So happy for you. Has been wonderful to get to share this journey with you. The comment about a stranger understanding reminds me of the time years ago when I was in the Army stationed in Germany. Inside a fenced area out in the woods was a square made of rocks. There was a sign that I couldn't read...but I took a picture and had it translated. I learned it was the base of a Roman watchtower. It turned out that I had been pulling guard duty on the same ground where Roman soldier had served sentry duty over 2,000 years earlier. I still get goosebumps knowing that...
Thank you for being transparent about your love for books, while earning money for a young family! I am so happy that you are enjoying your passion and offering your clients these awesome books! Be blessed.
I have been a follower of your UA-cam videos since last spring. I must say that your openness and honesty in both a personal and professional way has been so refreshing. Your videos are one of the highlights of my Sunday morning. I am delighted that your business is growing and that you are doing well. I wish for you in the coming year that your business will flourish and that you and your family will have an abundance of health and good fortune. Happy new year to you all.
Congratulations on your hard work. Thanks for your information which encouraged me to buy 2 signed copies to encourage my granddaughter. Please continue to share information . Good luck to you and best wishes to you and your family.
Well said. Proud of what you have accomplished so far this past year and looking forward to the journey ahead. Godspeed and a Happy New Year's Tom and your family!
Your passion emanates from you and I cannot help but respond positively to that. For as long as this channel exists, I will be here, learning. And may even one day by a book Thank you! And here's to a prosperous, adventurous new year!
I am coming to the end of my business career and know from experience what it is like to have sleepless nights and endless worries that my business might not succeed. 44 years later, those worries still surface once in a while, which is not a bad thing as it helps to concentrate the mind. I now have a very successful business, so it was all worth the effort. My advice to you is to persevere and have faith in your own abilities and if you continue to do this, hopefully you will achieve your ambitions. Well done so far and all the very best for 2025 :)
"Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now" You did. It does. Thrilled for you. Ps: esp loved the lecture.
I’ve followed you since the beginning and love your videos! Yes, great success is definitely down to the agency of others and not just yourself Tom - so let’s appreciate them fully! Your greatest agency is your wife and family - who undoubtedly give you unfailing support and love while you’re working. She wasn’t mentioned in your gratefulness for your success and I’m hoping you have not been dismissive and just remissive only. Please acknowledge her publicly as you did Sienna, and us, your viewers. Thank you for your wonderful videos, but please - I’d like to see more appreciation for mothers looking after children while husbands follow their passions!! 🙏😍💕
You will be surely pleased to know that as a result of watching your videos I now have two 19th century transport-related leather-bound books, and a series of four, small, French-related volumes dating from 1818. Not hugely expensive, and I didn’t realise at the start of the year that I needed them, but oh, how pleasurable to have them in my collection. All the very best for 2025.
I've been folling your youtube channel for several month now without realising it was your first year in business. What a year it has been for you! Looking forward to seeing the new heights you will soar to in 2025! All the best to you and your family in the coming year.
I am so glad that I found someone whose love for books can be so inspiring and informative. I’ve learned a lot in just the few months I’ve been watching your channel. Here’s to a great 2025!
I've been watching these videos of yours since I first saw a "short". I do love reading, and as a archaeologist I do like old things. I think you should keep up the good work, and don't underestimate what impact your videos and enthusiasm have contributed to your success. Happy new years! Best regards from Norway.
Tom, what a great peek at how your business has progressed in its first year. By any measures, your scary start with limited financial resources and no existing stock was successfully overcome by the passion and dedication you have for your craft……one of the many reasons I enjoy your channel! Thank you for sharing! Wishing you much success and happiness in 2025!
I have a desire to open a bookstore... your experience and obvious passion is giving both insights and inspiration. Keep it up man and congratulations on doing what you love!
Cheers to your success this year. Love watching your updates and learning more about the books you are buying selling. A very refreshing outlook on the subjects your covering. Good luck in your first full year of business ahead. 😊
Wow Tom, this is a fascinating and super honest video! I love the full year round up and so amazed at how the business has grown each month. Keep up the great work!
Even for someone who definitely knew his trade from the beginning and had the right connections, that's really impressive. "Great success is in the agency of others" is the kind of thing you can only legitimately say when you have yourself done a lot. And you definitely earned the right to say it. Congratulation for that astounding year and best wishes for the next !
