The BookThinker Newsletter ISSN 1547-9501 #107, 5 November 2007

BookThink Update
12 November 2007>>>

Update Announcements

Selling on Amazon The Fine Art of Pricing Books on Amazon Pricing a book properly can be one of the more difficult things for new booksellers to learn - but absolutely one of the most important. Since many booksellers begin their bookselling lives on Amazon Marketplace, it's especially important that they understand the pricing issues peculiar to this venue. And there are plenty. Steve Weber is here today to illuminate them in "The Fine Art of Pricing Books on Amazon."

The Accidental Antiquarian The Literary Life I'm also delighted to introduce a new BookThink writer today - Chris Lowenstein. Those of you who read Karin Bergsagel's recent report on her week at the Colorado Antiquarian Book Seminar may recall her referencing a bookselling blog written by Chris. Well, I was so impressed with her archived posts - which, by the way, chronicle an apprenticeship she's presently "serving" in antiquarian bookselling - that I invited her to contribute to BookThink. Her first column narrates how she came to the decision to pursue this profession.

Gold Edition #44 When "Bad" Books Are Good Before I resume my discussion about buying and selling hypermodern mainstream fiction, I'm going to step back in time slightly to what is commonly regarded as modern fiction - and not just any modern fiction but the most collectible fiction out there. And forget about first editions. I'm going to put some easy money in your pockets. Over the years I've compiled a list of titles in my scouting book that are so intensely collected that we booksellers can make good money selling copies of them even if we never encounter anything in a first edition state. Purchase now.

From the Editor Important announcements for BookThinker readers.

Collecting Science Fiction Learning to Learn A good friend returns today after a lengthy pause - BookThink's Science Fiction Editor Timothy Doyle. Tim recently received an email inquiring about an issue point on Robert Heinlein's The Menace from Earth, and since he'd already been working on another article on this book's publisher, Gnome Press, it presented him a good opportunity to kill two birds with one stone - also a good opportunity to work his answer (and how he found it) into an article on researching issue points. There are lots of great tips search within.

First Edition Points Grading Books: The First Step to Successful Internet Selling Speaking of issue points, Thomas Lee, author of 20th Century First Edition Fiction: A Price and Identification Guide, is back with his monthly column. Today's topic is grading - specifically, why it's more important to learn how to do it well today than it was in pre-Internet days, a time when most buyers actually handled books before purchasing them. Now, your ability to grade a book, not to mention present it properly, can literally make or break you as a bookseller.

BookThink's Quarterly Market Report of Common, Profitable Books Issue #2 Issue #2 of BookThink's Quarterly Market Report of Common, Profitable Books is now available for purchase. Purchase or subscribe now.

Special Subscription Package BookThink's Gold Edition Plus BookThink's Quarterly Market Report of Common, Profitable Books $59.99 Now available - Special Subscription Package includes a year of Gold Edition plus a year of Quarterly Market Report .... This can be used to start a new subscription or to extend current subscription(s). Click here.

Previous BookThinker update-

BookThink Update
29 October 2007>>>

Update Announcements

Buying and Selling Ephemera The Hair-Raising Prices of Dennison's Bogie Books Halloween is nigh, and Michele Behan looks at Dennison's Bogie Books today. They're highly collectible, as are most any vintage Halloween memorabilia. Part of the mystique is that these books, memorabilia, etc., were published/manufactured during an era when Halloween had an edge - and so the dark side of collecting rears its head once again! Join Michele as she shows you the haunting details.

How to Start a Clicks-and-Bricks Used Bookstore Organizing Your Business Part IV: Registering Your Business Jill Hendrix is also here today. She discusses another unsexy but highly important step in starting your book business - registering it.