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My books, new and old, are my inventory, and the better they look and smell, the more satisfied my customers will be. Most booksellers know about the content of books, but how many know basic, simple steps to protect, clean, repair, and store books? Books are made of paper, glue, cotton, and sometimes leather: all organic materials. Booksellers, books, dogs, trees…we all have that crucial carbon molecule and need care. But when we sell or receive books, do we ever receive or

As anyone who read my first article on this theme will know, what I have to say has little to do with Penny Selling. Indeed, the Penny Sellers were dismissed within the first few paragraphs, so anyone who has not read the first article please do so now – here is the link: The rest of this article is written on the assumption that you have read Part 1 and that you accept the basic points being made. Therefore, you accept that there is no point in selling your books unless you

Michael Watson, editor A perfectly rational question would be “where have we been?” After the last issue the long-time Editor felt like she had been running the race for too long and handed off the baton to another runner who would edit and assemble the IOBA Standard. Even the best runners stumble, on occasion, and this was the occasion when the new Editor encountered some life issues that got in the way of editing duties. The Standard stumbled, fell, and stayed down. We’re R

Table of Contents What’s your best price? Editor’s Swan Song & Announcement of New Editor(s) eBay Bookselling Campaign to Amend USA Patriot Act Grows Advance Look at 2004’s Big Bookselling Story: Amend Section 215 of the Patriot Act Buying And Selling Autographed Books – Past, Present & Future Safe shopping on eBay? Ain’t No Gold In Them There Hills – Book Buying in Appalachia New Age Book Sellers Things You Don’t Know Can Cramp Your Style Searching for Ulysses in Greek Or, H

Well, here we are…. finally. Sorry this issue is so terribly late-there were a few (well, okay, a whole bunch) of delays in getting our insurance finalized at IOBA and The Standard couldn’t go live again till that was accomplished. But we’re back with an issue I hope will be interesting and entertaining for you, and The Standard will be on the regular quarterly schedule hereafter. Ken Fermoyle has had to step aside as my replacement editor. He has had to have some drastic eye

Whenever the subject of discount comes up in a bookseller discussion group, back come a wonderful range of opinions and advice. Most of it being the ‘it works for me’ variety, but of such a mixed message that any newcomer must be left wondering how on earth one can make any sense of it. This article is an attempt to clear the thinking on this thorny subject. Of course, you Americans are part of the problem: – not content with over-tipping our taxi drivers, you mess up our dis

When any business changes, and the used/rare/antiquarian book market has changed dramatically over the last decade, everybody seems to be pointing fingers at everyone else. The terms “fraud”, “forgery” and “fake” get tossed around in wild abandon. “Playing fields” are described as “tilted”, “honest information” is hidden and “the buying public” routinely cheated. This is, of course, hogwash. There has, in fact, been a revolution in used and rare bookselling, occasioned by the

Attorney General John Ashcroft is on the campaign trail. He is not running for office. He is trying to shore up support for the USA Patriot Act. Ashcroft is making speeches to groups all over the country in an effort to head off a growing list of amendments that have been proposed by members of Congress. It’s a remarkable change in the political fortunes of the Patriot Act, and booksellers can claim a considerable share of the credit for calling attention to its problems. Cer