Auction Consignment Agreement: Fill & Download for Free

The success of my first two self-published novels were largely based on my marketing efforts. While writing a good book is key, it has to break out of your circle of friends and family to be successful. I'm going to get a bit specific here, but it's all about paying it forward.Hire a professional editor. This may not be considered a marketing strategy, but a well-written novel sells. Period. So make it part of your publishing plan.Social Media and Website. Have a presence and a platform established before your book releases.Exploit your network of friends. Capitalize on their contacts, anyone with a foot in the door in media/marketing or PR. Do you know anyone who is a credible or reputable author that can review your book? Do you know your local bookseller? The gal in the gift shop at your favorite hotel? Contacts are key. It doesn’t hurt to ask.Be able to describe your book in one concise, strong sentence.Hire a publicist if finances allow. If you can't, write yourself a strong press release and start sending it out. Begin a grass roots campaign locally through radio, TV, magazines, newspapers, etc. Be aggressive. But don’t just ask for things. Be prepared to give something back in return—free books, an interview—so it’s worth everyone’s while.Business cards. You’d be surprised how far these little guys will go. Pass them out wherever you go. Really. Have friends and family do it for you. Leave the cards in places people will find them and be intrigued enough to buy the book. Airplanes. Stuffed in magazines in a doctor’s office. Seriously. My husband did this all the time!Excerpt reviews from reputable sources on your author page, website, and on social media. Word of mouth goes a long way.Goodreads. Utilize their contests to get your book in the hands of readers nationwide or outside the US. Their contests are easy, user friendly, and cost very little.Make yourself available for local charities, raffles and silent auctions. Offer an autographed copy of the book and an evening with the author or a book club appearance and a bottle of wine. Be creative!Contact local bookstores in your area and work out consignment agreements. Or you can check online for the top 100 booksellers nationwide and read into their consignment agreements. Work with bookstore chains, independent bookstores to tap into sales, promotions and group events.Network.network. network.Are you affiliated with any organizations? Ask them to sponsor a book reading. They can advertise the event. You can fill the room. Everybody wins. Know your market and think about the places that would cater to such a book.Several book sites offer exclusive daily deals. Submit your book to one of these powerhouses, and if you’re selected, you pay a fee based on the subscriber base (by genre). In turn, they will email your book to potential readers in a daily email. It’s an excellent way to get in front of hundreds or thousands of readers.Find the bloggers who are interested in your genre and make an unforgettable pitch.Find a way to support or attend author events and conferences.Build an e-mail database of readers and followers. A newsletter is a terrific way to stay in touch with your audience.On holidays or book birthdays offer discounts to thank your readers and drive sales.And finally,start writing another book! Buzz words I continue to hear are “investment” and“branding.” Don’t get caught up in the numbers game. Get back in the saddle and write again. Houses want to see committed authors invested in writing. Showing dedication to your craft is one way to stand out in a crowded market. That’s brilliant marketing for your earlier works.

eBay is always easiest and fastest, except you will need to ship the items or pay someone to ship them. And eBay will not get you the best price for your wine glasses. eBay buyers are bargain hunters.You could consign them with an antique dealer in your area, or sell them outright. With consignment, the glasses remain yours and the dealer displays and sells them on your behalf. If you go this route, choose a dealer with similar items (hence similar clientele), and check the terms of the consignment agreement to make sure you’re not paying too high of a commission.If they are of good quality, you might be able to consign them to a Bay Area auction house, such as Michaan’s in Alameda, Clars in Oakland, DGW in Santa Clara or Robert Slawinski in Scotts Valley. These auction houses all have appraisal days. Check the web site. If your collection is substantial or valuable enough, you may be able to get an auction company to come to your house to look at the glasses, but this is unusual.If you’re willing to set up a table and sell in a flea market environment, you could do so at antique fairs in many cities in the Bay Area, including the Alameda Point Antiques Faire, the biggest of all, occupying several former runways the first Sunday of every month at what was once the Alameda Naval Air Station.

Update to original answer: Sadly, I did additional research on this book and found many copies seemingly available on eBay for $1000 and below. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone 1ST ED/2 PB Canadian WAND error.Given this, it's still worth doing some research, and checking with a high end auction house to determine the current value of your copy of the book. There are obviously variations of the error (see Nigel Burwood’s answer to this question). But if it is actually worth something in the under $1000 range, eBay probably makes sense. You'll pay much lower commission.I have left my original answer below since it might be useful if your book is indeed one of the high value variations, or to others considering selling through an auction house.Original answer:User-11454929810837852848 is exactly right on this one. Only a high end auction house like Bonhams, Sotheby’s, or Christies will get you full value for a book of such high value, and protect you from disreputable people who would aim to cheat you or steal your book. (Yes, I’m sorry, those kinds of things can happen.) Forget eBay, Amazon, Craigslist or other ways of selling it.All of these auction houses have book specialists. For example, here is Sotheby’s page on its Books and Manuscripts department. You can start by emailing the auction house’s book expert (just one of them if more than one is listed) indicating you have a copy of the book, its condition and that you’d like to consign it. After that you’d be asked to send pictures, and to sign a consignment agreement and finally to mail the book to the auction house (or in the case of something this valuable, possibly hand deliver it to the auction house if they have a location not too far from you. Ask them how they handle transportation of high value items.) You can also check to see when the next book auction is coming up and if it is the right kind of auction for Harry Potter. (Some auctions specialize in one thing, like scientific books or 19th Century works.)There are some positives and negatives associated with working with one of these kinds of auction houses but the positives outweigh the negatives for an item of this value. The auction house:Has a list of pre-screened collectors who routinely buy books like the one you are selling. They will contact these people individually in some cases to generate interest in the book.Has a marketing budget and prints and mails circulars and catalogs to bidders, as well as advertising in collectors’ magazines.Financially pre-qualifies everyone who signs up for the auction. Bids are contractual obligations, and the auction house will make sure you get paid.Will establish with you a “reserve,” a minimum selling price for the book. This way you are protected if bidding is not up to expectations on auction day.Charge you a seller’s commission of as much as 40%. At 40%, if your book sold for $35,000, you would receive $21,000 and the auction company would take $14,000. This is the biggest drawback of having your book auctioned, but the auction route is still the best for this kind of item.Finally, as the other copies surface, the value will fluctuate and will most likely go down, so I suggest, if you want to sell the book, get in touch with one or more auction houses and get started right away. Good luck!