How do you Know if they’re Worth Anything?

In most cases, this lowers the value of the book considerably. If you think your old book is “fine,” then it’s time to seek out a professional opinion. Most appraisers spend years working their way up through the world of antiques and collectibles. In the next section, we’ll discuss book appraisers. You don’t just wake up one day and decide you want to appraise books for a living. They might start off as a shelver in a used and rare bookstore or a “picker” for an antique shop — someone who drives around to estate sales and other antique stores looking for rare finds. Professional book appraisers earn their reputation and their credibility through years of experience.

Over the years, they gain enough expertise to start collections of their own and eventually open their own bookshops. The most reliable appraisers are accredited by professional organizations like the American Society of Appraisers. With enough experience, and close adherence to established standards of practice, the seemingly subjective art of book appraisal edges closer to a science. It might seem strange that book appraisers would have to adhere to such strict standards, but that’s because not all book valuations are done for the benefit of amateur collectors. Accredited members must take a test and vow to work in compliance with the “Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice,” an annual publication put out by the Appraisal Foundation.

One of the best ways to locate a professional book appraiser near you is to consult one of the major professional appraisal trade associations. In France, it’s the Syndicat National de la Librairie Ancienne et Moderne, which goes by the decidedly un-“ancienne” acronym of SLAM. The most well-known such organization in the U.S. Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America. This 50-year-old organization includes 450 members located across the U.S., with significant concentrations in the Northeast and California.

In many cases, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) relies on accredited appraisers to determine an estate’s value. Book appraisal doesn’t require any specialized formal education. If you’re in the market for a professional book appraiser, a great place to start is with a professional appraisal association, of which there are plenty. People enter the field from diverse educational backgrounds. So unless your Bible is from the 15th century or is a first edition St. James Bible, it’s probably not worth very much. The only family Bibles that are worth anything are those with inscriptions from famous families, which raises the question: Just how famous was great-great grandpa Zed, anyway?

To expand your search results to international booksellers, try the “Book Search” tab of the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers site. Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America. Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America. Aimone, Alan. Aimone Book Appraisals. For lots more information about books and fine art, see the links on the next page. The BiblioBot feature of the PBA Galleries Web site allows you to enter in all of the pertinent information about your book — author, title, publishing year, condition, if it’s a first edition or signed — and receive an “instant appraisal.” What the site really does is run a search on similar books for sale or auction and show you an estimated price range. If it ain’t fine then don’t tell me it is! International League of Antiquarian Booksellers.

There are a number of popular Web sites that allow you to search by title, author or subject to find rare, first editions and even signed copies of some of the world’s most valuable books. The “Search for Books” section of the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America Web site is another fine online resource for conducting a rare book search among the ABAA membership. If you have your hands on what you believe to be a rare book, these Web sites can be a great resource for determining the approximate number of copies in circulation, as well as their selling prices – https://bangkok.thaibounty.com/2020/01/23/six-best-ways-to-sell-the-cozi-inn/ – .