Value of old college yearbooks?

[torinsmom]

I have three old yearbooks that I found in my shed(previous owner). They are in really good condition. Is there any way I could find out how much they are worth? Here's what I found:

1. 1937 The Blue Print(Georgia Tech)

2. 1938 Lucky Bag(US Naval Academy)

3. 1940 The Sphinx(Citadel)

I'd love to sell these to make Disney money, but part of me wonders if they will be worth a lot more if I just keep them for 10-20 more years. What do you think?

Marsha

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

I'd stick them on Ebay and see what happened!

 

[lovemygoofy]

I'd try to find who the books belonged to and send them to that person or family.

 

[disneysuncat]

I agree with the eBay thing, you never know!

We cleaned out my Mom's house last year when she sold it and in doing so I threw out all of my old high school yearbooks except for my senior year. We had a person haul away anything that was "trash". About two months later, I was at my Mom's and got a phone call from someone who had bought one of the ones I had thrown away! (guess the person who hauled away for us had salvaged them and sold them.) The person who called me asked if I wanted it back, I told them no, I had actually thrown it out. They said that their mother had picked it up at a sale for them, because when they were in school they had never been able to afford one. They went on about how excited they were to have one, finally, and wanted to know if I had broken the heart of some guy who had signed it. (ha!) Anyway, it was really nice to find out that someone else was enjoying it, I never dreamed that someone would want it.

 

[torinsmom]

I'd try to find who the books belonged to and send them to that person or family.

I moved into this house in 1999. The shed was full of lots of stuff, most of it trash. These were some of the not trash. There were also a bunch of pictures and letters from the 40's-60's. The realtor tried unsuccessfully over six months time to get the family to take the items. It seems the previous owner was in a nursing home with dementia and her family was estranged and wanted nothing from the house. I kept the pictures for a year, but after several attempts, I got rid of them. I kept these, because I thought they may be worth something, and just refound them. There is no writing in any of them, so no way to trace that way to see who they belonged to. Otherwise, they would already be with the family.

Marsha

 

[ilovebassets]

I have three old yearbooks that I found in my shed(previous owner). They are in really good condition. Is there any way I could find out how much they are worth? Here's what I found:

1. 1937 The Blue Print(Georgia Tech)

2. 1938 Lucky Bag(US Naval Academy)

3. 1940 The Sphinx(Citadel)

I'd love to sell these to make Disney money, but part of me wonders if they will be worth a lot more if I just keep them for 10-20 more years. What do you think?

Marsha

you may want to contact those schools and consider donating them or see if the alumni association will purchase them if they're in good condition. those are quite old yearbooks and if they really are in good condition, they could be quite valuable (at least sentimentally)

 

[kismet1003]

I would contact the schools first and see what they say.

 

[Cindy B]

See if there is anyone famous in them..

Didn't John McCain attend the Naval Academy? (I'm not sure of the years though)


Famous people yearbooks would be snatched up by collectors on Ebay or the like.

 

[irish_trip_mom]

McCain did attend the Naval Academy, but I hope he wasn't there in 1938!

Wikipedia has him as a 1958 grad.

 

[torinsmom]

McCain did attend the Naval Academy, but I hope he wasn't there in 1938!

Wikipedia has him as a 1958 grad.

Well, he DOES look like he could have been there in 1938! LOL

 

[mjhd]

I know someone on ebay has a store full of old yearbooks that she lists for $400ish. But of course she has the ebay store so they can just sit there until they sell - may take some time since the buyers would be sporadic. Good luck with whatever you choose!

 

[torinsmom]

I know someone on ebay has a store full of old yearbooks that she lists for $400ish. But of course she has the ebay store so they can just sit there until they sell - may take some time since the buyers would be sporadic. Good luck with whatever you choose!

Do you have her username? I'd love to see what she has for sale in comparison to what I have.

Marsha

 

[Tine731]

I have three old yearbooks that I found in my shed(previous owner). They are in really good condition. Is there any way I could find out how much they are worth? Here's what I found:

1. 1937 The Blue Print(Georgia Tech)

2. 1938 Lucky Bag(US Naval Academy)

3. 1940 The Sphinx(Citadel)

I'd love to sell these to make Disney money, but part of me wonders if they will be worth a lot more if I just keep them for 10-20 more years. What do you think?

Marsha

They could be of value. My husband collects old year books (Ole Miss) and has paid several hundred dollars for the early years.

oh...and John McCain's Father and Grandfather graduated from the Naval Academy.

 

[jennz]

I moved into this house in 1999. The shed was full of lots of stuff, most of it trash. These were some of the not trash. There were also a bunch of pictures and letters from the 40's-60's. The realtor tried unsuccessfully over six months time to get the family to take the items. It seems the previous owner was in a nursing home with dementia and her family was estranged and wanted nothing from the house. I kept the pictures for a year, but after several attempts, I got rid of them. I kept these, because I thought they may be worth something, and just refound them. There is no writing in any of them, so no way to trace that way to see who they belonged to. Otherwise, they would already be with the family.

Marsha

That is so sad.

Do a search for them on ebay and see what they're going for. Great idea to see if any famous people went there at that time! Good luck!

 

[TheRatPack]

I had a friend steal my high school yearbook and I've looked just about all my life for another one It was the only year I went to this particular school so my other yearbooks were from a different school. You may be surprised what someone would pay for those yearbooks if they are in a situation like mine (or want yearbooks for collectable purposes). Good luck

 

[aterriq]

As for famous people, the 1938 Naval Academy would have lots of war heros. I'm sure a military collector would want that one.

 

[Danemom]

I had a friend steal my high school yearbook and I've looked just about all my life for another one It was the only year I went to this particular school so my other yearbooks were from a different school. You may be surprised what someone would pay for those yearbooks if they are in a situation like mine (or want yearbooks for collectable purposes). Good luck

Have you tried contacting the school? Sometimes school have old stock.
We were surprised to find old copies of yearbooks for sale at my DD's open house. We happily bought DH's 7th grade yearbook for $10 since he never bought yearbooks .

 

[laurafergie]

I am a bookseller. Ebay is the best place to sell yearbooks. In my eBay store I sell high school for around $25, college $35 and military schools I start at $50 and go up.

However, this is a very slow time of year. The best time to sell yearbooks is before Christmas (Oct-Nov) If selling via auction, I wouldn't start them less than $15, with a Buy It Now for the prices above.

The Ebayer that has them listed for $400 is dreaming.

 

[laurafergie]

As for famous people, the 1938 Naval Academy would have lots of war heros. I'm sure a military collector would want that one.

This year goes for between $75-$100, depending on condition.

 

[torinsmom]

This year goes for between $75-$100, depending on condition.

Thanks! Condition seems quite good. The bindings are all intact and there is only some slight yellowing on the edges of the first few pages. The books do smell old; is that something that would take away from their value or is that expected?

Marsha