Make Tons of Money from Old Textbooks  by Avril Harper 

Some people claim that books, new and used,  do not sell particularly well on eBay. They say book buyers always go to online bookstores like Amazon and Alibris, and that eBay is their last resort.  And when it comes to most new or used books, they may be right. But there's another area of the book trade where eBay really does excel, namely in sales of nostalgia items. And so you’ll find people go to eBay first to find toys from grade school, or discontinued perfume from their teen years, alongside rare records they remember from college. But few items generate nostalgia more readily than an elementary school textbook.

Textbooks from the 1940s to the 1960s sell very well, although they are not truly antiques. Many texts from this era can bring back happy memories of learning to read or of a beloved teacher. The Dick and Jane textbook series, for example, with its familiar characters and iconic illustrations, has become hugely collectable in the last few years.

So where can you find these textbooks? Well sometimes they show up at secondhand bookstores, but the best place to look is at book sales held in elementary schools, where every so often staff and teachers sort through their textbook inventory and discard older texts to make way for new. If you ask politely, you can sometimes get discarded textbooks for next to nothing.

Alternatively, you’ll find good stock being offloaded by families at car boot sales, also at flea markets, or from household clearouts held by local offline auctioneers.  You should be looking for books in good condition, with firm bindings, undamaged spines and no loose pages.

If you have a textbook in near perfect condition, consider cleaning it up a little to improve its appearance and increase its value. Textbooks with slick covers clean up well, and can be gently cleaned with water and mild cleanser. Don't get the book really wet, or you could damage the text. You should also erase pencil marks. Small pen and crayon marks can sometimes be sanded away with very fine sandpaper, but it's best to practice this first on a book you don't mind losing. If your book was originally a library discard and still bear library stickers and cachets, be sure to indicate this to potential buyers. Before offering textbooks at auction, including on eBay, be sure to include the publisher's name in your listing.

The best times of the year to sell used textbooks are during the back-to-school season and just before Christmas. Check on current prices in the completed auctions section of eBay. Be sure to include plenty of pictures in your auction, not just of the cover, but inside illustrations also, and give names of characters and a publication date. This information helps collectors more easily find textbooks they remember from childhood.