John,

If you have free time on your hands then you're a natural for eBay. There is a learning curve for using it, and before you sell there it is a good idea to buy a few things to learn how it goes. I've been selling estate stuff since I started with eBay about a year and a half ago. Sometimes you just don't want to fool with an estate sale open to the public because things get jumbled, picked over, dismissed, and you can never be sure that people who would really want what you're selling are going to walk through the door. eBay is one of those places where you have a huge audience. You still have to wait for people to discover what you have for sale and the open market can be a fickle place, but the odds are much better.

Another of our Mudcatters was selling some fabric via eBay right when Katrina hit New Orleans and their fabric was destroyed in the flood. They were selling the yardage as it was, not cutting it into lengths, if I remember correctly. But you can do it however you wish, depending on the amount you have. It sounds like the fabric you have would be popular as vintage yardage. If you do research on this kind of thing at eBay be sure to look at Completed Sales (get there via the site map) as well as ongoing sales.

Whatever you sell, it is the research you do before hand that can make or break it. Listing it correctly and using the code words that will bring in the people who will bid on what you're selling is a challenge, but I have found it quite interesting. For the books you might want to look at Amazon as well as eBay.

Good luck!

SRS