5 Things Essential for Book Hunting

     Like Dean Corso from The Club Dumas, you must be prepared when out book hunting. Should anything happen to you, or something unexpected come up while your out at the flea market, swap meet, or garage sale, having the right tools with you can really help.

1) Smart Phone - This is an easy one. You can price check books or see if you are missing one on the fly. Need to call someone? Having google ready to go at a moments notice is amazing, and few people really do it when collecting books. Good for notes, time, internet, camera, etc. Take pictures of book shelves everywhere you go. Technology is so good right now, you can zoom in and see individual books, and if you need them or not.

2) Money - You should always have cash on you! If you have a budget for that day, double that just to be safe. Typically I carry around $30 with me at any given time, maybe a small amount more. I only want to spend around $10-15.. but if you have read any of my below posts, you know how that goes.

3) Messenger Bag - Dean Corso carries one, you should too. I'm bad at this, and my bag strap broke so I'm in the market for a new one, and may get one tomorrow. Get something leather, durable, and waterproof. Leather lasts forever and will protect your precious cargo. You can put additional money, a magnifying glass, and your hand written lists/notes in there, and now you have a bag to put all your scores in.

4) A pen and note pad, and a hand written list of exactly what you want. - Be it a general list, or specific for completion of a series. Your phone could die, or get wet, or you may forget to use it. If you write it down, its faster to just reach in to your bag and get a quick peek at the list. More times than not, if you write something down, you have a much easier time recalling that particular memory.

5) Another set of eyes - I'm pretty much always alone, but when I have someone with me, I literally always find something I'm looking for. You can let each other know what you need, and when scanning books, he may pick up on something you missed, and visa-versa. Having a like minded friend who collects some of the same stuff is invaluable, never be afraid to get someone to go with you.

Dune First Edition Value & Cost Comparison (Dune Price Guide)

 

Dune Editions and Values Based on market prices from websites such as eBay, Amazon, and other rare book sellers, based on a study of three years market evaluation and obsession.

 

__________________________________________Fine____Good____Fair______Signed

 

Dune 1st Edition - HC First Printing                      $4,000+      3550       1900           10,000

 

Dune 1st Edition - HC Second Printing                   1300          875          675               5800                  

 

Dune 1st Edition - HC Third Printing                      1000          675          500               5000 

 

Dune 1st Edition - HC Fourth Printing                      425           380          275              2000

 

Dune 1st Edition - HC Fifth Printing                         200           160          125                 ??

 

Dune 1st Edition - HC Sixth-Ninth                            125            90             65                 ??

 

Dune 1st Edition - Book Club Edition                        80              50             20                ??

 

Dune 1st Edition - PB First                                         60              50             25                ??

 

Dune 1st Edition - PB Second                                    50               30             20                ??

 

Dune 1st Edition - PB Third                                       35               25             10                ??

 

__________________________________________________________________________

 

 

-- Q & A --

 

 

 
 

 

 
 How do I know if my copy of Dune is a first edition, first printing?

A: All Dune first/first HC copies have BLUE cloth boards. Subsequent printings have light RED cloth boards.

My copy has red cloth boards, and says first edition, which printing is it?

A: Up until the fifth edition, they were labeled as above. If it does list the specific edition, it will be the first number of seemingly random numbers under the Printing information. Ie.. the bottom image above is a ninth printing.

How can I tell if my copy is a book club edition?

A: The price of the book will be under $10.00 on the flap of the dust jacket. First edition books listed for $5.95, third and fourth 7.95, and so on. No first edition Dune is listed at over 10.00 on the flap. You will notice sellers on eBay trying to get away with selling a BCE copy as a later edition or first edition because of the similarities. Book Club Editions are fun to collect as they resemble the original first editions if it is priced well. BCE copies have bright RED cloth or canvas boards.

I see first edition Dune's on eBay for much more than $4,000. Why?

A: Several reasons. #1: The seller is trying to boost the price of the other auctions he has selling the same book. The above image I took was the third time seeing the same book, with the same pictures and description by the same seller at a higher price. Anyone in the market to buy one will see the "Value" and buy the lowest. #2: The seller believes that his copy is special in some way. Unless it is signed, it is not special, and you should use the table above. Having seen what actually sells over the years and recording it, I can say my estimates are pretty close. #3: It is the rare exception where the book is really honest and truly, near-mint condition and needs it's value to be reconsidered. Books of such quality can bring well over my estimates, I just don't see them very often or at all to give you a great value of it. Also, the + next to my value could extend to nearly $5,000 if a buyer is in the right mood but it is very rare.

Paperbacks seem to be always in terrible condition and over priced. Do people really collect them?

