lyceumdreamsbooks wrote:

 

Anyway, let me know if you need help.

Thank you so much... I'll try to change my titles now. :>

I've also not experienced collector interest in this. Collector fussiness seems primarily focused on condition.

As well as price I'd say !

Auction everything.  If it doesn't sell after a week move it to your store.

Has anyone noted the effects of the economic crisis on their sales ??

Craig, take this for what it is worth, likely not much. This is my skewed view of the world and the Trade.

Collectors want to know they are buying from someone who has the ability to put together a coherent listing with properly identified details.This is an indication of service standards and knowledge of the product.

rubric, full title, author, publisher, copyright date (or any date present), physical description, collation, full condition statement, etc are all very important as you know.

In my personal opinion, a buyer wants every piece of information that a seller can muster the energy to provide and is entitled to it. So, even providing a lowly copyright date can go a long way to providing that comfort to the buyer that:

A) you have actually opened the book

B) you have some idea of the standard practices in the book trade and are thus able to give a proper condition statement (which I agree is a most important factor within this category of product)

You could argue that buyers of Easton Press do not need to know that the endpapers are silk moiré, or with bindings of leather accented with 22kt gold, or how many pages the books has or if its illustrated or the actual physical size of the book---that they should know.  Well, some people do not know, some people do not understand that Easton Press (and others) were issued often and with many variants. Customers may not know that often the variants can be understood and differentiated by binding as well as by the physical size. Maybe the difference in a customer choosing you over the other 1,000,001 people who sell Easton, Franklin,Folio, etc, is that you have gone out of your way to provide a proper, and full catalogue entry. 

Just because they are buying known books and the margins are low does not mean that we should not afford them the same cataloging services as provided elsewhere, even if it seems (or is) an empty exercise.

Regards,

Michael.

****My original remarks were given to someone that needs to learn the proper way to catalogue books. Whether they sell a Folio or two is not of importance, but rather, that we have armed that person with the knowledge to be a better book dealer. 

p.s.----Love the website------I check it out nearly everyday!!!  You sir, are a valued piece of this community and I for one wish to thank you for your efforts. 

Collectors want to know they are buying from someone who has the ability to put together a coherent listing with properly identified details.This is an indication of service standards and knowledge of the product.

FULLY AGREE.

We're getting some advice here at least, now if anyone knows what items to put in fixed price and which in auction that'd be great !"

I think it probably depends a lot on what you sell and whether auctions are a proven effective way to move your product. I sell commodity books and find that auctions are not productive for me so I mostly auction lots. A bunch end up in my store anyway when they don't sell. My sell-through rate is not the best on this board but I've decided that using the Store is the way for me to go.

midnightbooks wrote:

Next time I list one I'll revisit this and perhaps sprinkle the description with a bibliographic mote or two

Wear eye protection.

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Craig, I understand your apathy towards this most common of collectible book. I am not a big fan of them either, but what is nice, is that you know almost exactly what you will get out of them on the resale market. This makes life easier in regard to budgets and expectations of profit which is nice for some people.

In my experience, buyers (especially of Easton Press) will gladly give an additional 15-20% on the common titles for a properly catalogued title (in the $100 and under "zone")

One thing is certain, and we can't say this very often in this Trade, Easton Press titles always sell.  Always.

As to your comments on being a clown, I am reminded of Native American traditions where it is actually an honor to be the trickster, or "Coyote" as they would be known properly. They were typically keepers of the fire during ceremony, which is apropos to this conversation in that we as booksellers need to keep the home fires lit in regard to proper method (which I know you are a big fan of), and no mattter what, no matter what the product is used for or what gains are made or lost, we can take solice in the fact that we have provided the world a service and generally made it a better place in which to reside.

Anyway, continued good luck in your endeavors and if there is anything I can do to give you a hand please let me know.

11finestbooks11 wrote:

Collectors want to know they are buying from someone who has the ability to put together a coherent listing with properly identified details.This is an indication of service standards and knowledge of the product.

 

FULLY AGREE.

With wisdom comes power.

The most important thing to remember is that you can always be better than you are. A better bookseller, and a better person. The hard part is to learn to strive harder once you have reached a roadblock or hinderance to those goals.

Best of luck.

lyceumdreamsbooks wrote:

11finestbooks11 wrote:

Collectors want to know they are buying from someone who has the ability to put together a coherent listing with properly identified details.This is an indication of service standards and knowledge of the product.

 

FULLY AGREE.

 

With wisdom comes power.

 

The most important thing to remember is that you can always be better than you are. A better bookseller, and a better person. The hard part is to learn to strive harder once you have reached a roadblock or hinderance to those goals.

 

Best of luck.

 

Complacency is a part of Human nature, and sometimes we need outside motivation to remind us.  Keep a stack of old booksellers' catalogues or old Sotheby's and Christies catalogues at hand, and read through them now and again.  The not only serve to remind us, but usually teach us something new into the bargain.  I've probably learned more from Maggs 1930 catalogue 533 (Incunabula from 100 Towns) than anyone has a right to learn for free.

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