New Life

I did something unusual for me yesterday. I sold books. Not my books, but books I owned, which is perhaps peculiar for me, since I am someone who has always enjoyed having a big library. When I moved here, I built a wall-long shelf to house all my books. Well, the men from IKEA built it, but at my behest, so that ought to count. And while I love gifting books, and no gift is complete (in my opinion) without a book, no matter how small, inside, I'm not much one for giving them away. I like lending them, but not giving them forever. They're comfortable to me, and I like the thought that I could, in theory, go through them again if I so wished.

It took me years to amass a proper Anne Rice collection. Ever since I saw Interview with the Vampire as a little girl, I fell in love with the series, and loved Rice as a writer. I read them all, or as many as I could get my hands on here in Romania (no easy task since about half were never even translated).

I remember, still the excitement of finding a new one, the frustration of seeing Volume 2 from some series of hers on the shelf of a bookstore, but somehow, mysteriously, never the first one. When she died at 80 some years ago, I was so sad, and felt it in ways like a personal loss. I always said I'd go back to the series, but in time, I lost my interest. Even now, whenever I see an ad for the new Netflix series, I half-heartedly think to myself I'll watch that sometime.

But the truth is, it's no longer part of who I am.

And here at home, it had a whole shelf dedicated to it (some 20+ books take up serious room), but sat collecting dust behind the door.

So the other night, spur of the moment, I decided to sell them.

To clarify, I'm not opposed to giving things away, and often do, but books are quite difficult here. Most second-hand bookstores tend to be picky about what they take, often causing a mess picking through your collection and not even taking them. I figured I'd list them on Vinted instead, as I've sold a bunch of stuff there in the past and generally have had good experiences.

I didn't sell them for much. Some 2 Euro per book, I figured it'd be a price I'd be crazy about if I ran into them in a secondhand bookstore ten years ago. I listed each book individually, and figured if they're meant to go, they'll go.

To my surprise, within the hour, 14 books off the 20-something had sold, most of them to fans. I chatted to some about how hard it is to find them in Romania, how happy they were to have found them on the app. In a way, it was nice, connecting with these people, sharing an appreciation for this kind of writing.

I enjoyed it. Besides, when the last couple of books that are now left sell, it'll be about a week's worth of groceries. I was quite pleased. I'd turned, within an hour, something useless into something very useful.

I've meant to write about Vinted a bunch of times, but always hold off for some reason. It's been very useful to me. For one, I like knowing the stuff I sell on there (mostly clothes) is gonna have a new life. I still leave plenty of little parcels and bags of things outside for people in need to take. Just the other week, I threw out a bag of old boots and shoes, still wearable.

But I do think it's alright, especially with high-end products, hardly worn, to sell them for a couple Euro. Given the market, it's still wildly accessible. I went shopping the other day for a friend's gift and was surprised at how pricey everything suddenly is. I kept wondering, who's got 40-50 Euro for a sweater, probably identical to three you already have? But to each his own.

I'm also struck by how quickly everything is devalued once you purchase it. You could be selling a brand new pair of pants, unworn, with tags, and you would still only get about 50%-75% the cost. If that. It's a valuable lesson, and a great way to curtail impulsive shoppers. As soon as you're out of the store, this will lose most of its value. I don't know, perhaps for "big brands", it's a different situation, but still worth noting. Is it really worth all that money to get bored of it in a season, and try to resell it in six months' time for less than half?

Anyway, all in all, I'm happy with the books I sold. I'm happy that the books aren't sitting behind the door there, gathering dust. I admit I very much enjoyed the sense of shedding, of getting lighter, that typically comes with getting rid of things you no longer need.

Have you had experiences selling online?