Books I do NOT sell

In my years of looking for old books, I have discovered there are a few catagories that are NOT considered valuable, and therefore not worth listing on eBay (or any other online venue):

Bibles

No other book has been printed more often than the Bible. Because they are so common, most Bibles have no significant monetary value. Certain important editions of the Bible, however, are collectible: the earliest printed Bibles dating from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the 1611 printings of the first authorized English (King James) version; and a variety of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century oddities such as the "Breeches" Bible, the "Vinegar" Bible, and the "Wicked" Bible, which have some misprint or peculiar wording. Bibles that contain handwritten genealogical or other family information do not have market value, unless the families or individuals in them were famous.

Sermons and Religious Instruction

Like Bibles, many other types of religious books, such as hymnals and other worship books, collections of sermons, and books of religious instruction, were intended for wide circulation. Great quantities were printed as cheaply as possible, making them both less scarce and less attractive to collectors. There are some exceptions. Early Shaker tracts and the first Roman Catholic Bibles printed in the United States, for example, are considered important and may be quite rare, resulting in greater demand and higher prices. Still, there are some people who collect old hymnals, so be aware of some of these smaller niches.

Collected Editions of an Author's Work

When authors become popular and well-established, publishers often issue collected editions of their works. Such editions may be offered in special bindings and may even be limited and signed, but they are seldom rare. Exceptions include editions published by fine presses or historically significant editors, which may be valued by collectors or libraries for that reason. (Reader's Digest Condensed books fall into this catagory).

Encyclopedias

Since encyclopedias are published and purchased for the currency of their information, obsolete editions of modern encyclopedias have little monetary value, whatever the historical interest of their articles. The eleventh edition (1911) of the Encyclopedia Britannica may be one exception. Complete sets of encyclopedias published before 1800 also have some market value. Single volumes are worth hardly anything.

Textbooks

Old schoolbooks and college textbooks typically fall into the category of second-hand books. There is a market for early American primers in very good or fine condition. The Eclectic Readers of William Holmes McGuffey are favorites among collectors, for example, though prices vary considerably depending on the edition and condition. Illustrated textbooks printed before 1850 are also sought after, as are early examples of textbooks that instructed students about topics now studied, like the place of African-Americans, women, or immigrant groups in society. But then again, some current college level text books are worth selling, but make sure the edition is still in use.

OOPS!

I was listing a men’s tie with a novelty cartoon character on it; and as usual, I list information from the label, which this time included that it was made in Myanmar. Frankly, I’d never heard of Myanmar—but I soon found out about it!  When I got the last page of my listing, a big square note popped up that said:

Embargoed Goods!
eBay prohibits all sales of products of Burma (Myanmar) origin that were imported from Burma (Myanmar) after August 27, 2003.
If you list such an item in violation of this policy, we may remove the item and may revoke your trading privileges on our site.  

If you list an item of Burma origin that was imported prior to August 27, 2003, we encourage you to explain in your listing the circumstances and timing of its importation from Burma.
More information on the current restrictions may be found at the following site:
http://www.treas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/programs/index.shtml
All I can say, is check your labels!

Little Golden Books

I don’t usually deal in children’s books, but I did list a collectible Little Golden Book this week.  I needed to do some quick research before pricing it and thought I’d share a bit of what I learned.

Everyone remembers reading the Little Golden Books as a child--Little Golden books were first produced in 1942.  Twelve titles were sold that year. They were an immediate hit with young children and their parents, who loved the 25¢ price.  These older books are quite collectible. If you have an old one in good shape (no scribbles, no missing pages, etc.) you might be surprised how much it sells for. 

One thing to remember:  Never date your book by the copyright.  Copyrights seldom changed and the book that says 1942 just might have been printed in 1980!

For books published in 1947 – 1970, there is an easy way to tell the edition: Look on the last page of the book in the lower right hand corner by the spine. There will be a letter and this letter tells the edition. For example A=1st, Z=26th, AA=27.

For books published between 1971 – 1991, on the bottom of one of the first two pages you will see something like A B C D E or a b c d e. The first letter to the far left is the edition.

