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 -
Chinese Chest Antiques -> Asian -> Chinese: Chests A Chinese chest can improve the look of any room, in addition to providing storage space and serving as a conversation piece, especially if it's an antique. A chest can function as more than just storage, it can be used as a coffee or...... -
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...... -
Revolutionary New Antiques Site Aggregates the World's Stock of Antique Silver, Bringing Buyers and Sellers Together There is a new player in the international silver trade. My Family Silver is a revolutionary new website that offers a unique way to buy and sell antique silver. For the first time, myfamilysilver.com enables dealers and auctioneers worldwide to list silver for sale on one exclusive and fully independent...... - Ceramic Piggy Banks Antiques -> Decorative Arts -> Ceramics, Porcelain Ceramic piggy banks have an interesting history. Why pigs, exactly, and not bank shapes or a tiny safe? Apparently, we use pigs because of language, and a simple mistake. The word “pygg” was an old English word for an orange clay commonly used......
Related Websites - The Best of April I haven't done this before, but I think it's a cool way to recap some of the stories I've written over the past month. Usually after I publish a story I just put it in the back of my mind and stop thinking about it. But going back and looking......
- Homes For Sale In Anaheim California by Dan Killoe Homes for sale in Anaheim California run the gamut from extremely affordable small condominium units all the way up to some truly fantastic real estate and property that most people in the middle class probably aren't really able to afford. This is so even in the new......
-
Social Marketing Central Woman Stands to Lose Her Home Her name is Trina L.C. Sonnenberg, and she's in danger of becoming part of a growing group of people in the U.S. who are in danger of losing, or have already lost their homes. But she isn't sitting around waiting for a bailout. She's being proactive and using her web...... - Affiliate Marketing can Equal Financial Success without Financial Risk This is guest post by Ahson Rafiq who is a web designer and an entrepreneur blogging at ENTmind.com Sales and marketing is a very lucrative field to get involved in. The problem is that usually you only have two options if you want to get involved. You can either work......
-
Book of Perfume by Elisabeth Barille and Catherine Laroze Review The The Book of Perfume is a book by Elisabeth Barille as well as Catherine Laroze. Original Title was Le Livre de Parfum. Translation was completed by Tamara Blondel. Publisher was Paris and New York Flammarion in 1995. ISBN Number is 2-08013-590-2 Book's Format is Hardcover, with 224 pages.......
