Hints from Heloise

Dear Heloise: Since I spend time sorting the books and magazines that are donated, I would like to point out the things that make them more difficult to sell or pass on:

“ Price stickers on the books – it takes time to remove them, and they are unsightly to mark over. If you have a garage sale, sell books from boxes that are priced (e.g., “cookbooks $1”).

“ Addresses torn off magazines. Using a permanent marker to hide this information makes the magazines more attractive to the new owner. ( We tested this, and some markers do not cover the information, so you might need to carefully cut the mailing label off. - H)

“ Items that are old, disfigured, damaged, torn or soiled, and those heavily underlined or written on.

“ College textbooks that are more than three years old. (Note from Heloise: I like to collect college textbooks in certain subjects, like mathematics and aviation, so there still might be a market for older textbooks.) – Nelma Jasperse, Allendale, Mich.