For books published after 1991, besides having the copyright date, the book will also have a printing date in Roman Numerals. If a book from this period does not have a Roman Numeral date it is a first printing and it was left off by mistake. If the letter "A" precedes the Roman Numerals the book is a first edition. If an "R" precedes the Roman Numeral then the book is a (R)evised edition.

It’s a complicated system, but good to know if you think you’ve found a valuable book!  Go look in your shelves to see if you have one of the older books!

Facebook Friend Requests

Something new for Facebook: When users include a personal message with a friend request, that message will now also appear in the Messages inbox of the recipient. These messages, which allowed users to add a short note to a friend request, only appeared in the Requests channel. This made them easy to miss, especially since once a request was answered, the message was permanently deleted.

By adding these friend request personal messages to the Messages inbox, users are much more likely to see them and users will always have them, significantly reducing the chance of these notes being lost.

Flush Left

Centered text is harder to read than text that is flush left.  (quoted from Griff who was on eBay Radio yesterday)  Go check some eBay descriptions—you’ll see what he means! 

I really never gave it much thought before since all my eBay descriptions are flush left (also known as aligned left or justified left).  But now that he mentioned it, I think that’s an important point—almost as important as not making your description look like a rainbow. 

It’s all about making your listing easy to read.  If at first glance it looks hard to read, many people will just go on to someone else’s eBay offering.  If you want to make a profit, you have to pay attention to small details!

Selling Barbie Dolls

Do you sell Barbie Dolls on eBay?  I recently acquired a few copies of Barbie Bazaar—a Barbie Collector magazine.  These are from 1989 and beyond (first published in late 1988—I do have the premier issue, too!)—I just about have them all listed.

One issue has an article on selling guidelines.  Remember, this was 1989 when there was no eBay and very little internet.  Some dealers would sell Barbies and accessories by mail.  This article gives suggestions for uniform grading of collectible Barbies.  The purpose was to grade the dolls & clothes; and to list the flaws any item might have.  (Kind of sounds like how I talk about descriptions on an eBay listing to my students.) 

They suggested that these acronyms be used for descriptions:

NRFB - Never Removed From the original Box

MIB - Mint in Box

MINT - Unplayed-with condition.  Doll may have been displayed, but never played with and looks like it just came out of the box.

EC - Excellent Condition.  It may have been played with but has no flaws.

VGC - Very Good Condition.  A nice doll that may have some minor flaws.

GC - Good Condition. This may make a decent display item, but has some major flaws like cut hair, green by ears, fingers missing, etc.

Fair - Item could be dirty, buttons missing, or may be torn or stained.

Interesting list, isn’t it?  I personally would combine the last two.  And, remember to list (and photograph) every flaw that you see in your listings.

Outstanding Customer Service

Part of my recent trip to California included a stop in Las Vegas for eBay sellers’ convention—eBay on Location.  I’ll be telling you about it in bits and pieces, but today I want to talk about Customer Service. 

Marsha Collier, author of the many eBay for Dummies books, was there. She talked about the importance of connecting with customers, making them feel important, and offering top-notch customer service.  Her presentations have motivated me to do better in the communications department (I think I do OK now, but there’s always room for improvement). 

But, let me tell you about an eBay seller who excels in the area of customer service—their eBay ID is sleepymountainmattress.  Granted, they are a company and not an individual seller like myself, but their attention to keeping me informed about my purchase has really impressed me. 

I ordered a memory foam mattress topper from them (I discovered I could get one for soooo much less on eBay than from my local big all-in-one store) a few days ago.  They have sent me at least 3 emails thanking me and telling me that the order was shipped, how it was sent, and when it would arrive. 

This morning my phone rang—I almost didn’t answer it because it was a number I didn’t recognize.  It was sleepymountainmattress, thanking me again and telling me the package ought to arrive today!  Wow!  What outstanding customer service!  I will certainly look to them the next time I need any of their products!

 (And if you have been thinking of buying one of those memory foam toppers, they have great prices—check them first)