Facebook Buy/Sell/Trade Group

I came across this group on Facebook for buying/selling/trading of FS books and thought I'd share.

As we all know, LT does not allow selling of books, and the Fans of the Folio Society group on Facebook has a vibrant dynamic discussing the books themselves (well, apart from the "shelfies" of the rainbow fairy tale books), and classifieds would detract from that.

Hopefully this is a helpful resource, the group had over 100 members in the first day:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/291415242124241/

>1 U_238:

Very happy to endorse this post. I've joined as well. It's early days but I'd say it has a lot of potential. If nothing else it's somewhere to point newbies to who think FSD is a buy/sell group.

So I usually avoid social media sites like FB, but created an account this morning and asked to join the buy/sell group because I really really want to find a copy of Tom Holland’s Rubicon. I was wondering how long it usually takes for a join request to be responded to and if you need to have a lot of visible information on your profile in order to be accepted. Thanks I’m advance for any feedback!

>2 folio_books:

Less happy to endorse than I used to be. I'd never recommend it to newbies. Beware of the sharks ...

>3 RRCBS:

They're usually very fast and as far as I can tell they only need minimal information. Though I joined way back when, I've never used them to either buy or sell a book. Setting up a saved search on eBay is a better option. I'd advise caution.

>3 RRCBS:

I noticed you made it into the group :)

>4 folio_books: why wouldn’t you recommend? Do you think they’re dishonest about condition, or just overcharge?

>6 RRCBS: As long as you use PayPal G&S to pay which offers buyer protection, you should be safe enough. Also, the group is very actively moderated and has a lot of very active collectors in the group who watch out for the community as a whole. All in all, it's a better place to buy than most of the alternatives.

In terms of condition, you have to be careful just like you would anywhere, not so much because of dishonesty as because of amateur assessments. There are also a good number of repeat sellers you'll notice over time who tend to be very safe and easy to deal with.

>6 RRCBS:

I have concerns about the pricing, which can be extortionate. True, you're not forced to buy, but this is why I would never recommend it to a newbie. There's an unhealthy proportion of professional dealers in that group

I qualify this by saying of course there are decent, honest sellers there too. Learn to spot those and you'll not get ripped off.

Last word - I can't see a situation arising where I personally might be prepared to buy a Folio book in that group. eBay is a safer option. Just my opinion.

Feel free to message me if you want to discuss it further.

>6 RRCBS: I’ve bought a few books from people in that group, and have had nothing but good experiences so far

>8 folio_books: "I have concerns about the pricing, which can be extortionate. True, you're not forced to buy, but this is why I would never recommend it to a newbie."

That's not been my experience at all. One always has to be careful about pricing, but it's not like a newbie is immune from extortionate pricing on eBay or ABE-- far from it! I've actually found fair (market) prices or slightly below in most cases, with the occasional great deal popping up with a fair degree of regularity.

>8 folio_books: I second a lot of what you said. If you want to be checking Facebook several hours a day I'm sure you could find some deals but books get snatched within minutes and I'd rather spend my time doing other things... like reading. I've only bought several books from Facebook and have found eBay and Abe much more convenient and as affordable. I can't remember the last time on Facebook where I've actually bought anything.

>3 RRCBS: I don't think you'll be missing much if you do not sign up or follow Facebook. Also, just out of curiosity, what's all the fuss for the insane prices over Rubicon going in the $400 or more? It's a decent book but hardly great in terms of Roman secondary sources.

>11 Joshbooks1: re: Rubicon:

I suspect it is just supply and demand, with demand heightened because it's part of an easily recognizable set.

>11 Joshbooks1: must be that. I wouldn’t pay that much for it because it’s not worth that much to me. Oh well, might come down in a few years…

I am surprised at how many people on there seem to be selling new books at discounted prices, which I guess means it’s a replacement from FS!

Decided it’s not really my kind of thing. I buy books to read, not really into keeping for a bit then selling and I don’t sell replacements. Can see why “collectors” like it.

It does feel like sellers use FB to hype up their sales, and others comment stating what great deals they are no matter if this is true or not. Should someone state that a price is high, there will be comments against them and disapproval at this. I don’t see any balance between buyers and sellers, but purely a group to maximise sales prices

For the record, I would just encourage everyone here to listen to the sage advice advising you to avoid the Facebook Folio Buy/Sell group.

More good deals for me. Thanks, everyone!

There are some great deals on there but as previously mentioned you have to be checking frequently to snap them up. I find most of the time much more affordable copies on eBay ect and think the pricing in general to be very high.

I need to write carefully here as a bookseller.

When I wish to buy a second-hand Folio Society book whether for stock or my own reading, I check Amazon (usually a pointless exercise), ABE Books (I disclose an interest here) and another UK bookseller called 'Ardis'.

I have bought a number of books from Ardis and - this is written with clenched teeth - I could not fault the book, the packaging or the service. I have not met the owner of this bookshop so I'm not doing a favour for a friend either.

>18 English-bookseller: I have bought a number of books from Ardis and - this is written with clenched teeth - I could not fault the book, the packaging or the service. I have not met the owner of this bookshop so I'm not doing a favour for a friend either.

