Custom Rare Book Dealer BigCommerce Theme
Catalog imports, bibliographic fields and institutional accounts
Most rare book dealers keep their real inventory in a catalog file that took twenty years to write, with every description, collation note and point of issue typed out by hand. Rebuilding that one listing at a time is nobody's idea of a good winter. BigCommerce takes it as a bulk import and Foxco builds a custom rare book dealer BigCommerce theme to display it properly: custom fields for edition, binding, condition, provenance and references, filters by subject, period and author and tax-exempt customer groups for the libraries and universities that buy from you. Printed catalogs get their own pages. Your catalog gets that home for $999 installed and configured on your BigCommerce store.
Twenty years of descriptions online by Friday.
Let's get to work.
Contact us today.
Built for Rare Book Dealers
- 01Bulk catalog imports from your existing inventory file
- 02Custom fields for edition, binding, provenance and references
- 03Filters by subject, period, author and price
- 04Tax-exempt accounts for libraries and universities
- 05Catalog pages that mirror your printed lists
- 06Inquiry form on every listing for condition questions
Rare Book Dealer theme questions
Is the design my own or a shared template?
Your own. Foxco's BigCommerce framework for antiquarian dealers gets built out with your brand, your catalog structure and the pages collectors and librarians check first.
How long does the build take?
It's 7-10 days from the time your logo, sample photos, inventory file and copy reach us. Rush work depends on our bandwidth.
Can I bring in my existing catalog without retyping it?
Usually, yes. BigCommerce bulk imports take a spreadsheet with custom fields for edition, binding and condition. Converting an older database format into that spreadsheet can be quoted as a custom project.
Can libraries order without paying sales tax?
Yes. Institutions can go into a BigCommerce customer group set up for tax-exempt purchases once their certificates are on file. Purchase orders or approval steps would be a custom project.
After the books themselves, that catalog file is the most valuable thing in the shop. Every word of it should come across intact and sit on the page the way a careful collector reads a description: edition first, then condition, then the small notes that make a copy worth owning.
Descriptions with proper fields
Each listing has custom fields for edition, printing, binding, jacket condition, provenance and bibliographic references. Collectors filter by subject, period, author and price, which means the person hunting a first printing of a particular title lands on it without paging through the travel narratives and sporting books. New acquisitions can be flagged on arrival.
Institutions that buy quietly
Libraries and universities sign in to a customer group set up for tax-exempt purchases. Special collections staff can order a pamphlet or a small archive without a round of emails about tax certificates and their orders arrive with the institution details already filled in at checkout. Want lists can come in through a simple form.
Catalogs that live on
Foxco gives each printed catalog its own page with its items listed in order, so a collector holding last spring's list can find number forty-two fast. An inquiry form on every listing invites the question about a faint stain on the endpaper, which is how serious sales start.
Collectors who read every line.
Let's get to work.
Contact us today.
Rare Book Dealer themes on other platforms
Let's build your Rare Book Dealer website
Tell us about your business and we'll get your theme started.