I have a collection of books with titles in the fields of psychology, social psychology, industrial/organizational psychology, measurement, interviewing, etc. Some of the books are classics. Only one or two are old textbooks. The collection totals approximately 35 ft. of books.

Anyone have thoughts on the best way to sell this collection. I am interested in getting the best price, but I don't think I want to post each book on eBay or another online auction. I would consider posting the books in lots but my preference is to sell the entire collection in one transaction.

Anyone know of any internet sites where I can search the price of some of the older classics?

There are approximately 5 book dealers in my area who buy book collections. If I invite them to submit offers, will I come out best if I let them bid on the entire collection or if I divide the books into lots?

Any advice or information about selling a book collection will be appreciate.

You will get the most by selling each individual book and not lots or entire collections. I know you said you don't want to do that. If you take an eBay route make sure the account has a good rating. If you don't have an account, I'd sell a few less important things first to build up a rep and get rid of junk. Then I would sell the books from least expensive to most expensive possibly spacing them all out over a couple months. 1. Its easier for you to deal with. 2. You won't over saturate the market, thus lowering the potential sale amounts.

Also if these books sell on eBay already, look at sold items and get a rough idea for their eBay value. Use this to determine the amount you should get from the dealers. The dealers will likely pay less but you get to see how much less.

I greatly appreciate your information. Your suggestions about how to proceed (like starting with less valuable books first and building a reputation) are very helpful.

By the way, on eBay I used to be able to find records of past sells on similar items, but I no longer can find this. Is this still there and I am missing it?