Hi, for everyone asking questions as to the value of Encyclopaedia Britannica sets, the basic guideline is that the 1st up until the 8th Editions have great collector values, defined by condition. The 9th and 10th Editions are so numerous that they are of small value; up to maybe $3-500 in good condition. Anything after the 11th, 12th, 13th (1910-1928) is basically worthless.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
What is the value of 19 volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica, 14th Edition?
There are a lot of these books out there. Only the ones that are over 100 years go for a fare price. This set only going between $25 and $35. Try auction/bid for better price and collector/buyer!
Hi! Was this set originally a 24 volume set?
I see the 24 volume sets selling on eBay rather consistently in the 100 range + shipping. The higher value ones are "free" shipping, which means the seller pays the price to because he/she pays for shipping.
The blue/white cover is different than many I have seen, so I am not sure if that will change the value.
There is a slight resurgence in all encyclopedia in a few markets, from my research.
1. is that there are some nursing homes that like to have sets on hand for their residents.
2. Junk journal and collage artists like them for tearing out pages and using them in their projects.
3. Home schooling parents are starting to be interested in them again to keep the kids off the screens and to teach reading skills.
Perhaps you could tap one of these markets and get yours sold!
Post back with an update!
Selling an incomplete set is usually more difficult than when you have a full set but some sellers try their hand at individual volumes.
Most of these are listed at less than $10 plus shipping and are usually very slow selling - but they do occasionally sell.
Your pictures look like your books may be in pretty good condition and that is a plus. You might try listing them on eBay with several pictures and good description of which volumes you have.
Shipping is always a problem due to the size and weight you will probably have to ship in 2 boxes so be sure of the shipping cost before listing. These can be shipped media mail so shipping is not very high.
If there is anything of real interest in any of your books - like maps or pictures - be sure to state that and pictures also as these are used for different projects.
You can start your set at a higher price and offer 'best offer' just to see what the market is for an incomplete set.
You might also try some local venues - Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, LetGo, OfferUp are some popular sites.
Check out Britannica on eBay so you can get an idea of the best way to list your set.
People still buy encyclopedias and a large majority sell for good money.
So - Just don't give up without trying some of the suggestions provided.
Remember - nothing ventured - nothing gained.
Good luck...
I have a complete set of Edinburgh signed edition Of Encyclopedia Britannica No "29" of 100 Sets in pristine condition. I would be happy if you could advise me how much is it worth as I am not able to find this anywhere on the Internet
I recently found a complete set of 1900 Encyclopedia Britannica. Does anyone know what they are worth?
A person is asking $349 on eBau for a set from 1911. The value of your books is determined by the condition of the book plus the supply and demand. I would recommend seeking the help of an auction house to sell the books for you.
I can find very little information about a 1900 edition except that it is one (maybe first) edition of the Americanized version with full contents of the the previous 9th edition.
Your books look to be in very bad condition (just looking at the pictures) so I do not believe a collector would be interested and they are usually the people who pay the big money.
I would just suggest you list them on several local venues like Craigslist, LetGo, OfferUp, etc and have them as pick up only so a potential buyer could see the actual books.
I have tried researching these before and like cybergrannie, come up empty handed. As amazing as Google and all of the analog resources are, they are not perfect and sometimes the especially old items get lost in some gray area of knowledge.
So that said, my best suggestion is to try to call Abe's Books at 1-800-315-5335 and see how much it would cost if you were to purchase this set from them (they don't have it for sale that I can see, but I would hope they could ballpark it for you. That would give you an approximate retail value (I find their prices a tad high, but ball park is good).
You can then use that price to start yours knowing that as a person you most likely won't fetch retail for them; most likely you will get 25-50% of retail depending on where you are located and how bad someone wants them.
One thing I can tell you is that because of the age and that they should be out of copyright, there are junk journal artists who may want to get their hands on one or more volumes. They will tear them apart and use them for art. Some find that blasphemous. I personally think it is awesome because the alternative is often the landfill, burn pile or if you are lucky, being recycled (which if that was all the time would be awesome, but it often is not the option).
If you are on Facebook, look at the group junk journal junkies boutique. You can join this group and then post them for sale--I would do one or two volumes at a time for a set price.
People can pay through Paypal and in most cases the cost includes shipping, just be sure your price is high enough to cover shipping and leave a few bucks for profit and paypal fees. US media mail if you are US is the least expensive method to ship.
I hope you do well with them!! They are neat!
I have an Encyclopaedia Britannica published in 1963. It also has a complementary bible and two year books as added extras. It is in its original bookcase. Is it worth any money or collecting?
By J. Scott
Make sure yours are not the R.S. Peale reprints. If your set is original it's worth something most likely :)
Is there any value or worth to the 50th anniversary edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica?
Thank you, the set just sold for $500.00
Hi I was just wondering if anyone knows much about this encyclopaedia, recently found in an attic that belonged to my grandparents
Anyone know if these have any value?
These books are only valuable to collectors, because they are under 100 years old . You may get $50 for the set. Try auction/bid for a better price!
Books such as this hold no value at all unless you are willing to keep them 100+ years. In most cases they are hard to donate and even harder to sell. In a few cases peple have been able to sell the books but for a very low price. Normally around $25 or so is all they can get for them. It is best to sell locally so you don't need to ship the books to the person who buys them.