Is the antiquarian book business generally dealers selling to other dealers until an item ends up in the hands of a collector at some markup? I'm more familiar with the general used books business but I'm fascinated with the rare book trade and how an item can exchange hands multiple times, presumably with some profit to the dealers. Is the crux of the business then knowing "I personally know customer X or customer Y who would like this and I can possibly sell this to". I've gone to the NYC antiquarian book fair a few times and loved hearing deals being made between booksellers.
Booksellers often buy from each other, but for the most part it’s a very small margin deal when we do so. E.g. I see a bookseller has a book my customer wants for say £250. I’ll try and cut a deal with the dealer so I can pass it onto my customer for £250 or less
I can imagine the incredible feeling of someone in five hundred years from now, holding a beaux bought, managed, and sold by Tom Ayling himself, long ago. It will be in the streets of a city, with beautiful picturesque boutiques around, a fine day in march.
Greetings from Australia. I enjoyed this video. Best of luck in 2025. Your best video, and my favourite, is the one where you revealed the beautiful book given by a bookbinder to his fiance prior to going to war. What a sad story! Did you keep that book yourself? I couldn't part with it. Thanks again.
Tom- It is still cheaper than start-up costs for a new restaurant. You might as well flush the money down a toilet if you ever want to start a restaurant.
In Bulgaria you can buy the whole accursed kings series for 14 leva = 7 pound. Here you can be poor for playstation or Nintendo but you can always have books. The new books are 15 pound at most and after half year will be the half of this price second hand and will be in very good condition
You had to pay cost of items, sales tax, and income tax on 770 books and still paying yourself and growing the company. How does someone find that many first edition/rare/antiquarian books at are so cheap that you can do that?
Would you recommend others to consider the rare book trade? And for advice, what would be the most important thing one should do before venturing into the trade?
So in 9 months you spent a rather sparse 2,000 Pounds but managed to convert the final spend into 263,000 Pounds. I'd say that, monumental worries aside, your business acumen is fairly sound Tom. Good luck for 2025.
Gran and I are losing hope Mick, losing hope of ever hearing you sing with Simply Red again. Every few days there's another video about the money you've made from selling those fuddy duddy old books, with not a word to the Simply Red fans who I know are becoming despondent. Your little book hobby is all very well Mick, but it's us fans who have got you there. We are losing faith in you Mick. Ps. And what do you mean "My name is Tom " ??? Is Simply Red over then ?? Just tell us ?!?
I really appreciate your efforts! Could you help me with something unrelated: I have a SafePal wallet with USDT, and I have the seed phrase. (alarm fetch churn bridge exercise tape speak race clerk couch crater letter). Could you explain how to move them to Binance?
Tom, it has been a joy to watch your business and channel grow. Here’s to many more years of viewing!
Thank you my friend!
So happy for you. Has been wonderful to get to share this journey with you.
The comment about a stranger understanding reminds me of the time years ago when I was in the Army stationed in Germany. Inside a fenced area out in the woods was a square made of rocks. There was a sign that I couldn't read...but I took a picture and had it translated.
I learned it was the base of a Roman watchtower. It turned out that I had been pulling guard duty on the same ground where Roman soldier had served sentry duty over 2,000 years earlier. I still get goosebumps knowing that...
Good luck, Tom! Happy New Year and all the best to you!
Thank you for being transparent about your love for books, while earning money for a young family! I am so happy that you are enjoying your passion and offering your clients these awesome books! Be blessed.
I have been a follower of your UA-cam videos since last spring. I must say that your openness and honesty in both a personal and professional way has been so refreshing. Your videos are one of the highlights of my Sunday morning. I am delighted that your business is growing and that you are doing well. I wish for you in the coming year that your business will flourish and that you and your family will have an abundance of health and good fortune. Happy new year to you all.
Lol....if you don't know him by now! 😂
Not bad for a 2k start 😊. Onwards and upwards
We'll keep going in 2025!
I may not be in the market for antique books, but I love seeing and hearing about them. Thanks for the entertaining videos!
Amazing vid and incredibly insightful! What a great way to round out the year, Tom!
