In our 10th episode Michael and Tom discuss the biggest book purchase of their lifetimes, what makes a book rare or valuable, and the challenges of entering the used book business in the 21st century.

Book Brothers

Our BIGGEST Book Purchase (to date!)

In episode 9, Michael recounts his near-death experience in a wintery maelstrom with a van full of books and Tom provides a breakdown of his recent book trips to St. Louis and Los Angeles.

Book tripping into disaster

Michael and Tom Zubal (The Book Brothers) veer from their usual path and bring on special guest renowned book collector Michael Zinman to set the record straight regarding an important 1990s rescue of tens of thousands of printed artifacts from the New York Public Library. Aside from sharing rare insight and first person experiences with The Brothers, Zinman appears in the recent film "The Booksellers"

Michael Zinman discusses his legendary NY Public Library story

Michael and Tom Zubal discuss 2 local deals that involve rock n' roll lifestyles and several trips hauling the goods as well as a major purchase of several thousand pristine Easton Press books on the East Coast. They also share their thoughts on the movie "The Booksellers"

The art of the book deal in the 21st century - Rock n' Roll, leather, and movies

Michael and Tom Zubal discuss a purchase of 50,000 books on a remote island and chat about scholarly, rare and collectible books

50,000 Books on an Island

Michael and Tom Zubal discuss their recent adventures buying and selling scholarly and rare books. Among other topics, Michael recounts a horrific episode in San Francisco, and Tom discusses the Easton Press market as well as Amazon's refusal to remove the millions of fake, duplicate book pages which deceive customers into spending more than they should

Book Brothers Episode 5

Michael and Tom Zubal discuss the millions of fake book listings on Abebooks.com and then recant their tales of a huge book haul in Northern and Southern California.

Episode 4 - ABEBOOKS' Fake listings & California chaos

Michael and Tom Zubal talk about the ins and outs of life in the book business. Highlights include a chaotic visit to Queens involving several thousand books, an introductory course on BOOKJACKING LEVEL II, a recap of Michael's talk at a seminar on stealing books, and other adventures unique to the Book Brothers!

Book Brothers Episode 3

Tom & Mike discuss the evil known as BOOKJACKING. Find out how you can save lots of money by NOT buying from bookjackers. Also, Tom talks about his most recent buying trip to Los Angeles that netted about 30,000 books.

Book Brothers Episode 2

Between Michael and Tom Zubal, they have over 70 years of experience in the used book business. Zubal Books, founded by their dad, John, in 1961, has been a giant in the scholarly, rare, and out-of-print book business for decades. Now, for the first time, the brothers reveal secrets of the trade, tales of book hauls on the road, and other insights on this ancient vocation. Every episode will educate you on what books are valuable, introduce you to some of the amazing characters that the Zubals have worked with over the years, and just let the boys unload about things in the book trade that make them smile or give them the feelings that their heads may explode!

Book Brothers Episode 1

Michael and Tom Zubal have been in the used book business their entire lives and love to share their experiences of buying books around the country as well as discuss the pitfalls of selling books online at sites like Abebooks.com and Amazon.com

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Book Brothers

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