For some collectors, the thrill of the hunt takes precedence over completing a set. For other collectors, completing a set as soon as possible is more important than the thrill of the hunt.
Collectors who find the thrill of the hunt to be more important are more likely to desire lower prices. The collectors whose greatest desire is to complete a set quickly are more likely to pay higher prices.
From my 2020 post about my purchases at the library book sale:
This is how I look at it. If the book is there and at a price that I can afford that is not completely insane, then I will purchase it if I need it.
For example, let's say that a book sells online for $10 to $20 on average. Keep in mind that postage often must be paid in addition to the selling price, so the $10 to $20 book might be more than that.
Sometimes the book might sell for $5 online, but postage gets added to the total, so that book will end up being around $10. Tax is now paid by a majority of online buyers, so there's that as well. Online prices once were not taxed, which made online purchases cheaper. That's not the case these days for most of us.
Let's say I am in a store and see the book I described above for $25.
The book is in nice condition. I can examine the book in person and see
all flaws. I am there, and the book is there. I will purchase the
book if I need it. I don't worry about how I might possibly find the
book for $10 to $15 someday. Someday might never come. I have the book
in hand, so I purchase it.
This is a convenience fee. The bookstore sourced the book for me. I walk into the store, and I decide to pay their price. I might pay a little more than if I were to wait for a better deal, but the higher price includes a convenience fee.
I've mentioned convenience fees several times in the past.
From my 2019 post about Japanese series books:
When the books were mentioned on Facebook, some people questioned why the prices were so high. Some thought that it would be better to go to Japan and find the books. Assuming that the books could be found, one still has to pay airfare, lodging, and transportation. The books would not be cheap once the other costs were factored in. Of course, if one were to be going to Japan anyway, then the cost of the trip would be irrelevant.
However, this is assuming that the books can actually be found in Japan. I have heard about collectors who have traveled to other countries and tried to find series books as they vacation. They usually cannot find any, or they find very few. The international editions are not just laying around waiting for one of us to show up.
I consider it far easier just to buy the books than to try to travel to Japan to purchase them. If some of the books are priced a bit high, then that cost is a convenience fee.
Here's another quote from my 2020 post about my purchases at the library book sale:
Most of the books seen in these pictures will be sold eventually. The prices will be marked up, but I deserve that. For those who might think I shouldn't do that, consider my true cost for the books. I paid for a library membership. I took the day off work and had to pay for my substitute. I waited in line for hours for the sale to start. I shopped at the sale for around three hours. I went back the next day and spent another hour at the sale. I drove round trip 25 miles each day when I attended the sale.
My final cost is higher than the sum total of my sales receipts. Keep that in mind when you peruse the listings of online sellers. The sellers have to source the books, and much time and effort is involved, in addition to the cost of acquiring the books. The buyer pays a convenience fee to the seller, who did the legwork in finding the books. I am eternally grateful to all the sellers over the years who have found good books that I ended up purchasing for my collection.
From my 2023 post about my eBay and Etsy sales:
A few of you suggested that I begin selling books on my website due to
the low eBay and Etsy sales. I'm not interested in doing that. I
choose to sell on eBay and Etsy so that I'm not responsible for driving
traffic myself. If I were to set up a store on my website, I would have
to do a lot of advertising. That's worse than my current setup. The
cost of selling on eBay and Etsy is not a concern. Convenience is more
important than avoiding the fees.
We all pay convenience fees in certain circumstances just because it is easier, including when we buy and sell books. Every buyer or seller of books fits somewhere within a broader hierarchy. This hierarchy heavily influences the pricing of books. In fact, the prices of more expensive books would collapse if not for this hierarchy, and the aggressive actions of the high-end sellers cause much resentment among buyers and sellers who are lower down in the hierarchy.
Low Tier Booksellers
The lowest tier is where the books enter the secondhand marketplace. Some examples are thrift stores, flea markets, garage sales, estate sales, and library book sales. People who purchase books from any of these venues have found the books "in the wild."
The people who make these purchases are not necessarily the lowest tier of seller. They can fit anywhere in the hierarchy from low to fairly high. These sellers are likely not the very highest tier, since those sellers typically source their books from other sellers in the hierarchy.
Low Middle Tier Booksellers
Next are antique shops, the average used book stores, chain book stores like Half Price Books, and online sellers like Thriftbooks.
High Middle Tier Booksellers
Some used book stores cater more to the upper middle class. These stores will more likely use names that include words like "antiquarian" or "fine books." They will have higher prices but are not necessarily out of range for the average person. However, some of their prices will give the average person pause and many will avoid buying the books. Online series sellers at this level are ones like Bluff Park Books. Some of the prices at Half Price Books are also at this level.
High Tier Booksellers
These are the high-end sellers. Their clientele are wealthy, as in millionaires. Booksellers at this level price their books too high for the middle class. We can't purchase their books.
All booksellers purchase books from sellers at their own level and from all sellers who are at lower levels.
I didn't mention eBay and other online marketplaces, simply because the sellers on these sites span all levels. Most online sellers are low and middle tier but some are also very high-end sellers as well. That's the beauty of the online marketplace: There's something for everyone.
Most buyers and sellers of series books probably fall under the low middle tier. This level certainly fits me the best.
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