Allan Adler wrote:
> Some Guy <noemailformethanks@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> writes:
[snip]
>> they will just grab things they think are worthwhile and make a big
>> pile, then go through and check them in more detail, either through
>> technology (e.g. laptops or Amazon scanners) or their own evaluation
>> where they don't trust a rapid glance enough.
>
> What is an Amazon scanner? Where does one get them?
They are little hand-held devices that read a barcode on a book with an
ISBN and displays what the going price is on Amazon. I've seen them in
the hands of people a few times at sales.
I don't know if they are sold by Amazon or a third party, but we
eschewed them for a couple of reasons, one being that we were more
interested in certain pre-ISBN books anyway.
>> Though I have to say that having an iPhone is now
>> going to make it even easier to pick out the good stuff in advance, but
>> also take some of the excitement out of the process. It'll also make
it
>> even harder to find sleepers, as they can be looked up relatively
easily
>> now.
>
> I've heard of iPods but not of iPhones.
You're joking, right?
>How does one use it to pick out
> good stuff?
Nowdays many phones and PDAs have Web browers, but they are usually
mini-browsers which have to cut down drastically on the way information
is displayed, and in some cases cannot display certain sites at all, so
their usefulness for spot-checking prices at book sales is limited.
The iPhone has a full-featured Web browser and is zoomable, so you can
get to many of the other book sites to look up potentially valuable
books and find out what it's worth before plunking down your fifth of a
sawbuck.
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