Rare Book Monthly

Articles - January - 2007 Issue

Comparing The Book Finding Sites

AddAll displays all copies, regardless of edition, together, sortable in many ways.

AddAll displays all copies, regardless of edition, together, sortable in many ways.


AddAll is also quite popular. Says "40+" booksellers, though only 22 are listed for used books. They also search four versions of Abe and five of Amazon, along with other major names like Alibris, Choosebooks, Half and some of the smaller sites and larger individual booksellers (Powells, Strand). An advanced-type search without dates is offered. Searches are faster but not always as thorough. They also find old and rare books. Presents all listings together, the way Abe displays results. Link: www.addall.com

Fetchbook is ranked third by Alexa. It searches 126 sites. You would think everything would be covered here, and the list is certainly extensive, including the important but sometimes overlooked site eBay. Still, ILAB and the French Livres-rare-book, searched by the previous sites, are missed by FetchBook. No one gets them all. Only allows one field at a time to be searched, not very convenient for pinpointing titles. Appears to miss pre-ISBN editions. Link: www.fetchbook.info

BookFinder4U is one of two sites that appear to be on the next rung in terms of traffic. Newer to the web than the more established competitors, they promote aggressively and have lined up 128 sites to search, two more than Fetchbook. They hit just about all of the sites, though no one is perfect (Livre-rare-book is missing). They offer an advanced search that doesn't have dates, but is one of the few that includes publisher. They post estimated shipping costs. Has a separate search specifically for rare books. Link: www.bookfinder4u.com

All Bookstores is the other service on the next tier. They search 31 sites, including the big names, Amazon, Abe, Alibris, Barnes and Noble, Biblio, Half, eBay, some smaller ones like ElephantBooks, and some sites with just newer books, such as Overstock and Wal Mart. Searches only one field at a time. They include shipping details such as cost, estimated time, shipping methods, etc. Seemed to miss a lot of material on the sites they search, at least when we tried it. Link: www.allbookstores.com

UsedBookSearch was once among the leaders, but seems to have faded. They search just 11 sites, but since the majors are here, it probably still finds most books. Offers a three-field search. UsedBookSearch displays results in an unusual way. It shows the number of matches for each website. Clicking on the number takes you directly to the results displayed on that site. The disadvantage is that this makes it hard to compare copies and prices from one site to the next. However, they do find all types of books, including rare and antiquarian. Link: usedbooksearch.com.uk

Bibliofind was probably once the largest. It was purchased a few years back by Amazon and now it only searches Amazon's site. In other words, it is pointless. You can just as well go to Amazon. Link: www.bibliofind.com

Rare Book Monthly

  • Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
  • Sotheby’s
    Book Week
    December 9-17, 2025
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Francesco Colonna. Hypnerotomachie, Paris, 1546, Parisian calf by Wotton Binder C for Marcus Fugger. €200,000 to €300,000.
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Nausea. De principiis dialectices Gorgias, and other works, Venice, 1523, morocco gilt for Cardinal Campeggio. €3,000 to €4,000.
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Billon. Le fort inexpugnable de l'honneur, Paris, 1555, Parisian calf gilt for Peter Ernst, Graf von Mansfeld. €120,000 to €180,000.
    Sotheby’s
    Book Week
    December 9-17, 2025
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Salinger, J.D. The Graham Family archive, including autographed letters, an inscribed Catcher, a rare studio photograph of the author, and more. $120,000 to $180,000.
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of Sense and Sensibility, the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Massachusetts General Court. A powerful precursor to the Declaration of Independence: "every Act of Government … without the Consent of the People, is … Tyranny." $40,000 to $60,000.
  • Heritage Auctions
    Rare Books Signature Auction
    December 15, 2025
    Heritage, Dec. 15: John Donne. Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death. London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.
    Heritage, Dec. 15: Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
    Heritage, Dec. 15: F. Scott Fitzgerald. Tender is the Night. A Romance.
    Heritage, Dec. 15: Bram Stoker. Dracula. Westminster: Archibald Constable & Co., 1897.
    Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
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