Category: business

Books and Book Grading

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Today I am talking about grading books. I find a lot of fun and cool books and I put them for sale on etsy and eBay.

I found this great web site which has this lists grading qualities, and now I will be using this for describing condition of the books I am selling, and here it is:

http://www.biglittlebooks.com/grading.html

Mint

Perfect–never opened or read

Some of these have been found in unopened boxed shipments of BLBs discovered in storage.
Near Mint

Near perfect–seldom, if ever, read

The book has: a tight binding; no missing pages; a bright glossy cover; unscuffed corners and edges; clean, unmarked pages.
Fine

Mild usage–read, but well-treated

The book has: a tight binding; no missing pages. The book may have: a cover that has lost its gloss but is otherwise bright; slight cracking along corners and edges (not fraying); clean pages; minimal light pencil markings; no defects in printing, binding, or cutting.
Very Good

Average usage–well read, but well-treated

The book has: no missing textual pages.

The book may have: a somewhat soiled or faded cover; slightly frayed corners and/or edges; minor tears (up to 1/2″) at spine corners; minimal markings, but may be in ink.
Good

Average usage–well read

The book has: no missing textual pages; it may have a blank page missing.

The book may have: loose pages; a somewhat soiled or faded cover; worn corners and edges (frayed); minor tears (up to 2″) at spine corners (minor tape repairs are acceptable if done carefully); pages that show usage; minimal markings that are heavy or permanent; minor defects in printing, binding, or cutting; some bending or warping.
Fair

Harsh usage–well read

The book may have: a loose binding and/or pages; no more than three missing pages; a scuffed or heavily soiled or faded cover; well-worn corners and edges; major tears (longer than 2″) at spine corners; extensive taping; pages that are very browned; extensive permanent markings; minor defects in printing, binding, or cutting; been extensively bent or warped.
PoorDSC_0017DSC_0007DSC_0027DSC_0010

Effective immediately

Gotcha Cha ChaLeave a comment

There are no more refunds in my store.

None, nada, not for any reason.

Look carefully at what you are buying and buyer beware.

Too many petty complaints, FYI, most people who contact me are delighted with their purchases. I work very very hard to find, clean and sell these things, but I’m loosing my mojo by miserable people who don’t read the descriptions and scrutinize the pictures (because you gotta make sure its what you THINK/WANT IT TO BE, bro).

Truthfully it was one BIG REPUBLICAN Grandpa (I googled him).

So, No Refunds. For now. We will see if that helps, or destroys my business.

 

 

Book pages

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An affordable way to get great art is to frame a great illustration from a beloved book. I do it in my home and some pictures I have had up for years.

My store was started as a way to recycle, reuse beautiful old book illustrations from books that were damaged and unusable.

I had been framing them myself, but haven’t found a way to make that pay for itself, so now I mostly offer up the page, from a beautiful, damaged book, that you can frame yourself. It’s inexpensive and you can customize it.

Going Vintage

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I have been stockpiling many treasures from my adventure shopping trips and wanted to add them to the store. Here are a few I just put up. Nothing here is worth a million dollars, but I’m not selling them for very much. These items are things that can help personalize a room. They have character and style and are unique. I love Target and Ikea and the other big stores, but you also need to inject something personal and distinctive. The puzzle has great graphics, and is in a sealed box. That would look cool in a bookcase. For the scissor fanatic collectors here are a pair, almost mint, in box. The globe looks distinguished in an office, and this puzzle would look super cute in a kids room. As would the tea set. I don’t think anything is listed over $10. More things to come, so check out my store if you are interested:

gotchachacha.etsy.com

Behind the Scenes

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Behind the scenes of the brain factory here at GotchaChaCha. First I am showing off my new soft light boxes, which hopefully will make my product photo’s look better.

Then you see a table of the journals I have put together in  search of ways to utilize old books. Nothing quite work, sadly. It has been a while since I have looked at them, so I wanted to see what I had done with fresh eyes. Back to the drawing board! Hope to get something figured out to put in the store.