Old Aviation Books - where to sell?
Old Aviation Books - where to sell?
I have been sorting through the various aviation books left by my late father and wondering if there are any bookshops or the like which specialise in buying things such as
KG200 The True Story by P.W. Stahl
Sky Truck 2 by Stephen Piercey
Smokers, Early American Jetliners by Ugo Vicenzi
If not I guess e-bay might be the route
KG200 The True Story by P.W. Stahl
Sky Truck 2 by Stephen Piercey
Smokers, Early American Jetliners by Ugo Vicenzi
If not I guess e-bay might be the route
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This guy is a regular at Old Warden events and also advertises in the SVAS magazine "Propswing":
Brian Cocks - Second-hand Aviation Books.
May be worth a look but I have no personal experience of his service.
Brian Cocks - Second-hand Aviation Books.
May be worth a look but I have no personal experience of his service.
Last edited by Simtech; 27th Jul 2017 at 16:38. Reason: Spelling
Mrs WHBM 
was cautioned at an early stage that just because those airline timetables are 50 years old does not mean that they are therefore invalid and could be thrown away ...
was cautioned at an early stage that just because those airline timetables are 50 years old does not mean that they are therefore invalid and could be thrown away ...
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TBH as someone who collects books in a different field you'll get almost zero for them
Just because they are old doesn't mean they have a lot of value - even books from the 18th Century go for washers - and aviation doesn't seem to have the collectors that something like Angling or Golf has
Maybe the odd first edition of a classic or (much better) inscribed by some famous aviator or aviatrix will be worth something.
Ebay is a lot of work for small rewards I suspect - I'd keep hold of the books if you can as a link to your father......
Just because they are old doesn't mean they have a lot of value - even books from the 18th Century go for washers - and aviation doesn't seem to have the collectors that something like Angling or Golf has
Maybe the odd first edition of a classic or (much better) inscribed by some famous aviator or aviatrix will be worth something.
Ebay is a lot of work for small rewards I suspect - I'd keep hold of the books if you can as a link to your father......
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Amazon is always my first port of call when looking for a particular book. Think of a title and someone is bound to have a copy for sale on Amazon.
Likewise when I want to reduce the size of my library, I generally aim to list on Amazon rather than eBay. There are several benefits a) it's a 'permanent' listing (doesn't need to be renewed every so often as on eBay), b) you can see what other vendors are offering their copies for and set your price accordingly. c) you get paid promptly, weekly.
My policy is if I can sell for at least a fiver plus postage then I'll list the book on Amazon. If I can't, it goes to Oxfam. Anything less than £5 and the net receipt of a few pence after postage, packing and Amazon's charges make it not worthwhile.
You will discover that many vendors on Amazon list titles for as little as one penny. They are only able to do this because of high volumes of sales plus getting the benefit of low postage charges resulting from contracts with Royal Mail or other carriers. (The Amazon postage allowance is £2.80; the minimum Royal Mail will charge me for a parcel up to 2kg is £2.90)
The three titles the OP mentioned are all available on Amazon here and here and here
My personal opinion is that the Piercey book is probably worth listing, at a couple of pounds less than the cheapest currently available; the other two, probably not, unless they are in mint, as new condition.
(edit after reading H Harry's post) I don't think that people looking to buy an aviation book are necessarily 'collectors'. I buy lots of aviation books, read them and then move them on; I'm definitely not a collector. There are many similar 'out there' I suspect.
Likewise when I want to reduce the size of my library, I generally aim to list on Amazon rather than eBay. There are several benefits a) it's a 'permanent' listing (doesn't need to be renewed every so often as on eBay), b) you can see what other vendors are offering their copies for and set your price accordingly. c) you get paid promptly, weekly.
My policy is if I can sell for at least a fiver plus postage then I'll list the book on Amazon. If I can't, it goes to Oxfam. Anything less than £5 and the net receipt of a few pence after postage, packing and Amazon's charges make it not worthwhile.
You will discover that many vendors on Amazon list titles for as little as one penny. They are only able to do this because of high volumes of sales plus getting the benefit of low postage charges resulting from contracts with Royal Mail or other carriers. (The Amazon postage allowance is £2.80; the minimum Royal Mail will charge me for a parcel up to 2kg is £2.90)
The three titles the OP mentioned are all available on Amazon here and here and here
My personal opinion is that the Piercey book is probably worth listing, at a couple of pounds less than the cheapest currently available; the other two, probably not, unless they are in mint, as new condition.
(edit after reading H Harry's post) I don't think that people looking to buy an aviation book are necessarily 'collectors'. I buy lots of aviation books, read them and then move them on; I'm definitely not a collector. There are many similar 'out there' I suspect.
Last edited by olympus; 31st Jul 2017 at 19:41.
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You sell your aviation books!! My collection has been growing since I was a young lad!
Rochester NY used to have a model railroad layout, which was interesting, and I took my young son there when they were having a collector's sale. Amongst all the model RR stuff I found an autographed copy of Little America by Richard Byrd, which cost me $5! Now I could not get rid of that! And I have a couple of pre war Practical Mechanics with an article on building the Luton Minor, which I think were written by Harald Best-Devereux when he worked for Latimer Needham pre war. Couldn't get rid of those either. The last time I saw Harald was at an RSA fly in at Cambrai, he was with Paul Poberezny of the EAA, that was after he left the P FA and went over to the dark side! He introduced me to Mme. Druine, the widow of the designer of the Turbulent and the Condor. Mme Druine had never flown in a Condor, and I had Norman Jones own machine on loan from the Tiger Club, so was able to give her a flight in her husband's creation. But I must admit that I do dump a lot of the current aviation periodicals I receive because of the space they take up!
Rochester NY used to have a model railroad layout, which was interesting, and I took my young son there when they were having a collector's sale. Amongst all the model RR stuff I found an autographed copy of Little America by Richard Byrd, which cost me $5! Now I could not get rid of that! And I have a couple of pre war Practical Mechanics with an article on building the Luton Minor, which I think were written by Harald Best-Devereux when he worked for Latimer Needham pre war. Couldn't get rid of those either. The last time I saw Harald was at an RSA fly in at Cambrai, he was with Paul Poberezny of the EAA, that was after he left the P FA and went over to the dark side! He introduced me to Mme. Druine, the widow of the designer of the Turbulent and the Condor. Mme Druine had never flown in a Condor, and I had Norman Jones own machine on loan from the Tiger Club, so was able to give her a flight in her husband's creation. But I must admit that I do dump a lot of the current aviation periodicals I receive because of the space they take up!
