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lookiong to start a collection



 
 
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  #1  
Old May 9th 07, 09:54 PM posted to rec.collecting.books
[email protected]
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Posts: 1
Default lookiong to start a collection

just wondering if anyone could give me a couple hints on how to start
up a collection?

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  #3  
Old May 10th 07, 05:02 PM posted to rec.collecting.books
John R. Yamamoto-Wilson
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Posts: 80
Default lookiong to start a collection

Scot Kamins wrote:
In article .com,
wrote:

just wondering if anyone could give me a couple hints on how to start
up a collection?


Is this a serious question? If so, you're going to have to provide a lot
more information.


Assuming it *is* a serious question, and answering in very general
terms, I think one way to do it would be to follow eBay book auctions,
watching auctions that you think are interesting (for whatever reason)
for weeks, or even months, *without* bidding on anything.

And without bidding means without bidding! Really. Even if you think
you've found the bargain of the century and no one else is bidding. Just
watch the auctions. Use ABE (
http://www.abebooks.com) and Addall and
Amazon marketplace, etc., as a cross-reference, and try to pick up a
sense of what makes one copy worth more than another (apparently
similar) copy.

The other thing is, *specialise*. No one can be an expert in every
field. Find a niche that you feel comfortable with (sci fi, Victorian
novels, whatever), and within that niche find a smaller niche (sci fi
featuring clones, Victorian novels that touch on the topic of
illegitimacy, whatever), and start to make yourself an expert in that.

And, finally, collect stuff that matters to *you*, stuff you want
because you want it, not because you think it's a clever way to get rich
quick.


John
  #4  
Old May 10th 07, 05:18 PM posted to rec.collecting.books
foaddoc[_5_]
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Posts: 22
Default lookiong to start a collection


"John R. Yamamoto-Wilson" wrote in message
...
Scot Kamins wrote:
In article .com,
wrote:

just wondering if anyone could give me a couple hints on how to start
up a collection?


Is this a serious question? If so, you're going to have to provide a lot
more information.


Assuming it *is* a serious question, and answering in very general terms,
I think one way to do it would be to follow eBay book auctions, watching
auctions that you think are interesting (for whatever reason) for weeks,
or even months, *without* bidding on anything.

And without bidding means without bidding! Really. Even if you think
you've found the bargain of the century and no one else is bidding. Just
watch the auctions. Use ABE (
http://www.abebooks.com) and Addall and
Amazon marketplace, etc., as a cross-reference, and try to pick up a sense
of what makes one copy worth more than another (apparently similar) copy.


Hi John Yamamoto Wilson.

You just advised someone who wishes to start a book collection to start
collecting books by not buying any books. You might want to rethink this, as
buying books is an integral part of book collecting.


  #5  
Old May 10th 07, 06:05 PM posted to rec.collecting.books
Francis A. Miniter
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Posts: 131
Default lookiong to start a collection

foaddoc wrote:

"John R. Yamamoto-Wilson" wrote in message
...

Scot Kamins wrote:

In article .com,
wrote:


just wondering if anyone could give me a couple hints on how to start
up a collection?

Is this a serious question? If so, you're going to have to provide a lot
more information.


Assuming it *is* a serious question, and answering in very general terms,
I think one way to do it would be to follow eBay book auctions, watching
auctions that you think are interesting (for whatever reason) for weeks,
or even months, *without* bidding on anything.

And without bidding means without bidding! Really. Even if you think
you've found the bargain of the century and no one else is bidding. Just
watch the auctions. Use ABE (
http://www.abebooks.com) and Addall and
Amazon marketplace, etc., as a cross-reference, and try to pick up a sense
of what makes one copy worth more than another (apparently similar) copy.



Hi John Yamamoto Wilson.

You just advised someone who wishes to start a book collection to start
collecting books by not buying any books. You might want to rethink this, as
buying books is an integral part of book collecting.


The same kind of advice is often given to people who want to undertake
speculation in commodities and securities. When a person has no experience,
dry runs can be very informative. It also teaches discipline. All to many
people get hyped up in a bidding frenzy.


Francis A. Miniter
  #6  
Old May 10th 07, 06:57 PM posted to rec.collecting.books
foaddoc[_5_]
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Posts: 22
Default lookiong to start a collection


"Francis A. Miniter" wrote in message
news:464350dc@kcnews01...
foaddoc wrote:

"John R. Yamamoto-Wilson" wrote in message
...

Scot Kamins wrote:

In article .com,
wrote:


just wondering if anyone could give me a couple hints on how to start
up a collection?

Is this a serious question? If so, you're going to have to provide a lot
more information.


Assuming it *is* a serious question, and answering in very general terms,
I think one way to do it would be to follow eBay book auctions, watching
auctions that you think are interesting (for whatever reason) for weeks,
or even months, *without* bidding on anything.

And without bidding means without bidding! Really. Even if you think
you've found the bargain of the century and no one else is bidding. Just
watch the auctions. Use ABE (
http://www.abebooks.com) and Addall and
Amazon marketplace, etc., as a cross-reference, and try to pick up a
sense of what makes one copy worth more than another (apparently similar)
copy.



Hi John Yamamoto Wilson.

You just advised someone who wishes to start a book collection to start
collecting books by not buying any books. You might want to rethink this,
as buying books is an integral part of book collecting.

