magazine resale value

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Started 8 months ago by sassafras
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sassafras
Member

Hey there everybody! I've been an unclutterer reader for quite a while now but only just realized what a treasure trove of advice the forums are, and I'm hoping somebody can point me in the right direction on this, my first post.

I had subscriptions to Teen and Seventeen magazines from about 1998-2004 (guess I'm showing my age a little here, huh?), and kept every issue. Anyway, I'm proud to say that I've finally got to the point where I can let go of them. I'm completely willing to go the freecyle/recycle route, but I was wondering if anyone has sold back issues of non-specialty mags like that with any success? I don't really want to waste my time listing a bunch on ebay if it will just mean they keep sitting around my office in piles for months, but then again, if there's a good chance of making a buck, I'm all for it :)

Posted 8 months ago #
Another Deb
Member

Check completed listings in the category of items you want to sell on eBay. Watch out for the postage costs. Magazines are heavy!

Posted 8 months ago #
themusiclivez
Member

It depends on who is on the cover. Sometimes you can get a decent amount if you sell the item individually, in good condition, if a celebrity is on the cover. You may be surprised at which ones sell. For example, I used to collect magazines with the band Hanson on the cover. They aren't super well-known today, but they have a LOT of highly devoted fans (they make amazing indie rock music). Some of their stuff has sold for a lot. If you have the time it's worth checking completed listings to see what might sell! (And if you don't see anything in completed listings that could mean you have a rare item. Do plenty of research!)

Posted 8 months ago #
NYCPakRat
Member

Use media mail - it's cheaper!

Posted 8 months ago #
hlg
Member

If it was me, they'd go right into the recycle bin. Millions of those two magazines and so many others were published; I don't see them having any real resale value. Try freecycle if you think someone might want them to cut up for an art project.

Posted 8 months ago #
nws2002
Member

I don't think magazines can be shipped using Media Mail, they contain advertisements. I think there is a carve out for "vintage" magazines, but postal inspectors can be nitpicky at times.

Posted 8 months ago #
Ella
Member

It's illegal to ship magazines by US Media Mail, and postal inspectors have become vigilant about it because of the high rate of abuse. Depending on the postal inspector, your MM package will be either returned to you or shipped on to your buyer with postage due. Imagine the kind of feedback you'd receive in the latter case. Not pretty.

I've sold hundreds of magazines on eBay, but they were rare collectibles in mint condition. Even so, the price they brought only barely justified the time and labor involved.

Posted 8 months ago #
jbeany
Member

Yeah, even the antique ones don't go for that much anymore. You can get vintage Life and Nat'l Geo for a couple of bucks each. Always check it out, but don't get your hopes up!

Posted 8 months ago #
Emilie
Member

Yeah, I think Ella definitely has a point that the price needs to justify your labor. I try not to sell things on Ebay that are going to go for less than $10, but I'm still making less than minimum wage on the project. If you had copies of a magazine that no longer existed (I'm still waiting for a chance to peruse Sassy), they would probably be worth more. That said, I was curious and looked on Ebay...This one sold for ten bucks:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SEVENTEEN-AUG-2001-BUFFY-SARAH-MICHELLE-GELLAR-/260840365469?pt=Magazines&hash=item3cbb4c1d9d

Tyra Banks was $5, and then a lot of 8 magazines from that era was $3.50. So they seem to be occasionally selling, although they won't make you rich.

Posted 8 months ago #
Parsifal
Member

I saw an episode of Pawn Stars where they talked about this very topic. A lady brought in her husband's collection of Playboy magazines spanning maybe 30 years and was disappointed that they wouldn't even make her an offer. Turns out that none of them were mint condition and it didn't contain any of the valuable very early editions.

I say recycle them unless you really want to put in the work for $10 or $20 profit for a few editions some collector might be missing.

I've been an avid collector from time to time - video games, trading cards, coins and so on. What I've come to realize is that 99.9% of the time, mass-produced items without intrinsic usefulness have roughly zero resale value. California raisins (showing my age here?), beanie babies, silly bandz and what have you each have their year in the sun and are soon consigned to the $0.50 yard sale shelf.

I sure wish I'd sold my Magic card collection back when I could have gotten $200 for a card or two (no, really) but I'm happy that I handed it off to someone who actually got to enjoy it for a few years after I outgrew it. Maybe you could do the same for a girl who is into retro fashion?

Posted 8 months ago #
shebolt
Member

I agree that sassafras should factor in time spent trying to sell the magazines versus the potential gain. Maybe there's a gem or two in her collection, but given the years in question and the magazines in question, even the gems aren't going to make a lot of money. The time she'll spend researching her collection to figure out which ones might fetch $10, plus the time and expense to list them, and then the time to ship the ones that sold, may simply not be worth it. People tend to underestimate the amount of work that goes into a successful ebay sale.

I suggest she simply get rid of the collection and not worry about trying to make a few bucks.

Posted 8 months ago #
Sky
Member

Recycle them. It will be very freeing.

Posted 8 months ago #
sassafras
Member

Thanks for all the suggestions! I'm thinking I will probably go ahead and recycle the majority, and maybe try to list a couple that feature celebrities. I had tried to see if I could find anything similar on ebay, but I didn't see many issues of Teen or Seventeen to compare to. Guess I need to look a little harder. :)

@Emilie - It's too funny that you found one that featured Sarah Michelle, I had actually set that very issue aside to keep because I am a Buffy fan myself! But if it comes down to leaving it on my bookshelf indefinitely, or earning a few bucks off of it, I might just try to sell. I will definitely take a closer look at the postage costs though.

@themusiclivez - I know all too well who Hanson is, although I was more into Backstreet Boys at the time. I know I saw at least one issue in my piles with them on the cover, so they will now get moved onto my possibly-try-to-sell pile.

Posted 8 months ago #

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