From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints

[lludwig]

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints . . .

 Most new bookdealers burn out within three years...

[Satnrose]

[michael_r_weinstein_bookseller]

The parentheses (and Brackets) rule holds true for more than just the date and is also used for pagination if the page is unnumbered or even an authors middle name or an illustrator who is not specifically listed. These little bibliographic style elements add an extra element of professionalism to your descriptions and can add an extra notch of confidence on the buyers part when used.

One thing I find is many people have a lot of confusion when trying to date a book and use all sorts of inaccurate methods.

Date on title page: Is the date that particular book in your hand was printed (unless a facsimile edition)

Date of copyright: Is the year the book was copyrighted but has little bearing when actual book was printed (stays same for decades)

Date of printing: Usually is specific to the book if its an original edition, but its not uncommon for reprint houses to have an erroneous date, from an original edition the sheets were reproduced from.

Date of preface/forward: Is the date the person wrote it and never changes even over centuries.

Previous owner's date: Though you can sometimes use this to ballpark a printing period be very careful not to give it too much credence for I have seens books with dates that were undoubtably prior to the book for some reason.

Many book really can't be dated without specific data from the publishers archives because they will use the same plates multiple times over a period of years and don't specifically date their printings. This is most true for late 19th and early 20th century reprints and the best one can often do is give a circa date. Never make up a specific date without puting a circa by it since its misleading on one hand, and could be wrong on the other.

[lludwig]

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints . . .

Answer stupid questions politely.

...which I'm sure you do.

Your customers are often undereducated in book terminology and standards, and need to know exactly what you've got. Spell it out if you have to. Tell them why the book is a first edition. Give the measurements of an octavo. Don't assume that they know what you're talking about. Play to the lowest common denominator.

Most of your customers have never dealt with you before and have no idea of your character or professionalism. Give them the best you've got, and be patient with their ignorance and fear.

An unfortunate side-effect to this is that once they begin to trust eBay, it makes it easy for the charlatans to take advantage of them.

"An informed consumer is our best customer"

- Marcy Syms

[Satnrose]

[lludwig]

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints …

Don't sugarcoat it.

If the book is in poor condition, don't mince words. My favorite is "servicable" in place of "poor". And if aint servicable, forget it.

[Satnrose]

[lludwig]

From the Collected Works of Booksellers' Hints . . .

Find something good to say about a book in "Poor" condition:

Complete

intact

all plates present

covers still attached

sturdy

solid

rebindable

repairable

still interesting

suitable for breaking

very rare in any condition

[Satnrose]

[lludwig]

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints …

You're gonna have to adapt. No use whining about it.

The usedbookbusiness is much different than it was 5 years ago, and completely different than 10 years ago, and unrecognizable from 20 years ago. Look at your methods and change for the better.

And do it again later...

[Satnrose]

[lludwig]

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints . . .

"We're all going to be in this business for a long time, we might as well be friends...."

...a quote from the inestimable Bill Hutchison.

When I first got into this business, I was delighted to find a vocation where eccentricity is encouraged. I thought that I had at last found a job where people could be what they wanted to be. I thought that it was an arena free of backbiting, underhanded dealing, egocentricity, arrogance, corporate takeovers and suits.

I was wrong.

"But I still labor blindly on, trying to make my own small corner of the world into a better place."

[Satnrose]

[lludwig]

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints . . .

Beware of offsetting.

Offsetting is the bibliographical term for the browning or transfer that occurs to paper from a newspaper clipping or other foreign insert. This is caused by acidity in the newspaper.

Offsetting also refers to the transfer of an image or lettering from the opposite page [also usually caused by acidity].

It can be bleached out, but usually that's too expensive a process for most books or prints.

The McKenney-Hall lithographs of American Indians almost always have offsetting from lettering because they were issued without tissue guards. But the tissue guards themselves can cause offsetting.

[Satnrose]

[lludwig]

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints . . .

TIPPED IN FLY LEAF

A tipped in fly leaf is done after the book has been manufactured. A fine bead of glue is applied to the page already in the book. A trimmed-to-proper-size fly leaf is then placed by hand into the book.

The Franklin Firsts have the sheet gathered in sequence with the press sections (signatures) and bound into the book when sewing and casing in.

Not a point a collector would probably care about, but a tipped fly leaf could be added to an existing book.

ONLAYS

The affixed watercolors are known in the binding trade as onlays. I don't know if book buyers know the term. I* sold a ltd edition of 200 that had these. I called them onlays and showed a closeup of one with the page slightly flexed to demonstrate how it was attached. Buyer loved it!

[Mever, a bookbinder]

[lludwig]

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints . . .

The illustrated Alice in Wonderland is often described as the 'Grail' for Modern Library collectors.

Some additional info on Modern Library books:

Illustrated ML edition of Alice in Wonderland in MLC [Modern Library Collector] #26 in October 1993.

Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass with the Tenniel illustrations colored by Fritz Kredel were originally intended for the Illustrated ML, then sold instead to the Book-of-the-Month Club in 1946 for use as a dividend.

Tales of Edgar Allan Poe illustrated by Fritz Eichenberg, originally planned for the Illustrated ML, also ended up instead as a BOMC dividend.

Ironically, these were the only Illustrated ML titles that ever returned a profit!

(Harry Abrams, the art editor for the Illustrated ML, was also the BOMC advertising and production manager. He conceived the Illustrated ML, convinced Cerf and Klopfer to go ahead with it, and remained closely involved with the series. He later became a major art book publisher.)

