Archbold buyer
Sell Archbold: Criminal Pleading, Evidence and Practice
Over two hundred years as the criminal bar's standard reference.
We buy annual editions of Archbold, current or past years, complete or with supplements, single years or a full run.
Archbold is part of Sweet & Maxwell's Common Law Library, alongside the White Book and Chitty on Contracts.
When does the new edition come out? →
About the set
The standard reference for the Crown Court.
Archbold: Criminal Pleading, Evidence and Practice is the standard practitioner reference for criminal law in the Crown Court, first published in 1822. Unlike Halsbury's or Chitty, Archbold is republished every year rather than in numbered editions, kept current through the year with supplements and a weekly update service. Chambers and criminal sets often hold a run of several years' editions rather than a single volume.
Current & recent years
The most recent one or two editions carry the most value, published each October by Sweet & Maxwell.
A run of years
Several consecutive years, complete with their supplements, are genuinely useful to us and to the next buyer.
Single volumes
Even one year on its own is worth an enquiry — older years are considered case by case.
Nineteenth-century editions
Archbold has been in print since 1822. Early and antiquarian editions are a different market from the practitioner run, and we value those case by case.
Every October
Trade in last year’s edition when the new one lands.
Archbold is republished every October, which means every criminal set generates a superseded edition every year. Most get shelved just in case and cleared years later in one go — by which time the recent editions that were worth the most have quietly become old ones that are worth the least.
Sell it while it is still current
Last year’s Archbold is still a working book for someone. Two editions later it is competing with everything published since. Clearing the superseded edition as it is replaced is worth more than clearing a decade of them together.
Tell us when yours is due
Mention which month your new edition arrives when you enquire, and we will come back to you then rather than leaving you to remember. Start an enquiry →
Who this is usually for
Most Archbold sets reach us one of three ways.
Chambers clearing shelf space
A criminal set moving building, taking less floor space, or reclaiming a library room for desks. Selling a chambers library →
Practitioners retiring
Thirty years of annual editions in a home study or a room at the Inn, cleared on leaving practice. Retiring from practice →
Executors and families
A library inherited with an estate, where nobody is certain what is worth keeping and what is not. Executors and probate →
While you're here
We buy the rest of the shelf too.
Archbold rarely sits alone. If you're clearing a criminal set's library, we're also interested in the titles that usually sit alongside it.
Practitioner texts
Law reports
Encyclopaedias & statutes
Common questions
About selling your Archbold set
Should I sell each edition as it is superseded, or wait and clear several years at once?
Sell as you go if you can. A one or two year old edition is still a working book for someone; a ten year old one is competing with every edition published since. We will happily buy a long run in one go — it just tends to be worth more spread out.
Archbold is republished every year — do you only want the current edition?
We're happy to buy the current year and recent past years. A run of several years is fine too.
Do you buy the Sentencing Guidelines Supplement and Archbold Review separately?
Yes, alongside the main work if you have them.
What if I only have one or two years?
Still worth an enquiry — we buy single-year sets as well as multi-year runs.
Ready when you are
Submit an enquiry and get a valuation for your Archbold set.
Four details and we’ll come back with a valuation, usually within 24 hours. Nothing to catalogue or sort first, and no obligation either way.
We’ve got your enquiry.
Your reference is your enquiry. Worth a note — quoting it saves you explaining everything again if you call.
We’ll review what you’ve sent and come back with a valuation, normally within 24 hours. If anything’s unclear we’ll ask — usually just one question.
Got photographs? Send them to info@SellLawBooks.co.uk quoting your reference and we’ll add them to the file.