Rod Collins

Is the Kindle E-Book Reader from Amazon Any Good ?
Hmmmm . . . I’m sorry to have to report it looks like it is actually . . .
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Biblio the secondhand and collectable book selling website for multiple dealers has just surprised me.
Having sold, if sold is the right word, books for some years on Biblio and also having had a thing or two to do with Google I didn’t think to be marrying the two up.
Then I did a test search for my business name . . .
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The Oldest Known Copy of Macbeth by Willaim Shakespeare - Very Rare Book!
I’ve done a lot to ensure that when people want to sell rare books and look on the internet in search of a dealer they find me.
To that end I get offered all sorts of things. A book can make you a month’s income or it can make you laugh.
Check this out - is it ignorance or an Indian Book Scam.
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GQ magazine has compiled, what it claims to be, a list of the Top 10 Best Second-Hand Book Shops in the World !
Quite a claim, not sure how on earth they arrived at their list, nor indeed that I would entirely agree with it.
Check it out and see if your favourite book store is there - even nominate your own !
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I’m sure the long-suffering regulars who visit the site will be extremely indifferent excited to hear that your host is once again available in real print !
Imagine my surprise today when I leafed through a newly published magazine this morning and saw this
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Collecting Crime Fiction Books
Don’t change the channel regular readers, I know how unpopular posts and book dealing and books are so I’ll not burden you.
There is an article in the magazine Book and Magazine Collector this month though and it it is about collecting ultra-modern mystery fiction books.
“What’s that got to do with you or us” chant the less patient readers.
Well, I was interviewed for it, I think being interviewed therefore qualifies me as a celebrity nowadays !
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Yes folks it’s true - sexy pinup calendars are a thing of the past !
I know they’ve been banned from many a workplace but now it truly is the end of an era
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How to Value Books

Ascribing a value to a collectable first edition is not as straight forward as it may seem.
Your host is currently busy, for a change, doing some valuations. If properly undertaken it’s not easy and carries quite a lot of responsibility.
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Do People Still Buy Books ?

I’ve considered the question are books dead in the past and I am minded to consider the idea with renewed vigour at present.
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If you are unsure as to whether the signature in your first edition book is correct or not here is a brief guide on how to spot a genuine Nicholas Blake signature from a forged or fake one
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If you have a first edition book, letter or autograph and wonder whether it is genuinely signed by Eric Ambler then this article may be of some help in rooting out the forgeries from the real thing
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This week brought news that Amazon has bought ABEbooks much to the dismay of most internet booksellers.
What are the ramifications of this news and are there any benefits for the secondhand book dealer?
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Just what has happened to me this last week ?
A topsy-turvy last seven days or so - I would like to discuss all aspects of it but for reasons not connected to me some things cannot even be entre nous
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You’d imagine a semi-retired booksellers life to be easy - but think again !
Goldeneye attacked by a fox and it’s all Paul Gilbert’s fault.
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What Exactly Defines a Real First Edition Book ?
You’d be forgiven for being confused nowadays but hopefully this will clear things up a little for you
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A Book Dealer is Bigger than the Spice Girls !
Yes folks in a John Lennon, Beatles and God type moment I get to declare …
Goldeneye is Bigger than the Spice Girls !
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Where is the best place to open a secondhand bookshop
Fancy opening a used bookstore ? The first question to ask yourself is where is the best place to open a bookshop when so many have closed and are closing
The answer is … Read the rest of this entry »

An original copy of the 1297 Magna Carta is to be auctioned by Sotheby’s in New York
Preliminary estimate and guide price $20-$30 million !
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A while ago I announced we may do some bookshop reviews and the set the ball rolling with one - well the ball kinda stopped there so I’ll give it another kick !
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The charity bookstores, or thrift stores, run by the charity Oxfam are killing small independent secondhand book shops.
Will anything stop their relentless expansion and what can ‘proper’ bookshops do to survive when they move in ?
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ABE books are launching a system for rating the booksellers on the site.
Fiasco would be the word that springs to my mind next … well, let’s see
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Book collectors tend to be very honest, hence the lack of so called “lost parcels” that so many sellers experience in other markets.
Some are so honest that they restore one’s faith in human nature !
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This post is about the folly of trying to make a living from selling books
WARNING ! If you are thinking of starting as a bookseller - don’t bother !
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This is something of a half story, it appears to be confusing to say the least.
Somebody who sells books on e bay is being sued in court by the publisher Harper Collins
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