Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Aquisitions: The Glorious Dangers of Online Auctions

I purchase books via online auctions. Mostly auctions via our local franchise of CaringTransitions, which a friend of mine works for. You bid online then go pick up your wins at the estate being auctioned.

Last week, I bid on several lots titled "Shelves and Shelves of Books". There were four lots and I purchased them all for about $80. From the pictures, I expected about 20-30 books per lot, making each book about $1 - which is reasonable to me. Most were sci-fi books I wanted to read or knew I could turn in for credit at my local used bookstore.

This is what happens when you misinterpret the title when bidding online:


That's a lot of books. It took 10 garbage bags to move them from the estate to my house, filling the entire back of the SUV - approximately 300 or more volumes. Which means they cost about a quarter a book. Included were stacks of classic sci-fi books - Nebula, Hugo and Lucas award winners, original works from the sci-fi greats like Larry Niven, Robert Heilein, Poul Anderson, Gordon Dickson, Arthur C. Clark, Andre Norton, Frank Herbert, Piers Anthony, Isaac Asimov, Orson Scott Card, Lois McMaster Bujold and several others. There was also a matching set of Tolkien for reading (which I've been wanting) and several non-fictions that look interesting.

One of the greatest book hauls of my entire bookish career!

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