Ardis is a highly repected name among Folio collectors and I can echo your praise. Mostly, prices are a tad higher then average but you're paying for the superb service. Mostly. What stopped me ordering regularly was that he was among the first on the bandwagon of rocketing prices for certain out-of-print Folios. I well recall my two "missing" Aubrey-Maturins disappearing out of sight at that time unless one was prepared to pay an outrageous price. One day they may return to being reasonable, along with the Fairy Books and all the rest but I may have shuffled off this mortal coil by then. Anyway, it didn't stop me buying the Moby Dick LE from him recently, and decently priced, too.

>19 folio_books: I try to provide a good service to those who buy books from me and when they have bought an early Aubrey-Maturin, I often email a proviso that the really good novels extend until quite late in the series but that then the quality falls off abruptly. The last few novels in the series are very poor indeed.

As background, the author then in old age was in very poor health, his wife who had been a good critic of his drafts had died and he was trying to maximise his estate for his family.

In spite of my well-meant advice, some ignore it and keep on buying the vastly over-priced and rubbishy later novels.

It seems that we book-lovers have a strong desire to complete a series ... even if we know that some of the books in that series are a terrific let down.

Part - and maybe a large part - of a bibliophile's nature is clearly about 'completion' irrespective of literay merit

>20 English-bookseller:

To demonstrate my lack of literary taste and discernment. I read all the Aubrey-Maturins in sequence and failed to notice any sustained drop in quality towards the end. Some novels are undoubtedly better than others; some not so great, but I enjoyed them all. I could say the same thing about Christie. And I do appreciate I have heard your opinion from other sources so you're not on your own by a long chalk.

However, as a Folio collector I do prefer a series to be complete. Unlike some others, I am not prepared to do so at any price.

Some of the posts on this thread are hilarious. "Sharks" on FB, avoid avoid avoid. If you are an adult with basic Google skills it is easy to avoid an overpriced book on Facebook B/S/T just as easy as it is to avoid those books on Abe, eBay and other platforms. I've found some great books on each platform and there are some really knowledgeable people/sellers on the FB site. It's like any other platform - the sellers run the gamut and most functioning adults are able to cope with that dynamic.

My main concerns with sellers on any platform are (1) that I actually get the book and (2) in the condition described. Beyond that, things like price are on me as to whether I think it's worthwhile. If I don't do diligence to determine what price the book is going for elsewhere, that too is on me. I'm no fan of sellers who ask outrageously speculative prices, but I have even less truck with genuinely fraudulent sellers. At least the former are easily avoided if one so desires.

>22 LBShoreBook: No, Facebook is worse than the other sites. On ABE/Ebay etc you have sellers offering books with prices and possibly photos, but this is all. Facebook has similar sellers listings but the difference here is that numerous independent people will also comment saying what a great deal it is, and this can influence people.

This week there was a limited edition Folio listed at $1280, and the first comment was a statement that this was a great deal and that the person had never seen it priced so low. The book had sold twice in the past month on eBay for £750 and £1000, so it doesn’t appear to be a particularly good deal however the comments don’t reflect this. If a comment is made saying what a great deal a price is this gets likes, if however someone posts that something is expensive then there are very aggressive and very angry posts stating that either the post or commentator should be removed (these aren’t short posts and can be genuinely unpleasant to read) so people don’t post these comments again, all that is left is an echo chamber where every deal is described as a bargain and there is no balance.

Buyers aren’t forced into anything, and should always think for themselves. But social media holds sway as people read comments from others and can be influenced. There can be good deals found, and I understand the attraction for sellers who save on the eBay cost, but reading some, and it is only a small minority, of the comments is really distasteful and so the groups can be unpleasant

>24 DMulvee: I suppose if one is a sheep lacking critical reasoning skills, the FB site is indeed a terrible place. Anyone who has waded through Amazon and Yelp comments can probably fend for themselves. 🤷‍♀️

>24 DMulvee: if however someone posts that something is expensive then there are very aggressive and very angry posts stating that either the post or commentator should be removed (these aren’t short posts and can be genuinely unpleasant to read)

I have seen people ripped to shreds in that group (metaphorically speaking, of course) for daring to suggest a price is too high. Worse, I've seen some of them subsequently removed from the group because of it. It is not a healthy environment unless you're someone with a vested interest in keeping prices high.

>26 folio_books: All of which basically ratifies my decision to stay off most forms of social media.

>26 folio_books: That's an interesting viewpoint because this comes up repeatedly in book collector groups on Facebook. As per >25 LBShoreBook:, unless they're particularly credulous, people should be capable of making their own decisions about whether or not something is a great deal. I would also suggest that when people say such things in error, they are typically uninformed rather than nefarious (see Hanlon's Law: "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.").

