Those pesky price stickers

Some people like to keep the price tags on their books to remind them of the book’s provenance. I’m  not one of them.

Aside from being  a compulsive plastic coverer (I can’t read a book that has not been covered in protective plastic), I’m a price sticker remover, and whenever I buy a new book my nails automatically itch to scrape off the price sticker. It just drives me crazy.

The problem is most price stickers are awfully sticky, and peeling them off takes forever, especially when the adhesive is so sticky that you can’t peel the sticker off as a whole (bookstores, please, do something about this!) and ten minutes later you’re left with a smudgy, sticky mess. It’s also annoying when the price sticker eats into the cover, leaving you with an ugly squarish patch (which is a regular occurence at my favorite bargain bookstore), or lifts some of the gloss from a brand new book.

Because I keep my nails short, they don’t offer much leverage when picking at price stickers, especially the really stubborn ones that refused to budge. So eventually I had to resort to other removal procedures.

Here are are two methods I use to remove price stickers.

The sticky tape technique

Get a piece of sticky tape (the good quality type, not the cheapo ones that lose their stickiness after a few fingerprints) — masking, clear tape, packaging tape,or duct tape (for heavy hardcovers only — you might tear off the whole cover using duct tape on a paperback)  — and stick it on top of the price tag.

Rub the tape over the area that touches the price tag with your fingernail or a coin.

Lift tape. Repeat until the whole price tag and residue is removed.

This works okay, but it gets tiresome after one book. Also, if you’re not careful and if the book cover is uncoated or porous, you can rip out the cover with the tape.

WD-40 magic

My recent discovery is a solvent called WD-40 (available in supermarkets and hardware stores).  I find that dabbing it on to a price tag dissolves the adhesive and loosens the tag from the cover. Like the first technique, WD-40 is not recommended for uncoated/ non-laminated covers, as the solvent will seep through and leave an oil stain.

Spray WD-40 into a small receptacle.

Use a cotton bud to apply WD-40 to the price tag (you don’t want to use an excessive amount).

Leave on for 2-3 minutes. You can apply WD-40 on other books while waiting.

Lift off the treated price sticker. For coated price stickers (thick, glossy ones), repeat until the whole sticker (and/or the residue) comes off.

Wipe dry to remove traces of WD40.

WD-40 doesn’t smell very good and it’s flammable (don’t spray near a heat source/ open flame) , but it works great. I hear Goo Gone also works similarly, but WD40 is easier to find in the Philippines.

Both methods still take time, and prone to damage if you’re not familiar with cover surfaces that work with the technique. If you have doubts, test on an inconspicuous portion of the book. Combining both methods works well, too.

How about you, do you remove the price stickers from your books? If anyone out there has any other ways to do it without causing damage to the book, I’d love to hear from you!