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From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints

 

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints . . .

 

 Most new bookdealers burn out within three years...

  

[Satnrose]

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Re: From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints

LLudwig,

Thanks for the explanation. I have also enjoyed "a book that looks like nothing" thread."

Ps. To change the thread to oldest message first it is My Settings ----> Preferences----->Linear Layout
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Re: From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints

trophyhusbandus - And thanks for the how-to lesson on changing settings for a thread! I usually keep up with the threads in which I am interested in, but it might come in handy sometime and now I will know where to look on how to do it. 

 


From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints . . .


A life rule I have found useful when questioned about one of your books.


"Whatever anybody says or does, assume positive intent."


Chosen as the most valuable advice given by the president of Pepsico - learned from her father and a snippet that has helped me many times.


[Hollowayd]

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From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints . . .


Brodart dust jackets.


There is no substitute for class.


[Satnrose]

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Re: From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints . . .


Rarity is not enough.
Age is not enough.
Condition is not enough.
Original published price is not enough.
Desirability is everything....


[Satnrose]

 

 

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints . . .


Desirability isn't everything, it's the only thing....


Some valuable 1st ed books that aren't rare:


THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA
GONE WITH THE WIND
THE GRAPES OF WRATH
LEE'S LIEUTENANTS
THE CAT IN THE HAT
THE LITTLE PRINCE
THE CATCHER IN THE RYE


Some valuable 1st ed books that are quite rare:


HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE
A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT
THE WASTE LAND
FOUR QUARTETS
RAISE HIGH THE ROOFBEAMS CARPENTERS [1st issue only]


There were 10,000 copies in the first printing of the first edition of THE CATCHER IN THE RYE.


It is not a rare book. But it is a great example to illustrate the Law of Supply and Demand.


[Satnrose]

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Re: From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints . . .


When I pack books, I wind three layers of 3/16" thick bubblewrap around the books, tape the ends, put a rubberband on it vertically, put it in a Priority Mail box, and seal the ends with tape.


[Satnrose]

 


Addendum from Lludwig: A box should be used when you ship Media Mail also. I add a small amount for the S&H to cover the cost of the box. I put the book in a clear plastic bag with the packing slip and tape the ends closed. Instead of bubble wrap, sometimes I use layers of plain packing paper to wrap around the plastic bag and then fill the box with more paper to prevent bumping in transit.

 

Once I had a buyer email me that she was delighted that the book had been in the plastic bag. She lived in an area that had been receiving torrential downpours and due to flooding she could not get to her mail box for several days. When she opened her mail box and saw the wet box, her heart sank as she thought the book would be wet. Much to her delight it was dry due to it being the plastic bag!

 

I've received books that I bought on the River that were just tossed into a manila envelope and arrived with bumped corners. Recently I bought on ebay 8 children's series books for my little cousin. They arrived in a box but no padding or filler - just the books. No real damage done to them that I could tell since they already had some bumps and wear when I bought them.

 

Recently I bought a book with a plastic comb binding for resale. My heart sank when the letter carrier handed me the manila envelope. Bumped corners are minor compared to a plastic comb binding that can be easily broken or cracked in the mail. I was so relieved that the seller had wrapped several layers of bubble wrap around the book and the binding was just fine!

 

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Re: From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints

From the Collected Works of Bookseller HintS . . .

 

An ebay seller of an 18th or 19th century book who uses an interior picture for his thumbnail is much more likely to a have a book with a distressed binding (or no binding) than a seller who uses an exterior picture. Any ebay buyer who regularly looks through older books will know this.


If you have a book with an attractive interior and a decent exterior, keep in mind that using the interior picture for your thumbnail may be the tipping point that keeps a buyer who is rapidly scrolling through a long list from clicking on your listing because of the high probability that the binding is defective.


[oldbookshopnj]

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Re: From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints

I've purchased perhaps half a dozen books from Joel (Satnrose) in the past few years and have yet to receive a book packaged in the manner described here (though they have been packaged securely) - and never in a Priority Mail box. Perhaps this hint was offered during a long-ago time when Priority Mail was reasonably priced?

 

Also, the "combs" on comb-bound books can be readily replaced at minimal cost with no impact on value. There are some older style combs that are what I guess you could call non-standard that would be difficult if not impossible to obtain now, but pretty much anything manufactured in the last 30 or 40 years is standardized. I keep several sizes (1/4" to 1 1/2") on hand for this purpose, and sometimes I replace them even if the existing comb isn't damaged but obviously brittle.

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Re: From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints

bookthink - Yes, that is a very old hint - pre-turn of the century before postage costs skyrocketed.


I'll have to keep that in mind about comb bindings for ones that I know command a tidy sum. Once I did suggest to a buyer that she could go to Staples or an office supply store that did binding and check to see if they had combs either for sale or if they could do it for her. I had sold her a 1950s comb binding cookbook that while scarce had a very narrow target audience. The plastic comb was fragile and I had examined it closely before listing. We packed it securely in a plastic bag, several layers of bubble wrap that was taped and then into a box with padding around it. Despite our best efforts to have it arrive in the condition described, she emailed and said the comb was broken and she was heartbroken because it was a very special school where her brother had attended when the cookbook was published. We refunded her money and suggested that she take it to an office supply store to see about having the comb replaced. DH thinks that she may have damaged it herself when opening the bubblewrap!

