Rare Book Monthly
Articles - December - 2002 Issue
Conversing with Mr. Americana: Talking Books With Bill Reese
feature article
We have had very consistent years in total. A lot of people in the book business have been feeling that the market is soft, but I’d say that the results of auctions consistently show that when you have higher ground stuff it always sells. Also the question arises as to what’s soft? What are we comparing the book market to? Has the book market remained more solid than the equities market? I think it has. Perhaps it hasn’t advanced but it hasn’t declined either. It preserves capital, not losses.
AT: From 1995 to 2000 prices in Americana seemed to be moving almost straight up. Does this suggest that some prices have now exceeded their real value? If so, how does the market resolve this and how will collectors figure it out?
BR: See my previous answer for the answer to this question. Also, I believe that this is too imperfect a market to the data is too spotty to graph in any way.
AT: In the downturn, does this lead to questions of repricing? If so, how do you deal with it? Nobody wants to do it, but nonetheless it’s a reality. Do you have any plans to change the direction of your business, or are there any major projects that you are planning to undertake in the near future? If so, can you describe them?
BR: We are looking at our prices compared to prices we see being asked on line. I am constantly thinking about prices. I constantly reprice against best indicators. We’re slowly comparing our prices versus asked prices on abe.com. We’re using Abe because it’s the largest database of asked prices and provides us with the quickest answer. We’re making decisions re: where we stand in the marketplace. Sometimes we’re the cheapest, sometimes we’re the highest.
But to consider the issue of price you also have to look at the issues of condition and scarcity. We are looking to see if there’s a direction. I’m heading, in my inventory, for the weird, the odd, the unusual. Often there are no comparables to these.
The Internet & Its Impact
AT: How do you feel that the internet has changed the business of rare book dealing and collecting? Which aspects of the business have been most directly affected by the internet, and to what end?
BR: I think it’s had a massive change in the business. There is however less effect the higher up the food chain you go. The internet has completely remade the used book business, which is impossible to conduct now without the internet. The internet is a big issue in advertising as well. In the used book business up to the antiquarian book business it now provides collectors and dealers with price comparables.