 

A: People really like the paperbacks, as its pretty much an introduction to rare book collecting, on a budget. There are various printings and editions, but this is one thing I've noticed over the years: people don't know what they are looking at. First through tenth printings all look the same when it comes to the first edition 1965 paper back. The only way you can tell? The price of the book. .95 cents was the original price of the book and is the only sign you need. Prices range up to around $1.50, and on eBay they sell for all around the same price without much consideration to condition. People that have done the research will know what they are looking at, and if they are smart, will use the guide above.

 

 

Are forgeries out there? Do people fake the signatures?

 

A: I have only seen one really bad signature forgery. Just really obvious and not his style. Look above. That's what is looks like. Always with a Bic-type pen, and always, I mean always has the name crossed out. Even on book proofs he will cross out his name, no matter how small it is. As far as faking the whole book, or switching out boards, I would have no way to confirm this. I have only ever held one first edition with my hands, and would not know what to look for. The dust jacket seems it would be very, very easy to rip off. The jacket is the same as the BCE copies out there, scan it, change the price on the flap using pictures also on eBay, make it look old-ish, and sell it as an earlier edition. Other books of the time had blue boards, and were the same size. It would be more elaborate, but could be pulled off to make a few grand. Just be careful. Ask for more pictures when buying.

Lots more information here on gutter codes and some more things to look for. 





Piers Anthony & Xanth Edition Variation

 
     At one time in my life I really enjoyed Xanth books. It was around middle school to early High School when I mostly stopped reading them altogether. The damage was done. The puns and sexual innuendo of the fantasy realm enchanted my young mind. Being that the majority of the Xanth novels started in the 70's and 80's, cover variations were pretty unique, and sometimes not-so. Exhibit A: Ogre, Ogre.

     The color of the books is not a product of fading, it's just what happens between printings. Typically the covers get lighter as the printings run on. Only one of the above is a first edition (I'll let you decide). Typically there will be a blurb of some sort over the cover art saying, "A Xanth Novel", or "A New Xanth Novel!", or the like. I hate the blurb like I hate herpes. It just ruins the great art on some of these older books.

 

     I just realized how boring this post is so i will quickly end it with this: Collecting variations of book printings is nearly impossible and has no real value. What is written inside is still the same, you wont be missing anything, and really its just tough to do. My advice is to just get the first edition if you want it and always keep your favorite books that you read the first time. If you can't find the first edition, use that money to buy beer.. or herpes medication.

Fixing a book, Parenthood Edition

     I was not going to post anything today, but this changed my mind. Right when I stepped foot in the front door, my wife stopped me before I got my shoes off and let me know my son had ripped the back off of one of my Forgotten Realms books. He had been taking out the same book and looking at it for weeks now, just turning the pages and putting it back. She said she had punished him already and he really wanted to look at the book. I'm all about my son's interests in reading, but tearing something up for fun, just plain sucks.

     I'm a huge Forgotten Realms fan, having played Dungeons & Dragons for the better part of my high school life, and for about five years after that if you break it down. I don't have another copy of this particular book, and it was brittle like confederate money. The only way to fix something like this, is with really good, strong, well.. tape. I use tape I can get from work we call "Slap Tape". It's actually tape, but the adhesive is more like a glue and once on, is on forever. About 10 pieces of slap tape later, and the book was good enough for me. Obviously now I will need to find a replacement...

Ebay Follow Up, Book Collecting Philosophy, Pictures

     Ebay is a fickle mistress. you can do everything right, but still not sell anything, or you can make a million mistakes and get tons of bids. I'm normally pretty lucky with the selling aspect, but so far, no bites. I did get an email about the Redwall first edition I scored last weekend so that will most likely be sold.

     I'm spending the rest of today getting ready for Tampa tomorrow so I'm not sure if I will be able to get over to the paperback exchange as planned. If I go, I'll come home and write about it, take pictures, etc.. Again, I'm suffering from N.B.S.D.., which for those who don't know what that is: "New Blog Stress Disorder". Having created many blogs before this, and seen some great success, I know how hard it is to really get the ball rolling and be seen. Getting comments is the first part of this, which will come, and at this point after ten or so posts, 95% of all blogs just give up. Not me! Oh no!

     The last few days of the week I had to throw myself into my job a little bit and get some real work done, which is how I get paid more or less. I'm not going to bore anyone so I will be breif: I work in the beer industry, which is great, and I'm given a certain freedom of working at home and on the road. My fuel and expenses are paid for by my company so driving to an out of the way place is not too uncommon. All things considered, my job meshes very well with my hobby of book collecting and allows me the liberty of covering more ground in different places so I don't exhause one resource. By distance, my area I cover for work is from here, to here. So basically 216 miles end to end through five major cities. Bound to run into a thrift store along the way! Oh, and some quick pictures below:

A picture of me in the middle of no where Florida, working of course. That particular store had...

