Buying / Exchanges and Credit / Charity books and Arty Bees community programs / How and when to sell / Not buying periods / Other selling tips
Buying:
We have stopped buying, we are only accepting small lots (1 box or less) for store credit or exchange.
Please contact us (04 3845339) if you wish to bring in books.
Every book is assessed on its own merits. These include popularity, condition, edition and rarity, whether it's out of print, out of date, out of fashion, and how many copies we already have. We need to sight a book before we will make an offer, and no phone or email quote will be binding. Unfortunately we cannot buy everything that is offered to us, but we are usually happy to take a look. There are certain books it is unlikely we will want. Please call before bringing us any of the following:
- Most magazines
- Most university textbooks
- Computer books that are more than three or four years old
- Readers Digest Condensed Books
- Microwave cookbooks
- Wine yearbooks
- Many Australian books as they really don’t sell
- Most Encyclopedias
- Travel guides more than two or three years old
- Bed & Breakfast Guides, Jason's NZ Guides, and restaurant guides
- Travel guides in foreign languages
- A lot of hardback fiction
- Damaged books
- Most ex-library books
Arty Bees requires full name, address, phone number and photo ID when you sell books to us.
Exchanges and credit
We do offer exchange/credit as an alternative to cash. This is equivalent to double the cash offer. Credits can only be used to buy books at Arty Bees. They can be used immediately or credited to an account for future use. You may take a combination of cash and credit. Book Credit will become void if abandoned for a period of more than 4 years.
Charity books and Arty Bees community programs
At the moment there are no charities collecting books that we don't want, so unfortunately you will need to take these away.
If you are involved with a charity feel free to contact us about arranging a collection for your book fair or similar event.
How and when to sell
Arty Bees Books is located at The Oaks, Manners St, Wellington.
If you are driving, there is a 5 minute Loading Zone directly outside our shop (do not exceed the limit because the parking wardens may give you a large unpleasant fine - you have been warned). To get into Manners St, you must enter from the Taranaki St/Courtenay Place intersection. Cars are only able to travel one way along Manners St, from Taranaki St until Cuba St where they must turn right. There is also parking in Dixon St (on the back of our building) and in lower Cuba St toward the Town Hall.
If you are catching the bus, the northbound bus stop is directly outside our front door. For buses travelling from the direction of the railway station the bus stop is at Burger King, diagonally opposite our store.
We have a trolley available to help move large volumes of books.
You are welcome to bring your books to us whenever we are open. If we are able, we will assess your books immediately and make you an offer on those we are interested in there and then. However, there is not always a buyer on hand, and during busy periods there may be a delay. If this is the case, you may leave the books and your contact details with us, and we will call once the books have been assessed.
On weekdays (Mon – Fri) before 4.30pm there are usually at least two buyers working, and books can often be assessed immediately. Around lunchtime and at times in the afternoon the shop is often busy and there may be a delay.
The best time to bring in books is in the morning before 11.30am.
On weekends there is sometimes, but not always, a buyer available. If possible, books will be assessed immediately, otherwise they can be left with us and they will be assessed as soon as possible, usually by Tuesday.
After 5pm on every day of the week you will almost certainly need to leave the books to be assessed later.
We occasionally make house calls for very large lots. If you wish to enquire about this please email Pippa at [email protected]
Not buying periods
There are times when we stop buying books. This happens in December, generally from about two weeks before Christmas until about the middle of January. There may be other times when we stop buying or offer exchange only. Please feel free to ring us to check whether we are buying.
Other selling tips
We prefer books to be delivered in boxes, particularly if they are being dropped in for assessment later, as these are easiest for us to store. Remember that large boxes become very heavy when filled with books! It’s usually better to use two or three smaller boxes. If you only have a few books plastic bags are good, although rubbish sacks will totally destroy your books.
We prefer that you do not bring books to the shop in containers that you will want returned later. Unfortunately many such items are not picked up for weeks. This can cause us problems with our limited storage space.
If your books have been in storage or are otherwise dirty or dusty it is a good idea to give them a quick clean before bringing them to us. Not only will we appreciate it, but the books may fetch a higher price. Similarly, boxes in storage tend to be full of spiders, forgotten photos and other detritus; clearing this out first is in everyone’s best interests.
If you have written your name in a book and want to remove it before selling to us, please do not rip out the page! Certain pages can be a major part of the structural integrity of a book, and tearing them out can cause a book to fall apart. We can remove any personal details for you without causing damage.
Finally if you have removed dust jackets, you should attempt to find and replace them before you bring the books to us. The lack of a dust jacket can halve the book's value, or mean that we are not interested in it at all.