What and for whom?

In addition to book offers in the catalog I do free booksearches. This service is intended to help you complete your book collection, or acquire rare or out-of-print titles. These searches can be on any topic, and are not limited to CP literature. I'm in touch with antiquarian booksellers, specialized bookscouts and collectors worldwide and several times I was able to locate titles a collector was unsuccessful to find for a long time.

How shall I put it?

The more detailed the description, the better the search result is, of course. I can't help you if you write "my other hobby is cars" or "which books on Ireland are worth reading?". Almost anybody who's into some field is member in some kind of society or fanclub, or at least he knows some (more experienced) fans that can point out some good literature. If you already have books on your topic then look for the bibliographic section. It often contains valuable sources.

If there's only a few books on some topic, perhaps because it's very specific or maybe uncommon, then sometimes I can help without a detailed list. Actually I've been successfull in locating single books or even building complete personal libraries on topics like "iceboating", "the German cockroach Blattella germanica", "Bugatti", "hydrofoils", "Tepuis", or "Charles Darwin" as well as monographs on specific succulent and orchid genera.

However, it's much easier when I get a detailed list with titles and authors. Maybe you are only interested in first or at least "old" editions and not in modern reprints. Or it should be hardcover or a signed copy. Remember that out-of-print means your copy will be second hand -- which condition do you want? Perhaps you even have some idea about the price or at least an upper limit -- all this helps.

What happens after that?

When I finally find something -- this can take a day or a couple of weeks -- I will give you an estimated offer. This is an upper assessment: often it gets cheaper in the end but never more expensive. Now it's you to decide if you want some of the finds or not. If not then the matter's closed or you ask me to find something better or lower priced. Anyway, there's no obligation linked to the search request! On the other hand, if you are interested you give a binding order and I try to get the title(s) for you if it's not already sold to someone else.

Waiting lists

For certain scarce and much sought after titles there are waiting lists set up already. These will be considered first in the present order when such title is found. Like said above there's no obligation to take it and the book would simply be offered to the next in row. Currently there are lists with quite long waiting period for Lowrie I+II, Juniper and Kondo -- these books are hardly to be found.

If you have questions or a search request it's best to send me an eMail or a fax.