How To Get Started One of the first things you’ll need to do is learn the lingo. A good place to start is the Independent Online Booksellers Association website. If you’re going to sell old books online as a professional, then you need to learn how to act and sound like one. Old books are more commonly referred to as antiquarian books or antique books and they are usually out of print and very hard to find. But just because a book is out of print doesn’t make it valuable. There are plenty of books that are no longer printed that have hundreds of thousands of used copies available if not millions. Those kinds of books are neither rare nor valuable. Issue Points To get really good at spotting valuable books you need to learn how to spot Points of Issue, or what are sometimes referred to as Issue Points. Learning about points is crucial if you want to sell antique books. I'll give a brief summary of what they are here. But the authority on the subject can be found in a little book called Points of Issue: A Compendium of Points of Issue of Books by 19Th-20th Century Authors , by Bill McBride. You'll want to buy a copy as soon as possible. Points of Issue are unique characteristics of a book that sets it apart from other copies of the same title. For example, there could be a handful of copies with a particular spelling error, or there can be a sentence or paragraph that’s different than all the other copies in print. The book could also be autographed, have a different cover or dust jacket, or there could be an identifying mark on the cloth board. One major issue point with which you want to become familiar is how to identify first editions. A great place to start is to buy yourself a good reference book like First Editions: A Guide to Identification , by Edward N. Zempel and Linda A Verkler. Where to Sell Old Books Most Internet booksellers list their inventory on Amazon.com. However, that’s not always the best place for a rare book seller. There are websites that specialize in providing a marketplace where book collectors can find titles for their private collections. Websites such as AbeBooks.com, Alibris.com, and Biblio.com provide a unique venue where the general public can perform an old book search and find just about any out of print title in the world, no matter how old and rare it may be. Summary Antiquarian booksellers rely on trust, good service, and dependability to maintain a good reputation among their peers and colleagues, just like business people in other professions. Always deal fairly and honestly with everyone you meet. Sometimes the only thing standing between you and that next big sale is the reputation that precedes you. * * * * *Return To Top: Sell Old Books
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