Re: Honore' de Balzac - Touraine Edition 1901


"Art" <art@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:XbadnVSawMyGf3fYnZ2dnUVZ_vOlnZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Thanks

Now I just wish there was an inexpensive place to sell them

Most of the book sites I have seen al geared for dealers and not for
single book sellers like myself.



You're right. Everyone doing this as a business has to make a profit or they
need to be doing something else. The sites need the volume that professional
dealers provide to survive, and the professional dealers need to buy the
books for less (usually for a lot less) than they sell them for. The one
place that sometimes levels the playing field is eBay. If your set is very
desirable, and you have good photographs, you might be able to sell it there
yourself for a decent sum.

Some selling tips: Pictures will make or break your auction, and if you have
a web site where you can host them, that will allow you to add as many as
you need. Take legible pictures of the title page and copyright page. Make
sure you capture the limited edition information. (Be careful that you don't
crack the hinges when taking these pictures.) Examine each book yourself to
make sure that all the volumes match as to the information on these two
pages. Describe any differences. If illustrations are listed in the front
matter, make sure they are all present in each book and say so. If possible,
get pictures of the tops and bottoms of the spines and corners (that's
typically where books get "bumped", so a collector will want to look for
possible damage in those areas). Describe all flaws as best you can. A flaw
is anything that changes the book from what it was when the publisher
printed it. Unless it's the author's signature, any change is usually bad.
(Don't say "great condition for it's age!" That's a joke among serious eBay
buyers.) Offer to take more photos should anyone ask for them.

If you sell them, then next thing you will have to do is pack them.
Hopefully, someone will be paying hundreds for your set, and you have to
make sure they arrive in the same condition as you sent them. You have two
things to worry about here: Keeping the book itself from twisting and being
bumped against the other books during shipping, and keeping the box together
during shipment. To prevent the first, wrap each book separately and snuggly
in brown paper, clean (not printed on) newsprint paper, bubble wrap, or
anything else that will keep the covers from opening and the spine from
twisting during shipment. To prevent the second, choose a sturdy box that
has enough room for "air space" on all sides and pack the books with enough
packing peanuts or other filler around the sides and between the stacks of
books to keep anything from shifting. (I presume the books would be in
stacks, if you have the whole set.) You can also stabilize them further by
putting a stiff piece of cardboard vertically between each stack. That will
keep the books from trying to interlace themselves during shipment.

Once you have your box and packing materials, weigh it all before posting
your auction. If you have a set of 18 volumes, It wouldn't be at all
surprising for it to weigh 30 pounds or more. Media Mail, which can be
tracked and insured, will probably be the most cost effective shipping, but
UPS or another service might be a better choice for a set this large and
expensive.

After reading all of this, you might decide, as another poster suggested, to
find a local dealer who would take them off of your hands.

Good luck!

Alice

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Book collecting terms illustrated. Used and out of print books for sale.
http://www.mywingsbooks.com/


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