Wisdens Bought
A different approach to selling your Wisdens*
The large majority of people who contact me to sell Wisdens have either inherited them or indeed they are from people who may simply have run out of space. I offer the same service to everyone who is kind enough to contact me.
Essentially the Wisdens have been bought, read and looked after by someone who cares for cricket. That person may have passed away or for many a reason decided to part with their collection, but it is important to respect the effort gone into acquiring the collection. Most people who contact me do not have much idea as to the value of Wisdens and some believe that if a dealer has a similar book advertised for £100 then they should expect to receive £90 for their edition. I have been told that the same thought-process is apparent in the second hand car industry. There are many avenues open to someone looking to sell Wisdens. This is my opinion on each, people will disagree and I do not apologise for my opinions.
Wisdenworld.com
*If I can and it is convenient to the seller I will put together a condition report on the collection for sale. I will send it to the seller in a word document along with the contact details of a large number of dealers/auctioneers. The seller will then have control of the process. I would also encourage the seller to search for any dealer that I may have missed. The description will hopefully be what the potential buyer will want to know. By doing this the seller will be able to get the best possible price for the collection through this outlet. This service is completely free of charge.
Personally I am very fortunate not to have the overheads and costs associated with a larger dealer so I am usually more generous in my offers. Nearly everyone you speak to will want to see the collection or at least see photographs, this is both understandable and a necessity, but by supplying a condition report in terms that they will appreciate a lot of viewings may be avoided.
If there is anything you feel I have not covered or you would like clarification on please contact me on 01480 819272/07966 513171, I am available usually up until 9pm most evenings and at weekends
Dealers
Most Wisden dealers, including me, want good quality editions and most will want pre 1977 editions.. Hardbacks are preferable but prior to 1948 soft or linen cloth editions are sought after. Collections that include post 1977 almanacks are always considered but the quality and number in a collection of pre 1977 will determine most dealers level of interest.
Now it is fair to say that most dealers have overheads, some don’t just deal in Wisdens, they deal in all manner of cricketing memorabilia, bats, autographs, ceramics, tour guides, general cricket books etc and in order to house these items they need premises and staff. In other words their overheads may affect what they offer for a collection, also the number of editions they currently hold for the years offered. So, it is important to realise that the price offered may be as much as 70% off the sell on price and in post 1977 editions which are very very common 90% of the sell on price.
Main advantage of selling to a dealer:
You are given a total price to take the collection off your hands.
Auction Houses
Although historically auctions have been a very good place in which to sell Wisdens, there has been an abundance of Wisden auctions over the past two years and it is generally regarded that the prices at auction are starting to level off and even fall. An auctioneer will (correctly) offer a conservative opinion on what price Wisdens may fetch at auction but there are things to seriously consider before deciding to put any collection through an auction
• Usually only when a book is sold and paid for will the seller receive his payment (a minimum of 10% will be taken off the final sale price in auctioneers commission).
• Any unsold books will be kept by the auctioneer for a future auction or returned unsold to the seller. The seller could then have a “part-collection” of unwanted items that have dropped in worth owing to the good ones being snapped up at auction.
• Buyers at auction have to pay between 15% and 20% on the Final Price and VAT on this commission, this could put a lot of potential buyers off auctions.
• Auctions very very rarely offer a sellers collection as a single lot, it is fair to suggest that by separating Wisdens into numerous smaller lots (of 1 or 2 editions at a time) makes them more attractive to buyers, but again this means that some will be unsold and again this makes the sell-on of the remainder difficult.
• Having too many Wisdens at auction means the seller may well lose out. At one auction recently there were 5 different lots offering a 1959 hardback, buyers picked the one they wanted and the other four went cheaply.
• There is absolutely no guarantee that any Wisden will sell at an auction.
Main advantage of using an Auction House:
Potentially a better price could be raised via an auction.
Online Auctions
When online auction sites such as eBay started to offer a specific Wisden section it became a good place for both buyers and sellers of the almanack. Over the past year there has been an abundance of post 1980 editions being auctioned online and many of the older editions have been conspicuous by their absence. Also and far more importantly a number of established Wisden sellers no longer use eBay, this has the effect of driving the serious buyer away. Ebay remains an excellent vehicle to market any product.
• With an eBay account the time and effort taken to list a collection, whether individually or as a set is something that needs consideration. To list an individual item with photographs and a proper description can take up to 15 minutes.
• The fees involved in listing, selling and receiving payment can take away a fair bit of the price raised.
• Once sold the item has to be packaged and posted.
• If an item is unsold then it can be costly to relist it again and again.
Main advantage of using an Online Auction:
It can be fun and If you have the time, profitable.
