Re: RARA-AVIS: collection - what to do?

From: Joy Matkowski (jmatkowski1@comcast.net)
Date: 15 Jun 2010

  • Next message: rrandisi@sbcglobal.net: "RARA-AVIS: Re: collection - what to do?"

    As a hobbyist bookseller, I suggest that Amazon would be the easiest: Find your book on the Amazon website, look in the right-hand column for
    "Have one to sell?" and click "Sell yours here." Or use Amazon or ABE as a price guide, total the books' prices, and offer them on CraigsList as a lot, with titles and authors; that way you skip the work of mailing them and also skip paying the many fees and commissions.
         The best solution is that of my mother the genealogist's friend: She and her husband had to move to a retirement home, and she picked a floorplan with two bathrooms. Her couldn't-do-without genealogy books went in the spare bathtub. Best, Joy

    On 6/15/2010 9:11 PM, James Michael Rogers wrote:
    > As an occasional bookdealer, I would recommend that you use e-bay for the stuff like Gold Medals, Lions, etc. ABE would be better but you don't want to do it for that long, I think. Older hardcovers......hard to say w/o knowing more. I would sell the rest as a batch. If everything is pretty recent you probably don't need to lose much sleep.
    >
    > I think you will find plenty of real collectors right here. In fact, I find I am having to restrain myself from inquiring as to titles and publishers now. Make a short catalogue and ask people to make further inquiry off-list.
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    > James
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    > ----- Original Message -----
    > From: forgprod
    > To: rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com
    > Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 2010 19:38
    > Subject: RARA-AVIS: collection - what to do?
    >
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    >
    > I never set out to be a collector of hard-boiled and noir books. I'm just a fan, like many on this list. But after 30-plus years I have accumulated a tremendous number of books of this genre.
    >
    > Most are not "collectable" - that is, they are not rare or very old. Most were bought new (or used) and now sit in piles in my upstairs office, or in boxes in various closets.
    >
    > I buy pretty much anything I see called "noir" or "hard-boiled" - I've got most of the classic Chandler, Hammet, Cain, Mc Donald, Mac Donald, etc as well as everything by Block, Burke, Crumley, Leonard. Some Woodrell, Willeford, Williams. A lot of "one offs", bios, non-fiction, etc etc. I've got hundreds, perhaps thousands of titles - all in good, or better, condition.
    >
    > I don't want to get rid of these. In fact, I don't know if i can bear to. But circumstances are requiring me to move to a much smaller residence. If I can keep them, I will.
    >
    > BUT - if I am forced to get rid of them, I am asking you people, who know far more about collecting and buying and selling than I do, what is my best course of action - sell individual titles on Amazon or the like (sounds like a lot of work)? ... Sell batches to used bookstores?... sell some (or the whole lot) to REAL collectors? - and how do I go about finding them?
    >
    > any suggestions or ideas are welcomed
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    > and any individual inquiries can be sent to me offlist
    >
    > thank you for your help!
    >
    > phred
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