posted on July 24, 2001 04:49:45 PM new
Hi..I've just acquired a large lot of very old antique and vintage books. Dates range from the 1800's to 1950's and conditions range from very good to pretty bad but intact.
Since they are too old to list on Half.com where I list most of my books..I dont know where the best place to put them would be. How do books like these fare on Ebay? Is there some other place they may sell better? I am not an experienced bookseller so I dont really know how to grade them..other than general descriptions.
posted on July 24, 2001 06:23:37 PM new
Almost everythng depends on the book and the bidders who want it. I think this is a stinky time of year to offer up rare books, but you can cover yourself with a reserve.
The highest prices seem to be off eBay, but I really question whether anyone actually fetches these prices.
posted on July 24, 2001 06:29:39 PM new
I don't know if this will help you, but I always check the value of my books on biblio.com. I am sure that you can sell in this venue as well. It will let you know if you have anything really valuable.
posted on July 25, 2001 07:09:32 AM new
Sometimes old versus newer doesn't really matter, either. It depends on the subject, title, and author, along with condition, as well as someone who wants it bad enough.
posted on July 25, 2001 07:21:01 AM new
besides abe.com and bibliofind,there are some book co-ops ,whether the traffic is good or not,i dunno.
also zshop within amzn,i have seen some pricey antiquarian books.
posted on July 25, 2001 08:48:59 PM new
Try Barnes and Noble Rare Books website. When I sold books, I got the value from Barnes and Noble but on EBAY they sold really poorly. I don't know if Barnes and Noble is any better, but it might be.
posted on July 25, 2001 09:38:31 PM new
Thanks for everone's help. I guess I'll try Ebay and Barnes and Noble and see how that goes. Some are quite old so I dont want to just "give them away"
I have one that is dated 1870..it's in a language I dont recognize but someone said it might be russian.
If anyone else has any ideas..I'd appreciate hearing it.
posted on July 26, 2001 06:34:48 AM new
To sell old books on Bibliofind.com, you would have to go back in time. Amazon (they owned Bibliofind) closed Bibliofind a few months ago.
To sell on Barnes & Noble, you would need to first sign up with ABE, www.abebooks.com. One of the optional bookseller programs on ABE is the Barnes & Noble program. ABE has also just started a half.com program. I have subscribed to ABE since 1998. When I started there, there were about 1,800 dealers on ABE, now there are 8000+! Lots of competition in the used and rare book field on the Internet. It helps to have a large inventory online. I have 3000+ with about 4000 more books waiting to be added to my database. It also helps to list your books across multiple venues.
eBay is still a good venue for some out of print books. I would check the closed listings on ebay to get an idea of what a title is selling for there, if at all, before I listed a book on ebay. There are certain categories of books that sell well on ebay. Do some research on the site to see what those categories are (what has the most bids? That's easy to see.)
My best selling venue for books right now is Amazon.com. I have sold in their zshops since they opened and also sell in Marketplace. There are problems with uploading and computer glitches, but I sell more books there than anywhere else.
Other book selling venues to consider: Alibris (they don't charge a monthly fee, but take 20% discount at time of sale - you need at least 1000 books to list there). Also, 21 North Main (geared to the library and educational market), half.com (ebay owned), GrabaBargain.com (see story about them on Auctionwatch), TomFolio (a bookseller's co op that I belong to -- a discussion about TF is on other sites in Auctionwatch).
To sum up: Do your homework to see what your books are worth (search ebay completed listings, www.bookfinder.com, addall.com). Then list on multiple venues (my favorites: Amazon zshops and marketplace, ABE, ebay, Alibris, 21 North Main, TomFolio, Grababargain).
You might also consider that you need professional software to run your book business. Homebase II is free at ABE and is a good choice to start with. Later, you might want to consider BookHound or BookTrakker.
Be professional in your packing and shipping too. There is plenty of advice on this online. Don't be a lowballer. That just ruins the market for all sellers. Price competitively but fairly. Increase your knowledge of used and rare books by visiting sites and reading boards such as this one and the ebay bookboard and Amazon's seller's connection board.
Good luck!--Donny, Junebug Books
Donny B. Seagraves
Junebug Books
www.junebugbooks.com
posted on July 26, 2001 09:24:44 AM new
Most "very old antique and vintage books" aren't worth anything. You have to know your subjects and market.
Anytime is a good time to sell the right book. I recently bought two old books for $2 each at a flea market and sold them on ebay for over $100 each. But I buy and sell in a narrow field and am very selective in the books I buy (even at $2 !!).
I don't look up values. I start them at my cost, and what they sell for is their value.
posted on July 26, 2001 12:55:09 PM new
Thanks again to everyone for your input. This is exactly the information I was looking for. Since I am inexperienced at selling books, you have all been quite helpful.
I usually sell antique and collectible items but ran across this deal on the books so I thought I'd give it a shot. Is it the general consensus that most books like these sell best on Amazon?
I do understand that some, if not most, may be worthless or worth very little..but since I am inexperienced in this line..I guess I'll just take my chances..I like the idea of listing as my costs then just seeing where it goes from there. LOL maybe I'll get lucky
posted on July 26, 2001 02:08:29 PM new
"I do understand that some, if not most, may be worthless or worth very little..but since I am inexperienced in this line..I guess I'll just take my chances.."
Krystalroz, that's the only way to learn, and the way we all learned. No one can really tell you. Keep buying old books and selling them and eventually you will know which ones you can sell and what they are worth and find your niche. Good luck.