 

...a Ms. Pacman arcade in it. I played for half an hour at least.

 

My desk at the office in Fort Myers; that's pretty clean for me.

 

The paperback exchange near my house, the lady who owns it let me organize it by author so I can see when something new comes in.

Paperback Exchange Manipulation

  
    The above image is pretty close to what my local Paper Back exchange looks like, but with about 10,000 more books in a smaller space. Mine is called, "The Book Rack." I think it's a chain because there are about three of them within 20 miles or so. Most of the science fiction and fantasy are at the one closest to me, for obvious reasons.

     In my last pick up post i mentioned reselling books and this is pretty much what I meant: I will buy books that are .10 a piece that are not romance books (Danielle Steel, Fabio cover books), political or biography, and children's books. These books they will not take because they just have so many. I'd say 75% or more of the customers of these places are old ladies reading romance novels. As I had mentioned earlier, the economy is not what is was, so the owners of these places work the counter. They have changed the rules as well; once upon a time you could get 100% store credit for all trade ins, and now you get 50% which is not that bad. With over 5000 science fiction and fantasy novels to sell, I can always find something I want.

     Prices of the books are almost always half of the cover price, unless they are old, then they are $1.50. So 50% off here is needed if you're looking to pick up books you will not be reselling later. The lady that owns The Book Rack near my house is super knowledgeable about rare and valuable books and has almost certainly out of boredom looked all the old books up on eBay, and sold them.

 

    The above picture is what angers me about paper back exchanges. Fucking stamps. They stamp the book where the hell ever, typically inside the front cover, but not all the time. Several times I have seen stamps over the dedication or sometimes in the actual writing of the introduction... it's hit or miss. Sometimes the people who shop here bring the book from another exchange, in which case there will be three or four stamps. For shits sake. I can see your formula, it's half the cover price. I can pretty much figure out what is half.

 

     I don't mind a stamp, honestly. Just put it somewhere that will not affect the value. Sometimes I stamp my books when I loan them out. I have a library kit and program on the computer for just such a thing. I won't do it to a book I'm intending to sell on the other hand.

 

     In conclusion, try not to rip off you're local exchange, but feel free to pick up as many books as you can when out garage selling. Look for the best deals in bulk and bring them in for some credit. Get a good large credit going so when you see that whole series on her shelf you never noticed before you can pick up the whole thing for half price. In comparison, I always have more than $100 on credit at any time. I often give $20 or so away at a time to friends to use if it gets any higher than that.

How do I tell if it is a First Edition?

The publisher may actually state the words ‘first edition’ or ‘first printing’ on the copyright page. Another common method of identification is the number line – that’s a line of numbers on the copyright page. Usually, if a one is present in the line then it’s a first edition. This style has been used since World War II.

The line sequence could ascend or descend or even have no discernable order depending on the publisher. All of these sequences below are first editions.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
(All first editions)

Sometimes the number line is also accompanied by the words ‘first edition’, but be careful because some publishers leave on the words ‘first edition’ even when the book is in its third printing and that fact is reflected in the three in this number line.

First edition
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
(Third printing)
This number line below identifies a second printing printed in 1975.
75 76 77 78 79 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

If you find that the date on the copyright page matches the date on the title page, then it is probably a first edition. Most 19th century publishers placed the date of publication on the title page but that practice faded out after 1900 and the date became appearing on the copyright page.
Some publishers make no statement at all about first editions but booksellers learn to identify firsts by other methods – for instance a particular piece of copy on the dust jacket or a mistake in the book’s text itself that is corrected in later editions.

(From ABE Books)

Scanning ISBN bar codes. Does it save time?

     A quick low resolution video of me scanning some books into the Collectorz.com program. Easy to use for sure, but each scanner is different I found out. My scanner adds a junk character, like "`" or "~" before the numbers, so each one must be deleted individually. I found that scanning the books in to a text editor first helps, so I can highlight and delete them all at once. I use a Symbol STB4278 scanner, which is the wireless blue tooth version. The base is USB, and i keep it upstairs on my main computer and use the scanner downstairs. The scanner runs about $100, and the cradle (gasp) about $175. I use mine for work related purposes so it's a double use item for me. You do not need drivers installed for this scanner to work.

     Does it really make entering books in faster? Yes and no. I'd say about half of the books I own have a scannable ISBN on the inside cover of the book. The actual UPC or barcode on the back of the book does nothing when entering books, otherwise this would be much faster. I have to delete the junk character, copy and past each number. I have a laptop downstairs with the book program on it, but the last time I used a laptop to do this, the hard drive took a dump while i was entering books, and i had not exported the library file for the whole month. Never again. Desktop or nothing for me. All in all, it beats hauling armloads of books up and down the stairs.

