Rare Book Monthly

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Articles - June - 2006 Issue

Buying on eBay -- It's all in how you look

- by Bruce E. McKinney

One report tracking new appearances on the net.

One report tracking new appearances on the net.


Some rules I use:
  1. I keep an evolving set of terms in MatchMaker and capture my initial matches there. I currently, after more than two years, have 43 terms and phrases and receive about 80 matches a day.
  2. I check my MatchMaker matches every morning and quickly dispose of 97% of them. The rest I save in my eBay bidding account.
  3. Each morning I look at my eBay account and note what items are ending as well as what time they end. I then look on listing sites such as AddAll and ABE to see if the material is available there and if so, at what prices. I eliminate items that are common. Once I'm focused on the item I may decide to buy it but will buy the best copy for the money. In many cases a better copy is available on a listing site. I always buy the signed copy or one with a provenance if the price is within reason. I prefer copies that have a history. In building a collection, who owned a book may be a clue to where related material will be found. Collecting is cumulative so experience makes you more effective. The old guys in the book business may not be able to find their glasses but they often know where to find great material. By following the trail of related material you sometimes find great items.

An advantage of MatchMaker over a self-organized eBay account for dealers and collectors is that we answer questions and we answer them seven days a week. The eBay process is initially unfamiliar. Questions need to be asked and answered. We answer the questions and 80% of those who give MatchMaker a serious evaluation find it to be what I learned two years ago: an amazing tool.

eBay is an essential part of the collectibles market. It is also a deeply unfamiliar process. Many participants learn on their own but most big game hunters hire a guide. It saves time and brings this market quickly into focus. To try it on your own go to: www.eBay.com . To enter the world of eBay through MatchMaker [with database access and everyday support] click here to sign up or email me directly at bmckinney@americanaexchange.com and we'll get you started.

Rare Book Monthly

  • ALDE, Apr. 8: GUEVARA (ANTONIO DE). Histoire de Marc-Aurèle, Empereur Romain, vray miroir et horloge des Princes. Paris, Pierre et Galliot du Pré, frères, 1565. €3,000 to €4,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: HEURES DE LA VIERGE. Horæ in laudem beatissimæ virginis Mariæ ad usum Romanum. Paris, Charles L'Angelier, 1556. €4,000 to €5,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: MONTAIGNE (MICHEL DE). Les Essais. Édition nouvelle, trouvée après le deceds de l'autheur… Paris, Abel L'Angelier, 1595. €6,000 to €8,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: [ROJAS (FERNANDO DE)]. Celestina, tragicomedia di Calisto et Melibea, tradotta de lingua castigliana in italiano idioma… Venise, 1531. €2,000 to €3,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: CAMÕES (LUÍS DE). Os Lusiadas. Lisbonne, Pedro Crasbeeck, 1613. €2,000 to €3,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: CERVANTES (MIGUEL DE). El Ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha. Bruxelles, Roger Velpius & Huberto Antonio, 1611. €6,000 to €8,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: LA FONTAINE (JEAN DE). Fables choisies, mises en vers. Paris, Denys Thierry et Claude Barbin, 1678-1694. €6,000 to €8,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: CERVANTES (MIGUEL DE). El Ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha. Madrid, Joaquin Ibarra, 1780. €3,000 to €4,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: DIDEROT (DENIS) ET JEAN LE ROND D'ALEMBERT. Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers. Paris, 1751-1765. €15,000 to €20,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: [LIVRE TISSÉ]. LAMARTINE (Alphonse de). Les Laboureurs. Poème tiré de Jocelyn… Lyon, J. A. Henry, 1883. €8,000 to €10,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: [LIVRE TISSÉ]. Livre de prières tissé d'après les enluminures des manuscrits du XIVe au XVIe siècle. Lyon, [A. Roux], 1886. €5,000 to €6,000.
  • Sotheby’s
    Books, Manuscripts & Objects from Three Important Collections
    Open for Bidding 2-17 April
    Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: [Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun]. Le Roman de la Rose, [Geneva or Lyons, c.1481], first printed edition of the most important medieval French vernacular poem. £200,000 to £300,000.
    Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: Castiglione. Il libro del cortegiano. [Venice], April 1528, first edition, in a magnificent binding by Jean Picard for Jean Grolier. £100,000 to £150,000.
    Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: Jacobus de Cessolis. Schachzabelbuch, Strasbourg, 1483, von der Lasa copy. £50,000 to £70,000.
    Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: World Championship, 1972. A collection of 84 press photographs of the famed match between Spassky and Fischer. £2,000 to £3,000.
    Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: Ben Franklin. Autograph letter signed, to Lord Shelburne, British Prime Minister, during peace negotiations, November 1782. £15,000 to £20,000.

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