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#1
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Determining value of used books.
I was looking for used books on the net and discovered in many
instances the same book in similiar condition and edition varied in price from $8.00 to $100.00. So is there such a thing as a used book price guide to narrow down the actual cost of a book? |
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#3
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Determining value of used books.
On Dec 14, 6:17*pm, Some Guy
wrote: wrote: I was looking for used books on the net and discovered in many instances the same book in similiar condition and edition varied in price from $8.00 to $100.00. So is there such a thing as a used book price guide to narrow down the actual cost of a book? There is no such thing as "actual cost." *The value of a book is what the market will bring. I suggest using this site to find cheap used books: http://used.addall.com/ Excellent source. Thanks. I had checked some of the sites indivdually, but this is better. Regards. |
#4
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Determining value of used books.
On Dec 14, 8:13*am, "
wrote: I was looking for used books on the net and discovered in many instances the same book in similiar condition and edition varied in price from $8.00 to $100.00. So is there such a thing as a used book price guide to narrow down the actual cost of a book? No. Any sort of printed price guide is essentially out of date by the time it is published. (The only exception perhaps being a price guide to books so old and so scarce that they very rarely appear for sale in any of the large bookselling or bookfinding venues.) I have said before that if I go into a used bookstore and ask the price of an unpriced book and the person behind the counter pulls out a printed price sheet of some sort, I get out of there fast because I know I am dealing with a dinosaur. It is the market which tells the story: what people are willing to pay for something (which of course is often very different from what someone is trying to get for something). With many listings you find fantasy prices. Those are prices so high that no one in his right mind, having read all of the listings for the same book in the same general condition, would be willing to pay for the book with the fantasy price. On the other hand, you will find that some of the very low priced listings are suspicious. Often they are deliberately vague, giving you only the title but no publisher or date of publication. Also, a lister might describe a book's condition as "good" without bothering to explain why its condition is merely "good" as opposed to "very good" or "used, like new". As a general rule I will only consider buying a suspiciously low-priced book if it is offered for sale by someone with very high customer ratings. It needs to be described in sufficient detail with regard to publisher, copyright date, etc., and the condition must be described thoroughly if the book is rated anything below "used, like new." [Memo from the upstairs office.] |
#5
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Determining value of used books.
Bill wrote:
On Dec 14, 8:13 am, " wrote: I was looking for used books on the net and discovered in many instances the same book in similiar condition and edition varied in price from $8.00 to $100.00. So is there such a thing as a used book price guide to narrow down the actual cost of a book? No. Any sort of printed price guide is essentially out of date by the time it is published. (The only exception perhaps being a price guide to books so old and so scarce that they very rarely appear for sale in any of the large bookselling or bookfinding venues.) I have said before that if I go into a used bookstore and ask the price of an unpriced book and the person behind the counter pulls out a printed price sheet of some sort, I get out of there fast because I know I am dealing with a dinosaur. It is the market which tells the story: what people are willing to pay for something (which of course is often very different from what someone is trying to get for something). With many listings you find fantasy prices. Those are prices so high that no one in his right mind, having read all of the listings for the same book in the same general condition, would be willing to pay for the book with the fantasy price. On the other hand, you will find that some of the very low priced listings are suspicious. Often they are deliberately vague, giving you only the title but no publisher or date of publication. Also, a lister might describe a book's condition as "good" without bothering to explain why its condition is merely "good" as opposed to "very good" or "used, like new". As a general rule I will only consider buying a suspiciously low-priced book if it is offered for sale by someone with very high customer ratings. It needs to be described in sufficient detail with regard to publisher, copyright date, etc., and the condition must be described thoroughly if the book is rated anything below "used, like new." [Memo from the upstairs office.] Just to add one comment. A book in "good" condition is generally purchased for content only, not for collecting, unless it is fairly rare. -- Francis A. Miniter ως ουκ αν αιων' εκμαθοις βροτων, πριν αν θανη τις, ουτε ει χρηστος ουτ’ ει τω κακος. |
#6
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Determining value of used books.
