My colleague had a great deal of interesting material to offer this fellow (some of which he'd bought from me) but was completely frustrated by the customer's steadfast refusal to deal with a “middleman.” Inevitably, as his high opinion of auction houses solidified, the customer began buying exclusively at auction. Certainly, auction rooms have been vigorously promoting this view, and venues like Rare Book Hub, for example, publicize auction houses while suggesting that private dealers are inefficient and obsolescent, if not downright untrustworthy.īut back to my colleague and the wary customer. Substitute “book dealers” for “gallerists” and eliminate “artists,” and you have a succinct summary of the mindset of my colleague's skittish customer. Gallerists, by contrast, unilaterally determine a sale price, and then anoint a buyer, based on their own arcane calculations of what’s best for their artists, their clients, or themselves.
As Forbes Magazine put it:Īuctions, in theory anyway, determine price and possession in accordance with the laws of supply and demand, and adhere, again in theory, to some measure of transparency: if you want something, you just pay more for it than anyone else will, and the price-but not the purchaser-will be a matter of public record. It makes sense intuitively – people competing openly against one another rather than trusting any single individual.
He had a wealthy, impulsive, and very skittish customer who had become convinced that all dealers were, to a greater or lesser degree, stacking the deck against their customers, and that auctions were the only fair and transparent market. Most remarkable was a story told to me by a colleague with whom I'd done a great deal of business over the years. Gibson’s recent column about the New York Book Fair.Īll the things I'd seen and heard needed to be considered, digested, put in perspective. Gibson in a recent blog posting wants to suggest some are. Book collectors are not dumb although Mr. When the difference increases so too does the tendency to bid at auction. When the difference is small I think collectors usually buy from dealers. Buying from dealers is more time-efficient, buying at auctions potentially less costly but more work.
BOOK COLLECTOR PRO FULL
For many, collecting is a passion but it’s not one they devote themselves to full time. From my experience I’d say they do this reluctantly. And collectors want to do this, within reason.īut when the disparity between auction realizations and dealer asking prices becomes too great it encourages collectors to consider buying at auction. You are dependent on those who read your catalogues, take your advice and buy what you offer. But I will remind you that without collectors there will not be any trade.
We are pro-collector and I’m sorry if this offends anyone in the trade. I recently heard that an ABAA commentator, Greg Gibson, mentioned that the Americana Exchange and its successor, the Rare Book Hub, are anti-dealer.
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