Rating: 
Summary: Lots of good tips, made me a collector
Review: After reading this I started hunting for finds on ebay and the local bookstore, oh, and my mom's garage too where I found a first edition "To Kill a Mockingbird" which unfortunately turned out to be a book club editon. But it is certainly fun hunting once armed with solid information. This book is a real good place to start for someone thinking about becoming a collector, a part time dealer, or someone that is interested in obtaining a better collection through trading. I'd also recommend this book for someone that has had a family collection of books passed down, know what you have before getting rid of it at a yard sale.
One more person that would benefit from this book is the reader that wants to branch out, never read sci fi or mystery? Well Ellis has an extensive list of modern authors that he recommends buying for collecting but guess what, they are collectable because they are well written, so if you want to try out something new this list is a great place to look.
Rating:
Summary: Lots of good tips, made me a collector
Review: After reading this I started hunting for finds on ebay and the local bookstore, oh, and my mom's garage too where I found a first edition "To Kill a Mockingbird" which unfortunately turned out to be a book club editon. But it is certainly fun hunting once armed with solid information. This book is a real good place to start for someone thinking about becoming a collector, a part time dealer, or someone that is interested in obtaining a better collection through trading. I'd also recommend this book for someone that has had a family collection of books passed down, know what you have before getting rid of it at a yard sale.
One more person that would benefit from this book is the reader that wants to branch out, never read sci fi or mystery? Well Ellis has an extensive list of modern authors that he recommends buying for collecting but guess what, they are collectable because they are well written, so if you want to try out something new this list is a great place to look.
Rating:
Summary: A sound introduction to the used book world
Review: Bookfinds is about as good a guide as one can get to the used book trade. I am a book dealer (three years on my own) and worked in a large independent store during which time I priced over a million books over the course of five years. Yes, my hand guiding a pencil to physically write a price on over a million different books. This book is geared at the book lover who wants to make their collecting self sustaining or even profitable. I did not think his list of collectible books was worthwhile, but here are the topics in which the advice is most useful:
1) Where to find books
2) How to sell books (but his margins are optimistic)
3) His list of book references
4) Types of books to look for (what type of sports book, what type of theology, etc...)
But the most effective thing Ellis communicates is the mind frame of a book dealer. This is how we think, how we calculate and how we make money. I have a regular route, just like he suggests in the book. I have explored and made money off of every venue he lists. I have made small repairs to improve a book's salability. I have both been helped and hurt by the Internet book market. I take certain types of stock to certain stores in a certain order. Instead of trying to describe what I do, I often recommend this book with, "This is basically right".
This is not a how-to manual in the sense that it will say "Go to website x and put y books at z price online and make big bucks!" Folks, the market changes fast and a book that gives the broad strokes correctly will be of much more use in a year than one that is precise today. I highly recommend Bookfinds for the collector looking for tools to make back some of their investment. But dealers and scouts might find some useful tidbits as well.
Rating: 
Summary: Essential Guide! A MUST for bibliophiles!
Review: Ellis offers expert advice that is easy to follow and remember to all. Even if you have a tiny little collection to a library full of collected books, or even have just accumulated books you've read over the years, this books shows you how to properly take care of and appreciate the volumes you have.To the beginning collector Ellis gives excellant advice on all aspects of collecting. This is definately the first "How To" book to purchase if you are beginning your collection.
Rating: 
Summary: Good intro for beginners
Review: I bought this book as I was starting into book collecting. But with about 4 months of intensive collecting and study under my belt, I found it not to have too much new or really useful information. Is is, however, very well written and engaging enough that I read the entire book. If you are starting at a slower pace than I did or if you are just thinking about becoming a book collector this is a fine place to start. It has chapter-length overviews of all the important realms and activities of book-collecting. The only weak-spot, but an important one, is in the area of internet books. In being about 2-3 years behind, it is not an adequate introduction to the range of online resources available to the new collector. Most useful was a list of "1001 more-or-less collectible books" listed by author at the back. (Lacking years of experience, such lists are critical for my reference). This is a useful thing to have around at book sales and the like (along with a good guide to first editions) although not especially wieldy as provided. I found that I finally photocopied the entire section in half-size and ended up with a more useful 5-6 page foldup that I could carry in my pocket. Note that this last section is NOT a price-guide and is not especially discriminatory... for many authors their rarest first book is listed along with much less collectible later works (and since the listings are alphabetical by title, rather than chronological by publication date, you will not be able to use it for parsing-out "first books". Overall a useful starting resource but one that you will rarely use once your collecting becomes a more serious affair.