Thank you Richard!
Congratulations on your hard work. Thanks for your information which encouraged me to buy 2 signed copies to encourage my granddaughter. Please continue to share information . Good luck to you and best wishes to you and your family.
Well said. Proud of what you have accomplished so far this past year and looking forward to the journey ahead. Godspeed and a Happy New Year's Tom and your family!
Your passion emanates from you and I cannot help but respond positively to that. For as long as this channel exists, I will be here, learning. And may even one day by a book
Thank you! And here's to a prosperous, adventurous new year!
Well done!
I am loving your videos and story. Best wishes for the future.
I am coming to the end of my business career and know from experience what it is like to have sleepless nights and endless worries that my business might not succeed. 44 years later, those worries still surface once in a while, which is not a bad thing as it helps to concentrate the mind. I now have a very successful business, so it was all worth the effort. My advice to you is to persevere and have faith in your own abilities and if you continue to do this, hopefully you will achieve your ambitions. Well done so far and all the very best for 2025 :)
"Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now"
You did.
It does.
Thrilled for you.
Ps: esp loved the lecture.
I found you on TikTok but I'm so glad to have found you here. I love this channel, and I'm so excited to see you continue to grow and prosper
I’ve followed you since the beginning and love your videos! Yes, great success is definitely down to the agency of others and not just yourself Tom - so let’s appreciate them fully! Your greatest agency is your wife and family - who undoubtedly give you unfailing support and love while you’re working. She wasn’t mentioned in your gratefulness for your success and I’m hoping you have not been dismissive and just remissive only. Please acknowledge her publicly as you did Sienna, and us, your viewers. Thank you for your wonderful videos, but please - I’d like to see more appreciation for mothers looking after children while husbands follow their passions!! 🙏😍💕
Great video 🎉 watching it bit by bit at the airport
I had no clue you started this year! It really shows what you can do with a small savings, knowledge, and character. Gives me hope
You will be surely pleased to know that as a result of watching your videos I now have two 19th century transport-related leather-bound books, and a series of four, small, French-related volumes dating from 1818. Not hugely expensive, and I didn’t realise at the start of the year that I needed them, but oh, how pleasurable to have them in my collection. All the very best for 2025.
I've been folling your youtube channel for several month now without realising it was your first year in business. What a year it has been for you! Looking forward to seeing the new heights you will soar to in 2025! All the best to you and your family in the coming year.
Holy crap! What a gamble! So excited to see where you go next!
I am so glad that I found someone whose love for books can be so inspiring and informative. I’ve learned a lot in just the few months I’ve been watching your channel. Here’s to a great 2025!
An incredible journey and accomplishment! May God's blessings be on your business and family in the new year and many more!
I have loved seeing this journey and will be along for the ride in the new year❤
Thank you for loving books, Tom. And for telling the world.
I've been watching these videos of yours since I first saw a "short". I do love reading, and as a archaeologist I do like old things. I think you should keep up the good work, and don't underestimate what impact your videos and enthusiasm have contributed to your success.
Happy new years! Best regards from Norway.
Tom, what a great peek at how your business has progressed in its first year. By any measures, your scary start with limited financial resources and no existing stock was successfully overcome by the passion and dedication you have for your craft……one of the many reasons I enjoy your channel! Thank you for sharing! Wishing you much success and happiness in 2025!
I have a desire to open a bookstore... your experience and obvious passion is giving both insights and inspiration. Keep it up man and congratulations on doing what you love!
I have enjoyed this journey you have taken, iv watched you from the start, I wish you more success , I will keep watching this journey.
Cheers to your success this year. Love watching your updates and learning more about the books you are buying selling. A very refreshing outlook on the subjects your covering. Good luck in your first full year of business ahead. 😊
It's all in the buying, isn't it? You had to know what you were doing.
Indeed! Only one or two mistakes early on would have been pretty fatal
So educating oneself is foremost. How best to do that without apprenticeship? @tomwayling
Wow Tom, this is a fascinating and super honest video! I love the full year round up and so amazed at how the business has grown each month. Keep up the great work!
That was an excellent video, thank you Tom, I look forward to watching your business continue to grow in 2025 and beyond!
Well done Tom..
Best wishes for 2025. May you and your business prosper.