The same kind of advice is often given to people who want to undertake
speculation in commodities and securities. When a person has no
experience, dry runs can be very informative. It also teaches discipline.
All to many people get hyped up in a bidding frenzy.


And the same advice is given to tyro horseplayers. It's ********. In the
first place, if you don't have a minimum amount of disposable income, you
shouldn't undertake the activity. In the second place, no matter how
meticulous you are with your fantasy investments, real money in real time
creates different pressures that people react to differently. Third, winning
and losing have their own psychologies, to which people react differently.
Paper trading doesn't teach that. Fourth, much book knowledge is tactile:
you learn with your hands. For my money the guy'd be much better off going
to a library sale and buying $20 worth of books that he thinks collectible
and bringing them home and examining the jackets and the binding and the
number lines and all the rest of it, and then seeing if his intuition as to
value was correct. Not to mention he'd have something to read. Finally, the
guy's never going to know if he enjoys collecting books without collecting
them.

It may be that JYW is enamored of Ebay because of the peculiarities of his
situation: collecting arcane subjects written in English while living in
Asia. Personally I rarely use ebay, except when searching for gems such as
my recently acquired Mary Ann's Gilligan's Island Cookbook inscribed by Dawn
Wells, Tina Louise, and Bob Denver. Much of the joy of the actviity, or my
joy anyway, comes from browsing through the stacks. I do not discount the
interweb, but to confine yourself to it, especially as a neophye, is silly.






Francis A. Miniter



  #7  
Old May 10th 07, 07:27 PM posted to rec.collecting.books
Jim[_2_]
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Posts: 39
Default lookiong to start a collection

You might find it useful to go to the library, and take out a book or
two on book collecting. This will cost you nothing, and will give a
vague idea of how rich the field is.

  #8  
Old May 11th 07, 05:15 AM posted to rec.collecting.books
John R. Yamamoto-Wilson
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 80
Default lookiong to start a collection

foaddoc wrote:

And the same advice is given to tyro horseplayers. It's ********.
In the first place, if you don't have a minimum amount of disposable
income, you shouldn't undertake the activity. In the second place,
no matter how meticulous you are with your fantasy investments, real
money in real time creates different pressures that people react to
differently. Third, winning and losing have their own psychologies,
to which people react differently. Paper trading doesn't teach that.


I see what you're saying, but I'm not thinking of it so much as a form
of gambling as a body of knowledge. Getting some sense of what makes a
valuable book valuable and finding out how the whole market works seems
to me a reasonable way to begin.

Fourth, much book knowledge is tactile: you learn with your hands.
For my money the guy'd be much better off going to a library sale and
buying $20 worth of books that he thinks collectible and bringing them
home and examining the jackets and the binding and the number lines
and all the rest of it, and then seeing if his intuition as to
value was correct. Not to mention he'd have something to read.


Yes, that's a good suggestion. I don't know that it has to be either/or,
though. He could learn a lot from doing both.

Finally, the guy's never going to know if he enjoys collecting books
without collecting them.


I guess one does tend to think in terms of one's own position, so I'm
assuming he owns and reads books (it would be a bit odd if he didn't).
What I suppose he doesn't do, or hasn't done until now, is buy books
with a view to their collectible value.

I may be wrong, but I think he might stand a better chance of enjoying
buying collectible books if he knew just a tad about it before pouring a
lot of money into what may be a costly mistake.

It may be that JYW is enamored of Ebay because of the peculiarities of
his situation: collecting arcane subjects written in English while
living in Asia.


Again, yes, my own position may make a difference, and I guess a
well-rounded set of tips should include advice to browse regular
bricks-and-mortar bookshops. But I was just throwing in my five cents,
not writing a comprehensive introduction to book-collecting. If other
people (such as your good self) throw in their own five cents' worth
it'll all make a muckle that the OP can pick and choose from as he pleases.

Personally I rarely use ebay, except when searching for gems such as
my recently acquired Mary Ann's Gilligan's Island Cookbook inscribed
by Dawn Wells, Tina Louise, and Bob Denver. Much of the joy of the
actviity, or my joy anyway, comes from browsing through the stacks.


I go through phases on that front. There have been times when I've come
home loaded with books from book fairs and bricks-and-mortar stores, and
other times when all I've got from a day's slogging around concrete
streets is sore feet. Conversely, I've gone through patches of total
disillusionment with eBay, getting cramped shoulders from sitting in
front of a computer monitor and despairing of ever finding anything
worth having.

I do not discount the interweb, but to confine yourself to it,
especially as a neophye, is silly.


Yes, I can go along with that, but it's still a good way of finding out
about books and how the book market works.

John
  #9  
Old May 11th 07, 08:17 AM posted to rec.collecting.books
yelrambob
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Posts: 1
Default lookiong to start a collection

thanks for youre help i didnt even think about being to broad with my
topic and all that everyone has said has helped in a way but i gess i
was thinking more along the lines of where would i go to find good
books of the collectible sort, what kind of books would make a good
collection, with the books i pb books i already have and love should i
go for the FE hardcovers of them, and how do i figure out what genre/
author/age books to collect


  #10  
Old May 11th 07, 03:45 PM posted to rec.collecting.books
Mr. E.
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Posts: 99
Default lookiong to start a collection

On May 9, 4:54 pm, wrote:
just wondering if anyone could give me a couple hints on how to start
up a collection?


Yes, buy Hardy Boys books. Buy many Hardy Boys books. Buy nothing but
Hardy Boys books.

 




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