The book listing sites have been around for more than two decades and once upon a time there were many. But not so. eBay saw the number of listing sites shrinking and shifted, in books anyway, to mimicking Abe and Amazon with different pricing and discount features. It remains to be seen how these pricing models will coexist.
eBay’s formula originally was primarily as an auction but lost faith in their business model and fell in love with Abe’s. That was pathetic! Instead they split their old and used book business into twin unequal options, retaining their now anemic auction site while building up their fixed price service to encourage higher listing prices with a mechanism to create faux bargain hunting by offering regulated discounts. Their prices even so seem very full. This is basically a phony discount strategy. It’s a Potemkin village.
What’s lacking are references to reality such as:
When was a listing first posted? What and when were changes in the listing made such as:
Listing date, price and description including number of days listed
A complete history of all changes and dates
A record of all inquiries and/or sales of this item [if more than one] on eBay
In other words prospective buyers would pour over the listing history, become informed, become interested or perhaps disinterested if they saw something like “this listing has been posted for 3,491 days.”
And I understand that eBay wants to keep their sellers’ identities secret because they don’t want buyers to get into open conversations with their sellers. That’s understandable given that their only real interest is to earn a sales commission. But let’s remember the primary motivation for listing is to sell.
At first glance the Abe platform seems better.
At some point Abe, eBay or Biblio will become dynamic because the listings are essentially inert and do not entice interest, and at some time their financial people are going to ask what they need to do.
High Bids Win Rare Books, Catalogs, Magazines and Machine Manuals December 24 to January 9
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Ellis Smith Prints unsigned. 20” by 16”.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: United typothetae of America presidents. Pictures of 37 UTA presidents 46th annual convention United typothetae of America Cincinnati 1932.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec signed Paper Impressionism Art Prints. MayMilton 9 1/2” by 13” Reine de Joie 9 1/2” by 13”.
High Bids Win Rare Books, Catalogs, Magazines and Machine Manuals December 24 to January 9
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Aberle’ Ballet editions. 108th triumph, American season spring and summer 1944.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Puss ‘n Boots. 1994 Charles Perrult All four are signed by Andreas Deja
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Specimen book of type faces. Job composition department, Philadelphia gazette publishing company .
High Bids Win Rare Books, Catalogs, Magazines and Machine Manuals December 24 to January 9
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: An exhibit of printed books, Bridwell library.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur Court By Mark Twain 1889.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: 1963 Philadelphia Eagles official program.
High Bids Win Rare Books, Catalogs, Magazines and Machine Manuals December 24 to January 9
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: 8 - Esquire the magazine for men 1954.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: The American printer, July 1910.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Leaves of grass 1855 by Walt Whitman.
Sotheby's Fine Books, Manuscripts & More Available for Immediate Purchase
Sotheby’s: William Shakespeare. The Poems and Sonnets of William Shakespeare, 1960. 7,210 USD
Sotheby’s: Charles Dickens. A Christmas Carol, First Edition, 1843. 17,500 USD
Sotheby’s: William Golding. Lord of the Flies, First Edition, 1954. 5,400 USD
Sotheby's Fine Books, Manuscripts & More Available for Immediate Purchase
Sotheby’s: Lewis Carroll. Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There, Inscribed First Edition, 1872. 25,000 USD
Sotheby’s: J.R.R. Tolkien. The Hobbit, First Edition, 1937. 12,000 USD
Sotheby’s: John Milton. Paradise Lost, 1759. 5,400 USD
