Ain't Nothing Like the real Thing in the hearts of collectors

Hello and happy holidays to one and all,
  Well the title of this blog says it all and needs no explanation to most collectors.  But the question is why? Why is an original item so important to collectors ,why not a picture or photo- copy, of that 1859 company bill-head ,or a facsimile of that vintage document, a reproduction of that antique toy.  What most collectors answer is , if you don't know then I can't explain it to you because you will never understand. For some perhaps many of of us the the real answer is we see and feel things about the items we collect that others can not see and we often times do not take the time to explain , or we simply lack the words. I have been a collector and dealer of collectibles and ephemera and books for most of my life and I learned that if I could show people what I see, through my own enthusiasm , my own joy, then sometimes I could cast a light on the real reason we collectors collect. That whatever original item I own was in a sense alive with the history that is had gone though , that in some way the item connected me with the past. There is no greater joy for me as a dealer to past on to a collector an item that I know they will cherish, because as a collector I know what it feels like to find an that item and I can see through their eyes and feel with their heart. Collecting is as natural to most humans as breathing  we, just do our  collecting in different ways , some collect money both literally and as a collectible, some collect technology , some collect history or bits of the past . So what it boils down  to is joy,  happiness. Why does the original matter? Because it makes me happy , because it brings me joy.  So as the man said "Collect what you love and Love what you collect". And take the time to share as much of that as you can  with ones who have not experienced  the joy collecting. The time taken to do so is time well spent.
Come by the shop any time for a chat and have a look around you never know what you might find.
Peace ,
Stephen the owner of http://www.biblioboy.com

www.biblioboy.com

 

Are the New Google Product Categories collectibles freindly ?

As a long time dealer with a daily upload of a 1000's of products in my Google feed I would have to say no. Is this an intended process on Googles part once again I would say no. But all one has to do is look at Google's product categories which they are now making  mandatory for all feeds. { see http://www.google.com/support/merchants/bin/answer.py?answer=160081 }  I have sent a message to Google with a statement of how poor their category selection is in the collectible section. Collectibles covers a vast amount of material and needs a good number of choices it any product search category area for customers to find them items they are looking for. Many dealers have to list items in sections where they really do not belong just to meet the new Google requirements. I have to list any vintage hand bills, company bill heads , and many other kinds of vintage ephemera and historical genealogy and documents under vintage advertisements section of the very small collectibles section of the Google product categories  because there is no other place to list these items. This is the case across the collectibles area  as well as other section such as books. You will notice that they have not listed  a category for antiquarian or collectible books at all. Under fiction they is no listing for western fiction at all. I do understand that Google does offer Product_type but its just makes more work and is a poor design. This is just one man's opinion .

                                                                    

Where have all the collectors gone?

I have been asked this question many times by many online and open shop dealers. The Answer is not a simple one it has to do with changing times and the cycle of the antiques and collectibles market. I was once told many years ago by a old time antique and collectibles dealer that the average selling cycle of collectibles and antiques was 25 years but that it always comes around again or had in his life time. If he was right then I would think that we are on the low end of the cycle right now and in time the market will come back. I think the web changed how people see collecting and many older collectors became dealers because they could sell on line and did not have to open a shop or wholesale their collection out to dealers. Some will continue on as dealers but many have moved on to other interests when they found that selling online was not as simple as it seemed. I also think that many collectors were overwhelmed with the vast amount of items offered on the web. I also believe that in time many of then will start collecting again and that others from a new generation of collector will follow them. It is  part of human nature to collect things of all kinds for all kinds of reasons. A collector need not be rich  to enjoy what they love. It has been said many times  Collect What you Love and Love What you collect.  I think we all have a collector inside of us just waiting to find that perfect item.  If you like uncommon and unusual items come on by the site and see if you can find that one item that might spark a collection.

Peace,

Stephen    

                                       

Are Used and Antiquarian booksellers Doomed to Extinction ?

This is a subject dear to my heart as I was a antiquarian book seller for many years and still list some books on my web site even today. Will the printed word of the past be collectible in the future? I think in the short term the answer is yes but not in the long term. People have and will continue to move away from books not only as collectibles but also as as source of enjoyment. We as a people are slowly losing the desire to read just for  pleasure, we want instant gratification so we turn to Smart phones, the web ,Television . Movies , video games and the list grows daily. Many younger people are losing the attention span that is required to sit and read for any period of time. The basic for book collecting and just plain reading starts with the connections we make with the books we have read. Book shops of all kinds are closing daily and on line book sites are hurting as many dealers move on to others jobs and the open shop antiquarian book market is now maybe half the size it was only a few years ago. Rents are too high and sales are to low. I used to do 35 book shows year and had an open shop with 60,000 to 80,000 books in it. I still sell online but closed the shop 6 years ago and would be hard pressed to find a book show worth doing. I  sell much more in the way of  vintage ephemera and collectible advertising , letters , documents, trade catalog than in used or collectible books these days. It is hard times for A great class of people in this country, bookselling is a noble profession and over the years it has been my honor and pleasure to know both collector and bookseller and I for one will be very sorry to see this way of life lost.
Peace,
Stephen
www.biblioboy.com