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Why Used Books and Magazines Make Great Holiday Gift Ideas
By brwood(view all posts by brwood)
at 10:58AM Tuesday November 23, 2010
under
Holidays
I know it's a little early to be Christmas shopping with Black Friday not coming until the end of the week, but it's never too early to think about how to save money. Now it's okay to try to save money on a gift for a loved one, but it's not okay to buy a cheap gift. There is a difference. A cheap gift can be found near the cash register at 7-Eleven while a money saving gift just means you got the best deal on something they will love.
The important thing when gift shopping is it's the thought that counts. It is important if you don't have much money to spend to spend time, effort, and thought on getting the perfect gift. If you do it right you can spend less than $10 on a gift that can seem priceless.
And books, as they get more obsolete, are only becoming better for gifting. I began giving books as gifts years ago, before I even graduated high school. My reasoning was this: If I bought people books I wanted to read anyway, I could read them first, then wrap them and give them as gifts. You can still do this and it does save you money, but how many books can you read before Christmas? Two, maybe three? Also you have to be careful you don't make the books look read--which means no reading them at the gym, or while drinking coffee.
A former boss of mine showed me just how perfect and inexpensive books could be. She ran an antique shop and therefore was always at swap meets and flea markets shopping for inventory. When the time came for the company Christmas party, most of the time she would give us gifts bought over the last year at the same place. As she would browse the flea markets, she would keep in mind what she knew about her employees and occasionally pick up a used book on a topic she knew we were interested.
One year she gave me a compilation of auto mechanic's labor-saving tips from 1920. Another year she found an old AAA route book, from the days before there were freeways, covering all of New England including my home town--I think that one was from the teens. I'm sure she paid about $5 each for these.
Thanks to the power of the internet, you don't even have to go to a swap meet to find vintage titles. Amazon has a huge selection of archaic and obscure used books that would make great gifts. I have stuff on my Amazon wish list going back to the late 1950s. I use the wish list to keep track of books I hear about, or see on someone else's shelf, or in a store or museum gift shop. Then when I am buying something on Amazon I have a easily referenced list of things to add to qualify for free shipping.
Alibris is another great source for finding out-of-print collectibles as well. Alas, buying used often times you can't get free shipping, but then I take the time to browse the used shopkeeper's inventory to see if I can get them to combine shipping costs on multiple items.
The older and more obscure book, the better for gift purposes. A quick search for "Tennis 1948" turns up a book "Official Tennis-Badminton Guide 1948-50 with Official Rules and Tennis-Badminton Standards." Have a golfer on your list? "Sunday Chronicle Cricket and Golf Annual 1948." Someone who likes to fish? "Hardy's Anglers Guide Fishing Catalog Season 1911 (Reprint)." And for someone with an old house, or an interest in the styles of a different era, The Sears Catalog Reprints are available from the 1880s to the late 1920s and the clothing sections up until the 1960s.
When my wife and I bought our 1950s suburban ranch dream house we bought a batch of old Better Homes & Gardens from that era. For these you'll have to go to eBay, but you don't have to spend a lot.
So there are some ideas for you to start looking. Because you aren't just picking something off the rack, you may need to start now to get all the gifts--but it will have more meaning when you give it. You can also look for used hardbound or signed editions of someone's favorite title the same way.
My feeling is, the more we read on the internet and Kindle and our smart phones, the better actual physical copies of books are going to get as gifts.
Honestly, how do you give someone the gift of an eBook? You might as well give them a gift card.
The important thing when gift shopping is it's the thought that counts. It is important if you don't have much money to spend to spend time, effort, and thought on getting the perfect gift. If you do it right you can spend less than $10 on a gift that can seem priceless.
And books, as they get more obsolete, are only becoming better for gifting. I began giving books as gifts years ago, before I even graduated high school. My reasoning was this: If I bought people books I wanted to read anyway, I could read them first, then wrap them and give them as gifts. You can still do this and it does save you money, but how many books can you read before Christmas? Two, maybe three? Also you have to be careful you don't make the books look read--which means no reading them at the gym, or while drinking coffee.
One year she gave me a compilation of auto mechanic's labor-saving tips from 1920. Another year she found an old AAA route book, from the days before there were freeways, covering all of New England including my home town--I think that one was from the teens. I'm sure she paid about $5 each for these.
Alibris is another great source for finding out-of-print collectibles as well. Alas, buying used often times you can't get free shipping, but then I take the time to browse the used shopkeeper's inventory to see if I can get them to combine shipping costs on multiple items.
The older and more obscure book, the better for gift purposes. A quick search for "Tennis 1948" turns up a book "Official Tennis-Badminton Guide 1948-50 with Official Rules and Tennis-Badminton Standards." Have a golfer on your list? "Sunday Chronicle Cricket and Golf Annual 1948." Someone who likes to fish? "Hardy's Anglers Guide Fishing Catalog Season 1911 (Reprint)." And for someone with an old house, or an interest in the styles of a different era, The Sears Catalog Reprints are available from the 1880s to the late 1920s and the clothing sections up until the 1960s.
When my wife and I bought our 1950s suburban ranch dream house we bought a batch of old Better Homes & Gardens from that era. For these you'll have to go to eBay, but you don't have to spend a lot.
My feeling is, the more we read on the internet and Kindle and our smart phones, the better actual physical copies of books are going to get as gifts.
Honestly, how do you give someone the gift of an eBook? You might as well give them a gift card.
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