Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I have the set of Arthur Mee children's encyclopedias volume 1-10 in perfect condition. They were printed, while he was still alive, in Great Britain by The Amalgamated Press, Ltd London.
Many people have old books they think are valuable and would like to sell. Most old dictionaries, references etc., have very little value, a few dollars at most. Encyclopedias dated after 1923 are essentially worthless but crafters may be interested for the old pictures. Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc., receive donations of tons of old encyclopedias but send them to recycling centers or dumps as they cannot use or sell them. EBay has Mee sets for $25-$50.00.
You can check online for old book collectors, on EBay, Craigs List and other retail sites for possibilities. Everything is now online and updated constantly so old books are just that-old.
I have a complete set of the 15th edition of Britannica as well as a set of Britannica Great Books of the Western World. I also have a set of 1970 Compton's Encyclopedias. How do I evaluate the worth?
I have 2 books from the Penny Cyclopædia of The Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, vol 9 + another dated 1912. They are in fair condition and have a cloth binding. Any one have some idea of their value please?
Normally people buy these in complete sets but at times they do sell them off like yours. Since they are 100+ years old it is best to go to an auction house for books and speak with them.
I have a ten volume set collection of Grolier's "The Book of Art" 1965. They all have the original book jackets and are in great condition. What is it worth?
By Iris
They have some for sale on Amazon's seller market here:
www.amazon.com/
Full sets are available from $40 to $80.
I have a complete set of Universal Standard Encyclopedias copyright 1954, can anyone tell me how much they sell for? I am looking to sell them as I have no use for them.
What is the estimated value of a complete set of the encyclopedia Americana in perfect condition?
These books have very little value, unless they are a first edition of a rare book. You can take it to a bookseller, but I think you will find they are not that valuable.
Pretty much zero. My husband is a part time auctioneer and people never bid on them. They can't even give them away.
Many people have old books they think are valuable and would like to sell. Most old dictionaries, references etc., have very little value, a few dollars at most. Encyclopedias dated after 1923 are essentially worthless but crafters may be interested for the old pictures. Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc., receive donations of tons of old encyclopedias, dictionaries and reference books but send them to recycling centers or dumps as they cannot use or sell them.
I beg to differ. I spent many years selling books online and people will still habitually want a complete set of these. I sold once a complete Britannica for close to $1k simply because the buyer was nostalgic.
True, it doesn't happen often but if I were you and you don't need to get rid of them right away you should just list them on eBay and see what happens. I saw sets on there listed for $200
You are asking for an estimated value - for what reason? Do you plan to try and sell these? Are you thinking local or Internet? These are good questions because each of these have different problems and also time necessary to sell.
www.ebay.com/
www.ebay.com/
Here is a link showing what sets of books actually sold for:
www.ebay.com/
My husband is an auctioneer part time. These rarely sell, they often throw them away after auctions because they get no bids.
I am not finding this particular set either on eBay or elsewhere. Do you know what year these would be? The value?
Thanks
Many people have old books they think are valuable and would like to sell. Most old dictionaries, references etc., have very little value, a few dollars at most. Encyclopedias dated after 1923 are essentially worthless but crafters may be interested for the old pictures. Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc., receive donations of tons of old encyclopedias, dictionaries and reference books but send them to recycling centers or dumps as they cannot use or sell them.
Have a complete set of 1960 Encyclopedia Americana and yearly updates to and including 1966. Is there a market for them and if so can you suggest a contact. Thank you
All publish books have a copyright date on the front couple of pages it's that easy to find out
The copyright or edition should list a year. My parents had a set from the mid 1930s. Not sure if there is any resale value but it sure is interesting to read an encyclopedia that pre-dates WWII.
I have a copy of The Children's Encyclopedia by Arthur Mee, volumes 1 to 10. They are in excellent condition. I would just like some information on this set, as well as, if they are worth anything.
I would be grateful for any information thank you
Most books of this type have very little value, but if I were you I would take them to several book dealers and get their take on it.
Many people have old books they think are valuable and would like to sell. Most old dictionaries, references etc., have very little value, a few dollars at most. Encyclopedias dated after 1923 are essentially worthless but crafters may be interested for the old pictures. Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc., receive donations of tons of old encyclopedias, dictionaries and reference books but send them to recycling centers or dumps as they cannot use or sell them.
You can check online for old book collectors, on EBay, Craigs List and other retail sites for possibilities. Everything is now online and updated constantly so old books are just that-old.
I believe DCA gave an excellent answer.
It seems strange that most books offered for sale on eBay or Amazon are not in the US but being offered from the UK.
Here is one site showing what is currently listed (not sold) (1/13/2017):
www.amazon.co.uk/
Value of colliers new encyclopedia 1923
I have a full set in excellent condition. It is a first edition. What is the value? I am looking to sell.
By Kat
I see this question asked a lot. Usually, they are worthless except for craft projects, because they are so outdated with incorrect information. You might try selling them as a set online but shipping will be probably more than the encyclopedias are worth.
Encyclopedias that are over 100 years old or have some other historical significance might be worth something. In that case, I would take it to a bookstore that specializes in old or rare books.
Good luck, let us know what the outcome is?
I have The Practical Handyman's Encyclopedia Volume 1-18, copy write 1965 by Greystone Press Printed in USA. How much is the set worth? It is in excellent condition.
By Jeff J.
I don't know if it is worth much, but you may find someone who is interested in it because I am assuming that the handyman tips are just as useful as they were back in 1965 - at least many of them should be. Try posting it on your local selling site - Kijiji or Craigslist or whathaveyou. However, since many of these tips are available as videos on YouTube, you may have to give it away.
I have a complete set (20) of 1969 the American Peoples Encyclopedia published by Grolier, including 10 annual year books from 1968 to 1978. I also have a set (10) of Through Golden Windows storybooks.
Is this set of encyclopedias worth anything? If not, if I donated it to a charity, would they accept them?
I have a 21 volume encyclopedia set. Lexicon Universal Encyclopedia is the title. It was published in 1986. I had done research a couple of months back and someone was selling a set like mine for almost $800 used. I checked again today and I found 2 people selling them for barely $200 used.
What are they really worth since I've only been able to find approximately 3 other sets on eBay. They are a deep green hard cover with gold lettering.
What is the value of a Standard Education Society, Inc. Chicago 1964 encyclopedia set?
Does anyone know the value of this 10 volume set? It is in excellent condition, published in 1958 by Angus & Robertson.
I have two encyclopedia collections and I'm wondering if they are worth anything. The first one has 18 volumes and is the Illustrated Home Library Encyclopedia, copyright 1957.
The other one is a Encyclopedia Britannica collection 24 volumes, 1768. There's a few other books there as well.
What is the value of a set of Appleton's encyclopedias dated 1901?
I have a full set of 15 volumes of the Chambers's Encyclopaedia New Edition 1959. Can you please advise the value of same?
I inherited a set of 10 encyclopedias, and I'm wondering what their value is. They were printed in the Union of South Africa by Cape Town Ltd., during the apartheid era.
I am not sure of the date as I cannot find one. The publisher is the Consolidated World Research Society Ltd. London.I have the 1911 Catholic Encyclopedia by Robert Appleton. How many books are in this set and are they worth anything?
I have a set of 1937 World Popular Encyclopedias. I wonder what they are worth?
I have an old encyclopedia copyright 1901. It's New Century George M. Hill Company. I need to know the value on it.
I have a set of 1961 Universal World reference encyclopedias in excellent shape. How much are they worth?
