The Common Household Collection You Should Sell Before Retiring To Boost Your Cash

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Alongside large furniture and spare vehicles, old books are among the common household items you should sell before retiring. While most ordinary used books won't make you rich, selling the right copies could produce some extra cash while also reducing the amount of boxes you would need to pack if you decide to downsize. In order to get a proper cash boost, you may need to take the time to sort your books. Start by pulling aside signed copies, current textbooks, boxed sets, first editions, and out-of-print titles, as these may attract more serious buyers. Be sure to check carefully, because you may even have antique books that are now worth a fortune.

You can then compare offers from buyback companies like BookScouter and use eBay's Product Research tool to find what similar copies actually sold for. When comparing prices, look for copies in similar condition, since stains, missing pages, writing, or cover damage can affect a book's value. This process should leave you with a smaller group of books worth selling individually.

When deciding what to list individually, it's worth considering what you'll keep after fees. For instance, eBay takes up to 15.3% of a book sale, plus 30 cents on orders of $10 or less, while USPS Media Mail starts at $4.39. This means an $8 book sold with free shipping would leave you with only about $2 before packaging. However, selling your books can also save you money in other ways, especially if you're looking to move.

Many retirees choose to move during their golden years. A 2025 Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies report found that 37% of retirees had moved out of the home they lived in before retiring in order to downsize, save money, or even find a more retirement-friendly home. However, moving costs can be a major moving regret for retirees — from packing supplies to transportation to labor and even storage — with books making the trip even more expensive.

For example, Home Depot estimates that a small box holds around 20 books, while Allied Van Lines says a typical book box occupies 1.5 cubic feet. Assuming an avid reader owns 500 books, this collection would fill 25 boxes and take up approximately 37.5 cubic feet of space. If each box weighs an assumed 30 pounds, per U-Haul, the books would add around 750 pounds to your move. Given that the final cost of many moves — especially interstate ones — depends largely on how much your belongings weigh, selling your books could save you a lot. Per Fixr, movers typically charge between 50 and 80 cents per pound. At, say, 70 cents per pound, leaving your books behind would save about $525 in addition to whatever you make from selling them.