Special Announcements

by Craig Stark

24 March 2014

Previous discussions of Vogue Magazine at BookThink have focused on established collectible back issues, but a magazine with Vogue's prestige, not to mention that of noted photographer Annie Liebowitz, can, at times, play into the hands of the strike-while-the-iron-is-hot school of bookselling, and profits can be had by those who act in a timely fashion. Such will likely be the case with the upcoming April issue which features a cover of the "WORLDSMOSTTALKEDABOUTCOUPLE" - Kim Kardashian and Kanye West.

Many Vogue fans are up in arms with this shameless exploitation of the - what shall we call it? - tabloid sector of the marketplace? But look for copies to command a premium. Some have already migrated to eBay, and the nationwide release date of the print version is scheduled for March 31. Take this all as seriously as you see fit. I, for one, will be sleeping in next Monday morning.

Today's feature article takes a look at author and Herter's, Inc. founder George Leonard Herter. Herter's catalogs and books have a well established base of collectors, and given how common some of them are, knowing more about them can make a difference.

Also today, bookseller Adam Schachter reports on the recent 33rd Annual Florida Antiquarian Book Fair. I think you'll find his perspective interesting. Photos accompany.

A phenomenon I've noticed over the years is that BookThink's subscribers don't always read these newsletters the day they come out. Or even the next day. I know this because I'll sometimes make time-sensitive announcements in them that generate responses much later on, sometimes weeks or months later on. Such has been the case with a short, week-long sale I ran a month or so ago - something I called the "kitchen sink." Since that sale ended I've received a number of emails inquiring about it, so in the interest of stragglers who missed it, I'm going to re-open it for awhile. Here's the deal: You get everything for $179.99, subscriptions to BookThink's Guide to Online Bookselling and BookThink's Author Reports along with all complete report packages - all Gold Editions, all 50/50's and all Quarterly Market Reports. The subscriptions include all current chapters and reports and additional chapters and reports as they are issued. This is a ton of bookselling content that, if applied, will pay for itself quickly and generate income for years to come. If interested, email me at editor@bookthink.com and I'll send you an invoice.

Chapter 14 of BookThink's Guide to Online Bookselling was delivered to subscribers last week. This Guide is a comprehensive, in-progress bookselling how-to available by subscription here. 14 chapters have been completed, and new subscribers will receive current and all remaining chapters as they are issued. Note: If you subscribed to the Gold Edition (now re-titled BookThink's Guide to Online Bookselling) in 2009 or earlier, you will need to purchase the guide to continue receiving chapters.

For those of you not familiar with the guide, a list of completed chapters may give you a better sense of what's going on:

4. How to Make Money Selling Books While You're Learning How to Sell Books: First Things First

5. How to Make Money Selling Books While You're Learning How to Sell Books: Closing the Gap on Your Competition

11. How to Identify First Editions: Books That Are, Part IV (The Essential Reference Library)

BookThink's popular First Edition Library Checklist has been reformatted to PDF and now includes thumbnail photos of cover art for all FEL titles. The FEL, for those not familiar with it, is a series of extraordinarily faithful first edition facsimiles of over 100 notable publications, most of them issued with protective slipcases. Many are now out of print and all are enthusiastically collected. As booksellers, it pays for you to know of them and about them. Our checklist package includes a checklist of all 111 FEL titles, thumbnail images of cover art, indications of most and least valuable titles, indications of rarest and most common titles, detailed issue points (where applicable), explanatory notes, and the full text of Stan Shelley's superb, illustrated primer on the First Edition Library.

If you have purchased the earlier version (which was available in DOC and TXT formats), you can upgrade to the new version for $5. The price for first time buyers is $14.99. Either option can be exercised by clicking here.

BookThink's forum is up and running again. You can get to it by clicking here.

Also, BookThink's complete Gold Edition is now available in PDF format. All 59 Gold Editions have been recently updated (and in some cases expanded) and combined into a PDF format e-book. A table of contents presents clickable report titles, and the entire document is searchable by keywords. The PDF format ensures 100% compatibility with all computers, tablets and smartphones, and it's easier than ever to take the Gold Edition with you on scouting trips. Purchase it here for $59.99.

Click here to see several sample pages. (And yes, we're working on converting and updating 50/50 and QMR as well.)

Important: If you have previously purchased a complete Gold Edition package, this e-book is available to you at no charge. Email me at editor@bookthink.com for your copy. Also, if you have purchased any Gold Edition issues either singly or in groups at any time, we will subtract those purchases from the price of the e-book. Again, email me at editor@bookthink.com and we will research your purchases and forward a discounted invoice reflecting them.

Finally, the entire BookThink output of Gold Editions, 50/50's and QMR's is available to purchase as a complete package here. Again, if you have previously purchased any issues, we will subtract these from the total, and once you purchase them, you will be entitled to any future updates at no additional cost.

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Questions or comments?
Contact the editor, Craig Stark
editor@bookthink.com