The BookThinker Newsletter ISSN 1547-9501 #56, 21 November 2005

BookThink Update
28 November 2005>>>

Update Announcements

Top 10 on Ebay October 2005 Contributing Editor Pamela Palmer returns today with her fourth BookThink's "Top 10 on eBay." Some familiar things appear - Harry Potter, Philip Pullman, P.G. Wodehouse, Alcoholics Anonymous, etc. - along with some unfamiliar, and there are fully 12 titles that were published after 1950. What does this tell you? Also, fiction seems to be attracting the biggest spenders, and most of the money is still going into UK bookseller's pockets.

BookThink Consulting - Phase I BookThink's eBay Critique FAQ NEW! Are your eBay auction presentations lacking that certain something? Are you frustrated with listing high quality items again and again and not getting top prices for them? If so, BookThink's new consulting service, eBay Critique, may be the answer. eBay Critique consists of two elements - one, a detailed analysis of your existing eBay auctions identifying specific problem areas; and two, suggestions for improvements. Primary areas of concern include image quality, presentation layout and textual content. Read our FAQ for more details and get started today.

50/50 Issue #7 - Hot Spots in Magazines
Now Available
Issue #7 of 50/50 is now available for purchase. The focus is on magazines, and we've imposed some pretty demanding criteria: one, individual issues only (no groupings or lots); two, post-1960 publication dates only; three, relatively common to very common publications; and four, typical values of $50 and up online. Think it can't be done? Well, there are 100s and 100s of them listed in my scouting notebook, and you're getting fully 75 of them in one issue - a bonus of 50 over the usual installment. Subscribe today here.

From the Editor Important announcements for BookThinker readers.

Taking Bookselling To The Top Part III: How to Succeed in Bookselling Without Really Trying "How to Succeed in Bookselling without Really Trying" is back today. Part III of this four-part series illustrates how accidentally screwing things up can sometimes produce a far better result than doing it right in the first place.

BookThink's Bookseller Profiles Profile of Gene Medenwald Today's newsletter is, in a word, big. Ordinarily I'd take full responsibility for this, but not this time. This one's on Gene Medenwald. Gene, you see, agreed to do a Bookseller Profile for us some weeks back, but little did I know he'd return with a small treatise on bookselling - not to mention life itself. When I send profile templates out, I always invite elaborations and additions. Gene took this to heart. The good news is that, if you get half as much out of it as I did, it'll be time well spent.

Previous BookThinker Update -
BookThink Update
14 November 2005>>>

Update Announcements

Letters to the Editor - Letters from Ann Colson & Maggie Wallace

Buying and Selling Children's Books Panning for Gold Children's Books at FOL Sales I'm delighted to announce a new BookThink columnist to you today - Guusje Moore. Guusje's specialty is children's books, and she brings a vast amount of experience to the task: she has been a children's librarian for over 30 years and an eBay seller, specializing in children's books, for 5. In her first column she'll take you on an exceptionally profitable trip to a hypothetical FOL sale. My first thought when I read this was: We're giving this away??? This should be a Gold Edition issue! Oh, well, you freeloaders get to reap the benefits this week - and maybe this will inspire you to take the plunge with one of our premium subscriptions.

Gold Edition #21 The God Edition Reselling Conservative Christian Theology Part I Issue #21 of the Gold Edition is now available for purchase. This is Part I of a two-part series on conservative Christian books, and we'll be introducing a new BookThink writer - Bob Schilling. Bob is a veteran bookseller of 20 years who knows this niche inside out. I think you"ll be genuinely impressed, not to mention profit-enriched, with the broad and deep insider information he's shared with us. If you"re not a subscriber, this would be a great time to join us on the journey to bookselling success. purchase now.