Do You Give Back a Rare Used Book?

Have you ever stumbled upon a rare or valuable used book at a garage sale, thrift store, used book store, library sale, etc.? If so, did you quietly purchase it for the $1.0o or $2.00 it was marked, then run to your car and screamed "YES!" while pumping your fist in the air?

Or, did you nobly go to the person in charge and tell him or her of the book's value so that the home owner, store or library could profit handsomely from selling it for its true value?

It's happened to me and I only knew the book was a find because another book I was purchasing at the library sale was a reference of book values, and I looked up this other book right there because I suspected it might be of value (a modsern first edition). It was -- $75.00 worth.

In such a situation, we face a dilemma -- do we take advantage of the seller's ignorance of used book values (I don't mean that in a derogatory way; I'm referring to his or her not knowing the value of the book nor how to determine it) or do the "right" thing and give the seller his or her book back?

Tough question. Isn't it up to the seller to know wehat value to place on an item he or she is selling? Or is it not, since he or she obviously doesn't have the particular expertise you do about the used book marketplace -- after all, in the grand scheme of things, relatively few people are rare and/or used book experts.

If you found the book at, say, a Goodwill, Salvation Army or other thrift store where proceeds benefit the less fortunate, does that figure into your decision? Is it "wrong" to grab the book and run, and cash in on their oversight?

What about a library? Do you figure that a librarian should generally know rare books and be aware of authors and titles that may be of value -- but then again, most library sales are run by Friends of the Library groups, likely few of whose members pretty much judge a book by its cover and price their merchandise accordingly. They might mark "old-looking" used books a few dollars higher than the 5,000 other, much newer fiction hardbacks they're selling, but likely won't take the time to look up their values.

So, what do you think?