 


From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints . . .


The market constantly changes,
and all you can do is adapt.

Call it "Survival of the bookist...."


[Satnrose]

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Re: From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints

What I've noticed, Kathleen, is that all combs get brittle over time, but combs manufactured early on - and your ca. 1950's example is pretty early - seem especially susceptible to breaking, I assume because the plastic was of a different composition than it is now. 

Message 99 of 353
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Re: From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints

There was a local 1980's cookbook with decent resale value that regularly was found with broken plastic comb. I sold one to a lady who specifically inquired about the plastic comb condition. As she lived a mile from my office I volunteered to deliver to her house.
Turns out she was an editor of the book and had a dozen copies, none with intact plastic. She says the First edition was often returned due to broken plastic when printed and she wanted an intact copy.
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Do you folks really think a vintage plastic comb binding can be replaced and still be considered in top condition? I know the replacement should be mentioned. A change of color or a book with the title on the spine just should not be replaced with a modern plastic comb in my opinion.
Am I wrong?
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bugler1998 - After you log in, please check that email envelope that is at the top of the left hand side. I emailed you some information about a book that you have listed that is from this area and I have sold before.


If by 'top condition' you mean Fine condition, I don't think there are many used books that can be described as Fine. Rarely do I even give a Near Fine to books that I pick up at book sales. Do I think a book that has a repair can still be sold for as much as one without a repair? Yes, if the book is highly desirable and there is a buyer for it.


Interesting question however about replacing the comb with one either of a different color or one without the printing of the title on the comb. While you would know what the binding was if you replaced it, how would you know if at a book sale you picked a book with a comb binding and it had been replaced if you were not familar with the book and the variations of different printings? You said that the one that you had was commonly found in your area with a broken comb so you would have been familiar with it, but what of others? As to color and printing on the spine, the vast majority of the ones that I have handled are plain white, some red or black. And while more than a few have the title on the spine, the vast majority do not. I suspect that it was cheaper to have the book printed without printing on the spine. But still, a good question - would a buyer rather have the broken original comb or a replacement comb?


Although different, the repair and disclosure of such reminds me of a marriage of a dust jacket and book. As we all know the proper marriage is of a dust jacket that matches the printing etc. of the book and when performing the marriage it must be disclosed. However, my question has always been "What happens down the line?" If a collector buys it and over time it ends up at a book sale or part of an estate sale nobody will know about the marriage.


I have sold some books many times which had multiple printings and the binding changed over the course of time. For instance, there is one cookbook that had many printings which I have sold 12 times in the past two years. All except one had a red plastic comb. The exception has a red spiral wire. When I first picked that one up I wondered if someone had replaced the binding but given that the book is "As New/Near Fine" condition that seemed unlikely - not a well-thumbed, dog-eared and "old cooking splatters" cookbook that someone wanted to keep. Instead it was in pristine condition. In checking ebay, I found another one with the same red wire binding! What are the chances that two people in different parts of PA went and had the same book rebound with the same red wire binding? The seller says it is "First Edition, unstated" but I know that if I emailed them and told them to check the verso of the 2nd or 3rd page for the printing history it not only would give a long history but most likely would be the same year as mine or within a year or two. This is one time the printing history is not given on the copyright page nor the colophon page, but several pages into the book.

 

Another one that comes to mind is one from 1950. Same red covers with the same illustration but two different printers: one from Western PA and one from Central PA, where the state headquarters is located. The binding on the one from the western PA printer are metal (not thin wire, but more like a metal comb) and is dated on the title page. The one from central PA has a white plastic comb and no date. I know it is not a later printing since the organization did not reprint it and the printer is no longer in business. I suspect they used two different printers for distribution purposes, just like major publishers will have books printed in two different plants for shipment to west of the Mississippi and shipment east of the Mississippi.

 

 

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints . . .


Disclose repairs.


I believe that there's nothing wrong with adding new glue to old. I personally use Brodart Acid-Free Bindart Adhesive, which is a PH neutral PVA that is both flexible and long-lasting. The easiest of all repairs is the strengthening of loose hinges. But you can also repair broken hinges, retip loose pages, solidify worn spine ends and corners, realign broken textblocks, and even make a "false spine" between the backstrip and the spine. But you have to tell the buyer what you did.


Illegal repairs: recasing a book with ruined covers with unruined covers from a later printing, replacing a title page from a reprint with that of a first edition, etc.


Tweeners: adding a plate that is missing, tipping-in a signed leaf, etc.


The best of the usedbookdealers know what to look for.....


