Trying to donate books

[Boedatives]

21 large boxes full. Some v new, some older but basically all literary classics.
So far, local hospixe has said they will charge £500 to come and collect (it's a 2 hour round trip for them).
What else can I do with them?
(I have a condition whereby I'm advised not to lift over 15kg as well so makes it tricky)

If anyone is looking to get rid of books near Cumbria my friend is building her own library and always looking for more.

A local removal firm might take them to the local tip, hopefully for recycling. They'll charge but hopefully not as much as you've been quoted.

I had a similar quantity of books, in very good condition, ranging from antiquarian to nearly new paperbacks but a very condescending man in the local Oxfam bookshop refused my donation. To be honest, most have ended up in the bin. The guilt wears off after a few weeks.

Could you try Attingham NT, they have a second hand bookshop and are the regional hub.

National Trust book shops find the classics go quite well. Ours would be very grateful.

Get someone else to bin them?

Seriously, is there anyone in the house that can throw several away in the recycling? Will neighbours let you use their recycling bins for a few books at least.
Does the local tip have a book bin? You could lob hundreds of books in the back of the car and throw them one at a time in the book bin. What local small charities are nearby, could you leave them each a bag or small box of books when they are closed.
Anyone have a log burner or open fire, could use for kindling.

This is what I did a couple of years ago. Sold about 100 to those two apps. There were still several hundred left to dispose of so I compiled a list of around 10 local charity shops and distributed between them. I always rang first as they had different rules. Some would only take donations on specific days, some would only take paperbacks, some only two bags at a time and so on.

I confess there were a few I ended up throwing away. Nobody wants old travel guides and nobody wants cookbooks by people who were celebrity chefs two decades ago seemingly.

What local small charities are nearby, could you leave them each a bag or small box of books when they are closed

please don’t do this - no charity shop wants stuff dumped outside when it is closed. Any donations are likely to be spoiled by rain or dog piss. And if you don’t give the shop the opportunity to say no thanks, you are just passing the disposal problem on to the charity to pay for

@Bodeganights leaving donations outside charity shops when they are closed is legally fly tipping.
Never do that.

Is there a local Retirement Home that would take them?

My local dump has a section for books.

I will say - please do not just go and leave a load in your local library. If other people don’t want them, the local library won’t either.

Ziffit will take about 10% in my experience.
Otherwise try BHF who may pick up.
Or take them yourself to a charity shop.

You need to rent a van I'm afraid!

This is something we do at our local Tesco Extra.l too (I work there) they should have a community rep in store who you can email. We've just had a community book event so it's possible they could help with collection and are planning something similar.

Many do. They are pulped and turned in to hardboards for pallets, paper, cardboard, filling for packaging, insulation and toilet paper.

This is probably better than them languishing in charity shops and old phone boxes.

It does feel very wrong though...

Yes I do. I have bloody prolaspes it's so irritating I can't lift.

Drop off at charity shops but unless they are very rare/old, they really can't sell those with broken spines and torn covers, recycle those

can't you advertise the books for free on Gumtree...Free cycle...Facebook place.

Is it worth asking if you could leave them in the house for the buyers to keep / sell / dispose of?

@Boedatives That is the absolute worst way you can back books, no wonder you can't lift them.

Divide them into small piles-5 or 6- and put them in a supermarket bag or tie them with strong string, making yourself a loophole to carry them by.

We have thousands of books and when we moved house a little while ago, the removers told us not to pack back breaking amounts of books in a box simply because they will fit.

Those are enormous boxes. You're going to need someone with a van to get rid of them.

They are only going to do that if it's worth it - and it probably isn't, which is why you've been asked for quite a large amount for someone to come and take them away.

The suggestion that you leave them for the buyers is ridiculous - their solicitor would be in touch to ensure you pay for their disposal.

When I cleared a parent's house I had to be absolutely brutal about it - enormous amounts went to the tip and I still had to pay a large amount to clear the rest which was all clean and saleable.

Could someone have used some of it - probably but I had neither time nor inclination to manage it as I was also 200miles away from home.

I don’t know. Books themselves are rarely worth anything (unless they are first editions or rare in some other way). The words in them are valuable, the physical books are not.

Please don’t try to leave them with the buyers. They will have enough of their own stuff.

Get the WeBuyBooks app
It's so easy
Scan the barcode
Box then up
Courier picks them up for free
You get a few quid and get rid of unwanted books

Very many don't have bar codes too old.
And that's just going to take days - have you seen how many?