The Rare Book Batch Valuation Service

The number and scale of public auctions offering books has reached a level where there are both enough current lots and accumulated auction history to offer a service to provide near-instant estimated valuations and probability of reappearance at auction for many works on paper.

Currently, the Rare Book Hub Transaction History enables users to determine the value of books... one at a time. This is fine for valuing a handful. But for those who must value large collections, in the hundreds and thousands of items, or for those seeking to immediately value even a few dozen books, it is insufficient. To make the process both more efficient and faster, we will soon be introducing the Rare Book Batch Valuation Service — batch processing that will quickly convert lists of holdings into estimates of valuation and rarity.

Auctions have been growing rapidly based on the demand of sellers looking for efficient exits and from buyers preferring to pay market-derived prices. Auction houses constantly receive inquiries from those wishing to sell their books. Batch valuation will turn evaluating those collections into an automated process.

Every category of participation in the field will find this service useful. For collectors, they will have the option to view their collections as they view their holdings in the stock market. Prices change; it’s a given. The Batch Valuation Service will capture the changing everyday reality of these holdings. For dealers who wish to capture the changing dynamic of the market, their inventories can periodically be compared to the ever-adjusting auction market, allowing books to be priced for sale, rather than languishing on shelves, while not being sold for less than fair value.

For institutions, who have never actually known the value of their complete holdings, this service will provide information that enables them to select the appropriate amount of insurance without overpaying. It will also help library management to understand their holdings as valuable assets that need varying scales of protection. For some, they may use batch valuation to assess their separate collections. Their value and costs of ownership may help them to use their space, time, and money more efficiently. Tastes and needs change.

For appraisers, batch valuation can be another tool among the current array of services that complements and enhances their expert opinion, and no doubt institutions and collectors are going to want their perspective.

We call it the Rare Book Batch Valuation Service, but think of it as the future.

We expect to be offering a beta version of this new service to certain paid subscription members around October 1. It will be for those who wish to test the service and participate in the process of fine-tuning and enabling us to better serve the needs of the various constituencies that will benefit from access to batch valuation. We hope to be rolling out the finished product around January 1.

If you are interested in learning more about this service and participating in the trials, please email Tom McKinney at tom@rarebookhub.com. A priority will be given to annual members. Mention your orientation to the field, be it as an auction house, appraiser, dealer, collector, or library.

We’ll need your contact details and then assign an advocate to work with you. We’ll welcome test files from 50 to 500 items.

Join us as we move into the future!