Books &amp; Movies

How to sell books and films on Metzee

Which copy you have matters more than which book it is. The camera is how you prove it.

buying

Buying books and films in a live auction

Ask for the copyright page. Everything else about a book can be argued; that page cannot.

Pricing books and films for a live auction

Start low on the common ones, protect the scarce one with a reserve, and never price the title when you mean the copy.

delivery

Packing and posting books and films

Books are damaged at the spine and the corners, and ruined by damp. All three are packing problems.

Describing the condition of books and films

In the book trade, "good" means worn. Using it to mean good is the most common honest mistake there is.

What is your book worth?

Which printing, and whether the jacket survived. The title is the least informative thing about it.

Photographing books and films

One page decides the sale. Hold the copyright page still and in focus.

delivery

Delivering books and films: courier, local or collection

Heavier than anyone expects, and the category where a flat rate hurts most.

buying

Questions to ask before bidding on books or films

One page answers most of it. Ask for the copyright page and hold your bid until you see it.

How books are graded

A ladder with no service behind it, and a word that means the opposite of what it sounds like.

Storing and caring for books and films

Upright, not tight, off the floor, and away from the wall that gets the rain.

Starting a book collection

Collect a subject, an author or a publisher. Not "first editions" in the abstract.

Common mistakes selling books and films

Writing "first edition" without showing the copyright page, and using "good" to mean good.

trust

How to spot fake books and films

A later printing sold as a first, and a facsimile jacket on a real book. Ask for the pages that carry the answer.