How to Locate Old Magazines

Look online. The Internet has several resources for finding and acquiring old magazines. Look through the auctions on eBay. Search by the periodical name or use general terms such as "old magazines" or "vintage periodicals." Craigslist and Freecycle are sources for finding older periodicals. Craigslist lets you search for people in your area trying to sell or give away magazines. Freecycle, as the name sounds, lets people offer merchandise for free. Both of these sites take a little patience to find what you want.

Go to garage, yard and estate sales. At garage, yard and estate sales it is often easy to find stacks of vintage magazines that are being sold for as little as a dime or quarter each. At venues like this the seller is motivated to move the merchandise. He or she does not want to carry those magazines back to the attic or basement. Don't be afraid to haggle. If you are interested, make an offer.

Visit your local library. If you need old magazines for research purposes and don't care if you own them, use the resources of your local library. There can find physical copies of vintage magazines, or you may be able to read old issues that have been scanned into the computer. If the library doesn't have what you are looking for, ask the librarian if the periodical can be obtained through interlibrary loan. Also, many libraries have yearly sales. Ask if your library does this and if they offer magazines for sale. Often, libraries take donations from the public for these sales and end up with a vast assortment of magazine titles from different eras.

Check out antiques stores. Browse local antiques stores to find old magazines. The examples found at an antiques stores are usually in very good condition, but you will pay more than buying at a yard sale. If you find a dealer who has a good selection of periodicals but you can't find the one you want, let him or her know your interest. Most dealers will keep an eye out for special requests from a customer.

Explore the attic. Put out the word to friends and family that you are looking for old magazines. A surprising number of people have bundles of old periodicals tucked away in the attic. Most would love for you to come take them off their hands, sometimes charging you if the magazines are valuable and sometimes giving them away for free.