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Dear Edith,
I really enjoy your newsletters. In reply to your suggestions for the workshop, suggestions for caring for and storage of old books. I've inherited many books that were stored in attics and or basements. Knowing where and how to restore them back to health would be helpful for me.
Thank you for your great e-letters.
Kathryn Trieschmann
Hello Kathryn,
I did an article a while back on a product called smell eze that is wonderful for ridding odors (http://www.bookologist.com/cab/abu/y203/m10/bk0013/s03). It's actually a deodorizer for embalming but it works great on books and paper. Thank you for your suggestion for the workshop.
Edith
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Dear Edith & Dan,
By odd coincidence, your article appeared in the April 29, 2004 The Bookologist (http://www.bookologist.com/cab/abu/y204/m04/bk0023/s02) just as mine in the Galter Library's Library Notes for Spring 2004.
http://www.galter.northwestern.edu/library_notes/32/foreedge.cfm
Best wishes!
Ron
Ron Sims, MA
Special Collections/Catalog Librarian
Galter Health Sciences Library
McGaw Medical Center
Northwestern University
Chicago IL 60611
What a wonderful find, Ron. It was a pleasure to read your article and I am very happy you allowed us to share it with our readers. Let us know if you come across any more treasures! Edith
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Hello,
I like your newsletter and enjoy all the information on bookselling. I have sold online since 1999 on various venues, including Amazon and half.com (pre-eBay), both with perfect ratings form buyers.
In the last month, I tried to sell items at eBay, including four books on diverse topics. Not one of them sold. In addition, my other items went for a pittance.
Frankly, after all this time, I see eBay as one of two things - a gigantic garage sale with bargain-basement prices or a venue for major retailers and sellers of high-ticket items. There's not much in between.
In this month, I was spammed by one disgruntled buyer, stiffed by another, insulted unfairly by another, had my credit-card information pilfered, libeled by a buyer who was trying to scam me, had malicious programming delivered to my e-mail address by another. In each case, I had to send five or six e-mails to eBay, which sent me canned messages. Ultimately, eBay did nothing to rectify any of these situations. Nor did it suspend or otherwise take action against the offenders.
My conclusion is that eBay is not a good venue for a small business. Too many bad things can happen that can destroy your business, and eBay does nothing to support you. You basically are at its mercy and helpless.
Remember that eBay is merely a platform for selling. It's not a seller like Amazon. White I hate to be negative, I thought I should share my experiences. Let the seller beware.
Mary Mitchell
Online sales since 1999
Journalist since 1978
Hello Mary,
You are not alone when it comes to complaints about eBay. It's like any business, there are people who remember it in its infancy when almost everybody online knew each other and could complain directly to Pierre. Since then, the site has become a mega store that allows almost everyone to participate. This has driven prices to nothing (my husband calls it the great race to zero), taught bidders ways to buy at lower cost, and squeezes out the little guy.
Part of what I've tried to do with Bookologist is introduce sellers to alternative sites so none of our subscribers will be held in thrall.
You've had quite a load of woes and I am forwarding your email to Ina at Auctionbytes.com. She has been collecting data about scams on the internet in order to make some sense of them and to try and figure out a way to protect the good sellers and buyers who do use the site.
But eBay is not alone in this regard. Today a very nice but very tired cab driver in Tennessee called me to say a book I sent to him was not ordered by him, nor was it charged to his credit card. The upshot was, his wife got online in a pen pal site that required personal information and a credit card. Someone there gleaned the information and began sending goods to her address ($1000 worth of new dictionaries, electronic equipment, power tools, etc. And my book Biochemistry!). This individual contacts his wife to urge her to pass along these items to him for a fee in order to launder the sale. He uses stolen credit cards to procure the goods through online sellers and then hopes he gets a portion of what he ordered. Now, will you be surprised to learn he is from NIGERIA!
The police and the media were no help to this man. He has returned the goods to the sender and offered to send my book to me but this has left him exhausted and abused by angry sellers he contacts.
Ina suggested a site where our poor Cabbie could register his problem with the FBI so that it can be matched with any other similar scams. I truly hope none of our readers will ever need this link but it is: http://www.ifccfbi.gov/index.asp
I truly don't know what the answer is but I do appreciate your letting me know and you can be certain we will not overlook the pitfalls.
Write to us anytime.
Edith
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Hi Edith,
I read about your "Selling on eBay" workshop in AuctionBytes. I think Ina and her newsletter are terrific! We opened the first "bricks & mortar" store dedicated solely to selling items for customers using on-line auctions in Danbury, CT 16 months ago. If you would be interested in adding us as a panelist to provide some insight on selling on eBay, please let me know. You can learn more about Sellers' Market on our website www.sellers-market.com.
Regards,
Andy
It was nice to meet you at the workshop, Andy. We'll be looking more closely at eBay drop off centers in our upcoming issues and will be happy to draw upon your expertise. Edith
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Dear Bookologist,
I have a first edition of The Little Prince whose cloth boards are in rather poor condition, but the interior of the book is fine. What is the prevailing philosophy in terms of having books rebound? What does rebinding do to the value of such a classic book? How do buyers look upon such rebound volumes? How does one decide if a book merits being rebound, which, of course, is not an inexpensive proposition?
Thanks for your help. This is the first time that I looked at your site and it is really informative and interesting. Continue doing such a great job! Sincerely, Alan
Hello, Alan.
Your best bet when determining whether to rebind a book or not is to determine the difference in value in the current market. You can go to bookfinder.com and compare original boards vs. rebound copies. When comparing the original boards, remember to compare those copies where the description matches yours the most.
If you do have something rebound, have it done well and make it distinctive. You can ask questions about rebinding at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bookbinding/.
As for customers, a collector will strive to attain the perfect copy of the book in original condition, so this leaves your market as someone who may buy it to own it, not necessarily to enhance a collection, or someone who would obtain a fine binding. Someone just wishing to own it will search for the lowest price so that would be your true market value. A fine binding might have a better prospect over time.
I might add that collectors and sellers should not be afraid of bookbinders. I constantly encounter people who want to know more about binding and how to determine if a book should be rebound but are afraid to ask because of the cost.
The binders I have met have all been friendly, out-going people who really don't like to waste their time. Most binders are swamped with work. But it is always wise to get an estimate from a knowledgeable source. At least you'll be armed with information when it comes time to making a decision.
Edith
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