[Libreria]

[lludwig]

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints . . .

It's a small world after all....

Usedbookdealers love to gossip and exchange news, especially at the top level. A lot of them know about the BB but choose not to participate. Spectacular finds and failures are savored and bandied about. Important collections get known before liquidated. It's always amazing to me to go to some fabulous outoftheway auction and see the big boys there. Don't ever assume that a secret is secret.

[Satnrose]

[lludwig]

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints . . .

Book hunting and book buying are like a lot things -- reminders are useful even when you know, or think you know, all about it. Like "watch your head" when you go down stairs (or whatever), the caution is always useful.

In football they always talk about the "fundamentals" as if the guys we are seeing on TV haven't been living and breathing football since they were kids and all of their adult lives as players. Why the reminder? Because reminders hone the player, get the focus back on the basics that are essential for winning.

With books, it never hurts to be reminded to check for underlining, or to check under the dust jacket for mildew or other flaws, or to check for a book club dot or price on the DJ. There are a dozen little checks that help reduce the number of bad book buys.

Simplified. Check twice and run the checks against what you already know about books.

[Psthomas]

[lludwig]

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints . . .

If you spend more than you make, it's a hobby.

If you make more than you spend, you're a dealer.

If it's how you make your living, you're a professional.

If you rely on wholesaling to other dealers, you're a book scout.

[Satnrose]

[lludwig]

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints . . .

Online prices are not auction prices.

Going to AddAll will tell you what a book is worth.

Going to eBay will tell you what you can actually sell it for.

Wrong, wrong, wrong!!!!!

A book is worth only what you sell it for, and you won't know exactly what that is until you do. Online prices are the result of both accumulated knowledge and the "race to the bottom" factor. eBay prices are subject to the whims of the popular market, and bear little resemblance to reality. Sometimes eBay books sell for much more than they're worth, but usually much less. Your guess.

"A book on the shelf is a bad book." - the inimitable Eddie Remler

[Satnrose]

[northtexasfinds]

lludwig,

How are you finding all these great nuggets of knowledge?  Are they pulled from an old thread or are tey from multiple ones?  Either way can you post how you are finding them?

Thanks

[lludwig]

trophyhusbandus  - Before the BookSeller Board existed, there was the Book Board which like all the other boards on ebay at the time was a scrolling board where after 200 posts what was said was gone. When it started in Nov. 1998 there were many veteran bookdealers helping new booksellers. However, I soon realized three things: 1. the same questions were being asked over and over; 2. that people come and go; and 3. it wasn't a good idea to depend on the veteran bookdealers wanting to spend their time repeating information when others who had learned from them should  step up and take their turn in passing it on to new sellers. It was then that I decided to copy and keep in a personal file different tips, hints, information, and sometimes just amusing posts of these dealers who took the time to teach the basics of the trade. Many, but not all, of the hints are from the original Book Board.

 Several years later ebay introduced the Book Seller (and Book Reader) Board while still maintaining the original Book Board. Some bookdealers continued to post on the Book Board; others moved to this board; others posted on both; and as previously mentioned some came and went and never returned. While Satnrose, who was the most prolific in hints and tips, stayed on the original board for awhile he finally moved to this board. At that time, I began to re-post, with credit of course, his hints as well as information from other dealers on the original for the benefit of newcomers. It then occurred to me there were many new booksellers on this board who might benefit so I started a "Tip of the Day" thread on this board around 2003. The tips were ones that I had collected from others and invited book people to post their own hints and tips, which is what I hope will continue on this thread. Ebay liked the thread so much they even pinned the original Tip of the Day thread to the top of the board along with other book threads.

When ebay announced they would be changing the format of the boards, I decided I had better copy all of the Tip of the Day thread into my personal files in case the thread disappeared from the board which it did. That was a couple of years ago. Recently I decided to revive the thread with a three-fold purpose: 1. to give a kick-start to the BS Board; 2. to make a place for people to learn or review something that may be helpful to them;  and 3. to give people a place to pass on their book knowledge and ebay selling hints to others;

 BTW there was a book published on "How To Sell on Ebay" a year or two after I started the "Tip" thread. The author used many of the tips that were on the thread. He had emailed the people whose tips he was going to use to ask permission and I 'think' he sent us copies because I remember seeing one of my tips on the back cover.  And now you know more than you ever thought would be the answer to your questions!

 If you like this thread, there is another that I am going to bump up for you and maybe others who are not aware of it. It is long but is easy reading and ya take a bite or two a day. 🙂 It is called "Satnrose's Book Quiz." Again, they were quiz questions that he used to post on the original book board that I saved and after posting all of his questions, other bookdealers posted questions too. I put the answers of Satnrose's questions in invisible ink - just highlight and you will see the answer.

Depending on your settings, you may have to go to the highest number page and read backwards so to speak. When ebay changed the board again, page 1 is the most recent instead of the beginning which is where you should start for it to make sense. Someone had posted how to reverse settings so that the beginning is page 1, but I didn't save that hint which would make a good one to post on this thread!

Satnrose's Book Quiz

http://tinyurl.com/ll6lh3d

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints . . .

I like to help, I like to teach, I like to give back a little of what I've learned. Many people have helped me on the way. Most of the tips credited to me are simply things I've heard that I'm passing along.....

 [Satnrose]

.