[Satnrose]

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Re: From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints


@bookthink wrote:

I've purchased perhaps half a dozen books from Joel (Satnrose) in the past few years and have yet to receive a book packaged in the manner described here (though they have been packaged securely) - and never in a Priority Mail box. Perhaps this hint was offered during a long-ago time when Priority Mail was reasonably priced?

 


I recall shipping books by Priority Mail at $2.90 anywhere in the country some time in the 1990s. It then went up to $3.30, but there will still no zones.

 

Media Mail was, of course, even cheaper but it didn't always make sense in those days, especially when a lot of new online buyers were coming into the market and excited about their purchases. (As an aside, I think MM has improved substantially over the years speed-wise.)

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Re: From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints

Comb bindings come in a variety of colors, the most common being the ones you've mentioned: white, black and red.

They are most often purchased in box lots of same color, and it would be highly unusual for a comb-bound book to be seen in a variety of color bindings.

Any printing on the comb would be "after-market" and thus an extra expense. I've never seen a comb-bound book of the "local interest" variety with pre-printed combs. 

The exception would be the "Receipt" books in Charleston and Savannah, which are geared to the tourist industry and rather pricey for local cookbooks. 

I've never been inclined to consider replacing a comb, but I have "re-sewn" them when possible. But then I seldom deal with those kinds of books.

__________________________________________________________
" "Do not read too much Lionel Fanthorpe at one go, your brains will turn to guacamole and drip out of your ears."
~~~~~~~~~~~Neil Gaiman
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Re: From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints


@gretchenfetchinsllc wrote:

Comb bindings come in a variety of colors, the most common being the ones you've mentioned: white, black and red.

They are most often purchased in box lots of same color, and it would be highly unusual for a comb-bound book to be seen in a variety of color bindings.

Any printing on the comb would be "after-market" and thus an extra expense. I've never seen a comb-bound book of the "local interest" variety with pre-printed combs. 

The exception would be the "Receipt" books in Charleston and Savannah, which are geared to the tourist industry and rather pricey for local cookbooks. 

I've never been inclined to consider replacing a comb, but I have "re-sewn" them when possible. But then I seldom deal with those kinds of books.


gretchenfetchinsllc - As far as your statement that Charleston Receipts is geared to the tourist industry, I've sold 13 copies in the past 3 years and I seriously doubt the buyers were tourists who forgot to pick-up a copy when visiting Charleston. The first copy I acquired was when I bought a large book collection. The man had two walls of books in his office; two walls in the living room; and another wall in the family room which had a few cookbooks. Charleston Receipts was the only cookbook that I bought and it was because it looked quite interesting for a number of reasons.   

  

Charleston Receipts, a Junior League cookbook originally published in 1950 and revised in 1952, is the oldest Junior League cookbook still in print. The illustrations were done by local artists, with the most well-known being Elizabeth O'Neill Verner. It has been called the "bible" of Junior League cookbooks.  Food & Wine described it as "reflecting the nostalgia for the Old-South that prevailed among Low-Country aristocrats during the postwar (Civil War) era."  Craig Claiborne, Food Editor for the New York Times, said Charleston Receipts is "One of the ten best regional cookbooks in America!"

  

Although the name of the Junior League member is attributed to the recipe, many of the recipes were from the family cooks who were of African descent and spoke the Gullah dialect or the recipes were family heirlooms which were first published in Charleston Receipts. In addition to the artwork of historic landmarks by famous artists, there are poems and recipes by the 'literary lights' of Charleston. The Gullah verses and phrases add a distinctive flavor of Charleston. Aside from its proven culinary value, the cookbook is considered important in a literary and artistic sense.

  

Re: your statement that the "exceptions" are Charleston and Savannah with printing on the comb spine. In the past 3 to 4 years, I've sold over 80 Junior League cookbooks and except for one they all had the name on the plastic comb spine.  Off hand I can also think of many other community organizations that had the name on the spine, such as: each of the 4 volumes of "Three Rivers Cookbook: The Good Taste of Pittsburgh" (Child Health Assoc of Sewickley); a local Girl Scout Council's 75th anniversary cookbook; two volumes of a New Orleans Academy; Mainline Philadelphia (Wayne Saturday Club) as well as several other local organizations.

  

I will amend my broad statement that the vast majority of community cookbooks have plain spines to a more narrow statement that most of the church and smaller organizations have the plain spines and that those are usually white, black, or red. However, there are notable exceptions, such as the Junior League, which consistently have the name on the spine and run the gantlet of colors from peach to green to yellow to red and more. Also in my experience, a different color spine for reprints is sometimes used. The old color may not be available or the organization wants a different color for the reprint. Also, one organizational cookbook that I have had 3 times was printed by two different printers at the same time: one used a black comb and the other used a white comb.  

 

 

 

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints . . .

 

Find the flavor of a regional cookbook.

 

When listing community cookbooks include some of the recipe names and/or a recipe.

 

Cookbooks such as The Art of French Cooking, Betty Crocker, Better Homes and Garden, Joy of Cooking will sell by virtue of their 'brand,' but regional and community cookbooks benefit from adding a dash of that extra spice to entice a cook.  

  

[lludwig]

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