BookBurglar

Book Buying Guides

Practical, no-nonsense guides for readers and collectors

How to Identify a First Edition

Number lines, edition statements, publisher quirks, points of issue — and why the dust jacket holds most of the value.

Book Condition Grades, Explained

What Fine, Very Good, and Good actually mean, how dust jackets are graded separately, and how condition maps to price.

The Best Places to Buy Used Books Online

An honest comparison of ThriftBooks, Biblio, AbeBooks, BetterWorldBooks, Bookshop.org, Powell's, and eBay — who each is right for.