From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints

[lludwig]

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints . . .

 Most new bookdealers burn out within three years...

[Satnrose]

[lludwig]

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints . . .

Too much glue can ruin a book.

Sometimes even enough is too much. Don't overrepair a book. Know when to quit trying to make it better. And you can make a major mistake trying to correct a minor mistake. Leave well enough alone. But a stitch in time saves nine.........

[Satnrose]

[lludwig]

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints . . .

My advice to newer sellers:

A lot of the questions asked by newer sellers are perfectly valid queries that most BBers are willing to answer. But the answers to those questions can only take you so far. Sometimes you just have to jump in the water, and learn by trying different things - experience, experimentation, etcetc.

And, whatever you do, please don't be afraid of making mistakes. If you didn't make them, you'd never learn anything. Mistakes and their lessons = growth.

[Bookbiz]

[lludwig]

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints . . .

Look at the bottom.
You should learn what not to buy.
Go at the end of the third day of a big book sale and see what's left on the table. Go at the end of $1.00 day and do the same. Go at the end of bag day and look at what they throw away.

Also, this applies to the business itself:
Look at the failures and figure out what they're doing wrong.

[Satnrose]

[lludwig]

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints . . .

The benefits of research
are not only the enhancement of value
but also the bettering of your ability to research.

Even Itzhak Perlman has to practice everyday.

[Satnrose]

[lludwig]

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints . . .

Study other auctions [listings] for what works
or doesn't.....

Looking up the prices of books at the usedbookbuyingsearchengines is not enough, you have to see what they're selling for on eBay as well. And look to see what categories are most successful for a specific book.

If the seller's format or TOS turns you off, try to figure out how. If something off the wall works, why?

[Satnrose]

[bookthink]

Good advice, but I'd come at it more strongly. Buy on eBay. Put your hard-earned money on the line. Make the effort - take the risk - to snag things that you can resell for a profit. Then ask yourself, How did I get this so cheaply? What did the seller do or not do to let this happen? Then list the book with this in mind. It's almost magical how much and how quickly you can learn about selling by doing this, and you can make money while doing it. In my experience, simply studying the marketplace doesn't demand the same level of engagement, and it's more difficult to retain, not to mention apply what you learn.

[lludwig]

Bookthink - We do buy on ebay sometimes. Not frequently, but often enough to have experienced some good buys and bad buys. I have one right now that I need to get out of the house ASAP. It was my own dang fault. I had passed it by the first time I saw it because of condition but second time around I didn't stick to my initial assessment of it. In another case it was the seller's fault for not disclosing the Limited Edition Club book was an ex-lib. It didn't have 'all the usual markings'. The only indicator was on the title page but that was enough. I don't know why we didn't just send it back, but we did finally sell it and broke-even. Our better buys netted us $30 to $60 profit. Not a huge amount but enough for sitting at the computer and doing a couple of searches.

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints . . .

How to read an AddAll list:

Throw out the top prices and the bottom prices.

Throw out all the Alibris listings.

Throw out all the Book Rescue listings.

Throw out all the Powell listings.

Throw out all the copies in fine leather bindings.

Throw out all the copies that are clearly defective.

Average the remainder and divide by 2.

That's what the item should sell for on eBay.

But don't count on it.

On the other hand, sometimes things sell on ebay for much more than they are listed for. Even when there are 20 or more copies listed. eBay is a carpshoot. A book is a bet.

[Satnrose]

[lludwig]

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints . . .

Some key phrases:

"some faint dampstain tidelines"
"servicable"
"solid and strong and tight"
"better than it sounds"
"contents slightly age-toned"
"well-used"
"sold w.a.f. [with all faults]"
"still usable"

[Satnrose]

[rockmaple]

When you relist an item and plan to change the listing a little before it goes live, instead of cicking on "RELIST", select "SELL SIMILAR." The "MAKE MORE EDITS" choice doesn't always come up before it goes live. This applies especially to listings that were originally 30 day BIN that are now being relisted as auctions in the Collectible category. Other little options have disappeared too.

[lludwig]

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints . . .

"Bargains" are devaluing.

Every time a bargain is found, the overall price goes down. Every time sold for too much, the price goes up.

If 10 copies of THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA sell sequentially for $1000 and the 11th goes for $900, the value goes down.

At a certain level, the dealers must buy to protect their market. This is particularly true of people who deal in the major artworks of specific artists, but it also applies to bookdealers too.

[Satnrose]

[lludwig]

From the Collected Works of Booksellers' Hints . . .

When you look up books on abe and bookfinder and addall,
beware of the high prices. They are often hallucinatory.
Look at the lower prices, and discount any for books
that are seriously defective or ex-library.

[Satnrose]

[lludwig]

From the Collected Works of Bookseller's Hints ...

The beauty of ebay is that one can runs one's business the way one wants as long as it is within ebay rules.

[Satnrose]

[lludwig]

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints . . .

Someone may have mentioned this hint before, but it really paid off for me today:

Look at Everything!

I went to an estate/yard sale that was advertised for 8am (some there at 5:30, owner told me)and I got there about 8:30. Books had been advertised & there wasn't much there. I went through a few cartons & got some local history items, and then there was a box of older paperbacks & I started to look through that when I found a spiral bound book, in French which even I could read:

Paris At Night (Paris du Nuit). by someone named Morand. It was all photos of Paris at Night with text in French. Didn't look any further and added the book to my small pile.

Just now, I looked at the book more carefully and discovered that the photos are by Brassai. And then I looked it up on a+ and just about fainted - all the prices are four digits. It is the first book format of Brassai photographs from the 1930's.

As satnrose says, Anything can be anywhere and this just happened to be in a box of paperbacks in a garage in So.NH.

[Bookdelle33]

Follow-up comment by Satnrose:

"Anything can be anywhere" comes from CADILLAC JACK by Larry McMurtry

.

[lludwig]

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints . . .

Some people are so busy learning

the tricks of the trade

that they never learn the trade.

- Vernon Law, former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher

[lludwig]

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints . . .

Stick with what you know?

No.

Be constantly expanding your abilities
and take chances.

It's good to concentrate on one subject and develop your expertise,
but not to the exclusion of anything else.

On the other hand,
be very very careful when buying something
of which you know nothing...

 
[Satnrose]