Rare Book Monthly
Articles - February - 2009 Issue
Wikis Add the AED and Prepare for Stage II
Matches are one click away
Wikis do not compete with existing listing sites. They complement them. Buyers will simply use them to clarify what is logically included within a focus. Wikis will create open markets.
And this then takes us to the very heart of the issue that is most pressing for dealers - where is the new collector? The answer is they are waiting. The existing wholesale-retail model makes collecting financially unappealing. Collectors see material both priced high and stacked like cord wood and they instinctively know that what they buy will be very tough to sell. And so they step back. For them Wikis will provide an ongoing, never-ending window on the market that instills confidence AND it does by providing a place for buyers and sellers to learn about each other; in particular what the one side has and the other wants.
This month take a closer look at the Wikis. There is a new one prepared by Pia Oliver of Randall House of Santa Barbara, California. It's been created around the Zamorano 80, an interesting combination of California material that is both accessible and wildly elusive. Ms. Oliver has also included additional relevant material. It is an interesting collecting category. [Link to Zamorano 80].
We are currently matching all lots at traditional documented auctions worldwide, all material posted to Books for Sale, and all material referenced in the two million records in the Americana Exchange Database [AED]. Full Wiki searching as well as preliminary searches in the AED are free. Access to full search results requires AE Research membership that is $7.95 for a week, $14.75 by the month and $141.60 by the year. A commission-free annual Books for Sale listing subscription, including full access to research services, is for most members $240.
By March 1st we will add global searches for quicker evaluation of Wikis.
Click here to take a look at the Wikis.
Click here to suggest a Wiki subject.
Click here to sign-up as a research or listing member.
Click here to view the Zamorano 80 Wiki Bibliography
