"How Much Is My Book Worth?"

I receive a few calls a day from folks asking how much their old books are worth. It's become a common question but remains one that I cannot answer over a phone. Determining the value of any book--not just one that's ''old''--is close to impossible if the book is not within the hands of the appraiser. There are simply too many factors that play a part in what makes a book valuable. Today, I hope to explain some factors and make a couple jokes doing so. The following are questions or statements that frequently come up.

Question: "My book is old. It's got to be worth a lot, right?"
Answer:   "Not necessarily."

A book's value is determined first and foremost by it's availability. A long time ago, before the days of the all mighty Amazon, books were only sold by new bookstores (duh) and used book resellers (double duh) which limited the availability of certain titles. Example: Books that aren't immediately aimed at the best-seller list are either a publishing house taking a chance, a book that's aimed at a particular demographic, or a little bit of both. When a book on how to make costumes is printed, it is done so on a very limited print run simply because it will not have the same kind of audience that Sue Grafton or James Patterson does. So, back in the olden days, if you were too late to catch that book on costuming when it was new, you would have to rely on your local, incredibly handsome, used Bookman to come across the title for you. This process could take years, and the cost placed on said book reflected that. It's supply and demand. Plain-jane simple.
     Now, in the high-tech tweeting world of the future, Amazon sellers (and all like it) have narrowed that margin of availability: If you want something--be it old or new--you can find it online. This forces the value of the book to decrease.

Question: "My book says 'First Edition' on the copyright page. Doesn't that make it valuable?"
Answer:   "Not always."

Most books are First Editions (it's true) so what matters more is the printing. Sound confusing? Lemme break this down: Modern books are printed with a number line. If you grab a recent publication from your bookshelf and look at the copyright page, you may see a sequence of numbers that looks something like this: 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1. If a 1 is present, you've got yourself a First Edition, First Printing (1st/1st). If the 1 is omitted and the first number is a 2, then this is a second printing and so on and so forth.
     "I have a 1st/1st of The Deathly Hallows. That means it's rare, right?" No. Scholastic--the company that published the US Harry Potter series--knew that a lot of people were going to buy it, thus, there are thousands of 1st/1st copies floating around on the interwebs. This ties in with what I mentioned earlier: A book is released to the public knowing it will sell a million copies, a million people buy it, and then 3/4s of those people try to resell it. This is why you can purchase the book on Amazon for less then $5.00. Right now the supply does not meet the demand, and it will take a long time (if ever) for that to happen.

Question: "Ok. So my book is old, not readily available, and a first edition. Now it's worth money, right?"
Answer:   "Maybe."

Another key factor to determine worth is condition. A 1st/1st with a missing dust jacket, cracked hinge, missing pages, grape jelly stain, etc. is going to worth a lot less than a 1st/1st that doesn't have these blemishes. Someone who is willing to fork over the cash for the book is going to be far more hesitant to do so if the spine is messed up. Additionally, restoration can be very costly. In most cases, it is cheaper to buy a better condition book elsewhere than to pay someone to repair your beat-up copy.  

These are not all the questions, and I definitely don't have to time to list all the answers, so I recommend asking someone in the field if you're unsure. Just remember: Just as a car dealer can't determine the price of your trade in over the phone, neither can I do that with your old books. Not until Amazon releases their book teleportation device anyway.

"Even the great Edgar Cayce couldn't determine the price of a book over the phone."