What is your book actually worth?
MyBookWorth compares your book against real auction results and marketplace listings, so you can see what comparable copies have genuinely sold for.
Try “Tolkien Silmarillion first edition” or “signed Hemingway”
How it works
Search your book
Enter the title, author, or edition. We match it against hundreds of thousands of real auction and marketplace results.
Compare real sale prices
You see what genuinely comparable copies sold for — not an invented number. Each result links to the original listing.
Or scan the cover
Upload a photo of the cover or copyright page and we identify the title automatically, then run the same comparison.
What drives a book's value
Two copies of the same title can differ in price by an order of magnitude. Edition and printing matter most: a true first printing is a different object from a later run of the same first edition. Condition comes next — foxing, a cracked hinge, or a missing dust jacket can remove most of a book's value.
For twentieth-century fiction the dust jacket alone often accounts for 50–80% of the total price. Signatures raise value when genuine and verifiable, but printed facsimile signatures do not. Our evaluation checklist walks through each of these before you buy or sell.
Frequently asked questions
- How much is my book worth?
- Search the title and author above and you will see what genuinely comparable copies have actually sold for, each linked to its original listing. We do not generate a single estimated figure, because condition and edition vary too much for one number to be honest. Be prepared for a modest answer: across 605,255 sales, the typical result was €60 and roughly 70% sold for under €100.
- What kind of books can I find values for?
- Antiquarian and collectable books, antique maps and antique prints — first editions, signed copies, illustrated works, atlases, multi-volume sets and ordinary second-hand titles alike. The database covers auction houses and marketplaces, so it is strongest on material that actually turns up at auction. You can also browse what antique maps sell for by region or which map makers command the most.
- Does a signature make my book more valuable?
- Usually yes, but far less than most guides suggest, and it depends enormously on who signed it. Comparing the same author's signed and unsigned copies, signed wins for 134 of 165 authors, with a typical premium of about 1.63×. For internationally collected names it is far larger — a signed Rowling sells for over eight times an unsigned one. We break the numbers down in what a signature is really worth.
- Is a first edition worth more?
- Less than you would expect from how often the phrase appears. Books described as first editions sold for €65 against a €60 average — about 8% more. Compare the same author with and without the label and the effect disappears entirely. What matters is a verified first printing of a book people actually want. See what a first edition is actually worth and how to identify one.
- My book is very old. Does that make it valuable?
- Not on its own. Books printed before 1800 typically sell for €75 against a €60 average, and books from the 1800s actually sell for slightly less than average, because so many were printed and so many survive. Age tells you when a book was made, not how many copies remain or how many people want one. We look at the whole curve in does age make a book valuable.
- How does the Book Scan feature work?
- Upload a clear photo of the cover or copyright page on the Book Scan page and image recognition reads the title, then runs the same comparison as a text search. It is not perfect, so always check the identified title before trusting the prices it returns.
- Is the valuation guaranteed?
- No. Every price shown is a historical result achieved by a third-party seller on a particular day, not a quote or an offer. Actual outcomes vary with condition, timing, buyer and platform, and a single high sale is usually an outlier rather than a benchmark. How to read an auction result explains how to weigh what you find.
- Where does your data come from?
- Completed public auction and marketplace listings, covering around 800,000 lots. Every result links back to its original listing so you can verify the price yourself rather than taking ours on trust. We show real sales only — never asking prices, which tell you what a seller hoped for rather than what anyone paid.
- Do I need an account to use MyBookWorth?
- No. Search and Book Scan are free and require no account, and we do not ask for personal details to use them.