X: X Marks the Spot - the Treasure in Collecting Books
I love books. But even more, I love collecting books. Not just each book that I'm interested in or may enjoy, the stacks in my TBR group, but also the Special Editions, the Advanced Reading Copies, and Signed Editions. And having currently amassed over 7500+ books, including nearly 1000 "special" books, as well having owned several bookstores, while appraising books for curiosity and Insurance sake, I've become pretty good at finding those gems in the rough.
Now I want to emphasize a caveat if you are thinking of collecting books, I recoomend doing this for passion or pleasure. Whenever I'd have speculators come in my store, asking what will be the next big thing for investment purposes, I'd always say, find something you will enjoy. Then if it goes up in value, that's a bonus.
Now let's collect. First, find the kinds of books (or other assets for that matter) that you would like to collect and why? Hopefully it's for your pleasure, but how do you know the value of the item over time. If it's a book, always check the first couple pages, to see if it's a First Edition, should say so. Some don't state that but in the long list of printing number, it starts with a 1. For older books, you may have to crack the spine slightly at the front, to see if there is a letter or number to help you determine which edition. Then check for the add-ons like gilt pages, or even art when spread, bookplates or pic plates throughout, check for damage, creasing tearing or even loose pages. Depending on the age of the book, that might not matter, but make sure it's intact, for the greatest possible value.
Now find a consistent guide on pricing. Kovell's is one of the best, most consistent book, having been around a long time. Also check current prices in auction houses, or even going value on Amazon, Powell's, EBay, and Craigslist - but be careful! Let the buyer beware, be your guide. The condition can be in the eye of the beholder, and a VF or F from the sellers side, may not even qualify as a VG or G on the buyer's side. That's why I like to see the books, going to auction houses, estate sales, book stores, and even flea markets (you'd be amazed at the treasures you can find there).
Collecting has become so big, that there are even books about collecting that are collectible themselves. Price Guides from the past can be worth a great deal, depending on the publication run, which is typically low, though increasing as there is less competition, with the same demand. Joh Dunning, a successful bookseller from Colorado wrote a book, Booked to Die, which included in its plot, the value of certain books. It was a limited run in first printing, but it took off, with many more printings, so the first edition of a book about book collecting is a collectible, selling for as much as $1000 to the right buyer.
Other classics include Gone with the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell. It was a limited run, but took off, even including a movie adaptation that won the Oscar for best picture. 1st edition, 1st printing can bring in as much as $100,000 - so valuable, but lesser printings are still worth quite a bit. I owned a 1st edition, 18th printing that I sold to another bookstore for $15,000 to be resold to Oprah Winfrey for $25,000 - everyone came out happy in that deal. The dime novels, if in excellent condition, from the 30s through 50s can summon a minimum of $50 upwards to thousands of dollars. Not bad for a book you paid a dime for. Stephen King's The Stand (Uncut) commands several thousand dollars and more depending on buyer, but if you sell the collect version you might make only $50, so make sure you know what you have. I had a Catcher in the Rye but mistook the edition which caused me to pay more, and make much less than I thought I had. But that's all part of the process. Another modern classic (very hot area right now, speculating the next big book) is the author who makes it big, and has a limited run on their very first book - example, John Grisham, who's book The Firm, put him on the map and in reader's hearts. Now try to find his first book, A Time To Kill, which is worth upwards to several thousand for the first edition.
And a signed copy usually doubles the value of the book, but it also depends on the author. Grisham is doing his first book tour in 25 years, which will lower the value of his signed books, but before that, any signed edition was worth several hundred dollars. Stephen King is another. Some authors will sell their signed on their pages, and with the internet, little things like this have lowered the coast, but still make them investment worthy over time, depending on demand, their next big book, or their passing. I still collect signed books from my favorite books, with the value being the bonus, but special editions have even make this a challenge. And how much is an ARC (Advanced Reading Copy) worth? They are usually sent to bookstores and reviewers to drum up demand, so they should be available free, but in order to get an ARC of your favorite, expect to pay money, and don't complain -yes, they are supposed to be free but it's a way to get a book that otherwise may not be available.
So those are the basics on book collecting, but I must emphasize, HAVE FUN! Find something you love to collect, whether books or any other commodity - values fluctuate, but your love of the book, if done correctly, never will. Happy hunting!
