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Sell & estimate your rare books — AI + expert bookseller
You wish to **sell an antique book** or simply **find out its value before deciding**? Whether you are an heir to a family library, an estate clearer, or a collector looking to downsize your shelves, our service combines a **free AI valuation within 48 hours** and, if you wish, a **firm buyout offer** from our bookshop. Send 3 to 5 photos via the form below: our bibliophile AI (Mistral Pixtral, hosted in France) identifies the work, cross-references recent comparables (eBay, Drouot via Artprice, Vialibri, BnF), and our expert bookseller manually validates each valuation before sending it. You remain **completely free** to sell, refuse our offer, seek other opinions (auctioneers, other booksellers), or sell through your preferred channel.## How it works — from valuation to sale1. **Photograph your book** — cover, title page, copyright/colophon page, edges, any defects. 3 to 5 well-lit photos are sufficient.
2. **Complete the form** in under a minute (name, email, city, photos, context).
3. Our **AI + expert bookseller** will send you a reasoned valuation range within 24 to 48 hours, with 5 clickable comparables and our condition analysis.
4. **If you wish to sell**, we will send you a firm buyout offer (payment by bank transfer or cheque within 7 days of receipt). Otherwise, the valuation remains a free service with no obligation.## Why entrust your sale to us- **Professional bookshop for over 30 years** — member of the Syndicat de la Librairie Ancienne et Moderne (SLAM), specialising in original editions, incunabula, cartography, and illustrated books.
- **Transparent valuation** — we cite all our sources and explain the low/high range based on condition and rarity.
- **Secure payment within 7 days** — bank transfer or cheque upon receipt and physical inspection of the work.
- **Logistics handled for you** — for large lots (complete libraries, estates), we travel within metropolitan France by appointment.
- **No commitment until written agreement** — the valuation remains indicative; you remain 100% free until you sign our buyout sheet.
We buy and appraise all antique and collectible books: incunabula and 16th–18th century books, 19th–20th century first editions, illustrated books (Doré, Grandville, Romantic works), fine bindings, antique maps (Ortelius, Sanson, Bellin), children’s books (Hetzel, Albums du Père Castor), scientific and technical works, colonial and Pacific publications, modern manuscripts, signed copies. Entire libraries and estates are given priority. For rare medieval manuscripts and incunabula, an on-site physical appraisal is strongly recommended.## Appraise or sell your books — the form ## Frequently asked questions — selling vs. appraising
Free AI book estimation
Receive an AI-generated indicative valuation within 24-48h, reviewed by an expert bookseller.
What is the difference between appraising and selling my books with you?
Appraisal is free and non-binding: you receive a market-value range with supporting justification. Sale only proceeds if you accept our firm buyout offer, formalised in a written statement. Many owners request an appraisal solely for insurance, estate distribution, or comparison before selling elsewhere (Drouot, eBay, other dealers)—this is perfectly legitimate and welcome.
How long will it take to receive payment if I decide to sell?
On average, allow 15–21 days in total: 24–48 hours to receive the appraisal, a few days to discuss our buyout offer, then 7 days after physical receipt of the item for verification and bank transfer (or cheque). For large consignments requiring travel, the process may extend to 4–6 weeks depending on logistics.
How will I receive payment for my books?
Your choice: SEPA bank transfer (recommended, within 24 h of item inspection), bank cheque sent by tracked mail, or cash for hand-delivered items under €1,000 (French legal limit). A signed purchase statement serves as your invoice for records or tax purposes.
Can I refuse your buyback offer after the appraisal?
Yes, with no justification or fees required. As long as you have not signed our buyback form, you are 100% free: you can sell elsewhere, keep your books, or seek a second opinion. The appraisal we provided remains valid for approximately 6 months and can be presented to other buyers as an indicative reference.
What happens if my book is exceptionally rare?
For major pieces (verified incunabula, sought-after original editions, manuscripts, or works valued over €10,000), we systematically offer an on-site physical appraisal—at your home or in our premises, free of charge. If the value exceeds our direct purchase capacity, we can also refer you to a partner auctioneer for a sale at auction (Drouot, regional salerooms) to maximize the selling price.
See also our specialized appraisal pages
- Free appraisal of antique books (main page)
- Appraisal of incunabula and 16th-century books
- Appraisal of 19th-century original editions
- Free rare book appraisal (English)
- Kostenlose Buchschätzung (Deutsch)
Where to sell antique books: three options
Before parting with a library, it’s useful to know what each channel will realistically yield.
- Selling to a specialist bookseller (our service): firm offer within 48 hours, immediate payment, and organized collection. You dispose of the entire collection at once, including lower-value volumes that no one else would take.
- Selling at auction: ideal for exceptional pieces, far less so for a standard collection. Expect fees of 20–30%, several months’ wait, and no guarantee on the final sale price.
- Selling online between private individuals: the listed price may be higher, but you’ll handle all photographs, descriptions, inquiries, shipping, and disputes—one book at a time. For a library of several hundred volumes, this means months of work.
Our proposal is straightforward: we buy the entire collection, travel to you at our expense anywhere in France for significant libraries, and you don’t need to sort anything beforehand.
What is the buying price of an antiquarian book?
This is the question most frequently asked, and the honest answer is that there is no fixed scale. The same title can be worth €15 or €8,000 depending on its edition, condition, binding, and provenance. Age, contrary to popular belief, is not the main criterion: a work from 1820 printed in tens of thousands of copies is often worth less than an edition from 1935 printed in just 200 copies on large paper.
A bookseller purchases below the resale price, as they cover storage, cataloguing, photography, and the sometimes years-long wait for a sale on specialised works. In return, the offer is firm, immediate, and applies to the entire collection.
To understand what determines the value of an item, our guide to the seven valuation criteria details each point with illustrative examples.
We buy throughout France
We are based in Paris, at 83 rue La Fayette in the 9th arrondissement, and travel across the country for significant collections, at our own expense and without any obligation on your part. For a few volumes, a photographic appraisal followed by a tracked parcel shipment remains the quickest method.
Common special cases: inherited library, moving house, professional collection liquidation, scholar’s library. In all such cases, do not discard or clean anything before seeking an opinion: well-intentioned interventions cause many books to lose part of their value every year.
