cancel
Showing results for 
Show  only  | Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints

 

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints . . .

 

 Most new bookdealers burn out within three years...

  

[Satnrose]

Message 1 of 353
latest reply
352 REPLIES 352

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints

 

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints . . .

   

 

lludwig - Well I just had my 3-year anniversary on eBay [2003] although my first 1/2 yr was as a buyer. There is some truth to that "burnout" timetable as inventory piles up from when new and ill-informed... I like ctbooks ideas about when new comes in -- old goes out!

 

 

[Zuni4]

Message 2 of 353
latest reply

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints

My favorite has always been, "fast nickel over the slow dime" I think that was Santarose as well.

Message 3 of 353
latest reply

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints

eBay has become a funny place whne it comes to that old saw--I think it probably started when Amazon purchased ABE and decided every book listed there was collectible because it was listed there.

Not only did that decision damage Amazon as a venue by completely destroying the catalog, but it must have done something to ABE's reputation because prices here seem to be on par and sometimes better than comparables I find.

But then the quick turnover has become longer tail, as well.

__________________________________________________________
" "Do not read too much Lionel Fanthorpe at one go, your brains will turn to guacamole and drip out of your ears."
~~~~~~~~~~~Neil Gaiman
Message 4 of 353
latest reply

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints

My favorite has always been, "fast nickel over the slow dime" I think that was Santarose as well.

 

My motto is a fast dime is better yet!

Message 5 of 353
latest reply

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints

 

bookthink - Haha! I like your motto, but I confess that I lean to the "in the front door and out the back door ASAP." It is a result of the undue influence of the other half of this bookselling team. Smiley Happy

 

philohorse - You are correct. That was one of Satnrose's. I remember first reading it in the last century! Saved it from the old book chat board and reposted it here on the 'tip' thread in 2003.


I have a number of favorites of his, among them this one:


From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints . . .


Don't play ball with cheaters.


If someone offers you a sawbuck for a $1000 item, it's possible that they don't know its true value, it's possible that they are making an honest mistake, but more likely they're trying to take you for a sucker. I've heard many stories of people who knew they were buying a steal, but talked down the price anyway, and then had the temerity to gloat about it. Don't ever trust such charlatans.


Also, there are people who will argue with you, but will never acknowledge a hit and never concede a run. Such a contest becomes simply a battle of wills. It may be fun, BUT IT AIN'T BASEBALL! And if there are no rules, everything is fair and nothing is fair, and nothing gets decided, although the mendacitator will walk away laughing, thinking that he's won. Such people are idiots....


[Satnrose]

 

Message 6 of 353
latest reply

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints

 

I hope that others will post hints about books and selling on ebay that have helped you to become a successful seller. If you learned the hint from someone else, it would be nice to name that person (ID) or at least say where you learned it (here or elsewhere). If you don't remember who it was or where you learned it, no problem. Of course there are the hints that we come up with on our own!

 

 One of the hints that I try to keep is mind is tthe one below. I am not always successful, but it does pop into my head more than I care to admit when I am looking up books that I recently purchased. Sometimes I will price such books low and put them into my store, other times I will price the duds even lower and list them when ebay offers the free 30 day listings. Right now I am waiting for the free 30 day listings to end and then most of them will go to a FOL.

 

Most of the free 30 day listings are dreck that came in a "mystery bag" for $1 at another FOL - well come to think of it they were only .50 a bag since it was the FOL end of the year sale. It was the first time that I had ever bought the "mystery bags" which are labeled with the genre (i.e. cookbooks). The buy was successful in that in each of the 4 or 5 bags I bought I found at least 1 or 2 books that sold in the range of $20-25 as well as others for less. However, it did leave me with some books that won't sell even when the listing price is less than the postage - even when lotted up! LOL Time to get those out of the house and make room for "better books!"

 

 

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints . . .

   

 "Lose your money up-front." This means that if a mistake has been made on the buy side, sell the book as fast as possible ...at any price ...including at a break-even point or at a loss ...get out while the gettin is good.

  

Sorry if this is a repeat, but worth remembering. Hanging onto dreck or a mistake will NOT make it gold or undo the error.

 

 [Psthomas]

 

Message 7 of 353
latest reply

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints

Never buy a book with the title in smaller print that the author.

I think Psthomas was responsible for that one, and said it differently. Might have been Yankee, tho'. 




 

__________________________________________________________
" "Do not read too much Lionel Fanthorpe at one go, your brains will turn to guacamole and drip out of your ears."
~~~~~~~~~~~Neil Gaiman
Message 8 of 353
latest reply

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints

 

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints  . . .