As far as the opposite case, where someone takes it upon themselves to declare that something is "too expensive," consider if you were the seller. Did you ask for this person's opinion? Do they actually know what they're talking about? It's amazing the number of times that "too high" or "too expensive" turns out to simply mean "I wouldn't be able to afford that, so I think the price is distasteful," or "I would never pay that," or "It's ridiculous that people are asking XX for this book now when just months ago you could buy it from Folio for XX." Strikingly, absolutely none of these mean the book is overpriced relative to current market value, and yet people are happy to declare that it is so.

eBay is sales platform. ABE is a sales platform. FB Buy/Sell groups function as sale platforms. Good and bad deals and good and bad sellers are to be found on all of them. To say that anyone who is not otherwise feeble-minded should stay away from any of them for fear of being rooked is just silly.

>28 whytewolf1: Regardless of what you say is true or not I just don't understand the allure of the group. Unless you spend countless hours a day on Facebook looking for deals I find little to no point in trying to find a decent sale for the books are spoken for within minutes. Why spend so much vacuous time of the finite time we have in life to potentially save a few shekels is beyond me - especially when there are so many other options available. But to each their own I suppose.

Also, I disagree with your generalized assessment regarding the majority of people who badmouth sellers are from spite or envy. A lot of time they do it because it's true! Or, they used to until they were publicly shamed by mob mentality and stopped. There are so many titles that are far overpriced where the group encourages the seller with high praise where the book(s) they are selling can be found elsewhere for equal price, or, in most cases, cheaper. A lot of people haven't spent years, like myself, trying to buy Folio or fine press books with a general knowledge of what prices should be. If your point is that some buyers are suckers and feeble-minded than one can equally make the point that sellers on the group can suck it up and have tougher skin when it comes to criticism of their sales.

>29 Joshbooks1: I guess one thing people who are not on Facebook don't understand is that many people spend a fair amount of time each day on Facebook, usually in snatches of dead time on their phones (and yes, many do spend hours), but they're doing all kinds of things: looking at pictures or memes or comments that friends posted, checking our news stories, watching video clips, I could go on and on, literally dozens of things, depending on the people.

And if you frequent book collecting groups a lot, for many of the same reasons people frequent LT, Facebook's algorithm will often surface new posts automatically for groups you engage with frequently. So, you don't really have to keep checking back to see if there are new posts like you might on LT. Also, many of us have many other book-collecting friends who frequent the buy/sell groups, too, and who might shoot us a message with a "weren't you looking for this?" and a link or even "tag" us directly in the comments of the post.

As far as pricing, I'd love to see some examples of these supposed outrageously-priced books that have sold due to crowd-induced cheering on! My experience is that overpriced books tend to sit... and sit. There are questions in that group and similar groups constantly about how to value/price books. Often it's from a would-be amateur seller, but oftentimes it's from a new collector who wants to know how to buy smartly.

Lastly, in terms of the "truth" of a fair price vs. a high price. There is always a range of value based on recent sales, and for harder to find books, some people are just willing to pay more because they've been looking for something for a while or because it's from a trusted seller. Personally, I'll happily pay a few bucks more (though often I don't have to) to buy from someone I know who will pack well and will ship promptly and who I know is telling the truth about the condition of the book. I mean, really, where do you think these legions of rubes are coming from that are (supposedly) consistently and egregiously overpaying for out of print Folio books?

Edit/Addition: Oh, and of course, very good deals often go quickly as they do almost everywhere. But not always! Just a couple of weeks back, someone who obviously had an urgent need was selling a New/Fine condition Rime of the Ancient Mariner LE for $500 USD. The original price was £450, 12 years ago, and without allowing for shipping costs! And you know what? It sat there. For a whole day. The guy came back and reduced it to $450, and it sat another whole day. Finally, he reduced it to $400 and declared it was the final reduction. Someone at that point did, finally, snatch it up pretty quickly.

So, as I only somewhat jokingly said before: All you folks who don't want to shop in the group, please do stay away! I'd rather not have any more competition. :)

>29 Joshbooks1: "Also, I disagree with your generalized assessment regarding the majority of people who badmouth sellers are from spite or envy. A lot of time they do it because it's true!"

If it's true, though, it will always be possible to back up the statement with a link to another copy of the book currently available for sale elsewhere in similar (or better) condition at a cheaper price.

If I saw a comment along the lines of "this book is too expensive" without such a reference, I would be inclined to think the comment belonged in one of the categories outlined by whytewolf1 in post 28.

>29 Joshbooks1: "Why spend so much vacuous time of the finite time we have in life to potentially save a few shekels is beyond me - especially when there are so many other options available. But to each their own I suppose."

A bit surprised by the condescension in this thread, including statements like this one. One's inability to understand why someone might spend time on a particular site does not make that time spent vacuous. As an example of how I use the site, it's like a used book store. I don't go to a used book store with one book in mind or I will be disappointed 99% of the time. If I instead go with an open mind to peruse on occasion I find some great gems hidden in the shelves. A recent example for me on the B/S/T site is an Oxford edition of Richard III in buckram (the companion volumes to the letterpress books) that is fantastic. Definitely not something I found on Abe, Ebay or whatever platform of choice may be identified. At the end of the day the FB site is not for everyone but that does not mean it is populated by chimps. As a final aside, I find many posts on LT vacuous when the same 2-3 people post all day in an echo chamber (this is not a comment directed Joshbooks1 but a note that some of the behaviors seen on FB appear on these threads as well.) Moving on ....