Discussion Forums

Re: Super Deluxe values

Subject: Re: Super Deluxe values
by Elwë on 2011/1/2 4:15:22

One of my wife's old business professor's commentary on value -

"If someone says, 'I own a million dollar house,' I say, 'show me someone who will pay you a million dollars for your house right now.' That is the only time you truly have a million dollar house. If you can only find someone willing to pay you $500,000, then in actuality you own a $500,000 house."

This is one of the things that always stands out in my mind when it comes to investment valuation and assessing risk. And, yes, while I occasionally purchase books just because I really want them and never intend on them leaving my collection, I usually approach book purchases with investment potential in mind. I never expect to make big bucks or have any sort of business success through book collecting (although it would be a fun career!), but I do like to know that if I come across something special that I can't pass up, I can recover some capital by selling a few other books.

There was a point in time when my collection was growing rapidly and I was accumulating books like you read about (nice pun, eh?). Over time, and with financial and space constraints, my approach has evolved. Now my collection generally sees a good amount of ebb and flow. I only own a small handful of (sentimental) things, with which I am unwilling to part. I find that this approach has allowed me to own (even if for only a short time) a great variety of books, to become more knowledgeable as a collector, and still satisfy an appetite for buying more books!