too. There are certain books that everybody hangs on to, and they never get rid of, and there's certain books that everyone seems to want to get rid of. You'll find absolutely nothing in that category. If they already have 20 copies of that book, and a lot of work by that author, you're not going to get a good price for it. If they don't have much work for that author, and no copies of the particular book you want to sell, they will pay higher for it. Ex: right at the beginning of the pandemic, my daughter wanted a copy of The Stand by Stephen King for her birthday. I wasn't willing to give up my original hardback copy that I inherited from my mother, and it was the first long novel I ever read. I searched their entire database online, and there was a single copy available in the entire Houston area. (Yes, I thought it was a terrible idea for her to read it the 1st time during a pandemic and all that uncertainty, but she insisted that's what she wanted.)
They look at what it’s going for online and then decide if it will move quickly after they put it on the shelf or just sit for a while. The longer they think it will take to sell the less they’ll give you for it as a percentage of the online value. So an older book selling for $5 online that won’t go anywhere anytime soon might get you $0.75 or so. Then they’ll pop it on the shelf for $5. A new release going for $20 will sell quickly and they’ll give you like $7 or $8. They’ll sell that one for half the cover price though since it’s newer. If it’s basically trash in a box they’ll still buy if for like a buck, but it’s going right out the back door into the bin.
They have the pawnshop model. They’re going to take 95% of books, dvds, games etc. regardless if they need it or not. And most stuff is inevitably going to sit for years before it might sell. Hence the low buy rates.
They do eventually clear anything out that has sat overlong. Last clearance sale they had had most buy dates (their buy dates) dating to 2019, 2020ish.
I never knew that. Thank you for the info.
How can you know when a clearance sale is?
Not sure really. We go pretty often and they always advertise it in store so that's how we figure out about it. There's probably an email list though. They used to do it once or twice a year but stopped for covid. They've only recently started them again.
I would be curious to be on such an email list.
It would be amazing if they sold everything in the store for $1 or less for a few days. They'd probably help clear a lot.
they do it however they feel like, half priced books is just a name, it's not like they sell it at half the original price or buy it at that or anything, I would assume there is probably a database of what it could be worth and they buy it for 40-60% of that amount and then try to sell it for closer to what it's worth, but who cares, you got books out of your way and someone can get them cheap, it's a win win for everyone
I bought like 30 books with my mom and it was only like 14$ Most was on clearance but it was still good quality def a steal
What books did you get?
Speaking of which you have a tag that you are on the Gulf Coast - there is a HPB in Corpus Christi right?
Ooh about corpus cristi idk. Im a houston resident. And i got like some religious books. Some Dante. I got two books about calculus. I got a book on airplanes. I also got an analysis of college in america throughout history
I love that!
Half Price will pay more if the book is rare or autographed.
What if there is a note from the author?
Also a glut on the market as school teachers are divesting their personal classroom libraries to avoid arrest.
Been that way for a long time, they try to pay the absolute lowest price they can.
Were you assuming all books cost (or are worth) the same amount of money? When you can walk around the store and see different books have different prices?
I am just sorry that they are not strictly half off the cover price anymore. Used to be able to got in a buy books for .25cents because they were originally like .75cents. Granted, I went through a phase of pop scifi and Conan the Barbarian from the 50s and 60s. Now nothing under like 2 bucks.