Book auction builds following

CNY Business Journal (1996+), Mar 25, 2005 by Tampone, Kevin

ITHACA - "Book people," as David Hall calls them, are a unique breed.

"Book people are tenacious people," he says. "They will endure a lot to find and collect books. They will travel. Book people will find you."

That's why Hall wasn't too worried about attracting business when he opened CNY Book Auctions, an auction house focusing specifically on books and other types of paper collectibles. The business, located at 1429 Danby Road, had its first auction Jan. 23 and is now drawing about 100 to 150 people per auction.

People from as far away as Connecticut have attended the events, and Hall has even received calls from as far away as Maryland and Delaware. A typical auction has 2,000 to 5,000 books for sale, Hall says.

The events take place about every three weeks, but that may soon escalate to every two weeks because of demand, Hall says. CNY Book Auction's next auction is April 17.

Hall sold used and rare books on the Internet for five years, before starting his own company. He got into the field after running an antique store in the Ithaca area.

"I was really drawn to the books while I was doing that," he says. "It just appealed to me."

As of now, Hall is CNY Book Auctions' only full-time employee, but he has six or seven part-timers who work during auctions and auction preparation. Most of the books for sale so far have come from bookstores and private dealers liquidating their stocks, Hall says.

He anticipates much of his supply will also come from estate sales and libraries.

The 5,000-square-foot auction house includes a gallery area, the auction theater, and warehouse space.

Among some of the rarer books that have been sold at Hall's auctions so far are early editions of "The Prince and the Pauper," "Tom Sawyer," and "The Hound of the Baskervilles."

Central New York is an excellent environment for a business like CNY Book Auctions, Hall says.

"I consider this the Book Belt of New York," he says. "It's staggering how many book stores we have here. There's a big academic influence here. There [are] a lot of people who read here. It's a good environment to buy in terms of quantity of what's available. It seems there's room for someone to provide this kind of service."

Book collecting, buying, and selling is also a growing industry, Hall adds.

"It's become a lot more popular," he says. "A lot of books out there that are discarded have value. People are starting to recognize that."

Hall is projecting first-year revenues of $50,000 to $100,000.