How to Find Rare and Collectible Books
Have you ever wanted to find a book that you enjoyed in your childhood or a book you've heard a lot about, but you have no idea where to search for it? If the book is out of print, it is impossible visit your local retail book store and expect to see it on their shelves. Despite the obstacles, you can find the book you want; you just need to be creative and use available resources including local used book stores and the internet.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Research the book you wish to find. Know it's complete name, the author and both when and who published it. If possible, find a picture of what the book's cover looks like as well as it's ISBN number, which should be available on the Amazon website. Any information you have on the book will make it that much easier to find.
-
2
Visit or call your local used book stores, particularly ones that specialize in collectible books. Many of them work with other book stores to search for hard to find books. Give them the information on the book as well as your contact information and they will contact you if the book is found.
-
-
3
Search on eBay for your book. Just about everything shows up on eBay from time to time and it just might be your lucky day!. Save your search criteria for the book, which should include any of the pertinent information from Step One, and repeat your eBay search about once a week. The average listing on eBay is a week long so if you search once a week, you should hit most of the listings.
-
4
Check out the ABE Books website. ABE Books is an online marketplace of hundreds of book vendors. If you've searched everywhere else, ABE books is your best bet. I've been able to find many, many books through them that I couldn't locate anywhere else.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
When you search for a book on ABE books, the search results show the cheapest books first. Search through the first several listings of a particular book. The price of the book may increase, but the condition of the book is probably improving as well. If you are purchasing the book to collect, you don't want to settle for the first book on the list.
Check out several online marketplaces when searching for books; the price can vary dramatically from one vendor to another.
