Not Worth Much - Why your book may not sell An Antique Books GUIDE

Here is a blog post about those book that disappoint in terms of value for one reason or another along with their value and reason why.

Disbound

Books hat have loose or missing covers/ spine as known as disbound and are worth very little unless very rare.

The below book is an early 1800 copy of the famous Pilgrim's Progress' yet managed less than £5 at auction

Torn page

A book with a torn page is devalued by a surprising amount - take 25% off as a general figure but expect up to a 50% decrease.

If the text or illustration isn't affected then values aren't too badly affected.

The book below, an edition of Grimm's fairy tales made £7.

Surface damage

Never judge a book by it's cover they say yet we still do.

Visually attractive books sell well and so when the covers are damaged it can affect the price quite heavily.

The book below has had some damage to the surface and, whilst a very good copy could reach £150-£200, this copy sold for £75.

Collector's/ Limited edition

Limited editions or collectors editions are a good way to attract buyers when the book is first published. Maybe it is signed or numbered?

Well, unless the author or book are relatively well known then the book may not be worth as much as expected.

The obscure fantasy volume below is a collector's edition yet sold for under £5.

Cheap/ Modern edition

If you have a copy of a well known book but it happens to be a cheap or slightly too modern edition then the book will not sell as well as others.

The book below is a heavily illustrated Fairy Tales book but the edition is just a little too modern for serious collectors and sold for £5.

Facsimile

We might think that a replica of a first edition would be worth a lot for it's interest and obscurity.

Well that's not the case.

Often these are merely novelty books with little value.

A replica of Charles Dicken's 'A Tale of Two Cities' First Edition sold for less than £3.

Popularity

Popularity doesn't always mean sales.

Take the James Bond franchise.

Due to two different first editions being available for each book, invariably one is likely to be worth less than the other.

'The Book Club' edition of Fleming's novels are worth approx £10 with dust jacket whilst the Jonathan Cape edition, published in the same year, can be worth hundreds.

The book below may be popular but isn't rare enough or the right edition to be worth much. Valued at £5.

Old with dust jacket

An old book with a dust jacket still present is quite an impressive thing.

For that one sheet of paper to have lasted 70 years plus is certainly an achievement but sadly this doesn't always equate to value.

In popular books this will mean close to double the value of the book can be achieved due to the dust jacket being present.

Yet with less popular or collected books it makes little difference.

The 1930's book below sold for £2.50

Proof copy

A proof copy is printed before the book is released to the public and is only really meant to private reviewers/ editors.

Invariably these make their way onto the market.

In some cases, such as with The Cuckoo's Calling by J.K Rowling these can be valuable - worth between £400 and £800.

Yet often that is not the case.

The novel below is worth less than £5 even though the author has other books published. It is just not the right time for her books and maybe there will never be a right time for her books.

A film release or series of popular books from an author bring the value of such books right up.

 Large compendiums

These sort of books rarely sell well.
A 1940's record book? A set of 24 Encyclopedia?
Not worth much I'm afraid.
Often the postage makes the value decrease or sometimes it's just such focused books just aren't that interesting to the global book market.

That is all I can think of for the moment although I'm sure there are many other factors that mean a book doesn't sell as well as you might have hoped.

Thanks for reading as ever and please share, comment or +1 if possible!