On Dec 25, 11:37*am, "Francis A. Miniter"
wrote: Bill wrote: On Dec 14, 8:13 am, " wrote: I was looking for used books on the net and discovered in many instances the same book in similiar condition and edition varied in price from $8.00 to $100.00. So is there such a thing as a used book price guide to narrow down the actual cost of a book? No. * Any sort of printed price guide is essentially out of date by the time it is published. * (The only exception perhaps being a price guide to books so old and so scarce that they very rarely appear for sale in any of the large bookselling or bookfinding venues.) *I have said before that if I go into a used bookstore and ask the price of an unpriced book and the person behind the counter pulls out a printed price sheet of some sort, I get out of there fast because I know I am dealing with a dinosaur. It is the market which tells the story: *what people are willing to pay for something (which of course is often very different from what someone is trying to get for something). With many listings you find fantasy prices. * Those are prices so high that no one in his right mind, having read all of the listings for the same book in the same general condition, would be willing to pay for the book with the fantasy price. On the other hand, you will find that some of the very low priced listings are suspicious. * Often they are deliberately vague, giving you only the title but no publisher or date of publication. Also, a lister might describe a book's condition as "good" without bothering to explain why its condition is merely "good" as opposed to "very good" or "used, like new". As a general rule I will only consider buying *a suspiciously low-priced book if *it is offered for sale by someone with very high customer *ratings. *It needs to be described *in sufficient detail with regard to publisher, copyright date, etc., and the condition must be described thoroughly if the book is rated anything below "used, like new." [Memo from the upstairs office.] Just to add one comment. *A book in "good" condition is generally purchased for content only, not for collecting, unless it is fairly rare. I agree that is often the case. But not always. For instance, it is not at all unusual for vintage paperbacks to have defects which might (assuming we are talking about an ethical lister) prevent a "very good" rating. One example might be a paperback with quite a few reader creases on the spine, or with dust- soiling on the page edges, or maybe with page yellowing. It is conceivable that a paperback could have all of those things to a certain degree and still be described as "good." On the other hand, most people who like old paperbacks have a high regard for cover art. Well, a paperback WITHOUT the three things I mentioned above might still be arguably rated as "good" with a large crease across the cover, even though that crease would ruin the book for most serious paperback collectors. A book with the three flaws I mentioned above would not necessarly prevent me from buying it, if the price was right. But with a big cover crease ruining the effect of the cover art? No way. My point remains that listers need to describe why a book is merely "good", because different defects affect some buyers more than they affect others. If sellers are listing a good reading copy, they, in their description,should add something like "Unmarked and complete in all respects, this book makes an excellent reading copy." That sort of thing, I mean. The book might have five other things wrong with it, but at least it is unmarked and complete in all respects, and is all the buyer with good sense would expect of his or her purchase. Added thought: With Google making a great number of complete texts available, no doubt more people will prefer to print a book for themselves rather than order a shabby "reading copy." I don't really know which would provide the worst reading experience: a beat up old "acceptable" reading copy with cloth-bleaching, cracked joints, etc. etc., or a "book" consisting of a pile of 140 pages or whatever that the reader printed out himself. Actually there is something worse than both: reading a book over three- pages in length on a computer screen... [Memo from the upstairs office.] -- Francis A. Miniter * * *' * *, * *, *.- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - |
#7
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Determining value of used books.
"Bill" wrote in message news:45f63610-996e-436f-b946-\ No. Any sort of printed price guide is essentially out of date by the time it is published. (The only exception perhaps being a price guide to books ========== Way to set those margins newbie. |
#8
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Determining value of used books.
On Dec 26, 6:07*am, "foad" wrote:
"Bill" wrote in message news:45f63610-996e-436f-b946-\ No. * Any sort of printed price guide is essentially out of date by the time it is published. * (The only exception perhaps being a price guide to books ========== Way to set those margins newbie. Excuse me, fellow, but since when have I claimed to be engaged in any such boring-sounding activity as "setting margins?' I stopped "setting margins" when I put my Smith Corona out to pasture quite a while back... Whee... Now lets talk about YOUR annoying habit of perpetually loitering around in newsgroups where you are over your head in deep water in ANY discussion but continually pester your betters with stupid little flame attempts, merely -- in your own feeble consciousness -- to validate your rather shabby existence. [Memo from the upstairs office] |
#9
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Determining value of used books.
Palmer, you are a windbag. And you screwed up.....just admit your mistakes
and move along. "Bill" wrote in message ... On Dec 26, 6:07 am, "foad" wrote: "Bill" wrote in message news:45f63610-996e-436f-b946-\ No. Any sort of printed price guide is essentially out of date by the time it is published. (The only exception perhaps being a price guide to books ========== Way to set those margins newbie. Excuse me, fellow, but since when have I claimed to be engaged in any such boring-sounding activity as "setting margins?' I stopped "setting margins" when I put my Smith Corona out to pasture quite a while back... Whee... Now lets talk about YOUR annoying habit of perpetually loitering around in newsgroups where you are over your head in deep water in ANY discussion but continually pester your betters with stupid little flame attempts, merely -- in your own feeble consciousness -- to validate your rather shabby existence. [Memo from the upstairs office] |
#10
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Determining value of used books.
"Bill" wrote in message ... On Dec 26, 6:07 am, "foad" wrote: "Bill" wrote in message news:45f63610-996e-436f-b946-\ No. Any sort of printed price guide is essentially out of date by the time it is published. (The only exception perhaps being a price guide to books ========== Way to set those margins newbie. Excuse me, fellow, but since when have I claimed to be engaged in any such boring-sounding activity as "setting margins?' I stopped "setting margins" when I put my Smith Corona out to pasture quite a while back... Whee... ========== Exactly newbie, you hadn't set your margins, which is why your post looked so retarded. You're new to the usenet obviously, but there are a bunch of conventions such as line length that you'll be expected to follow. Some of them, such as x posting (that's when you post to more than one group at a time) you might be able to master, despite how stupid you seem. Others will probably be beyond your limi9ted intelligence. Anyway, if you need any more pointers I'll be happy to help you out. I am well known in the usenet for my helpfulness and philanthropy. |
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