The Internet is made up of thousands of tiny niche markets. Each of these niche’s have specific ways of communicating with each other.
One of the most dynamic markets on the Internet right now is for books and music.
To say that there are dynamic changes taking place in the rare and collectible book market is an understatement.
At one time the market for rare and collectible books consisted of a few hundred well known and highly respected rare book dealers and collectors who slowly and laboriously collected books in their specialty. It wasnt too long ago that collectors wanted depth- collecting every book and piece of ephemera by a particular author or within a particular genre. A collector searching for a particular book gathered dealers catalogs, visited shops in remote corners of the world hoping to come across the book they wanted.
Collecting was a gentlemans game. Dealers carefully cultivated their customers over years, helping them select books that added depth to their collections. Dealers relied on word-of-mouth and reputation to build their business. Dealers, for the most part, specialized. Book collecting was more than a hobby, it was...