Book dealers' selling price v. buying price.

What is the usual difference between what a seller will pay for rarer
book amd what the dealer will ask for a book. I am not talking about my
VF/VF copy of Hannibal, but books with a limited first edition or fine
press book (presuming there are is a group thet finds these books of
interest). Is it like a new car loses 25% value when it leaves the
dealer's lot? Does a $550 book instantly become a $225 book. This does
presuppose that I exercised due diligence in ascertaining the retail
market price considering condition.

"Orestes" wrote in message
ups.com...

What is the usual difference between what a seller will pay for rarer
book amd what the dealer will ask for a book. I am not talking about my
VF/VF copy of Hannibal, but books with a limited first edition or fine
press book (presuming there are is a group thet finds these books of
interest). Is it like a new car loses 25% value when it leaves the
dealer's lot? Does a $550 book instantly become a $225 book. This does
presuppose that I exercised due diligence in ascertaining the retail
market price considering condition.


All buying prices are determined solely by how badly the dealer wants
to buy a particular book, balanced against how desperate the seller
of that book is to raise some money. Regardless of what the
seller may believe the book's "real" worth to be, as a result
of say Internet searches.

Similarly, dealers with very few books and a lot of money will pay higher
prices, and charge higher prices, than dealers loaded down with
stock, and no further money to buy any more.

In fact dealers with few books may set deliberately high prices
- as are thrown up by Internet searches - so as to the deter the
more knowledgable buyer. While at the same time hoping to snare the
unwary into paying an exorbitant price - if they will insist
on parting the dealer from his or her stock.

Similarly a dealer's expectations concerning how prices are likely to
change in the future, may well affect his or her pricing and willingness
to part with stock right now. i.e. If a dealer expects prices to rise
considerably in the very near future then they may be more inclined to buy
than to sell. Because as in all markets, at certain times there are going
to be a preponderance of bulls and at other times of bears.

In other words as all dealers and all buyers are different, you may
as well ask how long is a piece of string.


michael adams

Orestes wrote:

What is the usual difference between what a seller will pay for rarer
book amd what the dealer will ask for a book. I am not talking about my
VF/VF copy of Hannibal, but books with a limited first edition or fine
press book (presuming there are is a group thet finds these books of
interest). Is it like a new car loses 25% value when it leaves the
dealer's lot? Does a $550 book instantly become a $225 book. This does
presuppose that I exercised due diligence in ascertaining the retail
market price considering condition.




Hi Orestes,

This is just a supplement to Michael Adam's comments. Like a car just
out of the lot, if you wanted to sell it to a dealer, a book will take
an immediate hit in price. But, if as with the car, you wanted to sell
it to a buyer, the car and the book will be worth about what you paid
for it, on average. The book may do better than the car as you do not
have to warrant its mechanical functioning in the same way. On the
other hand, it may be that you got the book just ahead of a fanatical
collector who will pay twice what you paid to get it from you. That is
less likely to happen with cars, unless we are talking about classic
restored Packards or handmade Mercedes 540K Special Roadsters from the
mid- 1930s.

There is extra cost in reselling to the public - time, sometimes a long
time, advertising, commission, etc. That is why the dealer gets the
extra bucks.


Francis A. Miniter

On 18 Jun 2006 12:13:33 -0700, "Orestes"
wrote:

What is the usual difference between what a seller will pay for rarer
book amd what the dealer will ask for a book. I am not talking about my
VF/VF copy of Hannibal, but books with a limited first edition or fine
press book (presuming there are is a group thet finds these books of
interest). Is it like a new car loses 25% value when it leaves the
dealer's lot? Does a $550 book instantly become a $225 book. This does
presuppose that I exercised due diligence in ascertaining the retail
market price considering condition.

Well, it depends on the book and the bookseller's customer base. i'm
more likely to pay high for a book I can sell by making a phone call
than I am if it's going to sit on the shelf for six months. If I know
I have a ready buyer for a $500 book, I'm certainly not unwilling to
pay $350 for it. If I know it's a $500 book, but I also know I'm
going to have to wait for the (unknown) buyer to walk through the
door, I wouldn't be as generous.

On Sun, 18 Jun 2006 22:19:41 GMT, Bud Webster
wrote:

On 18 Jun 2006 12:13:33 -0700, "Orestes"
wrote:

What is the usual difference between what a seller will pay for rarer
book amd what the dealer will ask for a book. I am not talking about my
VF/VF copy of Hannibal, but books with a limited first edition or fine
press book (presuming there are is a group thet finds these books of
interest). Is it like a new car loses 25% value when it leaves the
dealer's lot? Does a $550 book instantly become a $225 book. This does
presuppose that I exercised due diligence in ascertaining the retail
market price considering condition.

Well, it depends on the book and the bookseller's customer base. i'm
more likely to pay high for a book I can sell by making a phone call
than I am if it's going to sit on the shelf for six months. If I know
I have a ready buyer for a $500 book, I'm certainly not unwilling to
pay $350 for it. If I know it's a $500 book, but I also know I'm
going to have to wait for the (unknown) buyer to walk through the
door, I wouldn't be as generous.


I should pull out my post about "a", "b', and "c" books...
Essentially, that's what we're talking about here. I just had a bunch
of quality "b" books go with no takers on eBay after seven days, while
one "a" book went within five minutes of my posting it...


Cheers,

John

www.darksidepress.com (all future "a" books!)

michael adams wrote:
"Orestes" wrote in message
ups.com...

