Date: Wed, 19 Mar 1997 23:52:57 -0800 (PST) From: Sean Barry <sjbarry@ucdavis.edu> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg1006$foo@default> Subject: Scarce book prices
On Wed, 19 Mar 1997, John McChesney-Young wrote:
> Book dealers don't charge for the service, but they do, of necessity,
> mark up the books as they pass them on from their source to you, the
> buyer. Booksellers have to make a profit or they can't survive. The
> amount varies according to the dealer; it may be a flat rate or it may
> be a percentage. Doubling is not uncommon. This is in addition to any
> increases at the source. "Hmm. Someone wants that old thing? Maybe it's
> worth more than I thought. I'll quote $20, not the $10 it's marked."
The best way to pay a fair price for a used/rare book is to familiarize
yourself with the going price _range_ for the book in question, and to
learn as much as you can about the title itself prior to any purchase.
This applies as much to books you find yourself as to books searched for
you. There are several annually-updated price guides available and an
astonishing array of books are covered-check public libraries for these
guides, as well as for comprehensive publication records, where you can
find publication data on specific titles. Prices in the guides are based
entirely on what contributing dealers received during the previous 12
months for specific titles. I have also found a great deal of information
by comparing dealers' prices on the Net, and the disparity in asking price
for some titles is remarkable. On the other hand, caveat emptor on low
prices because condition/edition may not be what you wanted. Ditto
unusually high prices if they originate from dealers who do not specialize
in the topic, because in my experience, out-of-specialty dealers may
inadvertantly or otherwise overprice junk--flyfishing and ornithology
books are notorious in this regard. If you buy a used book through the
mail, be sure that you have return/refund (not store credit) privileges
understood in advance. Truly rare book prices are generally to be found
listed in book auction records, (also in libraries) but I believe that the
only title of central interest to this forum that might qualify would be a
first of Darwin's _Insectivorous Plants_. A book auction is a wonderful
experience, though not for the shy, the faint-of-heart, or the
budget-minded.
You could also try one of the Web booksearch sites, such as bibliofind
(http://www.bibliofind.com--all standard disclaimers), but I checked
yesterday and was cut no Slack. Nevertheless, the Net has been a rich
source of books for me during the past few years, and I have only been
burned once (and not severely) out of at least 75 Net-discovered books.
Still, I have to admit that it's more fun to find them in the
hole-in-the-wall places on the side streets of small towns.
Take heart--even among many natural history dealers Slack's books are
considered quite specialized ("buyers are scarcer than the book") and
scarce as they are the prices have remained fairly low compared with many
other botany/horticulture titles--probably not forever though. The
important lesson is that in the used/rare book collecting game,
persistence, alertness, and knowledge pay dividends.
Sean Barry
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