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The "New" Book Market On
The Internet
To say that there are dynamic changes taking place in the rare and collectible book market is an understatement.
At one time the 'market' for rare and collectible books consisted of a few hundred well known and highly respected
rare book dealers and collectors who slowly and laboriously collected books in their specialty. It wasn't too long
ago that collectors wanted 'depth'- collecting every book and piece of ephemera by a particular author or within
a particular genre. A collector searching for a particular book gathered dealers catalogs, visited shops in remote
corners of the world hoping to come across the one rare book that would crown their collection.
Collecting was a "gentleman's" game. Dealers carefully cultivated their customers over years, helping
them select books that added depth to their collections. Dealers relied on word-of-mouth and reputation to build
their business. Dealers, for the most part, 'specialized'. Book collecting was more than a hobby, it was an obsession
to some.
They never envisioned that with a single click of a computer they could access the catalogs of thousands of rare
and collectible book dealers and choose among hundreds of thousands of books in every edition.
Where once it may have taken years to find a book wanted by a collector, now takes minutes. Yes, the market has
changed because of the Internet.
The Internet has added liquidity to the rare and collectible book market. And liquidity is very important for any
market. All it means is that, when you're ready to sell there is a buyer, ready willing and able to buy your offering.
The Internet has also added the element of transactional speed. People are buying and selling books at a rate of
speed that seems incredible by standards just a few years ago. Thousands of book are being traded daily.
On just one Internet site there are over 9,500 transactions taking place every day. And there are dozen's of sites
that buy and sell rare and collectible books.
Why books?
Why deal in books rather than other collectible items such as figurines or art or pottery?
Books have a special place in the history of the human race. They record the history, thoughts, feelings, views,
philosophy, theology and dreams and imaginings of men and women who lived before us and who live with us.
Books have shaped the way we think, live our lives and have formed the backbone of governments and world religions.
The fact that books have a special place in our lives make them, I think, more than 'collectible items'. They are
an investment in the past and the future of the entire human race. Man's has separated himself from animals in
his ability to reason, to think and to record those thoughts in books for each generation to read.
Have you ever read the book 'Fahrenheit 451' by Ray Bradbury? Or maybe you saw the movie? If you haven't read the
book or watched the movie you should. The highest function of which a person is capable is "Thinking"-
and if you take that away, there isn't much left is what that movie was all about. Books jump start our thinking,
challenge us and help us.
So what makes books valuable? Why should someone pay $100,000 or more for just a book? These are the questions
I asked myself before I got involved in this wonderful business.
Did you know that, of all the collecting fields, only one has a disease named after it? "Bibliomania"
is a disease. Literally, a bibliomaniac is someone who is "mad for books".
By the way, for the purpose of this report, when I'm speaking of "books" I am talking exclusively about
"hard cover" books and NOT paperbacks (certain paperbacks are collectible as well, but very few of them
have reached the value of their hard cover cousins).
And, I was as astounded, as you might be right now, to learn that used and out-of-print books are valuable and
some are even super-valuable.
Take for example a first printing of "Alice's Adventures In Wonderland"- today worth about $125,000.
Why should a simple child's book be worth so much money? Because it's "collectible"? Because it's old?
Because it's a children's book? The answer is simple. And it took me sometime to accept the simplicity of it, but
here it is:
"Certain books are valuable because someone wants it and is willing and able to pay the price to own it".
That's it.
Collectors come in all shapes, sizes and interests and they are all over the world. Demand is huge and you'll be
surprised at the rate at which used books will sell. That doesn't mean there aren't slow times but books move very
fast into the hands that want them.
The key is they 'want' them.
Someone told me once that you can never make any money selling something that people need- you only can make money
selling things that people want. And it's 100% true. The point here is that the market for used, OP and rare books
is voracious and I don't see it letting up. In fact, I believe it will get larger as baby boomers have more leisure
time (and money) and begin thinking about and accumulating books written in the 'good 'ol days'- before the year
2000.
