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Nov 4, 2009 5:53 PM
by: deadmandancing
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Personal information inside books - how to handle?
Posted:
Nov 2, 2009 10:51 PM
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Hi. Recently I bought 2 books with personal information and don't know how to handle the situations properly. I purchased both items in a thrift store. Book 1 Was inscribed/signed by the author to a friend. She included her phone number and email address. If I scratch out the phone number and email address the book will look bad. But I am sure this book was to a friend and author would not want strangers to have her info.
Book 2. Worth about $100 on Amazon. on the inside of the cover states that it is the property of so and so and if found return to .... gives 1st owners name, address and phone number. I don't know if the owner donated the book to the thrift store or it ended up there another way. I am thinking I should contact the original owner???
I have had several similiar situations with books and so I thought I should ask. If I find personal papers, ect such as banking info inside the books I turn them into the thriftstore manager and let them contact the individual. Any thoughts on how other people are handling these type of situations would be appreciated.
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5,726
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Re: Personal information inside books - how to handle?
Posted:
Nov 2, 2009 10:58 PM
in response to:
littleclaytemple
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Neatly censor the questionable info with a black marker and note it in your comments. (If the ink is likely to soak through to other pages, put something there to block it)
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4,632
From:
Manhattan
Registered:
2/8/06
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Re: Personal information inside books - how to handle?
Posted:
Nov 2, 2009 11:23 PM
in response to:
littleclaytemple
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Don't touch or censor anything!
NO MARKERS ANYWHERE!
The people who gave away these books could have censored them, but they did not.
Imagine F.Scott Fitzgerald wrote something your mother wouldn't like in one of his books that he gave to Dorothy Parker and some idiot at a thrift shop along the way decided to take a black marker to the inscription---DO NOT EVER DO ANYTHING LIKE THAT!
Most of the time, you can discard the secondary owners airline tickets and bookmarks, unless they are well-known, but be careful--you could be discarding essential ephemera that might make a book more valuable. For instance, NEVER discard publisher's requests for reviews or folded up press releases or author photos...
Black out an owner name or address or inscription at your peril!
I have sold common books for nice money because they contained a well-known person's bookplate.
Don't mess with history, even if it means nothing to you at the moment.
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Posts:
430
From:
Mississippi, baby!
Registered:
1/7/09
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Re: Personal information inside books - how to handle?
Posted:
Nov 3, 2009 4:42 AM
in response to:
selg
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I totally hear you, selg, but the OP's concern in the first part is that there is information that may still be current and a way for the unscrupulous to stalk or otherwise hassle the person whose info it is. This is something I have never run into--I have had phone numbers in book, but it usually appears to be of some third party, written down as a reminder, or something, with no last name. I describe that there is a name and ph number on front page or whatever and leave it at that. If I found a book with the author's info, I would be hesitant to list the book, I think. OP, how old is the inscription?
I think either list the book as is, or don't list at all. Do not edit, I don't think. I appreciate your conscientiousness on this matter. Most people aren't so concerned about others.
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21
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2/4/09
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Re: Personal information inside books - how to handle?
Posted:
Nov 3, 2009 9:43 AM
in response to:
deadmandancing
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If you're really concerned about it, call the phone numbers in the books. Maybe they will come back as "disconnected." Or maybe the person at the other end will buy the book back from you (ha).
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1,187
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Re: Personal information inside books - how to handle?
Posted:
Nov 3, 2009 9:57 AM
in response to:
littleclaytemple
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I would not change anything. If a person wanted phone numbers they can get them by the thousands in the phone book. Maybe the phone company should black out the phone numbers and addresses in phone books.
"If I find personal papers, ect such as banking info inside the books I turn them into the thriftstore manager and let them contact the individual."
Just destroy them if they are generic. You call someone up about some personal papers in a book, 6 month's later their identity gets stolen, you are on the suspect list. Some people will claim they KNOW it was you.
Neal
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36
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8/30/09
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Re: Personal information inside books - how to handle?
Posted:
Nov 3, 2009 11:11 AM
in response to:
littleclaytemple
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I'd say that there's a difference between the previous owner's e-mail/phone and the author's inscribed e-mail/phone. I'd take a little more care on the author's info, since that was obviously meant as more of a private thing, and it seems much more likely to be abused by anybody who has the book.
