11-01-2010, 11:53 PM
Quote:I usually donate my books to the local library or to Goodwill.
I would not donate my books to Goodwill. It's not that Goodwill is not a worthy charity, but do you know what they do with older books like gothic romance? They don't usually go into the regular stores, but rather into the Outlet stores, where you dig through bins and buy your stuff by the pound, except they don't sell their books by the pound. The paperbacks are $1 each, even though they're dumped into a bin where they're subjected to the expected abuse of torn pages, covers, etc. But that's not the worst thing that happens to them. Because Goodwill receives so many book donations, their book bins are rotated throughout the course of a day. So by the end of the day, whatever books have not sold, are recycled, and trust me, it's a bunch. (you'd think maybe they would realize perhaps their book price is a little high if they're recycling so many books everyday, but that's another story)
Most people shopping in the Goodwill outlet stores are Spanish (at least where I live), and they are very unlikely to purchase an old English book. In my experience, gothic romance, in general, does not seem to sell very well at any location except on eBay. So in other words, if you donate to Goodwill, you may as well be throwing your books in the recycling bin, because for a gothic romance to sell in the space of the twelve hours the store is open, is just not likely.
You're probably safe to donate to any other thrift store, because from my own experience, I've noticed that they have very little turnover in their book selection.