The Internet has completely changed the ways used, OP and collectible books are bought and sold. Some of the electronic
lists I've posted books to I've gotten responses of 80%- so for every 10 books listed I have sold 8. That's a pretty
good response. The more remarkable thing about that is that I have made substantial profits on the books sold-
profits sometimes in excess of 724 times what I paid for the book! Tell me any other business where the profit
margins are that high? In on-line auctions (like those held on Ebay) I've sold closer to 95% of all the listings
I've put up. In fact, if you're so inclined you could work the auctions almost exclusively and make a very good
living.
This system reveals all the secrets I use, I hold nothing back. At one time I thought that I would never tell anyone
about what I was doing because I didn't want to ruin the opportunity for myself. But now that I have been doing
this for many, many years I realize the market is much bigger than I am and that helping you in no way hurts me.
It market is just too big, and it's global and it really doesn't care what I think- it just keeps moving forward.
And I'm glad it does because that means there is almost always a market for my books.
I've received orders from nearly every state in the US as well as orders from Japan and Malasia and Singapore and
England and Norway and Australia and more. I've posted books on a Internet newsgroup and received inquiries from
all over the world. Everyone is interested in buying, selling and collecting used, OP and rare books. Here's a
very valuable suggestion: If you can translate your book descriptions or have them translated into German or French
or Japanese you will make a lot more sales. Foreign collectors of American literature are plentiful and lurk (watch
without participating by posting responses) newsgroups and electronic mailing lists looking for books. You will
certainly increase your sales if you can provide this service to overseas collectors and dealers.
Let's dissect the statement I made earlier: "Certain books are valuable because someone wants it and is willing
and able to pay the price to own it". We will be able to see why certain books are valuable and others are
not and then how we can profit from this information.
"CERTAIN BOOKS"
It should be obvious that not all used books are valuable. If all used books were valuable there would be no need
for this report, it would be common knowledge and the secrets you're learning here would be unnecessary. But the
fact is these are, in fact, "secrets".
Very few people know how to identify valuable books at a first glance. In fact 98% of the general population walk
by books that could easily put $100 to $40,000 in their pocket with no work at all!
I bet that I have walked past books that were worth $1,000's of dollars prior to getting into this business. And
you have done the same. But not anymore.
All you need to know is how to spot the secret differences that makes certain books valuable. So what are these
"Certain books"- what makes them different than other used books?
As a general rule the "first edition" or the very "first printing" of a book is more valuable
than later editions. And the "first issue" or printing of a first edition is more valuable yet.
A "first issue" is the same as the first printing of the book in that edition. Many times a book that
is a first issue contains errors: Mistakes in pagination or typesetting. These are actually more valuable to a
collector.
In most cases, the "second printing" of a book is nearly worthless- BUT… there are always exceptions!
For example, the "second edition" of the Book of Mormon is more valuable than the first edition. Why?
Because the revisions to the first edition were so extensive that the second edition is considered THE definitive
and authoritative edition- and more collectible.
There are many other examples. But as a general rule, the "first edition", "first issue" or
"first printing" of a book is more valuable than the second edition, second issue or second printing.
How do you know if a book is a 'first' or 'second' printing or later? Will discuss it all in detail but for now
let's say that in most cases there is a statement made by the publisher on the copyright page of a book that tells
which printing or which edition it is.
COPYRIGHT PAGE
The copyright page of a book contains important information for the collector and dealer. At a minimum it states
the date in which the book was copyrighted. In most cases it contains the publisher's imprint, city and state the
book was published, the edition of the book and/or the printing of the book. In most cases the statement on the
copyright page that the book is a "First Edition" or "First Printing" is the first reliable,
if not simplistic, indication that the book is a collectible item. You can't always rely on this statement, however,
and that's why you need a good reference book to make a final determination.
There is another "factor" affecting a book's value that is just as important as the edition of a book.
That factor is the book's "condition".... |
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Entire Contents © Copyright 2001 by David Vallieres. All rights reserved. |