The BookThinker Newsletter ISSN 1547-9501 #76, 28 July 2006

BookThink Update
4 September 2006>>>

Update Announcements

Book Repair for BookThinkers How to Replace Endleaves How many times have you opened a seemingly swell book only to be met with a gaping, unsightly split hinge? Not quite the kiss of death, but a significant flaw nonetheless - and yet, sending it off to be repaired rarely makes sense because the subsequent gain in value would likely be offset by the cost of the repair. However, there's another option - repair it yourself. Too difficult, you say? Well, BookThink's Book Repair Editor Gail Altman begs to differ, and she's here today to explain exactly how it's done.

BookThink's Top 10 on eBay July 2006 Also today - the July installment of Pamela Palmer's Top Ten on eBay. Some familiar faces appear, some new ones as well, and apparently several sellers encountered some unusual problems selling at the top end. Pam elaborates.

50/50 Issue #16
Now Available
Issue #16 of 50/50 is now available for purchase; its focus is "Opportunities in Music (Primarily Classical)." Subscribe today here.

Gold Edition #30 How To Become a Full-Time Bookseller Part VIII: Bringing It Home The Moral Imperative Issue #30 of the Gold Edition is now available for purchase. This is Part VIII of a eight-part series on How to Become a Full-Time Bookseller Purchase now.

From the Editor Important announcements for BookThinker readers.

Buying and Selling The Everyman's Library A Primer A third entry in our series on series appears today - The Everyman's Library. If you're a veteran bookseller, you've probably seen 100s if not 1000s of these over the years. Do you grab them or leave them behind? I'm guessing you might pass on most if not all of them, especially if you've tried to resell them. But it might be smart to take a second look. Similar in concept to the Modern Library series, EMLs, though seemingly dirt common, sometimes attract strong collector interest. As usual, bookselling success depends heavily on the identification of high spots, and the EML primer in today's issue will get you started.

The Everyman's Library Checklist An Introduction Terry Seymour has collected EML books and ephemera for over 20 years and, to date, has assembled a collection of over 7,000 items. Like Stan Shelley (First Edition Library) and Michael Bussacco (The Heritage Press), Terry has contributed a valuable reference to the cause - A Guide to Collecting Everyman's Library. He's also put together a complete checklist of EMLs. The checklist includes authors, titles, series numbers, publications dates and, best of all, indications of scarcity. It's available for purchase at BookThink. Also, Terry has written a short introduction to the checklist that includes some important information for EML booksellers.

Introducing .... BookHunt Software Designed for Buying Inventory Online The bookselling theme we pound the hardest at BookThink is this: Sell better books. Agreed, some of you don't live in inventory rich areas, and this may be easier said than done. One solution I've suggested is to start buying some of your inventory online. After all, where are most of the best books located? For most booksellers, however, especially those new to the business, buying online is significantly more difficult than buying books in the field. Or was until now. Software developer Ian Ashbury has come to the rescue. Ian has designed a tool for BookThink that will greatly enhance your ability to not only locate inventory online but also save you countless hours you otherwise would've spent slogging through listings at eBay. It's called BookHunt, and here's more information.

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.

Previous BookThinker update- BookThink Update
21 August 2006>>>

Update Announcements

Putting A Face on Faceless Venues An Interview with Biblio's Kevin Donaldson There are business models, and there are business models. Some enterprises use the build-it-and-they-will-come approach, focusing their efforts more on product or service than profit. Others take a different, more aggressive approach, devoting considerable energy and resources to producing profit, sometimes at the expense of product (or service). I don't know whether booksellers hold such a thing as a general perception about the venues they trust their inventories with, but I'm guessing that many of you would say that the dominant players are interested entirely too much in profit, entirely too little in those responsible for generating it - booksellers. It's easy to feel neglected or mistreated when you're competing with tens of thousands of faceless booksellers and fees keep going up and up. Whatever your perception, I strongly suspect that Media Editor Catherine Petruccione's interview with Biblio's Kevin Donaldson will alter it. Shortly after speaking with Kevin, Cathy wrote me and said: "If the good guy ever wins, Biblio should do just fine." Her "good guy" perception was based on Biblio's unusually bookseller-friendly (and customer-friendly) business model. Funny thing, it's producing sales too, often at the high end, and if you're disenchanted with the big guys, Biblio may be a viable, long-term solution.