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One of the most important things to know when collecting rare books is that "old" and "rare" are no the same thing. Many people assume that the age of a book is what determines both its scarcity and its value, but this is seldom the case. Antiques dealers are especially fond of putting high prices on books based solely on their age, but most antiques dealers are not book experts.

Rarity, and thus value, is determined by a number of factors. So while a book that's been in your family for generations may have great sentimental value to you, unless that book is a Gutenberg Bible or Shakespeare's First Folio it's probably neither rare nor valuable. There are several variables to consider regarding a book's value, and each is important:

1. Condition, condition, condition. Always buy a book in the best condition you can possibly afford. A book is not valuable simply because it's old, and a very old book in poor condition is worth little or nothing. For modern editions, the condition of the dust jacket is easily as important as the condition of the book itself when determining value. In fact, the dust jacket can account for up to 90 percent of the value of the book. For example, a "clipped" dust jacket (one where the original price on the inside cover have been clipped off) can cut the value of a book by 75 percent or more.

Books are "graded" according to condition. The standard grades are As New, Fine, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor, Ex-Library, and Book Club Edition. You will often see "Near Fine" as well, and it is important to note that Book Club and Ex-Library Editions have next to no value except as reading copies. The problem, especially when purchasing books on the Internet, is that what one person calls Fine may in fact only be Good. If you are unable to personally inspect a book before buying it, at least ask for photographs of the dust jacket, binding, and copyright page.

2. In most cases, only the first printing of a first edition is of interest to collectors. This is one reason it is important to see the copyright page; especially for books printed in the past 20 years, the edition is typically clearly marked. There will be a series of numbers near the bottom of the page, and if a "1" is not visible, then you probably don't have a first printing. For example, you would want to see "First Edition" and 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 or 2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1. This is not true for all publishers, however, and it is worth the time and money to become thoroughly acquainted with

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