Post: #1

Does anyone here collect or deal in rare books? I've always been attracted to them, I guess because one of my huge hobbies is reading. In the same sense that a car aficionado would love to get an original Model T or old Porsche, I think getting my hands on a first edition of historically significant books (Origin of Species for example) would be amazing.

Then the other side of the equation is using these as a money making scheme. Either as an investment, or picking up books going for far under market value from people who don't know what they have.

Where is the best place to get old books? Is it even still worth it? I personally feel the printed word is going the way of the buggy whip, and the value of having a hard copy is so much less now, because you can find digital copies of almost anything.

The other thing too, is that dealing in rare books a game of information. Why would someone sell their rare books to you? You really need to have a huge developed network to buy and sell, and that would take forever to create. Again with the advent of the internet, the value of that information has plummeted because so many people can access a lot of the same resources you can. So at the end of the day, is it worth it?

Post: #2

I work part-time for semi antique dealer and from what I see, it's possible. He deals with artwork, old marine technology like compasses along a whole variety of other assorted dated junk.

What you could do is scout out estate sales (where old people need to downsize and get rid of stuff), go to estate auctions and buy these rare books with a collector's mindset. Keep in mind that you need to store these books and keep them in almost mint condition, or barely used. No fraying of edges, minor scratches, etc. This would prove to be difficult as some of these books would be dated to be hundreds of years old. Fact is, the original books written by the original author would be almost many decades, if not centuries ago.

Imagine if you were to get your hands on the original writings or journal entries of Tesla, Einstein, and Immanuel Kant? It would be enormously profitable to auction them off later.

To answer your question about internet, most people don't use the internet as well as they should. For example, this forum is a fantastic space for beginners and experts of game alike looking to improve themselves with little searching, but how many people do you know actively seek out help and try to improve themselves?

Keep in mind that, like art, you might not be able to sell them in the next 20 years, or even in your lifetime. You'd be collecting these books for later generations, almost like a family heirloom.

What I am suggesting to you is to find these people who are looking to get rid of their "family heirlooms" that happens to be these rare books and are undervaluing them for they either do not appreciate the value that resides in them.

Hope this helps.

Post: #3

When I was still living in the states I collected antique books. Amassed a pretty good library. Check eBay, they have a lot of real treasures on there. My favorite piece was a leather bound 1892 edition of Plato's "The Republic". It was on eBay where I found an 1880 edition of "The Origin of Species", so definitely check it out if that's what you're looking for. Now, all of my books are in storage, but they're safe.

Never ran into any issues with the dealers as I would only purchase from ones who have reputable feedback, and all of the books I ever bought were 100% authentic. Save your receipts for each book so you know what to resell it for+profit if you need to.

I feel the same about books going the way of the buggy. I figure if someone is selling them, they're not interested in caring for them; and I am. Someone has to do it. Mygambition is right. In the future, hell even now, there isn't really demand for old books. You buy them for your legacy, and to pass on to your kids. Something more for them to remember old pops by. Be an old man in his study smoking cigars surrounded by antique books. If you don't have kids, will them to someone or to an organization/library who will preserve them as you gradually turn into dust.

Nothing beats the smell of an old book. And for me it's always chilling to read first or early edition political texts to see just how much influence they had and to reflect on all that has come true. As the book sat on a shelf somewhere, the world revolved and the years passed by. But the text of that book somehow shaped the world that we now live in. It's makes it feel much more alive as opposed to reading a reprint by Penguin or something.

Post: #4

I collect modern first editions/first printings and I'm sure you know, it's all about condition, condition, condition. Unless the book had a truly small first printing (~100-500 depending on age) or was insanely popular (ex harry potter first book) only the first printing matters. They can be great investments but it comes down to the scarcity and popularity. You can have a realm old first edition of a book that know one knows about or cares about and you may as well burn it for the heat value because you would have to find a very specific collector for it.

Estate sales are great for older books (50+ old) since odds are they were cared for pretty well. I'm in OC, CA and I have some great $1 book stores that sell on condition and not content so I've found some potentially valuable pieces for my collection for next to nothing.
Depending on what genre or era of books you're looking for, I would check out Abe's Books (an amazon company), eBay (if you don't mind bidding and know a lot about what you're looking for), and Baughmans Rare Books in Las Vegas (arguably the biggest and best collection of truly rare and impressive books, manuscripts, and written material for sale I've ever seen). Baughmans changes its stock out depending on what conventions are in town so they always have some interesting and historic pieces for sale and viewing. If memory serves they're under the Palazzo or Venetian and their original stir is in Boston.

Don't always believe the hype on Advanced Reading Copies or Uncorrected Proofs. Some are worth a lot of money, others are not, research is definitely required for each book you're considering ( I personally like to have the ARC, and UP for certain series I collect for completeness purposes (seeing the original version (UP), followed by the first major edit (ARC), followed by the released version)).

This more applies to modern firsts, but do your research on the book you're targeting. Some popular books that had large (and small) print runs had errors that were caught part way through the run. When this happens, an errata slip is put in the book telling the reader about the error and where it is found. To the collector, the errata slip is an integral part of the book and adds to the value while also creating separate, more desirable sub-section of the first printing. Some examples of this are The Corrections by Johnathan Franzen (7500 first printings with the errata slip) and Patriot Games by Tom Clancy (unknown errata slip print run).
Lastly, some books that aren't first printings have good value for other reasons you might not normally think of. Besides autographs, which you usually want on a first printing anyway, autographs written to someone important are worth more than to a random, but just an autograph with no inscription is also worth more. Depending on the age of the book, different editions had different illustrations, if the illustrations are from an edition down by a famous illustrator, even a second or third printing can have more value than would normally be expected; and not all first printings were hard back. Some of the more famous examples I can think of are American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis and 50 Shades of Grey by E.L. James which were done as paperbacks and finding them in good condition (American Psycho especially can be really hard).