Rare Book Monthly

Articles - February - 2015 Issue

Posting eCatalogues Made Easier

- by Bruce E. McKinney

How to add your e-Catalogue

On Rare Book Hub [formerly the Americana Exchange] we have streamlined the steps to posting your electronic catalogues.  Over the past decade we have seen several decisive trends in rare bookselling; the decline in the number of printed catalogues, the tendency to sell inventory quickly rather than stockpile it for printed catalogues, and the rise of electronic catalogues that are quicker and much less costly to produce.

 

To facilitate this change we are making it easier to post such catalogues for AE members who have at least a research membership.  Here is how it works.

 

Sign into your account and simply select AE Monthly from the main toolbar.  Placing your cursor on AE Monthly will open a down-bar menu.  Select eCatalogues.

 

On your eCatalogue screen [in the upper right] is a new link:  Add or Update My Catalogues Here.  Select this link.

 

To add an eCatalogue select ADD

 

Then add the following:

 

Bookseller’s Business Name

 

Catalogue Name

 

Description

 

Url [the electronic link to your catalogue]

 

Unsure how to do this?  Call us at 877.323.7274.  We’ll help.

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Posted On: 2015-02-16 15:46
User Name: manuscriptman

This is an intrigueing idea whose time has apparently come. I used to manage a large auction house many years ago and remember the incredible amount of expense and work involved in making a printed catalogue. The brutal workload was one reason that I left the auction business.
Recent trends, however, along with your article, have caused me to reconsider my position in the industry. Apparently printed catalogues are no longer necessary. In truth, they were less neccessary in the old days than many thought, for when I looked at buying behavior around the year 2000, out of 6500 catalogs, the top 50 customers accounted for 70 percent of sales!
This decline in the primacy of printed catalogs is also accompanied by steadily increasing buyer adn seller's premiums. Except for flagship, high status items, I am becoming increasingly reluctant to pay the large commissions required to sell les spectacular but nonetheless highly marketable material at auction.

Another trend that I see that will eventually occur, and that I see your company will play a major role in, would be custom made and printed catalogs that forwarded or printed the exact sections that the client was interested in buying.

Thanks and Kudos to you and your staff, who are playing a vital role in keeping our industry healthy and informed!

Rare Book Monthly

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    Fonsie Mealy’s, July 30-31: U.S. / European Shipping Archive 1800-1814. The Widow Bermingham & Sons Collection. €7,000 to €10,000.
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    Fonsie Mealy’s, July 30-31: Cantillon (Richard). Essai sur la Nature du Commerce en General, Traduit de l'Anglois, Sm. 8vo London (Fletcher Gyles) 1756. €3,000 to €4,000.
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