Having posted two stories titled “How to Deal with Dealers,” parts 1 and 2, I feel I should reiterate: I am not at war with dealers. Everyone has a right to make a profit on their labor and/or knowledge, and collectibles dealers are no exception.
I personally know many fair, square, upfront dealers in a variety of collecting fields and especially among rare book and autograph dealers: there are some real gentlemen (and ladies!) among the bookselling crowd.
What I DON’T like is being dealt with by sniveling, deceitful rare book dealers who play games in order to buy cheap and sell dear: I’d much prefer that they say, as Rick Harrison used to do on Pawn Stars, something like: “Look, I would expect to sell it for $XXX and have to make enough profit to pay my overhead. Therefore, I can offer you half that,” or one-quarter, or whatever. Instead, I’ve had people ask me to send them an item on approval, knowing full well how much I wanted (and misleading me that they intended to purchase at that price), then whine about not being able to pay what I was asking.
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: the only difference between some—some—collectibles dealers and fishmongers is the smell—and plenty of fishmongers are a breath of fresh air compared to that minority of unpleasant collectibles dealers.
But I digress . . .
Since books and autographs are my main collecting fields, I thought I’d share a few tips with you on getting the best stuff at the best prices . . .
- Never bid in an auction, online or otherwise, without comparison-shopping. For the life of me, I can never understand why two dimwits will get in a bidding war on eBay, driving the price of a signed book up to $200, when the same damn book, signed and in better condition, is available for $150 through a book search website. Yet, it happens all the time. Don’t get caught up in the frenzy: Do your homework first!
- For books and autographs, the best site I know of is viaLibri. Why? Because viaLibri includes Abebooks, Alibris, Biblio.com, Amazon, eBay, and 175 other websites internationally. Talk about casting a wide net!
- Check dealers’ websites before you buy a book. Some dealers don’t list on the big book search sites. Or the exact same book is priced differently on three different book search sites as well as their own, which may be the cheapest. Or a dealer may post images of the book only on their own site—and when you see what it looks like, may make you not want it after all. Shop around!
- Play with the search parameters. I’m no techie, so don’t ask me why, but searching by title only can yield fruit that searching by author only won’t. Sure, you may have to weed through a lot of listings, but think of yourself as a visitor to an online flea market. That’s where the treasures are to be found.
- Got questions about a book? Don’t hesitate to ask. Not every book search site will let you contact a seller directly; if it does, you can save yourself time and angst by confirming a book’s availability and description—especially if it’s a hot item. (I don’t know how many times I’ve “bought” a book, only to be told that it had already been sold and the seller had neglected to remove the listing. Or that a book wasn’t accurately described. See #6.) Many sellers are happy to send scans if you request them.
- Beware: The description may be wrong. For example, if a book has a “gift inscription” or “loose signatures” (i.e., the sewn-in pages are coming out), many book search cataloging programs will label these “signed by the author.” They’re not. If the description says, “Warmly inscribed ‘To Captain Ahab, with best wishes from your fishing buddy, Herman Melville,’” that’s a safe bet—apart from the fact that Melville would have signed it “your homeboy, Herman Melville.” Again, when in doubt, ask; otherwise you may be tying up your money in an unwanted purchase and have to return it before you can get reimbursed.
- If you ask for a price reduction, be reasonable. To me, buying books is
“the start of a beautiful friendship,” to quote Bogie in Casablanca. I like to purchase from people I like, and I hope my purchase will result in some goodwill—and future purchases. However, business is business, and politely asking for a discount with good reason (the operative term) is not out of line. For example, if a book has condition issues or is clearly overpriced because you know the market, those are legitimate reasons to ask for a price cut.
NORTHWEST COLLECTOR’S TIPS FOR REQUESTING A DISCOUNT: (a) Explain why, and don’t BS. Point out the book’s good points—i.e., your reasons for wanting it—but explain why you feel the price might be lowered; many dealers will respect that. Don’t ask for a discount if the book is already very reasonably priced, as your credibility will go right out the window. (b) Be nice about it. Ask if the seller will “consider” (the word I use) selling at a lower price. If not, don’t get huffy: even if the dealer hasn’t a clue to how overpriced he is—or, worse, routinely overprices in order to profit from walk-ins at his shop—ultimately, it’s his right to price the book as he pleases. You’d do much better to say, “Well, thank you anyway. Please keep me in mind if you ever reconsider and decide to come down a little.” You may be pleasantly surprised a year later. (c) Don’t low-ball it. If you decide to throw out a specific price you’d like to pay for the book, be realistic; again, it’s a credibility issue, and a crazy-low price is just not credible. Personally, I wouldn’t ask for more than 20 percent off—25 percent max—and even then I’d expect to meet somewhere in the middle.
- If you do get a discount, express your sincere gratitude afterward. As I noted earlier, there are a lot of nice people out there selling books and other collectibles. When someone cuts you a break, return the goodwill by saying thank you and expressing the hope that you’ll do business again soon. Dealers are people, too, and they want to feel good about selling something—ESPECIALLY at a discount. After you make a purchase, get in the habit of sending the dealer a want list, asking that they keep you in mind if and when another item in your collecting area comes up. Again, you’ll be surprised how responsive people can be.
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