Half Price Books Half Price Books - National Chain of Con Artists Clive Iowa

I took 842 pounds of items to the Clive (Des Moines) Iowa store:

1. Brand new unread new magazines. I receive dozens of free subscriptions from various magazine publishers for several businesses I run. All magazines are new and unread. Any magazines that were dinged or tore due to the post office were previously discarded. Many of these magazines have politicians, movie stars, singers, and other celebrities on the covers. Some are tribute issues for recent dead stars such as Tom Petty. Many of the magazines with celebrities are selling on eBay in the $5.95 to $20.00 range. These are not the junk well worn magazines that the this store has in the back next to the so called inspection counter.

2. Books. Some signed by the author and privately printed. No books with dings, tears, creases, or other wear.

3. CDs. All inspected for and mars on the CD. No scratched CD covers.

4. Vintage board games. Most were sealed. Open ones were were all complete.

5. Box of vintage game parts dating back to the 1950s. This would come in real handy considering that the store sells vintage games. The only way to obtain missing parts for a board game is to typical buy another copy of it or find someone selling that part on eBay or similar sites.

This of course assumes that Half Price Books actually inspect board games to make sure they are complete or not. Based upon how they conduct business I doubt if they check games for completeness. If you buy a game from them make sure its complete by obtaining a list of parts that game should contain from the internet and then print that off to take with you into the store.

5. Video games. All inspected for scratches, dings, etc..

6. New 3rd party OEM Xbox controllers & sealed reading lights.

7. Couple of LPs and a 45 record. No scratches or dings. Certainly not the crap you often see in their store.

8. Vintage 1960s space newspaper. These had been stored out of the light so they were literally like they the day they were printed.

9. Some software and VHS. Nothing with any damage.

Their offer was $42.00.

I needed to wait for over an hour because they do not respect "first come first served". During the time I was waiting they processed the books of numerous other customers who arrived after I did. Very interesting way to treat a potential large volume customer – essentially “s**t on them” by serving other customers who arrived later first.

In time I milled around the store you could here the so called inspectors making comments about customer's appearance. They could be heard making comment about great items they “found” in the lots they inspected which did not parlay to their potential customers of course. This is the type of behavior one regularly sees in a high school clique except in this case its a den of thieves.

Their section of collectible books included a photocopy flyer advertising a $6,000 book they were offering. The actual book was not on display. Does anyone think they offered the owner even 5% for it? Based upon their business practices I think they conned the owner out of the book by first not telling the owner of its true value and then by offering a few bucks for the books the owner brought in.

Based upon my 25+ years in retail, online sales, and consignment:

1. Do not believe any of slick videos or other advertisements on Half Price Book's web site telling you how certain books can be valuable. Although that is true that is not going to translate into high prices being paid to you. Those videos and other their other slick advertising are all there to to entice you into bringing the books from grandma's attic into them so they can add it to their “great finds” while not informing you of their true value and paying you pennies on the dollar for them.

The scam Half Price Books is running is even worse than the antique fairs that blow into town for a few days to give free appraisals of antiques. In this case the dealers will under value the items and then offer to buy them for a high percentage of their fake appraised value making seem like the owner is getting a great offer. Half Price Books does even bother with the appraised value in their scam but they are ripping you off in the same manner.

2. If you itemize taxes then donate you books and other items to charity for a tax deduction. Take pictures of all items and make a itemized list for tax purposes. Don't donate obvious junk. Charities publish lists you may use to value items for tax purposes. Get receipts!

3. If you do itemize taxes then sell your items to a friend or 3rd party who does itemize taxes. Offer to deliver them to a charity for them. Get receipts and give the receipts to your friend for his taxes. Be sure to document your donations with pictures and itemized lists. This is a win-win situation - your friend gets a tax deduction and you get more money that Half Price Books will pay.

4. Sell on Ebay or other online venue. Alternatively consign your items to someone with such an account to sell them for you.

5. I point blank asked Half Price Books web site Buy Guy why I wasn't seeing any of the vintage ephemera in their stores that they encourage you to bring into them. I asked if they were in fact just selling it on eBay instead of their stores. I asked him why should I bring it into to Half Price Books to sell on eBay when I can do that myself and retain all the funds myself. The only response was that that Half Price Books was hoping to sell more ephemera in their stores in the future. He refused to answer. So I guess Half Price Books has just been warehousing all this stuff all these years in the hopes of selling it in their own stores one day. The first time I watched one of the Buy Guy's videos on their site my first thought was a P.T. Barnum sideshow attraction manager trying to con you out of your $1.00 to see the fake lizard man. His answer to these questions only confirms my thoughts on their modus operandi.

6. Consign your item with a retail shop.

7. Use a live auctioneer to sell your items. Make sure you know what they charge before consigning items and if there are any fees for unsold items.

8. Rummage Sale directly or give them to a friend to sell for you for a commission.

9. If you have Half Price Books help unload items from your car and you have license plates not from the area then expect them to offer less for your items as they think they can put added pressure on you to accept their offer because you do not want to bother to haul the items way back home.

10. If they somehow suggest that they are going to "help" repack the items after you refuse their offer then tell them they are are in fact going to carefully pack the items in the same manner as you brought them into the store. The reason they unpack all your items in such a haphazard manner is to put added pressure on you to accept their offer since you are then stuck wasting your time trying to repack them. If they refuse to pack the items then call the local cops and have them repack the items under supervision instead.