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Kelly, this *was* really fascinating.  Thanks for sharing.

 

Lee

 

 

Wow, that is a helpful insight into the behind the scenes shenanigans.  Thanks. 

 

 

Yes, as Anne and Kevin note, the prices can be very fluid indeed!

And obviously the prices being cited online cannot necessarily be considered to represent what the books are "selling for," as no one may be buying them. Consequently, it is not a reliable method for determining the actual market value or replacement cost of a given book.

One bookseller who operates under various names routinely lists art books on Alibris, Abebooks, etc. at ridiculously inflated prices. At one point they copied electronically thousands of our bibliographic records (which contain certain unique elements, including descriptive comments written by our staff) and loaded the records onto various online book sites, offering the titles at several times our own prices. (We ourselves list only a small portion of our inventory on sites other than our own Web site, so the unsuspecting buyer might not have known that copies of these titles could easily be found elsewhere at reasonable prices.)

Just as Kevin speculated, that seller of course did not actually have copies of the books they were advertising, but would place rush orders with us if they happened to receive any orders. When we realized what they were doing, we closed down their account, but similar opportunists continue to plague us with new schemes and creative deceptions. One even went so far as to set up a fake Web page to try to convince us they were an art research library to whom we might be willing to sell our last copies of certain out-of-print and hard-to-find titles that we had priced very modestly for the benefit of our library clients. Once they deplete their competitor's inventory, they can more freely charge whatever they wish.

And once one copy becomes listed at an inflated price, other booksellers unfamiliar with the material may start listing their copies at prices somewhat more reasonable but still very inflated, assuming that if someone is "selling" a copy for $800, then they might be able to sell their copy for a $400. In the meantime, we might still have three copies of the title in stock, still in the publisher's shrink wrap, being offered at the original list price of $50.00. But if no is buying any of these copies, what is the real commercial value of the book? Certainly not what it is "selling for" on Abebooks.

Kelly Fiske
Worldwide Books

Mr. Kelly M. Fiske, President
Worldwide Books
1001 West Seneca Street
Ithaca, NY 14850 USA

Phone 607-272-9200 ext. 16
Fax 607-272-0239
US & Canadian orders 1-800-473-8146

1962-2012 :: Celebrating 50 Years!

Find us on the Web:
http://www.worldwide-artbooks.com
http://www.facebook.com/WorldwideBooks

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