For some people this is a no-brainer, right? Thrifted books can be over ten times cheaper than brand new, retail-priced novels. A paperback book on the shelf at Barnes & Noble will usually run between $10-$15 (or more!) while the same book will cost $0.99 at Goodwill. Why are people still buying brand new books instead of used books when the disparity between pricing is so high?
It’s important to point out that I’m not talking about new releases here. Thrift stores are ripe with good books, but hardly anyone is donating a new release, and if they are, it likely wasn’t a great book to begin with. Plus, when it comes to a new release of an author you love, there’s a good chance you’ll want that shiny new copy. I get it. When King of Scars came out, I all but ran to my local B&N to grab it. On a side note, it ended up being sold out, so I nabbed a copy from my trusty local library. Then, the book somehow grew mold on it and I had to buy it, so now I have a semi-moldy copy of King of Scars that I paid full retail-price for. Yay.
So no, I’m not talking about hot off the press novels. I’m talking about fiction, fantasy, sci-fi, poetry, nonfiction and so on that have been on the shelves for years and are likely sitting used and lonely at your local thrift shops. Every Goodwill I’ve ever been to has had at least five copies of Twilight on hand as thrift stores are a popular breeding ground for those guilty-pleasure, YA/romance novels we pretend not to read. Also, there’s always a good amount of classics to be found. In one trip, I bought The Picture of Dorian Gray, Great Expectations, and Oliver Twist for less than $4!
Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and other notable bookstores have these classics in bulk, mostly for high school or college students who are required to buy them. They also usually contain bargain sections displaying semi-new books at discounted prices. These “cheap” collections are part of the reason people don’t thrift as much as they should. If the consumer thinks they’re already receiving a good discount, they’re less likely to continue looking for a cheaper option. While these discounted copies are usually between $3-$7, which isn’t an atrocious price by any means, they are still considerably more expensive than a thrifted novel, so it makes sense to thrift where you can!
Another issue specifically with classics that I’ve noticed is the restyling of book covers. This was an ingenious ploy started by book companies to make certain books more eye-catching to consumers, and is another reason people may be looking to buy from a retail store rather than a thrift store. If you’ve been inside a bookshop recently, you’ll likely have seen some version of these collections:
The photo on the left is an example of the “collectible” editions of classic novels that can be sold for a much higher retail value than normal editions. On the right is one example of the plethora of short-story compilations which have come out in this style. Of the two, the latter is more insidious because a majority of the stories in those compilations can actually be found for free online, but because they’re bound and beautified they can be sold to you for more money than they’re worth.
This isn’t confined to classics and short stories either. With the release of the movie Dune coming up, the book has been made into collectible editions and will probably be refitted with a shiny picture of Timothée Chalamet as the main character (and while he has a very nice face, I do wish people would stop marketing movies by putting the actors on book covers). These new editions are created for the majority of books being made into “major motion pictures” which is silly, in my opinion.
When there are so many used books headed to a landfill, it seems counterintuitive to produce new designs for books which already have existing copies in the thousands to millions. . As we’ve learned time and time again, money is more important than nearly anything else, and so books we know and love are rebranded so they can be sold at the same price as other newly-released works.
If you have books from either of these collections, don’t feel bad. The purpose of this article isn’t to shame people into feeling poorly for spending money on things they like. Those novels are gorgeous, and if The Count of Monte Cristo is your favorite book, by all means buy the collectible edition!
I personally own the leather-bound, illustrated copy of Grimm’s Fairy Tales. Most of those tales are free on the web, and I even have the free kindle edition downloaded as well. I am not immune to the tactics of consumerism. I knew those stories were already somewhere for free when I bought the book, but I LOVE that book. I’ve thumbed through the pages hundreds of times since I bought it. To me, it was worth the $25 I spent.
I’m only suggesting maybe we don’t need to buy ALL the fancy collectible editions, or even the regular classics editions, when there are perfectly good used editions waiting for you at a local thrift store. And, if you are someone who relies on bargain books, check a thrift store first to see if they have the types of novels you’re looking for. Odds are, they will, and for an even cheaper price. Then, after you’ve exhausted your thrift store options, head to your local or chain bookstore!
I mention Goodwill a lot in this article, and I want to note if you are someone who doesn’t support Goodwill, I can almost guarantee there is another thrift store nearby with used books for sale as people donate them constantly. Four of the local churches in my area have resale stores where they sell books for a quarter a piece! And no, they’re not all religious books. I’ve found Twilight in those stores too.
So before you buy The Scarlett Letter or Dune or the revamped (get it, vamped?) versions of Twilight, check your local thrift store to see if they have a well-loved version you can love as well.
The Lit Wiz