People often don't realize the value of rare books and sell them for pennies at garage sales and flea markets.
Once you find such rare books, you can sell them to an eager collector willing to pay top dollar for the book.
How to Get into the Rare Book Business
If you know the value of old books and titles, and enjoy hunting for them, you can start a profitable rare book business.
There are reference books you can get which detail the value of old printed books, to give you more insight into what collectors hunt for.
Skills Needed:
An innately curious personality is a must for the rare book business, because you need to track down certain titles for collectors or prospective clients. Research skills are also highly helpful, because it will give you an edge over other, normal book buyers. You can scour garage sales and flea markets and be able to spot books marked at great value.
A love for books must also come with the rare book business. This is one way for you to know what places offer bargains. It will also come naturally for you to spot a rare book while shopping for your own titles.
You also need to have good communication skills. You are not only bargain shopping from people; you are turning around and selling to a totally different group of people. You need to be able to effectively communicate with lots of types of people when you run a rare book business.
Experience Needed:
Sales experience will definitely help move the rare book business forward. It will give you a background on selling and speaking with people, and knowing how to handle clients and customers.
It also helps if you have experience at trying to get the best deals. You need to be comfortable doing a little ‘bartering' to get the lowest prices for the books you discover. It would be a good idea to frequent yard sales and practice ‘haggling' skills until you are comfortable with it.
Startup Requirements:
There is very little capital needed in a rare book business. A collection of your own books will be a good start. Purchase a reference book that indicates values of rare books. You can cross check any titles with your own book collection, and decide if you should sell the titles you already own.
In order to get more books at bargain price, you have to be in the know with garage sales and be familiar with flea markets. These are the best places to hunt for cheap, rare books that you can potentially sell through your rare book business for hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
Resources:
Florida Antiquarian Booksellers Association - FABA
Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America
Important Point To Keep In Mind
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