Rating:
Summary: Informative and good for reference
Review: I found "Rare Finds," by Ian C. Ellis a very worthwhile book for the beginning collector. This books covers topics such as finding and trading books and caring for them. It touches on many topics and while this may not be a book for a seasoned collector, beginners will love it. This book also contains a section of authors who Mr. Ellis recommends to look for. I found this a great part of the book and it lead me to many new authors and books to read for enjoyment as well as to collect. This is a book that I have took with me book hunting and have used for reference many times. I was put off by the Goldstones in "Rare and Used," in their dismissal of this book, for I found it most enjoyable, interesting and informative. I recommend it to newcomers in the book collecting world.
Rating:
Summary: Comprehensive guide to book collecting
Review: I have found Ian Ellis' book quite readable and interesting. I have been selling books online for half a year or so and was looking to expand my knowledge base. I would say that Stephen Windwalker's Selling Used Books Online was more helpful for my own purposes of selling used, but not necessarily collectible ones, online. Nevertheless, I found it to be an education on how the book trade operates outside of and before the Internet. It was especially helpful to learn about modern first editions and what makes books collectible and valuable. Stylistically I found Ellis very easy to read, although he has an annoying habit of dropping the name of authors and titles that may mean more to those already initiated in the world of book collecting. I found it to be distracting. More helpful is the list of 1,001 books worth collecting in the last chapter of the book. I found the chapter addressing the advent of the Internet for bookselling to be somewhat out of date - understandable since it was revised in 2001, but I learned very little from this chapter. Overall it was a helpful book that expanded my knowledge base about the book trade, where my experience is mostly limited to online book sales.
Rating:
Summary: Comprehensive guide to book collecting
Review: I have found Ian Ellis' book quite readable and interesting. I have been selling books online for half a year or so and was looking to expand my knowledge base. I would say that Stephen Windwalker's Selling Used Books Online was more helpful for my own purposes of selling used, but not necessarily collectible ones, online. Nevertheless, I found it to be an education on how the book trade operates outside of and before the Internet. It was especially helpful to learn about modern first editions and what makes books collectible and valuable. Stylistically I found Ellis very easy to read, although he has an annoying habit of dropping the name of authors and titles that may mean more to those already initiated in the world of book collecting. I found it to be distracting. More helpful is the list of 1,001 books worth collecting in the last chapter of the book. I found the chapter addressing the advent of the Internet for bookselling to be somewhat out of date - understandable since it was revised in 2001, but I learned very little from this chapter. Overall it was a helpful book that expanded my knowledge base about the book trade, where my experience is mostly limited to online book sales.
Rating:
Summary: THE BEST PLACE TO START FOR COLLECTING OR TRADING IN BOOKS.
Review: I learned SO MUCH from this wonderful book. Every word of it is incredibly informative. I would beg the author to please revise it for the 21st century, now that the internet plays such a huge roll in the book trade.
Rating:
Summary: A must-have for book book lovers.
Review: I started to become interested in book collecting about 2 years ago and this was one of the first books that I purchased. It is an excellent book for a beginning collector. The author describes the history of book production and how books are produced in modern times. There is also a very good chapter on the grading of books, and how to determine if a book is "collectible." Another chapter describes ways to determine if a book by a certain publisher is a first edition. However, if you plan to collect rare, old books then this text may not be the best for you. The focus of this book is on collecting modern first editions. Although it's full of facts, the book is written in a light, easy-to-read style. The author is an avid book collector and he provides plenty of anecdotes about his experiences. The author assumes that the reader is interested in book collecting both for pleasure and for profit. He explains in detail how to acquire collectible books as inexpensively as possible by using trade-ins. The book claims to contain a list of the "1000 Most Collectible Books and Authors." This list is a little subjective however. The author even admits that what may be collectible now, may have little value later. What may be collectible to one person may be just another used book to another. Don't assume that every book on the list will be valuable. If you collect books, or plan to start a collection, this book should be part of library.
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