Power Book Search accesses 60 sites, about all of the majors and lots of others. Searches only title and keywords together. Shows shipping costs and time. Another site which misses the old books. Link: www.powerbooksearch.com
Vialibri is a new meta-searcher reaching 11 sites, mainly those for old books, including Abe, Alibris, Biblio, Antiqbook, Choosebooks, Maremagnum and even ILAB. Offers an advanced type search. Allows search for just rare books, and finds lots of antiquarian titles most other sites miss. Results include complete descriptions. Where a seller posts the same copy on multiple sites, it shows you the price listed on each, which often differs. You can select the cheapest. Much more suitable for the serious collector than the vast majority of other sites. A major step up. Link: www.vialibri.net
Bookfinder.us is hard to feel good about. They have taken the venerable BookFinder's name and just placed it on the ".us" extension instead of ".com." They search 60 sites including those you would expect. They display shipping and tax. No place to find antiquarian books. Link: www.bookfinder.us
As we noted at the beginning of this article, there are undoubtedly more, but this should be enough to get you started. Except where noted, most do not add anything special to the top rated sites. Most sites seem focused on new and recent used books, and do not find the older pre-isbn material, so they do not offer much to the serious collector. An indication of this is that for all of the sites searched, only a few meta-searchers reach the bookseller cooperatives, Tom Folio, ILAB and IOBA, that tend to offer antiquarian and rare books. For the collector of rare and antiquarian books, the recommended sites are BookFinder, AddAll, BookFinder4U, UsedBookSearch, and Vialibri. You can pick which of these you like best. For new and used books, we have a preference for those search engines that have an advanced search, something that lets you specify more than author, title, or perhaps keywords. However, in fairness to those that do not, many of the sites they search do not provide this data in separate fields, so such attempts will in many cases be futile.
So why do we have all of these meta-search sites? Blame Amazon. They started the idea of paying commissions to other sites who brought them customers. These sites are able to earn commissions when someone clicks through to a selling site and purchases a book. Ideally, once set up, they just do their thing and the owner sits back and collects commissions, although anyone with a website can tell you it rarely runs that smoothly. Still, the struggling bookseller can be pleased to know that someone has figured a way to make money in this business.
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: 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…
![<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/9a74d9ff-42dd-46a1-8bb2-b636c4cec796.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.")
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
