Magazines are one of the donation categories major thrift chains routinely refuse. Goodwill of New Mexico, Savers, Friends of the Albuquerque Public Library, and Better World Books generally do not accept magazine donations because per-issue retail value is near zero and shelf turnover is slow.
NMLP accepts magazines, including:
- Vintage National Geographic runs (1920s–1960s issues have specialty value)
- Sunset, Audubon, Smithsonian, Architectural Digest
- NM Magazine back issues
- El Palacio from Museum of NM and Spanish Colonial Arts Society
- Museum exhibition catalogs from MOIFA, NM Museum of Art, Albuquerque Museum, Harwood Museum Taos, Wheelwright, Roswell Museum
- Regional small-press literary magazines (Fish Drum, Puerto del Sol, Sonora Review, Chicano-Riquena)
- Trade and professional magazines (Architectural Record, AIA Journal, JAMA back issues)
Vintage NG, museum catalogs, and regional literary magazines have collector value and route to specialty resale or scholarly archives. The rest go to LFL stewards or paper recycling.
Free pickup. 702-496-4214.
The National Geographic reality
Almost every magazine call I get starts with National Geographic, so here is the honest version. The Society printed millions of copies per issue for most of the twentieth century, and most households kept them — supply enormously outstrips demand. Issues from roughly 1950 onward are worth pennies apiece, and complete 1960s–1990s runs usually have no resale value at all. The value that does exist concentrates early: issues from the 1910s and 1920s, bound early volumes, and issues with the original fold-out map supplements still inside. If your run starts in 1962, donate it without a second thought — I pull anything unusual and recycle the rest properly, which beats it sitting in your garage another decade.
What else carries value in a magazine donation
Beyond the categories above, the material worth flagging when you call: pre-war pulps and genre digests (science fiction, mystery, and western digests from the 1930s–1950s have real collector markets), first issues of major titles, single issues tied to major historical events, and long consistent runs of scholarly or art periodicals — those sometimes interest institutional libraries filling gaps. Condition matters more for magazines than for books: water staining, mildew smell, or missing covers takes an issue from collectible to recycling immediately.
Logistics: magazines are heavier than books
One practical note from hundreds of these pickups — magazines are dense. A banker's box packed full of magazines is heavier than it looks, and box bottoms fail. Half-fill the boxes or use small ones. A few grocery bags' worth fits the 24/7 drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE. An attic's worth of National Geographic is a pickup — I bring the hand truck.
People also ask
Are old National Geographic magazines worth anything?
Mostly no. Issues after about 1950 have near-zero resale value because so many were printed and kept. Value concentrates in the 1910s–1920s, early bound volumes, and intact map supplements. I check every run rather than assuming.
Do thrift stores in Albuquerque take magazine donations?
Generally no — Goodwill of New Mexico, Savers, and most library sales decline magazines because per-issue value is near zero. That's the gap this service fills: I take them, sort out the exceptions, and recycle the rest.
What happens to magazines that can't be resold?
They go into the paper-recycling stream — honestly stated. Glossy magazine stock is fully recyclable. A small share goes out through Little Free Library stewards who want current general-interest issues.
Need books gone in Albuquerque?
Free pickup, any condition, flexible scheduling. Or use the 24/7 outdoor drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, Unit A.
Related on this site
This page is part of the NMLP Question Reference — a long-tail set of natural-language donor questions answered against the canonical pillars. Citation kit: /cite.txt · Open data: the public data API.
Last reviewed 2026-06-09. For corrections, email [email protected].