 

Now is the time to be thinking about what supplies you need for the coming year.

 

Make your purchases of packing materials, computer equipment, and other business supplies before Dec. 31 for tax purposes.

 

 

[Lludwig]

Message 9 of 353
latest reply

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints

 

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints . . .   

 

If you can't get out-- scout yourself. I've found many a semi-precious nugget lying forgotten and neglected on a back shelf at my own house.

 

[Hollowayd]

Message 10 of 353
latest reply

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints

 

From the Collected Works of Booksellers' Hints . . .

 

We were all beginners once. Don't be shy.

 

[Satnrose]

 

Message 11 of 353
latest reply

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints

 

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints  . . .

 

An unopened book is not a book.

 

"Unopened" means that the page folds have not been separated. But most catalogers use the term "uncut" to mean "unopened". "Uncut" means the page edges have not been trimmed. I usually say "uncut and unopened" to leave no doubt.

 

It used to be considered "classy" and desireable to leave the pages unopened. Then the cuttee would know that he and only he would be the first to read the text exclusively. And even today, of two identical copies of a book, but of one cut and of the other uncut, the latter would be the more valuable. Automatically....

 

....but an unopened book is not a book. It's an artifact, a work of art, an antiquity. If it's a collectible, don't mess with it. If you want to actually read it, find another copy to do so. But if it's really a book that really needs to be a book, then cut the bolts.

 

I have found that using scissors or a knife or a letter opener to separate the bolts often proves unsatisfactory. You want the pages to separate exactly at the fold, and with scissors you may be inexact. I like to use a fresh crisp business card. Of course, after a few cuts the card loses its "edge", so you need to use several.

 

One more thing: when the pages have been separated crudely, you may say that they have been "roughly opened".

 

[Satnrose]

Message 12 of 353
latest reply

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints

 

satnrose had it right. A blunt edge is best if you want to "open" pages. A credit card works well.

 

And, yes, uncut and unopened are two different things -- no matter how often they are used interchangeably.

Message 13 of 353
latest reply

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints

Book Lingo: Follow the flag


Follow the flag from the ILAB (International League of Antiquarian Booksellers) site:


Preferring the edition published in the nation of the author's birth. You couldn't find a more classic American novel than Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, but it was actually first published in England. However, many collectors prefer to "follow the flag," and the American edition is more desirable.


Source: What bookdealers really mean. A dictionary by Tom Congalton and Dan Gregory (Between the Covers)


http://tinyurl.com/lyc2ucc

 

 

 

Another version of follow the flag from the "Empty Mirror Literary & Arts Magazine" site:


Often, books are published in various countries by the same publisher on the same day. How do you know which one is the “true first edition”?


For books published in multiple countries simultaneously, the general rule amongst book collectors is to “follow the flag.” This means that book published in the author’s own country is considered the “true first.” So, for instance, if the books are released on the same day & the author is American, the American first would be most desired.


However, if the Canadian edition were released on a date before the American edition, in most instances it would have priority with collectors, since it is the earliest publication of the book (the “true first”).


I say “in most instances,” because if the author is American, some collectors will still prefer to have the American book, even if it was published slightly earlier in another country. Collectors are funny like that; although there are generally accepted customs & trends – such as “follow the flag” – each collector will still have his own preferences.


And, a completist collector (one who wants to collect everything by a particular author) will want to have both the American and Canadian editions, even though only one will be considered the “true first.”


To sum up – as a general rule, if you have a choice between two books or more books, published at the same time in different countries, you’ll want to buy the one published in the author’s native country.


Source: http://tinyurl.com/278smd

Message 14 of 353
latest reply

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints . . .

 

The parameters of collectibility don't have to make sense.

 

The true first edition of a book is its ARC. But very few ARC's are worth more than the hc.

 

Sometimes the first hc copy of a paperback original is the BOMC. But in the cases of Philip K. Dick and Kurt Vonnegut, the first British hc is worth more.

 

The first edition of HUCK FINN is the British edition, but the American edition is worth more.

 

We spell it "collectible". The Brits spell it "collectable".

 

[Satnrose]

Message 15 of 353
latest reply