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Posts:
11,729
From:
Happy Almost Thanksgiving
Registered:
2/24/06
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Re: Personal information inside books - how to handle?
Posted:
Nov 3, 2009 11:44 AM
in response to:
argeau
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> Neatly censor the questionable info with a black
> marker and note it in your comments. (If the ink is
> likely to soak through to other pages, put something
> there to block it)
NO NO NO! Do NOT use black marker. ICK. It devalues the book. Use a white-out tape runner pen to White Out the information. Often it blends in so well that it's near invisible, as opposed to great glaring black marks on a page.
I will not purchase a used book with Marker Slashes.
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5,726
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Re: Personal information inside books - how to handle?
Posted:
Nov 3, 2009 11:46 AM
in response to:
selg
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You are assuming that the author of the book is going to achieve some kind of notariety such as that of Fitzgerald, when in reality most authors aren't even a footnote in history and their old personal info adds nothing of value to a book.
I say censor and sell!
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Posts:
2,951
Registered:
10/20/08
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Re: Personal information inside books - how to handle?
Posted:
Nov 3, 2009 11:49 AM
in response to:
littleclaytemple
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The Hippocratic Oath applies here
"Above all do no harm"
Blacking out anything in the book does damage to the book. Any bookseller who does this is a Philistine.
If you feel a need to do something, use the phone number or email address to offer to sell the book back to the owner of the personal info.
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5,726
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Re: Personal information inside books - how to handle?
Posted:
Nov 3, 2009 11:53 AM
in response to:
lakewoodassocia...
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> Blacking out anything in the book does damage to the book.
The books were already damaged when they were written in.
Doesn't anybody buy books just to read anymore or do we all now require that they be pristine in every way? A neat black (or white) line through someone's phone number will in no way detract from getting useful information or entertainment from reading a book.
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Posts:
2,951
Registered:
10/20/08
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Re: Personal information inside books - how to handle?
Posted:
Nov 3, 2009 12:02 PM
in response to:
argeau
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Less is more when it comes to damage.
There are lots of books which are bought to read on AZ, they're the ones which have been sold here 4 and 5 times and sellers complain about the low prices on.
The less damage to a book the more likely it will earn a place of respect on someone's bookshelf, and a decent price for the seller.
Message was edited by:
lakewoodassociates
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Posts:
2
Registered:
11/2/09
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Re: Personal information inside books - how to handle?
Posted:
Nov 3, 2009 4:12 PM
in response to:
littleclaytemple
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Thanks everyone for your thoughts. But what about BOOK NUMBER 2 that I purchased in a thrift store. A 2006 paperback now worth about $100 on Amazon, (worth $15 when new) but the original owner stated that if the book is found please return it to them. They have written in big black letters on the back side of the cover their name, address and phone number and other return information..
I don't know if they donated it or loaned it out and someone else donated it.
How would you handle this situation? Should I contact the original owner and offer it back to them for what I paid for it? About $2.00.
Thanks again.
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Posts:
430
From:
Mississippi, baby!
Registered:
1/7/09
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Re: Personal information inside books - how to handle?
Posted:
Nov 3, 2009 5:26 PM
in response to:
littleclaytemple
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You know, I think these questions are best answered by your own comfort level. Some of us would think nothing of listing these considering that you found them "in the wild," as it were. It isn't like you stole them for profit.
I found a set of great books with the Amazon receipts still in them a bit back, and I did a little online research and determined that the owner had died about a month before, and whoever took care of her estate basically just dumped them. It was clear she cared about these books, but her next-of-kin didn't. I felt a little bad about listing them, but I feel that my buyers will really treasure these books more than her family obviously did.
There are moral quandaries in this biz, as in all others. Do whatever your heart is telling you, but be aware that I, for one, wouldn't look down on you for selling these books as-is.
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15,306
From:
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Re: Personal information inside books - how to handle?
Posted:
Nov 3, 2009 8:05 PM
in response to:
deadmandancing
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I don't understand what the problem was with these books. I've found many books with Amazon receipts in them. I just take it out and toss it.
Dale
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Legend
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Amazonian
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