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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To put books in the bin?

99 replies

OneNight · 07/09/2014 11:40

I have many hundreds of books to dispose of. They're all good books in good condition, some of them doublers some just no longer what I want to read, let go for a variety of reasons and the sort of items which I'd have thought would sell at the right price. I'll still have maybe a thousand or two left to use myself.

I put the first load in bags and took them down to the nearest charity shop: a decent little place where they sell books from 10p upwards so you'd think they would shift. To my consternation, they very nearly wouldn't take them.

'Oh we don't sell many books any more Dear - they all read their Kindles'.

They did eventually agree to take them and I slunk out and haven't been back which still leaves me with my front hall covered in piles. I'm now actually considering putting the rest in the bin which feels quite dreadful. I never thought that might be something I'd do.

Are books dead?

OP posts:

Flipflops7 · 07/09/2014 21:15

Fara and Oxfam should accept your books.

bluesbaby · 07/09/2014 21:35

There's a free book charity in my area, please check them out! It's called Books For Free. www.thebookseller.com/news/healthy-planet-opens-books-free-shops.html

olaflikeswarmhugs · 07/09/2014 21:36

Homeless shelters

charleybarley · 07/09/2014 22:59

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Fabulassie · 08/09/2014 06:29

Not all books are worth saving just because they are printed on paper. Some books are garbage and practically nobody wants them (except maybe hoarding-type people who can't stand to see a book thrown away just because it's a book.)

If the books are truly worth reading (ie, not a One Direction annual from three years ago, or a 1980's microwave cookbook or something) then putting them into a big recycling centre bin for books and CD's. They will be sorted and picked over by people who know what is actually valuable and the rest can be recycled for paper. Nothing wrong with that.

LionWings · 08/09/2014 06:40

Sorry if this has already been mentioned but Book Aid.

Or google charity book fair and see if there is one local to you. These raise thousands for charity.

UsedToBeAPaxmanFan · 08/09/2014 06:56

I don't get why people are so precious about books, to the extent it seems sacrilege to throw them away.

I think that books are slowly going the way of VHS tapes, DVDs and CDs. They take up quite a lot of room in a charity shop for very little return. I undrstand why a charity shop has to prioritise what they take but there was no need for them to be rude.

I have a Kindle and now buy almost all my books that way. It frees up a lot of space in our house. I do feel nostalgic about physical books, but I am also relieved thst we're no longer tripping over piles of books. I am quite ruthless and cull about 100 books every 3 months or so, butbtheg always get replaced.

Charity shops in our area are still taking books, so mine end up there. I think it's only a matter of time before they refuse them though.

OneLittleToddleTerror · 08/09/2014 07:06

An old folks home is a good idea really. I don't get the outrage on the charity shops stance.

There are a lot of paperbacks for 99p on kindle. DH and I read only 99p books. How much do you think the charity shop have to undercut to sell a second hand one? (We don't buy books anymore because ebooks are just so much better).

OneLittleToddleTerror · 08/09/2014 07:08

I don't feel nostalgic about it because we already did the same with all my CDs and DVDs. DH held on to his CD collection which is in the loft. It hasn't been listened to in over 10 years. In fact I have already ditched my iTunes collection which I collect since maybe 10 years ago? I only listen on streaming now.

OneLittleToddleTerror · 08/09/2014 07:11

By the way, MIL is moving closer to us and she's excited to have DHs old kindle. She's 68. She's not using one because she can barely use a computer. But she has seen a kindle and very very excited about it. She's a big reader. DH has said he will provide technical support for her.

GoldenGoat · 08/09/2014 07:21

I think leaving them outside with a note sounds like the best idea.

Next street down from me somebody threw a ton of books in to a skip, was a saddening site. DP and I took most out as it was due to chuck it down & delivered them to a charity shop. Those known for books probably your best bet. Oxfam & British Heart Foundation often have book marks in books they sell asking for more

GoldenGoat · 08/09/2014 07:22

*sight, not site

fanjobiscuits · 08/09/2014 07:24

Webuybooks will likely buy some

londonrach · 08/09/2014 07:24

Don't bin. All the charity shops I know will take them. Failing that freecycle or do you have those bookshelves at some train stations pubs where you leave books and travellers can help themshelves to them. There a name from them as I think its a network.

