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The Bookologist, Number 22 - March 30, 2004 - ISSN 1544-1997
	Letters to the Editor By Edith Reynolds March 30, 2004
Regarding a reader's idea for drumming up repeat sales published in the last issue, a reader responds: FYI - this DIDN'T work. As a test, I sent bookmarks (only to about 30 people) in books I sold - listing a 15% discount on next purchase and a code # to use when making payment. This was on eBay sales. It has been at least 6 months and not ONE person took advantage of it. Pat ******** Hi, I have a question. My uncle in Scotland has a copy of Robinson Crusoe - this is what he had to say about it. "It's a two volume set published by John Stockdale of Picadilly in the year 1790. It has been rebound at some point probably due to its poor condition. Volume 1 The life and strange surprizing adventures of Robinson Crusoe of York, mariner, who lived 8 and 20 years all alone in an uninhabited island on the coast of America near the mouth of the Great River of Oroonoque Having been cast on shore by shipwreck wherein all the men perished but himself with an account how he was at last as strangely delivered by pyrates. Written by himself Volume 2 The farther adventures of Robinson Crusoe being the second and last part of his life and of the strange surprizing account of his travels round three parts of the globe Written by himself If someone offered you that book for sale, what value would you place on it? I realise that without seeing a picture of the book, it is hard to judge a value but an educated guess? --- There are several programs that will offer a collector or seller the opportunity to find values for old books. Among them are Bookfinder.com, Addall.com, and even the selling sites can offer comparisons and market value. The book listed above is a good example. It is a popular title that has a plethora of editions and publishers and bindings. Using the information listed above, the steps are simple. Choose a site for price comparison. For this example, let's use bookfinder.com. In the form provided, type in the author and title and in keywords, drop in the publisher's name. You can also add the year. I opted for the classic search display and this will break down the online listings by site. You must remember that, at this stage, many of these listings are for the same book. Many dealers send their inventories to multiple selling sites so be careful to compare descriptions rather than price. For Defoe's Crusoe published by Stockdale in 1790, Bookfinder allows us to know that the online prices range from the hundreds to the thousands. Match the book description that best describes the book you have in hand and you will have a good idea of value. This is not the only option. There is other software available like OCLC that lists what books are available in what libraries. For truly rare books, it is useful to know if yours is the only known copy or if there are only a few located. Software like American Book Prices Current can be very costly but will allow you access to auction records and the like. One benefit to a product like this is that it is updated annually. That is not to say that a good old reference library is obsolete but for those of us with space or budget restrictions, online searches are a good option. If you have a library near you, especially an academic library, you might visit to see what reference materials are available. ******** Dear Editor, I love your newsletter and am seeking your help for a stranger. I receive a collectors newsletter as well and in it this months there was a story of an elderly father that is ill and would like to read his childhood favorite one more time. He did not know the author but it was titled "Silver the Wyoming cow pony." Would you happen to have this or know where she could find it? I have looked on Barnes and Noble rare, and on eBay. --- I may have an answer. I did a search on Bookfinder.com for Silver the Wyoming Cow Pony - no results. When I removed Silver from the title, I got several hits for PATCHES the Wyoming Cow Pony. It is possible the gentleman remembered the story but got the pony's name wrong. Bookfinder.com lists 53 descriptions (remember, some of these are the same book listed on different services so read the descriptions carefully.) The prices range from $7.95 to $47.45. I hope this is the correct book. I will email the woman tonight to see if this helps. Thanks for letting us know. If there is a copy of Silver the Wyoming Cow Pony out there and we are incorrect, maybe our readers will let us know. Edith Publisher's Note: The newsletter that originally carried the request is the TIAS Collector's Newsletter, which was also able to figure out the correct name of the book: http://digbig.com/4baew You can sign up for that newsletter at http://www.tias.com/subscribe