I collect antique books, and generally buy them because I think the particular book looks cool, or it’s a title I like, never really thinking that I’ll make money off it. Well, last summer I bought a book called “In the Heart of the Sierras” by J.M. Hutchings for about $15.
A couple weeks ago, I tried to look it up on eBay to see what that book generally sells for (I do this occasionally just to see if I got a good deal or not). I couldn’t find it on eBay, so I googled it. The first link that comes up is this . The pictured book is exactly what my book looks like. I thought “Wow, cool!”.
Turns out this book is THE work on the Yosemite Valley, and copies sell for anywhere between $300 and $1500. I freaked out for roughly an hour when I found this out.
So, what should I do next? I’d like to take it to an appraiser or something before deciding if I want to sell it or not, but I have no idea where to start, what to look for in an appraiser (does it cost anything to have it appraised? etc), or where I should list it should I decide to sell it.
Look in the Yellow Pages for “Rare Book Dealers.” They can give you all the information you need, maybe an appraisal, and might offer to buy it from you. Get the appraisal from Dealer #1, and sell the book to Dealer #2, of course.
On Adall, the book lists between $120 and $1,200. In my experience, the sellers at the top end of the price range in Adall are pricing their books way too high (and in fact, it’s striking to see how wide the range is for basically any book at all). I’d say you’re likely to get as decent a price for it on eBay as you are from a dealer – who, after all, has to resell the book at a profit. In fact, someone sold a copy recently on eBay for $150.
It’s not $1,500, but it’s still a nice markup on what you paid!
Condition is everything with a book - review the condition descriptions to understand if there is anything you need to pay attention to - e.g., a dust jacket, photos (they can get clipped out of books, reducing value), etc…
Also - ensure it is the true first. This can be MUCH harder than it seems - with different publishers, simply having the words “first edition” on the copyright page may NOT be enough. If it is not a true first, regardless of what it appears to be, then its value is of course a fraction of the first edition’s value.
Once you are sure of what you’ve got and its true value, you can choose to sell it. You can try eBay, but of course run the risk if it not moving or not getting a high price unless you set a high reserve.
If you consider selling to a dealer, expect no more than 50% of retail - they need a markup (and the ability to offer up to 20% discounts to other dealers)…I sell my firsts to dealers if I have a super-premium book and I am not in the mood to deal with persnickity eBay’ers…