Collectibles, Collections, and Accumulations - or Amazon Finds the Wrong Path

One phrase that floats around the used and rare book trade is the term "collectible' Amazon recently has moved to begin tightening what they have in their "collectibles" category (see their stipulations for items and sellers here). Leaving the "who can list collectible books" issue aside for this entry, they make 2 assumptions that show a great deal of naiveté.

Kind of shame, considering they could have listened more to both collectors and booksellers.

The two assumptions of Amazon are:

# All books listed in "Collectible" condition must be signed, limited first editions, or have other desirable qualities that could reasonably be assumed to increase the book's value to a collector.

# All products must be authentic. We do not allow any counterfeit, replica or knock-off products.

I am not a fan of the word "collectible". Not only is it overused to the point of meaninglessness, it is, like obscenity, way too hard to define. In regards to printed books, anything can be collectible, depending on what the collector wants.

So, for me, a true understanding of what is collectible must begin by defining a collection. I make a distinction between a collection and an accumulation. Simply put, a collection is the basis of a story that the collector tells with the individual items in the group. An accumulation is simply a group of things that someone has because they like it, want to have it or just wound up with it.

A collection is a thoughtful process. It may start out as an accumulation, but at some point the person gathering the material has begun to shape it, by themselves or with the help of a bibliography or bookseller. That shaping creates a story, which is just the tale of a particular author's work, or perhaps an answer to a question that the collector wanted to know. It can be a great story of interest to many people, worthy of donating to a great library and kept intact. It may just as likely be a personal story, one of interest only to the collector, but shaped with just as great a passion as any other collection. The monetary or scholarly value of the collection does not matter, the size does not matter and even the condition of the material may not matter. What matters is the purposeful shaping of the story. Why did that collector want only reprints of Nancy Drew, instead of originals? What does that tell us about the impact of those stories on girls? A frequent regret is that many a fine small collection's story was lost when the owner passed. I urge collectors to write the story of their collections, whether in a blog, a book, or just as an ongoing record to refer to and alter over time.

An accumulation is what most of us have. Most of my books on history and graphic arts are just books that I like. Together they do not tell much of a story or have any greater theme than my personal, varying interests. Nor should they. Good accumulations of books are fun and varied and damned interesting. They can tell as much about a reading person as a finely focused collection, perhaps more.

What Amazon is missing is a deeper understanding of what can make up a collection. As I said, it is anything, so trying to put a fence around collectible is simply a modern search for the Seven Cities of Cibola, apologies to Señor Coronado. "Qualities that could reasonably be assumed to increase the book's value" is not related to collectibility, or even desirability in every case. It is related to monetary value and perhaps scarcity, but that is all. If I am collecting every edition of Faulkner, many of those editions may not be pricey at all, or uncommon. If one collects books on American Teddy Bears in the 20th century, then the issues are the same. An edition of a reprint publisher may not be rare or expensive or indeed have anything different than the first edition of the original publisher, but it shows that the book still has interest. Bibliographically, it may tell us something about the publisher, trade book making, or even printing processes at different times. There are even collections of damaged books, used by teachers, book repair folk or libraries to show the fragility or ill-use of books.

Their rule stating "We do not allow.... replica or knock-off products" is just weak thinking. Facsimiles are replicas. The First Editions Library makes lovely replica first editions of important American literature in slipcases and nice dust jackets. These are quite collectible, though modestly priced. The important thing is that they are described as such, and not misdescribed by incompetence or ill intent. You can also require folks use pictures, but pictures can mislead as much as words.

I understand that Amazon wants some way to move the better books away from the mass of common books. But the best way to do that is demand better description and cataloging, and then the give the searcher better tools to define what they want to see. How about a way to exclude all ex-library books, or all ebooks? How about doing away with or correcting all records stating "unknown binding"? These are actually far more substantial improvements for buyers and collectors than a "collectibility" initiative.

More after the jump...

Description Deschmiption - Tell Me Something I Don't Know

One of my pet peeves (and I have a zoo full of them) is the lack of content description about a book. A cataloger may go on and on about how the copy is pristine, NOT an ex-library copy, and smells like a mountain meadow, but often gives you little reason to actually read the book. Fiction or nonfiction, a little bit of content description goes a long way.

Let's take a look at an example : 40 Years in My Bookshop by a Mr. Walter T. Spencer.


I recently acquired the above work, and as I was checking prices online, I noticed a particularly disturbing phenomena. Out of some 29 copies listed on ABE, not a single one told me why I should read this book - let alone buy it. I found out that copies were "totally readable and enjoyable" despite foxing, and that it was a "bookseller memoir". The "My Bookshop" in the title kinda gave that away already, so that last bit was just repetitive. With some detail about the illustrations and one entry that relays in full an inscription, those are the highlights. That's all, in 29 descriptions from 29 sellers, including ABE, ABAA and LILA members.

Now, if a book is not very expensive, I can see why one wouldn't detail the content so much. But considering the amount of physical descriptions provided for the copies less than $20 USD, I would think a sentence or two about content could be had. And that information can of course be found right in the book, so the effort to acquire it would only mean a little reading.

I certainly understand why a buyer would pass over a book in rough shape, and that describing condition is important. But what makes someone want to buy the tome in the first place? Do people buy books because they are "totally readable" or because they are about something? And there are many bookseller memoirs out there - what makes this one different? Did the author sell used books or new? Was he in England or the US? Did he know anyone famous? Was the person who wrote the introduction, Thomas Moult, a person of any note? If a book is fiction, is it historical fiction? Where and when does it take place? IS it about a family, or one person? All these questions can be answered easily, and increase the chance of selling the book.

Why would a bookseller NOT do this? I can think of a few reasons, most of I don't think serve the buyer well. The first might be that the seller is a mega-lister and wants numbers on the web, not good descriptions, for a minimum of work. Another reason may be a view toward changing times - no one else is doing it, so why should I? A third reason may be arrogance - the seller knows what is in the book, and presumes the buyer will too. The last reason I can imagine is a seller imagines others will benefit from their effort. Why go to the trouble of a good description, when a buyer may just read that description and buy a copy that is a dollar cheaper? If you all can think of others, please post them in the comments and I will revise accordingly.

Of the four, I think only the mega-lister has anywhere close to a solid rationale. The other reasons are excuses for laziness. The mega-lister is not a bookseller - they are book jobbers for ABE, Amazon etc. Their purpose is to move quantity, not put a shine on anything. Their focus is price, and the briefest condition information as possible to avoid returns. I am not a fan myself, but it works. For any other reason, esp. if the book is more expensive (nearly half of the copies listed are over $25.00 USD) then a line or two making the book sound interesting increases the chance to turn a potential buyer into an actual one.

Might a buyer learn what a book is about from one description, and yet buy another copy? Yes. There is always that chance. However, I for one remember booksellers who consistently provide good descriptions, and I often find their terms are professional, as are their customer support and packaging. It shows the seller cares about the book they are selling and how they are selling it. If your solid content descriptions are not getting you sales, then perhaps it is a pricing issue, or one of condition. Look at the other copies. Update the description. Change the price if need be. But tell what the book is about.

As for 40 Years in My Bookshop, Mr. Spencer was a respectable London seller of used and rare books, a friend of the famous forger Thomas Wise, and had a wide range of clients, including the American Mr. Heinz of ketchup fame. Thomas Moult was a British journalist & writer, whose claim to fame was editor of a series called "Best Poems of he year" from 1922-1943.

Now, was that so hard?

More after the jump...