Recycling Old BooksI like old books, new books, kid's books, cookbooks, collector’s books and especially mysteries. I am a book junkie. I have a full-blown book fetish. Anyways, I would have a hard time tossing a book in either the trash can or the recycle bin regardless of condition. There are many things to consider when evaluating a book for saleability. It is beyond the scope of this site to discuss all the subtleties of book collecting, but I can give you some pointers to determine if your book warrants professional evaluation. Generally, condition, title and edition are the important points. Books come in hard cover and paperback form. Some hard covers had dust jackets and some never did. The same title may have been published by 20 different publishing houses over the course of 100 years in several different forms. Some may be very valuable and others are considered reading copies, worth a dollar or two. Just because a book is a paperback doesn't make it unsaleable. Here is a book, probably should be considered a booklet that I sold on eBay. 
The book isn't dated, but with a little research I was able to determine an approximate printing date of Spring 1930. The cover was a little rough, which I described in the ad, but the graphics through out the book were wonderful.The first stop I make in researching old books is Used Book Search. It is great, you enter your search one time and they search used book sellers world wide. Go to Used Book Search to search your title. You can keep narrowing your search down until you find the edition that you have. This is a great way to determine if your copy is common or rare, popular or unpopular. When the search results come up make sure to actually go and look at the lists. Just because it says 3000 copies available starting at $1.00, doesn’t mean that is your edition. If it appears to be uncommon, do a Google search, Amazon, or eBay search to see if any have sold recently, and for how much. If you think, you have something special it can be worth your time to find an expert and get their advice. Quick note, If after extensive searching you are unable to locate a comparison, don't give up. If you have a very rare item you might not be able to find a comparison. If you hire a professional, you may in the end net more than trying to handle the sale yourself, therefore justifying the expense.
ConditionBe honest with yourself as to the condition. If it is in poor condition but still readable, someone may want it for a reading copy. If it is very rare, and very old, condition might not be as big a factor. Generally, collectors want "good" to "excellent" condition. If in doubt, take it to a book dealer for evaluation. Modern Book SeriesSome modern books or those considered to be used books and not old books, do well on eBay when sold as sets. The entire set of Harry Potter sells well as do other series. Do an advanced search on eBay to see if your books are selling. This isn't to say that you can't sell individual books, I'm just saying that if it is part of a series, they tend to sell better as a set. CookbooksMany people collect cookbooks so the market is large. Some can be worth hundreds. Search Used Book Search and eBay to determine rarity. Remember, they don't need to be old books to be collectible books. Very few people will pass up a cookbook if the price is right. You will not have any problems finding someone to take them off your hands. TextbooksNewer textbooks can be sold at your local campus bookstore if they have instructors using that edition. You can also try an online bookstore that deals in used textbooks. Here are a few for you to check out. You type in the ISBN and they will let you know if they want it and how much they will give you for it. This probably won’t work if you only have a few; most have minimum amounts that they will issue payment on. e.campus.com
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