Encyclopedia Britannica sets do sell but value varies with year/edition, condition and sometimes where located. If selling 'pick up only' sales would be limited to your area but no shipping involved.
There have been two 1962 sets sold on eBay (January) in the past several months.
Check these links and compare to your set.
Sometimes you can pick up ideas from other sellers on how to list your books.
www.ebay.com/
www.ebay.com/
Condition is important and your set looks like it has a lot of damage to the tops of the spines so that will lower the value.
I would suggest listing them on several local venues like Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, LetGo, OfferUp, USA Forsale and start your price higher and lower it if no one shows an interest.
How much are my encyclopedias worth? 1768 Britannica 24 volumes?
What value might a complete suede covered, onion skin paged set of 11th edition 1910 Encyclopedia Britannica be worth?
I have a 24 set of Britannica Encyclopedia from 1969, it's in pretty good condition except for the index. I also have the 15 set (not really sure how many volumes there are supposed to be) of Britannica Junior Encyclopedia from 1968 which is also in good condition.
So I was just wondering what the value of these two sets might beWhat is the value of an Encyclopedia Brittanica 11th edition set?
If you have the 29 volumes Abebooks is selling the same set for $422 plus $28.69 for shipping. You can see some listed on eBay and the prices range from $100 to $400. There is one site that says that some of these sets are worth quite a bit of money but I have never seen a set like this sell for the prices they have quoted. You can see there quotes here flipsy.com/
Contrary to how most items are selling, it looks like this set, according to sold sets on eBay, is seeing a heyday.
The condition of your books as well as the type of cover will make a big difference in the true current value of your set and only you can be the judge of that.
Just be very careful if you list your books for if they sell and the buyer doesn't feel you described them accurately, they will return them (at your expense) and demand a full refund.
So be sure to look them over carefully and show pictures of condition of covers, spines, and any pages that have problems.
I would suggest you look at a lot of the for sale listings to get an idea of how people are describing their books as well as pictures so you can decide how best to describe yours.
Just remember - asking prices are just numbers a seller would like to receive for their items but only a sold listing shows what a buyer is willing to pay.
www.ebay.com/
Usually current value is based on a sold 'identical' item but vintage/antiques will never be identical so you'll have to set your own value/price by looking at all the sold sets and comparing them to yours.
Here are the sold listings presently showing on eBay.
Sold listings that show best offer accepted means you cannot find out what the set sold for.
www.ebay.com/
You can always list your set on other sites, rather than eBay and start your price higher with maybe best offer considered and if no one shows an interest you can always lower the price.
Shipping would be by Media mail but still expensive and books are very heavy.
I have vintage set of the Encyclopedia Brittanica purchased in the early 1970s. It is in good condition with a bookcase. Some Encyclopedia Brittanica yearbooks are available as well.
the bookcase is a little rough, but in decent condition since it is nearly 50 years old.Unfortunately This set of books will only bring $25 to $50. there are not very collectable unless they are over 100 years old. With the market low , it will take a special buyer/collector to offer a good cost. You could try auction/bid online!
This is not as hopeless as some people think.
Once in 2012 I was able to sell an entire set of Encyclopedia Britannica on Amazon - it wasn't even that old, it was from the 90's or something. I got $1,000 for them, not counting shipping.
These are even older so it wouldn't surprise me if somebody wanted this someday.
The fellow who bought them told me he was just deeply nostalgic because he remembers perusing them at his grandparent's house, and now it turns out he can't find them anywhere.
So I would say don't give them away; keep listing them and wait to see if the nostalgic person shows up
And Amazon was a surprisingly good place to list them
I have just four volumes, leather bound, of the 1881 IX edition. Do they have any value?
If it is truly from 1881, it is an antique. It would be worth more if you had the complete set. Go see a dealer.
Normally collectors will want the complete set of books for their collections. However, it can be possible that a person will buy just 4 volumes of the set. The price you will receive will greatly depend on the condition of the books, the cover, and which volumes you do have. it is hard to give you an accurate quote on the informatoin you supplied here. I would suggest contacting a book selerl who specializes in antiuqe books and have them help you out.
1976 Edition w/16 updates
Leather Bound, box never opened
What is it's worth?
What is the value of this 1896 1-12 volume Encyclopedia set
We have the whole set, 1974 Britannica Encyclopedias 1-23 and Index, which was handed to us. I am wanting to know how much they would be worth.
Encyclopedias that are +100 years old are valuable to collectors as long as they are in good condition. Depending on the year of the book, condition of the cover and pages will determine the price. However, encyclopedia that only date back to 1974 have no value whatsoever.
If you try to donate the books to a school, library, or thrift store, they won't accept them. These institutions receive so many encyclopedias that they normally end up sending them to a paper recycle center. Selling the books online will prove rather expensive when you try to ship them to the buyer.
Your best bet is to put these out at a yard sale and see if anyone would like to buy them from you. If the books are nicely illustrated, a few crafters will take the books to make crafts with them.
It is very hard to get rid of these books because they have no real value to people. All the information is readily available online and people no longer need these types of reference books.
