The best resource for learning about the rare book business is the Rare Book School at the University of Virginia. RBS offers five-day non-credit courses in manuscripts, old and rare books and special collections. Subscribing to books-oriented mailing lists provides a broad range of book-related information. Join regional and national booksellers associations.
Selling rare books requires a knowledge of how the book business operates. An apprenticeship with an experienced rare book dealer is the best way to gain a hands-on education in the business. Describing condition and edition properly is essential. Rare book sellers who misrepresent their books either intentionally or through ignorance rapidly lose credibility.
Choose a specialty and become knowledgeable about it. It's difficult to be expert in all areas of the rare book business. The most successful sellers have one or two areas of interest like Western Americana, First Editions or Art. Acquire inventory in your specialty by forming relationships with other dealers, letting individuals in your community know that you buy books and by traveling to other parts of the country to search for books.
There are many variables that contribute to the price of a rare book and the importance of these variables changes across specialties. Condition and edition are usually the most critical. Condition plays a smaller part in the case of extremely rare books. The best way to learn pricing is to apprentice with another dealer. There are price guides available for many specialties.
Beware of simply looking a book up on the Internet to determine its price. Not all online sellers have the necessary expertise to price books properly. If you depend on their pricing, you can easily overprice a book and make it difficult to sell, or under-price a valuable rare book and lose money on the sale.
There are multiple rare book sales venues. Frequently, a customer will want to handle the rare book personally before paying a premium price. An open shop is the best way to satisfy that need. By-appointment visits is another way to give customers the option to look at the book. If you choose to operate by appointment only, set up a room or an office with a professional look for customers and have a dedicated phone line.
Book fairs are an alternative to an open shop or by appointment. They're held all over the country and give sellers an opportunity to browse other seller's inventory for books in their specialty and they are well attended by book collectors.
If you choose to sell online, create a website to drive customers to. Make sure you write complete and accurate descriptions of your inventory, state you shipping charges clearly, pack books appropriately for shipping and provide excellent customer service.