     I have a program on the Ipad called Splashtop. If mirrors anything on you're desktop to the Ipad. I do use this when scanning just to make sure things are going in okay, and i can make little adjustments here and there without running up and down the stairs. I highly recommend this. Below is a video of me playing World of Warcraft on Splashtop so you can see how it works.

Making Money Selling Books

I just found that listing on EBay. Yes, Harry Potter books go for a great deal of money.

 

 

 

     You need money to buy books. Fortunately, the first hand book industry is a stalling, fading, Kindle reading pile of shit. The second hand book industry on the other hand, is a prospering, growing and ever changing thing. The low-hanging fruit of the second hand book market is so good, that Goodwill has opened a chain of book stores all over the United States. One just opened next to my house in a great area of the city.

 

     The average book at Goodwill (I'm just using Goodwill as an example, and it's pretty common) is about $1.00. On certain days they are half off, or have a colored tag on it which means it's on sale. Hard backs are normally $1.99, and again, you can get them half price if you time it right. Go often, buy many.

 

"But Major! I'm broke!"

 

     If you can't afford a $10 investment at least once a week, then book collecting of any kind is not for you. In the event you just need some starter money, try my little experiment as follows.

 

1) Go to the Paperback exchange/Goodwill/Garage Sale. Visit as many as you have to. In my neck of the woods if takes a good weekend to get some great books together so it does take some time.

2) Buy 4 or 5 Fantasy or Science Fiction hard covers. Don't spend more than $1.00 or $2.00 on each one. This is important.

3) List the books on eBay for the going rates. You may only get $3-5 per book. This is normal. Shipping for each book is around $2.00.. in that ball park. Charge around $.50 extra. This can be you're gas money for all the driving you just did to the local thrift stores.

4) 5 books, at an average of $2.00 per book, is a $10 profit. Now you have money to buy more books next weekend.

 

     For those who are still paying attention, you made double you're money back. It's only $10 extra, but on some occasions you can find books like i found this morning with my wife: A Harry Potter First edition.. this one happen to be The Prisoner of Azkeban.

 

     It's a quick story, but about 13 miles from my house in Florida is a Super Goodwill. It's a giant warehouse sized thrift store that keeps on giving. I go here at least twice a week and find something to keep for myself or sell. I'm at the point now in my collecting career that I keep most of what I buy and just sell the duplicates, so this place is great for me. All in all, Super Goodwill is amazing for books. I brought my wife with me so she could look at Christmas stuff while I checked out the books, toys and movies. She followed me over to the books and we looked together at some stuff. Someone had offloaded their Starwars: New Jedi Order book series and there were about 25 of those going for .50 cents each. Those alone are great for someone looking to expand on their Starwars collection or to complete a set. I found a few Terry Goodkind paperbacks I did not have, or thought I did not have, a Dragonlance novel not written by Margeret Weis, and a Forgotten realms novel, which I will always pick up and I'll explain why later.

 

     Looking in the hardbacks for about ten minutes I spotted The Prisoner of Azkeban sitting on a low shelf, my wife saw me pick it up, and came over. "First edition?" She asked. It's about all she knows about book collecting. Firsts.. they are worth coin. I turned it to the title page and confirmed that it was, closed it, and tossed it into the cart with the others. This particular book is the fourth first edition Harry Potter book I have found in a month at the same Goodwill. I paid $1.99, and with a quick look up on EBay from my smart phone, I learned it is worth about $50 on any given day, sometimes more. I knew this, but I always confirm. The going rate does change, and J.K. Rowling just released a new book, which generates some interest. I have a set of First edition Harry Potter books in PB and HC that i would not sell, that i bought new years ago. Anything that I buy after that goes to eBay to fund more ventures like this. That $50 just paid for the gas money to get there, my wife's Christmas crap, and lunch for all three of us, with some left over for another trip later in the week.

 

     Harry Potter hard backs were printed in mass. First editions are not rare, I repeat.. NOT RARE. People wait in lines around a building all day, millions are sold in the first few hours. So why do people pay a premium? Really I don't know, and I don't ask questions. Buy them as you see them, keep some for yourself and sell the rest. You will encounter more of these books than any other and you will learn to love them to keep you in the book collecting biz. If I lost my job tomorrow I could book hunt and sell off duplicates to make ends meet. You can do the same.

 

     As a side note, when you sell a book, prices are all over the place. First edition books going from seriously over $1,000 to $10. How do you price the book you just bought so it will sell? Offer cheaper shipping. Take great pictures. Look in the lower end where most of the prices are grouped up and try to be right in the middle. If it does not sell right away, give it some time, build up an inventory. The sales will come in.