The Pleasures of the Used Text: Buying, Selling and Savouring Collectible Books

The popular value of used books reveals insights into the material pleasures of consumption. Focusing on a collectible book genre, we explore how material practices, such as collecting, gift giving, and inscribing, create meaning for consumers. We analyze the materiality of these used texts, including ‘inscriptions’ and previous owner’s marginalia – written annotations, marks, and notes left in the pages – and discuss responses from eBay vendors selling Peter Pauper Press books. We explore the aesthetic and temporal dimensions of books via three key aspects of their appeal: 1) marginalia; 2) collectibility; and 3) material pleasures.



Citation:

Janet Borgerson and Jonathan Schroeder (2007) ,"The Pleasures of the Used Text: Buying, Selling and Savouring Collectible Books", in E - European Advances in Consumer Research Volume 8, eds. Stefania Borghini, Mary Ann McGrath, and Cele Otnes, Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 111-112.

Authors

Janet Borgerson, University of Exeter, UK
Jonathan Schroeder, University of Exeter, UK



Volume

E - European Advances in Consumer Research Volume 8 | 2007



Share Proceeding

Featured papers

See More

Featured

‘But Screw the Little People, Right?’ Case of the Commercialization of Reward-Based Crowdfunding

Natalia Drozdova, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration, Norway

Read More

Featured

Powerful Buy Time: Why Social Power Leads to Prioritizing Time over Money

Myungjin Chung, University of Texas at Arlington
Ritesh Saini, University of Texas at Arlington

Read More

Featured

Does a Blurry Background Make a High Roller? The Effects of Blurry versus Sharp Backgrounds on Consumers’ Risk-Taking Behavior

Yoonho Jin, INSEAD, Singapore
Amitava Chattopadhyay, INSEAD, Singapore

Read More

Engage with Us

Becoming an Association for Consumer Research member is simple. Membership in ACR is relatively inexpensive, but brings significant benefits to its members.