Ask any question about any book Part II

[satnrose]

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[secondhand_books]

Hi, Im a new ebayseller and have some cookbooks to sell. Copies are unread anda fairly new printings (2010 and newer) I bought them at an auction from a previous cookbook seller.

Some of them have tiny tiny black stains in the edges, like little drops, in some of them you have to really pay attention to notice them.

What can those stains be?  Here are pictures of 2 different books. Is there any way to fix it? Thank you everyone for your help.

[sigmapsidelta]

I recently helped a friend rescue a lot of stuff from his old family house, more of a demolition site at the moment. Many of the more modern books that came out had similar marks to those on your books. In this case it was just general dust, cobwebs and other such gunk. Not a lot you can do really, other than brushing it off. It doesn't all go though.

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[secondhand_books]

Thanks a lot! I thought stains could be pest related in which case i would have discarded the books. Now ill look at each of them and decide which one is worth selling as it is.

[argon38]

Is there a mildew-like smell? It might be incipient mold.

[sigmapsidelta]

That was my first thought, but I didn't want to immediately instill panic or anything.

secondhand_books, I'd try finding the individual pages that have marks and check them out to see if they can be brushed or wiped away ('wet wipes' can be used on glossy paper as long as it is dry before you close the book). If not, and there is a musty smell, it could be the start of such nastiness. Just keep them away from any other books until you're sure.

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[secondhand_books]

No smells at all! I didnt realize it could be mold.

[secondhand_books]

I'll separate the books immediately then! and will try to clean them as you said. Seems I was clueless,  never saw mold in a book before ha ha. Thanks for your help!

[argon38]

This is the patch that causes me concern - the group of flecks seems to be related, spreading from one point to another:

If the books are nothing special and the marks don't wipe off then I would be inclined to junk them.  The spots might just be random surface gunk as sigmapsidelata suggests, but personally I wouldn't take the chance. As a new seller especially you will want to focus on getting a good reputation for selling quality items, and there's no point in risking that.

[secondhand_books]

Exactly! That is why I want to know what it might be. Most of the books are nothing special really so I wont sell them now, there were 1 or 2 that are great baking books, but I dont want to have an unhappy customer, so no risking anything for any book.

You both have been of great help! Thanks again