What are old books and video games actually worth?
Books: what makes the small percentage valuable
Old does not mean valuable. Bibles, encyclopedias, condensed book-club editions and popular novels from the last century were printed in vast quantities and are worth almost nothing, regardless of their age or condition.
What creates value:
- True first edition, first printing of a book that became important. Check the copyright page for a number line — if it reads "10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1", the 1 means first printing. A stated "First Edition" with no 1 in the line is often a later printing.
- The dust jacket. On a modern first edition the jacket can be 80–90% of the total value. A first edition without its jacket is a fraction of the same book with one.
- A genuine signature, ideally with provenance. Unverified signatures add much less than people expect.
- Narrow subject matter with dedicated buyers — local and regional history, technical and trade manuals, specific-model repair guides, early computing. These beat "famous old novel" routinely.
| Book type | Typical value |
|---|---|
| Family bible, 19th century | $10 – $40 unless historically notable |
| Book club edition, any age | $1 – $3 |
| Encyclopedia sets | Effectively $0 — often refused by donation centres |
| Modern first edition with jacket, sought author | $40 – several thousand |
| Local or county history | $25 – $150 — small print runs, loyal buyers |
| Technical and repair manuals | $20 – $80 while the machines still run |
Video games: completeness is the whole game
The condition ladder matters more here than in almost any other collectible category, and the steps are steep:
| State | Relative value |
|---|---|
| Loose cartridge or disc only | Baseline |
| Complete in box with manual and inserts | 2–5x the loose price |
| Sealed, never opened | 10x and up, sometimes far more |
| Graded and sealed | A different market entirely, with its own risks |
The manual and the cardboard inserts sound trivial and are not — they were thrown away by nearly everyone, which is exactly why they now carry the premium.
What holds value: late-run titles for a dying console, RPGs and niche genres with small print runs, anything region-exclusive, and first-party titles from Nintendo's cartridge era. What does not: sports titles with an annual release, big-selling shooters, and anything bundled with a console.
Scan the barcode instead of guessing
Books and games are the one category where photo identification is the slow way round. Both carry a barcode or an ISBN, and that number resolves to the exact edition and printing with no ambiguity — which matters enormously when the difference between a first and a fourth printing is a hundred dollars.
Attic Gold has a dedicated barcode scanner for exactly this reason, so a shelf of books or a box of games can be checked one beep at a time rather than photographed one cover at a time.
Before you donate a box of books: it is worth ten minutes to check the spines for local history, trade manuals, and anything signed. Those three categories are the ones that quietly get given away, and they are the ones with buyers.
Common questions
Are old books worth money?
Most are not — under $5, and often unsellable. Value comes from being a true first printing of a book that mattered, having an intact dust jacket, carrying a verified signature, or covering a narrow subject with dedicated buyers such as local history or technical manuals. Age alone adds almost nothing.
How do I know if a book is a first edition?
Check the copyright page for a number line. If the sequence includes a 1, it is a first printing. Many books state 'First Edition' while the number line shows a later printing, so the number line is the reliable indicator. On modern books, the dust jacket must be present for the first edition premium to apply.
Are loose video game cartridges worth anything?
Some, but far less than complete copies. A loose cartridge is the baseline price; the same game complete in box with manual and inserts typically brings two to five times more, and a sealed copy can be ten times or higher. The manual and inserts drive most of that gap because almost everyone discarded them.
Which old video games are worth the most?
Small print runs and late-cycle releases, RPGs and niche genres, region-exclusive titles, and first-party cartridge-era Nintendo games. Annual sports titles, best-selling shooters and console pack-in games hold the least value because they exist in enormous numbers.
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