Blast From The Past

Anyhoo, behold my bookshelves! Aren't they lovely? They’re the Billy style from IKEA, in a lovely black-brown, which matches my IKEA black-brown leather couch. I paid (two years ago) about $80 a unit, not including tax, and they were on sale. The Billy style goes on sale all the time, and they have many other colors besides black-brown.

I shelve my books (dur) on them, plus all of my shelf-able, dust-able objects, my snow globe collection, my CD’s, and my movies.

I store my men on them, too.

What, you don't have men on a shelf? Why not? Don't your friends ever buy you men for Christmas? Mine do. It's so true; when I asked for Aragorn for Christmas, I got him – the big one with the removable outfit, so he can get nekkid. When I asked for Hugh Jackman, I got him, too, also with removable clothing. Alas, my Captain Jack man has the clothing molded onto him. Damn. No nude Johnny Depp for me.

However, I mentioned my bookshelves not to start a discussion about IKEA, or color schemes, or removing men's clothing while they reside on a shelf. I actually wanted to talk about the BOOKS on my shelves, and more importantly, what to do with the extras when I actually run out of room on my floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall shelves.

Like any other frugal-minded female, I sell my unwanted get… I mean books at Half Price Books. For the one or two of you poor souls that have never heard of Half Price Books, not to mention sold your books there, here's how it works:

Step One: Go to wherever your books live. This may take you awhile, if they aren't consolidated into one area of your home, like mine. HINT – if all your books are in the same moving box you packed them in more than a year ago, skip ahead to Step Three. And shame on you for not reading more.
Step Two: Sort out the books you don't want anymore. Don't worry if they were gifts, or if you keep meaning to read them some day. As we learned from Creedence Clearwater Revival, some day never comes.
Step Three: Take your unwanted books to the nearest Half Price Book (HPB) store.
Step Four: Drop off the books at the counter marked "books to sell" with one of the tattooed, pierced alterna-chick or dude HPB only seems to hire. Be sure to give them your name. They'll feign non-interest in true Gothy fashion, but they'll remember who you are all the same.
Step Five: Wait for them to use whatever mystical, non-scientific, makes-no-sense-to-me-but-what-the-hell-do-I-know method HPB has for pricing books for purchase.
Step Six: Mr. or Miss Tattooed Goth Person will call you back to the counter and tell you the price they'll pay you for your stash.
Step Seven: Agree to the price. Or don't, this is America. Feel free to rebel.
Step Eight: Sign the receipt for the sale, and receive your copy of it.
Step Nine: Take your receipt to the check-out counter and present it to yet ANOTHER Alterna-Employee.
Step Ten: Present your picture ID as well – to prove you are who you say you are and apparently have the right to sell these books and therefore, receive cash for them.
Step Eleven (yes, mine go to eleven): Collect your cash.

And what to do with that cash? If you are more frugal than I, take it home and save it for groceries or gas or something else high-minded. OR, you can spend it on MORE BOOKS. Which is what I always do, thus starting the cycle of book-selling all over again.

TIP: Be aware that you are not going to get top dollar at Half Price Books. The most I ever made was $14 for about 20 books, and that was because I sold off my collection of Laurel K. Hamilton books. (After book six, she just got WAY to icky-porno for me.) Apparently, her books sell well. So I got approximately $1 per book for six books, plus all the other stuff I had for sale.
If HPB can't sell your books, they will recycle them for you. And always remember, it's up to you to sort out any antique or rare books. HPB is NOT the place to sell these gems.