The cost of a book, including an old one, depends on many factors, all of which cannot be taken into account even by experienced employees of auction houses and antique salons. Moreover, it is possible with a greater degree of certainty to assert that the book is of no value and is completely illiquid than to believe that there will be many people willing to buy it even at a high price.
Instructions
Step 1
Pay attention first of all to the condition and safety of the book that you consider valuable and intend to sell. The cost of a well-worn and significantly damaged "tome", even if there is a demand for this book, will be low. Antique lovers chase, first of all, for the good condition of those items that they collect, for those rare exceptions on which the general laws of history did not work.
Step 2
Try to find out as much as possible about the history of the book, that is, that particular copy that you own. Sometimes the unusual fate of a book is valued more than its content. Examine all the inscriptions, stamps, bookplates that were left by the previous owners - on an old book it is quite possible to find the autograph of a famous poet or the seal of the emperor's personal library, which immediately increases its value hundreds of times.
Step 3
Think about the significance of the writings of the author whose book fell into your hands in the history of culture. The first editions of well-known classical works or scientific works are highly valued, while numerous reprints, even "supplemented and corrected", are perceived by bibliophiles with lukewarmness. A guarantee of the high demand for the book in the second-hand market will also be the fact that it was published during the lifetime of its author.
Step 4
Finally, appreciate the external spectacular effect that your book creates - many bindings of the century before last and the beginning of the last century impress with their grace and sometimes pretentiousness. Today there are collectors who decorate their homes with the help of antique volumes, they attach very little importance to the content of the book. For them, it is the unusual design of the binding and the spine of the book that is important, which will delight the owner's eye and surprise the guests of his house every time.
