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
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