Rare Book Monthly

Articles - November - 2023 Issue

Need to Sell Your Valuable Books but have No Idea How? We Can Help!

Clarity, speed, & fair outcomes

Clarity, speed, & fair outcomes

Over the past 20 years, the Rare Book Hub has grown to be far and away the world's largest source of sales data about rare and collectible books. As a result, we have come to work with many of the leading auction houses and booksellers. When it comes to collectors, the one question I have been asked most often is “how do I sell my books?” For most collectors, whether it's age, space limitations, finances, changed focus or fading interest, it eventually becomes time to sell. For others, it is books they inherited but know nothing about. They would like to dispose of them for a fair price but have absolutely no idea what to do, or even where to begin. 

 

To help those who need efficient and quick help, we are now staffing a department we call Catalyst, to organize their material, value their holdings, place them and obtain favorable terms.

 

A year ago, an aging collector asked me for advice and after two meetings and many calls, she simply said, “sell my stuff.”  Instantly I knew how to do it, but it took me most of a year to develop a fair and accurate formula that would quickly and efficiently convert their desire into fair transactions.  The answer has turned out to be a service we call Catalyst, charging 10% for the first $5,000 of sales created, coming down to 2% over the first million.

 

It turns out we not only have the best data about rarity and value about collectible paper, we also have strong relationships with the dealers, institutions and auction houses who make the market. With our understanding of both sides of the market we are already seeing immediate positive outcomes for those who have asked for help.

 

If you want help or advice, whether you are buying or selling, if/when you want to have a conversation reach us at Rare Book Hub at bmckinney@rarebookhub.com or by phone at (877) 323-7273 or (415) 823-6678.


Posted On: 2023-11-01 12:08
User Name: jdmt

I hope that this is not a move towards squeezing out the auction houses ! You depend on them after all.


Posted On: 2023-11-02 02:05
User Name: adminb

The purpose of this service is to help those who want to acquire or dispose material. Most at this point want to sell. Once I understand their objectives, I explain the options, the majority simply say "get me the best price." And at this point I'm placing their material at auction, with a dealer, or an institution, depending on which best suits the interests of the collector in terms of price, timing, etc.


Rare Book Monthly

  • Sotheby's
    Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
    Sotheby’s: The Shem Tov Bible, 1312 | A Masterpiece from the Golden Age of Spain. Sold: 6,960,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Ten Commandments Tablet, 300-800 CE | One of humanity's earliest and most enduring moral codes. Sold: 5,040,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: William Blake | Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Sold: 4,320,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: The Declaration of Independence | The Holt printing, the only copy in private hands. Sold: 3,360,000 USD
    Sotheby's
    Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
    Sotheby’s: Thomas Taylor | The original cover art for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Sold: 1,920,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Machiavelli | Il Principe, a previously unrecorded copy of the book where modern political thought began. Sold: 576,000 GBP
    Sotheby’s: Leonardo da Vinci | Trattato della pittura, ca. 1639, a very fine pre-publication manuscript. Sold: 381,000 GBP
    Sotheby’s: Henri Matisse | Jazz, Paris 1947, the complete portfolio. Sold: 312,000 EUR

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