I remember working at the bookstore and the amount of effort that went into trying to remove these. Goo Gone works on newer/modern books okay, but putting stickers on vintage/collectible books is just plain desecration. And if I find a toilet paper bookmark in it I SWEAR TO GOD we're fighting
When buying used books, you find lots of interesting items in them. There are some barbarians who read on the toilet and bookmark with toilet paper, yes 😩 But we also once got nude polaroids (whoops!) We also got a 5 million deutsche mark note from 1910 (about $5 due to post wwii inflation!)
There’s sticker removing sprays, I’ve used these when I worked at a bookstore and we had to change stickers on the books or clients wanted the stickers removed for them. It feels greasy to touch, so I was hesitant but it worked amazingly and left no traces on all kinds of textures.
There was no residue left when I was using the spray. The sticker would come right off and the cover had a darker spot on it (like it’s wet/greasy) that disappeared soon after, even with fabric and other kinds of non-glossy covers.
One of our local libraries prints tiny stickers with the book’s due date on them and puts it on the cover… Seems effective for them and they’re small enough that they peel off easily! I imagine it would work just as well for a small bookstore!
Oh geez… don’t get me started on stickers!! I HATE, REVILE, and DETEST stickers of every ilk in almost any context!!! My kids mock my allergic reaction to stickers. And most especially on BOOKS.
This particular sticker was on the front cover of a 1960’s romantic suspense novel. I used heat and was able to get it off but not before it ripped the cover 😭
It SEEMS like basic common sense, but a lot of book stores, second hand stores, and big retailers put price tags and labels on book covers 😭 It’s so frustrating!
I love myself a good ex libris in an old book! Sometimes they’re little piece of art in and of themselves or indicate the book belonged to someone famous back in the day. But I guess, considering them stickers is already enough and absolutely know, wasn’t what you were complaining about 😉
Lighter fluid works quite well, when getting the stickers off btw.. depends a lot on the cover material, of course, but most materials take it very well and without a trace..
Testing on a small (almost) invisible part, is always advised and I haven’t dared testing it on leather etc (though it’s more uncommon there, fortunately), but philatelists use it to make watersigns visible on stamps; which is what made me dare 😅
I bought a book online from a bookstore owned by a famous author. I was appalled it had a huge sticker on the front saying, “Signed by Author.” (It wasn’t signed by the author who owns the store but by the author who wrote the book.) The sticker doesn’t come off. In the middle of the book. Why?!
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And if one must--perhaps it's a small bookstore's only method of adding tags?--there are some that are easily peeled off with less damage.