Many people who collect rare books have relationships with a number of booksellers who handle these types of books, and have lists of the books they’d like to own. The seller, when that book becomes available, will contact the customer and then they negotiate on a price. Some online rare book sellers give the option of making such a wish list with them, and then you could be notified if they should find they have your books available.
If you’re interested in collecting rare books, establishing a relationship with several sellers and giving them your wish lists is an excellent beginning. You can at least be assured that if one of these sellers come across a book that you’ve expressed an interest in, you’ll be contacted and you’ll have the opportunity to negotiate its purchase. Whether or not you’ll end up with the book depends on how many other people the seller has to notify, and how aggressively the other customers go after the same rare book.
But rare book sellers aren’t the only way you can find rare books. Flea markets can provide interesting finds, as can yard sales. Very often people take their old books and sell them for pennies at these kinds of sales. If the seller isn’t well-read or interested in rare books, he or she might not be aware that the old book they’ve never read and don’t even remember where they got could be quite valuable in the rare book market.
Auctions like eBay are an excellent place to find rare books, too. While it’s fun to browse through the tables at flea markets and yard sales and come across an old book that costs virtually nothing and could very well be worth something, when you approach booksellers or auctions, it’s best to know exactly what books you want.
If you’re looking for rare books by a specific author, that makes it quite easy to search the numerous auctions you’ll find online, and if you’re looking for a specific book or books, then your search is simplified even more. Though it can worthwhile to simply browse the books at eBay, you’ll want to narrow it down. Go to the category called “Antiques” and then choose “Books and Manuscripts.” You can narrow it down further by choosing the region of the world you’d like the books to originate from, or you can choose the main category and spend hours browsing the rare book auctions.
As far as judging the value of rare books, much depends on the author, the condition of the book and its binding, and the book itself. First editions are the most coveted types of rare books available today, as they represent the very first printing of the book, and are almost always more valuable than later printings. If you’re looking at an auction that says “reading copy,” then pass on it. This is a book that’s in poor enough condition that you can enjoy reading it, but it’s not collectible.
Originally posted 2008-11-16 05:00:34. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Related Posts -
Antique Dishes Dealers -> Glass -> Plates Collecting antique dishes can be a fun and rewarding hobby, but it’s probably not going to be an easy one! Because of the wide variety of dishes available from so many sources, you’ll probably have to brush up on your knowledge of dishes and dinnerware....... -
Antique Shops Online One thing that you will know if you are interested in antiquing is that there are antique shops located all over the world. When people think of antiques and antiquing, what they think about is buying items that and then hoping someday that they will gain value. When it...... -
Antique Bird Cages Dealers -> Antiques -> Decorative-Arts Years ago, before the introduction of plastics and resins, even animals’ indoor homes like antique bird cages were considered beautiful pieces of furniture. Of course, some were plain and utilitarian, but many more were actually created in the popular furniture styles of the times. Bird...... -
Antique Books Antiques -> Books and Manuscripts -> American If you are interested in finding a collectible that has a true story to tell, antique books are the ideal choice. These offer the ability to collect something that has value, not only in the actual worth of the item, but in the...... -
Barrister Bookcase Dealers -> Furniture -> Bookcases Patented in 1892, a barrister bookcase is a special type of bookcase that's enclosed with clear glass covering the front, differentiating it from a typical open-shelf bookcase. These bookcases got their start in the UK, but became popular worldwide because of their unique stackable......
Related Websites -
How to Find Rare Acoustic Musical Instruments It's not difficult to learn how to find rare acoustic musical instruments. But it can be difficult narrowing down your choices from all the interesting types of instruments you'll find. Whether you're looking for rare types of instruments like a zither or a lute, or rare vintage items like an...... - Which Personal Finance Guru Would I Recommend? A reader recently e-mailed me to ask which personal finance guru I'd recommend. I thought about it for a little while and had to tell her that there wasn't one guru I prized above the others. Instead, I sketched out which personal finance gurus I liked best for particular areas.......
-
Make Money Online Away From Home I stopped writing about making money online quite sometime ago. Reason being, I discovered that to really make money online, there are certain things that, if revealed publicly, like in this blog for instance, can earn the wrath of big Daddy G. However, if the truth is not revealed,...... -
Leverage Social Media to turn your Thought Leaders into Sales people I heard this somewhere: "People like to interact with brands. But more importantly, they like to interact with the people behind those brands". Ford is a perfect example here. During 2008 and early 2009, the automobile industry faced unprecedented challenges: demand plummeted and credit became unavailable forcing GM and...... -
Favorite Blog Wednesday - Hunting For A Mighty Bargain. The 13th personal finance site in my series âFavorite Blog Wednesdayâ is Mighty Bargain Hunter, another favorite site of mine from a while back. I have been reading MBH since the beginning of my venture into the online personal finance world, and I have not been let down yet.......
