Book Finds: How to Find, Buy, and Sell Used and Rare Books

Rating:
Summary: An excellent guide for the beginning book collector!
Review: This book was extremely helpful to me, being very inexperienced at book collecting. It is written in a very avuncular style, and is very easy to read and comprehend. Just reading the 1st chapter helped me buy and sell books more knowledgeably! This book is a must-have for any person who wants to get started seriously collecting and selling books. I highly recommend it!

Rating:
Summary: HOW TO FIND, BUY, AND SELL USED AND RARE BOOKS
Review: This is a great book! I learned more about the collecting, buying and selling of books in 4 hours than I did in 48 years of voracious reading. Hats off to Mr. Ellis. My business is Jewelry, antiques,and now(thanks to Mr. Ellis)rare books. He reveals the secrets of the trade for anyone who is interested.

Rating:
Summary: Solid, readable book - emphasizes buying and selling
Review: This is a solid, readable book for those interested in its areas of focus:
1. An introduction to book collecting and book selling
2. Actively buying and selling all kinds of books as a "book scout"
3. Understanding MODERN first editions
It does not discuss the broader world of book collecting in any depth - understandable, given it's size. If you are primarily a collector, you may or may not value the lengthy discussion of buying and selling used (but not rare) books.
Also, BE VERY CAREFUL in taking his suggestions on how to repair books, for collectible books. Don't rely solely on this book, inappropriate repairs can easily destroy the integrity of a book.

Rating:
Summary: Solid, readable book - emphasizes buying and selling
Review: This is a solid, readable book for those interested in its areas of focus:
1. An introduction to book collecting and book selling
2. Actively buying and selling all kinds of books as a "book scout"
3. Understanding MODERN first editions
It does not discuss the broader world of book collecting in any depth - understandable, given it's size. If you are primarily a collector, you may or may not value the lengthy discussion of buying and selling used (but not rare) books.
Also, BE VERY CAREFUL in taking his suggestions on how to repair books, for collectible books. Don't rely solely on this book, inappropriate repairs can easily destroy the integrity of a book.

Rating:
Summary: If you want to collect first editions, get this book
Review: This is a very handy guide on how to collect books. The reason it only gets four stars is because it's a little bit dated. Most of the information is solid, but some of it is more than a year out of date and that's a lot in the fast moving world of book collecting. I do recommend it highly. You should have it in your library and the parts about how to negotiate etc are priceless.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent resource for book collectors and dealers alike
Review: This is one of those books that will keep you up into the small hours. Ian has a great deal of experiential knowledge and a succinct way of expressing it. Ideal for those, like myself, who wish to venture beyond the "dabbling" stage of book selling, and become a 'Scout'.

I delete one star for the simple reason that Ian neglects to mention the internet as a medium for book dealing, which he could correct with a revised edition.