Even for someone who definitely knew his trade from the beginning and had the right connections, that's really impressive. "Great success is in the agency of others" is the kind of thing you can only legitimately say when you have yourself done a lot. And you definitely earned the right to say it. Congratulation for that astounding year and best wishes for the next !
Congratulations. You are off to a great start!
Such a journey so far. Wishing you all the best in 2025, Tom
Dear Tom. I love your content so much. Your passion and dedication is truly splendid. All the best in 2025!
Hard work pays off eventually. Well done!
Is the antiquarian book business generally dealers selling to other dealers until an item ends up in the hands of a collector at some markup? I'm more familiar with the general used books business but I'm fascinated with the rare book trade and how an item can exchange hands multiple times, presumably with some profit to the dealers. Is the crux of the business then knowing "I personally know customer X or customer Y who would like this and I can possibly sell this to". I've gone to the NYC antiquarian book fair a few times and loved hearing deals being made between booksellers.
Booksellers often buy from each other, but for the most part it’s a very small margin deal when we do so. E.g. I see a bookseller has a book my customer wants for say £250. I’ll try and cut a deal with the dealer so I can pass it onto my customer for £250 or less
What a wondrous year full of spectacular works…📚
Very much looking forward to seeing those unique Papal bindings…
That is a lot of money Big Dog !😳
I enjoy these videos. Thanks
I can imagine the incredible feeling of someone in five hundred years from now, holding a beaux bought, managed, and sold by Tom Ayling himself, long ago. It will be in the streets of a city, with beautiful picturesque boutiques around, a fine day in march.
Starting with 2k and basicly just being a flipper, turning it into 30k+ after taxes, is amazing.
Keep smashing it mate.
Funny I am not a reader but love your videos congratulations on your on going success 👏
Love your videos!
Greetings from Australia. I enjoyed this video. Best of luck in 2025.
Your best video, and my favourite, is the one where you revealed the beautiful book given by a bookbinder to his fiance prior to going to war.
What a sad story!
Did you keep that book yourself? I couldn't part with it.
Thanks again.
Tom- It is still cheaper than start-up costs for a new restaurant. You might as well flush the money down a toilet if you ever want to start a restaurant.
Interesting 🤔
In Bulgaria you can buy the whole accursed kings series for 14 leva = 7 pound. Here you can be poor for playstation or Nintendo but you can always have books. The new books are 15 pound at most and after half year will be the half of this price second hand and will be in very good condition
My dream job.
As student,I prefered bought old books than 3 meals and a warm appartement.
It ain't what you spent, It's What You Sold -- and the net net.
Tolkien is the patron saint of booksellers
You had to pay cost of items, sales tax, and income tax on 770 books and still paying yourself and growing the company. How does someone find that many first edition/rare/antiquarian books at are so cheap that you can do that?
How many books do you take on consignment?
Would you recommend others to consider the rare book trade? And for advice, what would be the most important thing one should do before venturing into the trade?
I too want to spend 250k on books.
😊
So in 9 months you spent a rather sparse 2,000 Pounds but managed to convert the final spend into 263,000 Pounds.
I'd say that, monumental worries aside, your business acumen is fairly sound Tom. Good luck for 2025.
This channel should have more subscribers.
I wish I could have contributed to your total earnings, but you can't exactly control what books come across your desks.😅
Gran and I are losing hope Mick, losing hope of ever hearing you sing with Simply Red again. Every few days there's another video about the money you've made from selling those fuddy duddy old books, with not a word to the Simply Red fans who I know are becoming despondent. Your little book hobby is all very well Mick, but it's us fans who have got you there. We are losing faith in you Mick.
Ps. And what do you mean "My name is Tom " ???
Is Simply Red over then ??
Just tell us ?!?
I really appreciate your efforts! Could you help me with something unrelated: I have a SafePal wallet with USDT, and I have the seed phrase. (alarm fetch churn bridge exercise tape speak race clerk couch crater letter). Could you explain how to move them to Binance?
For God`s sake.....stop waving your hands about!
Tom, thank you! I don't feel as bad for dropping $300 on Pokemon cards now.
I’m a professional enabler
@@tomwayling In all seriousness, your channel and what you do is fascinating. Have a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year.