posted on October 21, 2000 10:05:44 AM
I'm soooo confused!
I've just picked up over 1,500 copies of older books (most seem to be from the 70's - 80's). I've been comparing prices on eBay & half.com to decide which one to list them on. I've sold new copy books for a while now but have zero experience with older or used books. At least half of these are sci-fi and fantasy book club editions so I don't expect a great return - and don't want to spend a lot of time listing them. I've been listing most of the book club editions on half.com but am wondering how fast the turn around is there because a lot of the books are already listed with ten or more copies. That makes me wonder if I'm wasting my time listing mine. I like the advantage of a quick list and not having to relist, but... This is my first experience with half.com so any hints are appreciated.
How can I tell if a book is first edition? Does it always have first edition written somewhere on the book? Or is there a code I should look for?
Also, some of the books I have aren't on eBay or on Half.com. I don't think they're particularly valuable because they're mostly book club editions and that seems to lesson the value. I've searched on half.com and can't find a way to input a book that is not already in their file. Am I missing something - or just out of luck?
posted on October 21, 2000 12:42:47 PM
www.addall.com/used
www.bookfinder.com
these are 2 sites that other AW'ers have recommended to me in the past, and they are really helpful when trying to determine what a book is worth.
If the books have fantastic illustrations, I would recommend scanning some of the pictures in the books and listing them on Ebay or Yahoo. 1/2.com won't do much to sell the book for you- half the time the buyer doesn't even get a photo of the cover to look at. It will certainly take you more time to list this way, but you will have a better chance of grabbing a buyer's attention.
There is no easy way to tell if a book is a first edition. If it says "first edition" great, then you know, but not all first editions are marked as such. I am not an expert on books by any stretch and am just now learning more about them myself, but I know other people in this forum have lots of expertise to add.
posted on October 21, 2000 01:11:02 PM
mybiddness,
My experience says that half.com doesn't sell many hardcover fiction, unless they are by particularly popular authors, or are dirt cheap....
If the sci-fi's that you have are series books, and you have all of the series, I would group them together on eBay - series seem to sell well. (even if they are book club)
One way to tell first editions - on the copyright page there should be a series of numbers starting with 10 and decreasing. If the numbers go all the way down to 1, it is a first edition.
To get a value, you could also try searches on abe and bibliofind - I don't have the URL's handy, but if you do a search, you should find them easy.
I also belong to a booklist where people post their wants - the lists are quite extensive, but it's really not a seller's market as it is just for locating books at UBS's and thrift stores - general rule of thumb is half-cover price, but if you want, email me and I will send you the info. I can probably also tell you which authors in which genres seem to be popular right now.
posted on October 21, 2000 04:29:47 PM
Hi - A little more on first edition identification: There is one notable exception to the rule about the line of numbers.
For most publishers (who provide a line of numbers), it is true that when the number line is complete with the 1, it is a first printing; however, Random House does not use a 1. In a book published by Random House, the line of numbers will begin with 2 for a first printing, begin with 3 for a second printing, and so on.
Where it really gets interesting is when there is no line of numbers provided . . . .
posted on October 21, 2000 05:31:30 PM
I've been running all day and just got back in. Thanks loads for the help. I've never been a sci-fi or fantasy book fan and am really lost with these authors. Jane I'll take you up on your offer! I do seem to have a lot of complete series and they're mostly in great condition. I just don't know who's popular or hot. I'm workin on it though.
Thanks for the first edition links & info - I always assumed that a first edition book would have that printed on it, but obviously not. At first glance it seems that about one out of every 15 or so are first edition. Maybe that'll help the overall profit.
I'm beginning to wonder if half.com is worth the effort on these type of books. I started listing books there 4 days ago (the majority yesterday) and have sold 3 craft type books from my regular stock - but none of these.