FreeSpirit89 · 08/09/2014 07:45

You could donate some to a hospice or maybe a hospital ward? Xx

redshifter · 08/09/2014 08:23

I used to volunteer for the British Heart Foundation. I asked if I could be in charge of the books.
I would drive around all the car parks etc in the area collecting all the donated stuff from the big donation containers they have.

If a book had even a slight crease in the spine, scratch on the cover, not pure white pages etc they were put into big boxes to be pulped. They had to be near perfect. About 80% were pulped. I hated this. People went to the trouble of bringing their books in thinking others could get a cheap read and a charity would benefit.

I said the small local charity shop at the end of the road would like them, was told "No, they are our competition".

Some books that were in pristine condition had Tesco or WH Smith discount/sale stickers on them, I had to peel them ofand price it higher for example a big hardback Nigella cookbook with a £2 sale sticker on it was then priced at £8 in shop. If it didn't sell in a month that was binned too.
They did not want to sell non perfect books (or anything else) at a cheap price that poorer people could afford to pay as would make the rest of their money making stock seem too expensive and affect the sales.
It was a lot of work but they had a lot of staff, all of whom (except the 2 managers) were free labour. Pensioner volunteers, people with learning difficulties, people on community service sentence, people sent by Job Centre.

The 2 shops run by small local charities, and the second hand bookshop on the same street have now closed. BHF have now opened a second shop on the same street and are in the process of having another big shop expensively refurbished to move into.

The whole thing was demoralising to me. When you look at the salaries of their CEOs and even area managers and then see the small proportion of their income that actually goes to the intended cause it is a bit depressing.

I bring all my used books to local pubs now, who have a 'lending library' scheme. The books get snapped up. Many by pensioners or people out of work who can't afford to buy books from the charity shop anymore. There is definitely still a demand for used books.

CurlyBlueberry · 08/09/2014 08:25

The charity shop might not even keep them. When I worked in an Oxfam shop (and this was a good 10 years ago now) we would accept book donations with a smile but periodically we would take a huge bunch of them down to the big paper recycling bin and stick the lot in there. They didn't sell and took up a lot of room.

Without fail, EVERY time, somebody would come along and say to us (teen volunteers) "What on earth do you think you're doing?! Why don't you kids give those books to a charity shop?!"

Pobblewhohasnotoes · 08/09/2014 08:28

Find a different charity shop?

confusedandemployed · 08/09/2014 08:46

I once went to my local pub and they were BURNING books out on their fire in the back garden. There were several of us rummaging around in the pile, rescuing ones we wanted.

YABU. I work in a GP surgery, we have a little revolving book stand which staff and patients fill up with their unwanted books and take those they want to read. Or, take them to pubs, to places like the Co-Op, Pets at Home, etc etc - lots of shops often have a charity book stand round by us.

Personally I rarely buy new books. I use the library and charity shops. I don't have a Kindle, I would much prefer to read a real book.

Bakeoffcakes · 08/09/2014 08:52

Hospitals usually have lending schemes for patients so they may be interested.

StepDoor · 08/09/2014 13:14

Amazon used to have a scheme where you could pack a box of books and send it off to them.

Postchildrenpregranny · 17/09/2014 22:59

I volunteer in our local Oxfam bookshop .We accept anything, but about a third goes to recycling .The shop makes about £75, 000 pa for the charity -medium sized town in a prosperous area

MidniteScribbler · 18/09/2014 04:36

I did a clean up a year or so ago and donated to the local respite centre. They were absolutely thrilled with them, and places like that rarely have the spare cash to stock up their own supplies.

I received a lovely giant card a couple of weeks later with lots of little pictures and comments all over it drawn by the residents. It was gorgeous :)

Mmmicecream · 18/09/2014 05:33

I heard on the radio that Kindle etc sales have plateaued so hopefully things won't get any worse on the book front ...

I do wonder: do people with Kindles download that many books instead of buying them? People I know with Kindles just seem to download loads of books they don't actually read

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