What is the usual difference between what a seller will pay for rarer
book amd what the dealer will ask for a book. I am not talking about my
VF/VF copy of Hannibal, but books with a limited first edition or fine
press book (presuming there are is a group thet finds these books of
interest). Is it like a new car loses 25% value when it leaves the
dealer's lot? Does a $550 book instantly become a $225 book. This does
presuppose that I exercised due diligence in ascertaining the retail
market price considering condition.


All buying prices are determined solely by how badly the dealer wants
to buy a particular book, balanced against how desperate the seller
of that book is to raise some money. Regardless of what the
seller may believe the book's "real" worth to be, as a result
of say Internet searches.

Similarly, dealers with very few books and a lot of money will pay higher
prices, and charge higher prices, than dealers loaded down with
stock, and no further money to buy any more.

In fact dealers with few books may set deliberately high prices
- as are thrown up by Internet searches - so as to the deter the
more knowledgable buyer. While at the same time hoping to snare the
unwary into paying an exorbitant price - if they will insist
on parting the dealer from his or her stock.

Similarly a dealer's expectations concerning how prices are likely to
change in the future, may well affect his or her pricing and willingness
to part with stock right now. i.e. If a dealer expects prices to rise
considerably in the very near future then they may be more inclined to buy
than to sell. Because as in all markets, at certain times there are going
to be a preponderance of bulls and at other times of bears.

In other words as all dealers and all buyers are different, you may
as well ask how long is a piece of string.

True. Often when talking about book
values, people tend to forget the all
important factor of "what's hot and
what's not." That is, there are thousands
of books listed in Addall that are supposedly
work hundreds or thousands of dollars. Yet,
many of these books are so obscure that
on a given day perhaps no one on the planet
is looking for the particular book that a dealer
prices at $1,000. So, the dealer might have
to wait several years to sell such a book..
Many book dealers would hesitate to pay even
$50 for a book like. They would rather keep
the $50 to buy something more promising with,
than have an obscure book that they may
or may not be able to sell for $1,000 years
down the road. That being the case, it would
be rather naive to expect a dealer to pay you
$500 for a book simply because you found
only three in Addall priced at $1,000 and up.

Contrast our hypothetical "Very Obscure
$1,000+ Title" with early Frank Baum OZ
editions. People are looking for them all the
time. As collecble books go, they are hot and
have been hot for many years. As a result,
it is possible that some dealers might pay
$100 for an Oz book they believe they can
sell quickly for $200. (Although most of them
I know would be more likely to pay $25-$50
dollars, if they planned to sell it for $200.)


michael adams

wrote:
michael adams wrote:
"Orestes" wrote in message
ups.com...

What is the usual difference between what a seller will pay for rarer
book amd what the dealer will ask for a book. I am not talking about my
VF/VF copy of Hannibal, but books with a limited first edition or fine
press book (presuming there are is a group thet finds these books of
interest). Is it like a new car loses 25% value when it leaves the
dealer's lot? Does a $550 book instantly become a $225 book. This does
presuppose that I exercised due diligence in ascertaining the retail
market price considering condition.


All buying prices are determined solely by how badly the dealer wants
to buy a particular book, balanced against how desperate the seller
of that book is to raise some money. Regardless of what the
seller may believe the book's "real" worth to be, as a result
of say Internet searches.

Similarly, dealers with very few books and a lot of money will pay higher
prices, and charge higher prices, than dealers loaded down with
stock, and no further money to buy any more.

In fact dealers with few books may set deliberately high prices
- as are thrown up by Internet searches - so as to the deter the
more knowledgable buyer. While at the same time hoping to snare the
unwary into paying an exorbitant price - if they will insist
on parting the dealer from his or her stock.

Similarly a dealer's expectations concerning how prices are likely to
change in the future, may well affect his or her pricing and willingness
to part with stock right now. i.e. If a dealer expects prices to rise
considerably in the very near future then they may be more inclined to buy
than to sell. Because as in all markets, at certain times there are going
to be a preponderance of bulls and at other times of bears.

In other words as all dealers and all buyers are different, you may
as well ask how long is a piece of string.

True. Often when talking about book
values, people tend to forget the all
important factor of "what's hot and
what's not." That is, there are thousands
of books listed in Addall that are supposedly
work hundreds or thousands of dollars. Yet,
many of these books are so obscure that
on a given day perhaps no one on the planet
is looking for the particular book that a dealer
prices at $1,000. So, the dealer might have
to wait several years to sell such a book..
Many book dealers would hesitate to pay even
$50 for a book like. They would rather keep
the $50 to buy something more promising with,
than have an obscure book that they may
or may not be able to sell for $1,000 years
down the road. That being the case, it would
be rather naive to expect a dealer to pay you
$500 for a book simply because you found
only three in Addall priced at $1,000 and up.

Contrast our hypothetical "Very Obscure
$1,000+ Title" with early Frank Baum OZ
editions. People are looking for them all the
time. As collecble books go, they are hot and
have been hot for many years. As a result,
it is possible that some dealers might pay
$100 for an Oz book they believe they can
sell quickly for $200. (Although most of them
I know would be more likely to pay $25-$50
dollars, if they planned to sell it for $200.)


michael adams


Thanks to all. I just wanted to know how it worked. If I croak, I'll
tell the kid to sell everything on e-bay. Sounds as though one could
get the best return there.