The Old Book Charm: The State of the Rare Book Market in 2024

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Christie’s auctions recently sold a pair of mystery books — The Thirteen Problems by Agatha Christie and The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle — for $63,968 and $226,555, respectively. The books belonged to the late Charlie Watts, drummer for the Rolling Stones.

A few months before that, in May, the earliest, most complete Hebrew Bible drew a record-breaking $38.1 million bid at a Sotheby’s auction. The 1000-year-old manuscript is the most valuable one ever sold at auction.

While print book sales may rise and fall, the rare books industry continues to explode. It may have the pandemic to thank for that.

The State of the Rare Book Market

The advent of the digital age has changed how people buy and read books. Today, physical copies of books also compete with audiobooks, ebooks, and PDFs.

However, the raw endurance of a physical copy of a book  is undeniable, as fervent readers often swear by the unbeatable durability of paperbound books. If the said book also happens to be a rare one, the physical and emotional value of the book increases exponentially.

The rare book market spans everything from books and bibles to prints, maps, and other paperbound texts, and it’s currently peaking at unheard-of levels.

Collectible book auctions increased 4% last year, from 505,000 to 526,000. However, the average collectible book price fell to $1,863 in 2023 from $2,094 in 2022. While not the best news for sellers, the fall in average price led readers to buy more books under $100, driving sales percentages up 20%.

According to the IBIS World report, multiple factors, including COVID-19 and e-commerce, influenced the market’s recent growth.

The pandemic’s lockdown protocol prompted people to invest newfound free time in reading. While online marketplaces have grown considerably since the mid-1990s, supply chain issues and pandemic lockdowns vastly accelerated their importance. As the average prices of rare books fall, the affordability factor and the spirit of procuring out-of-print titles supported industry growth.

Small groups of dealers and antique stores have long controlled the rare book market, leading to significant accessibility issues, making book collecting a hobby available only to a select few — often impossibly wealthy — collectors.

Book dealers could drive up prices, and collectors saw no alternatives. Buyers often shelled out more than books’ actual worth. The rise of multiple auction houses, both offline and online, in the past few years shifted these dynamics entirely, helping eliminate this secretive haze.

With improved buyer access and increased transparency, newcomers have now joined the ranks of seasoned collectors.

How the Rare Books Market Works

Public demand and market capitalization are not the only elements influencing a rare book’s value. Many criteria drive prices, such as public demand, the number of copies of a particular edition, and authenticity.

The market value of a rare book also depends on its condition and preservation. Buyers and auction houses always note condition, often using a book’s state to control resale superficially.

There are multiple ways to sell such books. The most viable option? Contact small bookstores, where sellers can interact with potential buyers face-to-face. In addition to local shops, auction houses attract many online and offline clients.

The Shift in Target Buyers and the Rise of Fiction

Gone are the days when book collectors were mostly in their 40s or 50s. Today, the generations that have grown up alongside technology are increasingly interested in physical books.

As today’s youth become collectors, newer genres are entering the market. The focus is now shifting to nonreligious books, especially fiction. In late 2021, the first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone sold for $471,000 at Heritage Auctions, a world record for modern literature. The first edition of Clive Staples (C.S.) Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia sold for $45,699 last year. 

This article was produced by Media Decision and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.