To buy, or not to buy book sets – that’s the question. Not only are they much harder to wrap and ship, but the cost of shipping itself is enough to make customers vanish leaving you stuck holding the load. And yet, just last Friday at the book sale I bought 58 Agatha Christie cozies. When Agatha comes calling in such a generous mood, and even includes her autobiography, I’m still happy to pour the tea, serve the crumpets, and seal the deal. But that doesn’t mean that I’m not fully aware of the problems sets pose.
For some dealers it’s an easy call -- they can’t stand the things. But if, like me, you love sets, it’s hard to turn your back on their beautiful selves, and perhaps it's not even necessary. Postage rates, overseas especially, have scaled heights that could have even the most ardent set-seller lugging them off to the nearest thrift store (it’s not unusual to have the cost reach three figures these days ), but the fact is that some customers know they’re going to get zapped and decide to pay anyway. Twice this year I sent huge sets across the pond, one to England and one to Germany, each bearing over $150 in shipping charges.
Every time I do it though I bemoan the “good old days” when it was cheap to send sets via the late great M-bag system offered by the U.S. postal service. In its early incarnation the post office WANTED M-bag boxes to be heavy, so if you didn’t reach the right poundage you had to add fill – phone books, a brick, whatever did the trick. I was never forced to do this myself, as my weighty sets happily snailed (yes, snailed) across the ocean in their own company, taking in the sea breezes on the excruciatingly slow journey. Customers expected a long turn-around time though, so for the most part were happy enough to get the books sent at a bargain basement price. Later, the postal service combined packages of over four pounds all heading in the same direction in one big sack which also worked well. Only once did M-bag ever fail me – and it wasn’t really me it failed. It was the large credit card company which shared my bag that took the hit. Not only did my customer get her set of art books, but she also got way too many copies of the credit card company’s annual report! I have no clue how that worked out.
Of course some sites make it difficult to sell sets, primarily alibris and amazon. I don’t sell on the latter, but have been known to charm alibris into seeking and obtaining additional postage for the domestic shipping of sets. The good news is you can always opt out of shipping overseas on amazon and build the domestic shipping cost into the purchase price without alienating customers.
But, as we all painfully know, transportation isn’t the only factor to consider when buying sets. In a world where the single physical book is getting less and less welcome, how will we find buyers for books that arrive with their entire clan? Are sets already passé? I have no defnitive answer to the first question, but I suspect it WILL eventually be a problem. I had an ebay buyer early this year offer me a ridiculously low price for my antiquarian Francis Parkman set on the grounds that he knew people “don’t won’t those big sets cluttering the place up.” Could be, but my answer was still no. And, yes, I still own the set, but I don’t care because it’s gorgeous and I will cheerfully keep it until hell freezes over, if necessary. A month ago another buyer on ABE tried to dangle a low price my way for a weighty, oversized history set and I likewise refused. That one sold for full price on ABE two weeks later.
As to the second question, are sets already passé, I truly don’t think so --not yet anyway -- which is why I cozied up to Agatha’s cozies. I’ve sold at least half a dozen large sets this past year in addition to the ones previously mentioned. I also have a standing order for the next set of My Book House in the black bindings I can find. Collectors still collect and one of the hottest areas is children’s series books from the days when the Stratemeyer Syndicate ruled the field of kiddie lit. There are successful dealers who sell ONLY these books, mostly as singles, to begin or enhance their customers’ collections, but sometimes in sets, or partial sets too.
The bottom line is this: buy sets if you know you can sell them. Buy sets if you are willing to wait out a slow economy. But most of all, buy sets if you like them and won’t mind them moving in with you forever. Francis Parkman may do that with me, but that’s okay -- he can keep me company in my dotage. Agatha, on the other hand, needs a home of her own. Much as I admire her, I can't afford to keep her in crumpets forever.
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