Now you know where to shop for me during the holiday season.
Written: May 22 '06 (Updated May 22 '06)
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I recently went on a little online shopping trip to find Lemegeton, and was slightly irritated when I saw that Amazon had it for $75.00. I went looking around and discovered this wonderful used/rare book website. Not only did they have my book for a fraction of Amazon’s price, they also had a new, signed edition! Everybody dance! I dug them so much that I asked Joubert to add them to Epinions, and he obliged.
About Weiser Antiquarian
Samuel Weiser originally started a simple, used bookstore on 4th avenue in New York city in 1926. According to the website, “It wasn’t long before Weiser developed into one of the world’s top three antiquarian specialists in Esoteric books.” The store moved around a lot, and even branched out to Maine, but in the early 1990’s (and the rise of the corporate bookstores) they closed their New York store and are now centered an hour south of Portland, Maine. For those of us who don’t live anywhere near the store, you can find Weiser Antiquarian on the web for your shopping convenience at www.weiserantiquarian.com.
What do they carry?
They deal solely with distributing returned copies of the Left Behind series. Just kidding. Weiser Antiquarian specializes in esoteric books. Their concentration is in rare, first editions, and hard to find pieces, offered at reasonable prices. While other websites also sell rare books, I have yet to find one with the extensive selection on this subject that Weiser has. Their stock is almost exclusively hardcover. Here is a tiny sampling of the subjects they carry:
Jung, Zoroaster, Fortean, Eastern Religion, Kabbalah, Krishnamurti, Fortune Telling, Witchcraft, Voodoo, Occult, Freemasonry
I just tossed out a few; the list is well over 100 topics. This is not the website for people just searching for a readable 25th edition copy of a book; it is for collectors, people wanting to purchase a unique gift, those looking for something off the beaten path, and church groups bent on collecting all of these kinds of books for massive bonfires.
The Website
The site is very basic. No flash, no java, no frills. Simple teal and white backgrounds with black, easy to read fonts. When you are already reading books on harnessing evil spirits to do your bidding, you don’t really need a shopping website to do magical things. I have both a Mac and a PC, and had no problem navigating this site with any of the major web browsers like Firefox, IE, or Safari.
Featured books are highlighted across the bottom. The menu bar to the left lets you choose to read about the bookstore, search for a book, or contact them directly. The privacy, terms, security and site map are also easily found right beneath the main links. The browse function is near the upper left, and there is a place to log on if you have an account with them, a quick search feature, and an email feature that I will go into detail about later.
Finding a Book
I had no trouble with either the search feature or the browse feature. When you locate a book and click on the link, the book has its own page with a description, sometimes a photograph, and directly under that is a retelling of the terms and shipping charges should you choose to buy.
They are very particular about the books they describe. While they do not always offer spectacular pictures, they do post extensive write-ups so you know exactly what you are getting. It is almost too much information, but I guess if I am paying over $100.00 for a book I should know all of its dirty secrets. For instance, here is the blurb that follows under a $125.00 book on Egypt:
Hardcover, 8vo, 22 pp of prelims 206 pp, good condition, green cloth, gilt title, etc. to spine, illustrations, slight wear and soiling to cover, minor rubbing to corners and edges, light soiling to page edges, binding loose but still holding, minor browning to pages, pencil notations on a few pages.
They also have a feature that allows you to ask them to look for a title if they do not have it in stock, and notify you if they are able to acquire one.
The Hapless Price Comparison
I put on my hidden camera and decided to do my best Dateline: Undercover impression, but I realized that my computer looked too fat on camera and it wouldn't make for good television, so I scrapped that idea and just started clicking on random titles at the Weiser site via the “browse site” area. My intention was to copy the title of the book onto various online bookstores and do a little price comparison for you because I am that nice. What I ran into a lot were new, trade paperback reprints vs. Weiser Antiquarian’s first editions. Here are three that I managed to find comparable products for:
Witchcraft and Magic in Europe: Ancient Greece and Rome
Paperback
Weiser Antiquarian Books: $16.00 (new condition)
Amazon: $17.49 (was 26.50) (new condition)
Witchcraft Today (Gardner)
hardcover
Weiser Antiquarian Books: $125.00 (good condition, 1956, with original dust jacket)
Amazon: $150.00 (unknown binding, unknown condition)
The Secret King: Karl Maria Wiligut, Himmler's Lord of the Runes
Paperback
Weiser Antiquarian Books: $25.00
www.ravenoir.com: $18.00
So you see that they will not always be cheaper, but I would always like to support a family owned bookstore that has made their business in selling exactly what I am looking for vs. buying from a chain store who couldn’t care less about me, my cats, or my need to find really cool books I hope to one day have in my library. While I really like Ravenoir.com, and found several books on his site that Weiser didn't have, he doesn't generally keep the same selection that Weiser does.
Can you find these titles elsewhere?
Yes, but not always in as good of condition as Weiser offers, or for the same price. While Weiser will show up in other store’s search engines, they have posted the following message: “While you may find our books available on other book search websites, the costs we incur in listing on those websites have made it necessary for us to increase our prices on books that are purchased through them. Please help us keep our prices down by ordering here!”
Buying
If you choose to order the book, you are taken to your standard secure website with basic forms to fill in your information, finalize shipping methods, and enter your credit card number. You can also create an account if you plan to make frequent purchases. They have a phone number (not a toll free number, though) that you can call to place orders via the phone and ask any questions you may have Monday- Friday 10am-4pm est. I was able to call and verify that my copy was indeed signed, although I think I may have hurt someone’s feelings in insinuating that they had misinformed me on the website.
Shipping
They offer standard shipping methods, but let you know that the book rate shipping method can take up to three weeks. They will also insure your book for extra fees.
I received Lemegeton in about five days. It came in a thin box and was completely unscathed and signed by the author as promised.
Return Policy
All books are returnable within ten days of receipt for credit or refund. However, you pay the shipping.
Email Notification Feature
I really like this feature and I know that it is probably standard on many websites, but I will mention it here anyhow. All you do is select a category and send them your email address and they will send you a little email if they acquire anything that fits in this category. What I haven’t gotten is a lot of spam or info on sales, special promotions, or deaths in the family; just once in a while I will get a simple email stating that they just received X book and it is for X amount in X condition.
The Good, the Bad, and the Hapless
Obviously this is a niche market and not everyone will ever have need to shop here. However, for those who are looking to make a rare esoteric book purchase from a reputable company, you need look no further. I hope they continue to stay around, because there aren’t many stores of their kind out there.
If I could ask for anything it would be photographs of at least the cover of the actual book you are buying and possibly photos of the damage for higher priced items. I realize that Weiser Antiquarian Books is a small, independent bookseller, but I think adding this feature would put them ahead of some of the other rare book sellers.
I completely recommend this site to anyone looking to enhance their library.
Recommended:
Yes
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About the Author
Member: Natalie
Location: Portland, OR
Reviews written: 87
Trusted by: 67 members
About Me: Sleep well, weep well, go to the deep well.
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