Book collecting sits within a large and changing book economy. In 2024, the U.S. publishing industry generated $32.5 billion in aggregate revenue, while France’s used-book market was estimated at €211 million to €351 million in 2022. The figures below show where collectors’ interests overlap with trade publishing, resale, literary genres, and the antiquarian book trade.
Contents
- The scale of publishing
- Print, digital, and audio formats
- Retail channels and collector access
- The French used-book market
- Prices, units, and sales channels
- Genres in new and used purchases
- Antiquarian bookselling organizations
The scale of publishing
The Association of American Publishers’ AAP StatShot Annual Report 2024 places total U.S. publishing-industry revenue at $32.5 billion in 2024, a 4.1% increase from 2023. Trade books, the segment most directly connected to general readers and many collectors, generated $21.2 billion, up 4.4% year over year.
Other publishing segments were also substantial. PreK-12 instructional materials generated $5.3 billion in 2024, increasing 5.1%. Higher-education course materials generated $4.3 billion, up 1.8%. Professional books generated $1.4 billion, up 2.5%, and university presses generated $350 million, up 3.1%.
These categories describe publishing revenue rather than the value of private collections or individual rare-book sales. They are useful context: collecting exists within a broad supply system that includes mass-market trade titles, scholarly books, professional works, and university-press publications.
| U.S. publishing segment, 2024 | Revenue | Change from 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Total publishing industry | $32.5 billion | +4.1% |
| Trade books | $21.2 billion | +4.4% |
| PreK-12 instructional materials | $5.3 billion | +5.1% |
| Higher-education course materials | $4.3 billion | +1.8% |
| Professional books | $1.4 billion | +2.5% |
| University presses | $350 million | +3.1% |
Print, digital, and audio formats
Print formats accounted for 50.5% of total U.S. publishing revenue in 2024, according to the AAP report. Within the trade segment, hardback and paperback revenue together accounted for 72.9% of trade revenue. Hardbacks reached $7.9 billion, up 3.6%, while paperbacks reached $7.8 billion, up 3.2%.
The format mix is important for collectors because physical editions carry attributes that digital products do not: binding, dust jackets, publication statements, illustrations, and condition. The revenue figures do not measure collectible scarcity, but they do show the continuing commercial weight of physical books.
Digital formats accounted for 14% of total publishing revenue in 2024, and digital revenue rose 11.4%. Digital audio was the fastest-growing named format in the supplied figures, reaching $2.4 billion after a 22.5% increase. eBook revenue reached $2.1 billion, up 1.5%.
Over the five-year period covered by the AAP report, digital audio revenue grew 78.1%, while eBook revenue grew 2.0%. Within trade revenue, digital formats represented 21.2% in 2024. These figures distinguish the broader reading market from the physical-object market that many collectors pursue.
Retail channels and collector access
Publisher sales through online retail totaled $12 billion in 2024. Within that online-retail total, digital formats accounted for 34.5% of revenue and print formats for 57.1%. Instructional materials represented 6.5%, while physical audio or other formats represented 1.9%.
Physical retail revenue reached $6.2 billion in 2024, up 3.3%. Over the five-year period covered by the AAP report, physical retail revenue grew 48.0%. Within trade specifically, physical retail revenue reached $4.7 billion, up 4.3%.
Trade online retail revenue was nearly $11 billion in 2024, an 11.0% increase. Over the same five-year period, trade online retail revenue grew 28.5%. Online and physical channels therefore coexist: online retail is larger for trade revenue in these figures, while physical retail remains a multibillion-dollar route to printed books.
For a collector, channel statistics are not the same as availability statistics. They do not identify first editions, signed copies, association copies, or condition. They do show the commercial infrastructure through which ordinary copies and potential future collectibles enter circulation.
The French used-book market
The Ministère de la Culture and SOFIA’s Livre d’occasion 2023 estimated the French market for printed new books aimed at consumers at between €2.6 billion and €3.6 billion in 2022. The French used-book market was estimated at between €211 million and €351 million in the same year.
The report presents more than one estimate for some measures. One estimate says the used-book market grew an average of 3% per year over the previous 10 years; an alternate estimate says 9% per year. One estimate describes growth of 30% from 2014 to 2022, while another says the market doubled over that period. A long-series estimate puts growth at 44% from 2012 to 2022.
These differences should remain visible rather than being blended into a single number. They reflect alternate estimates in the cited report, not a basis for claiming one definitive growth rate. The same caution applies to market share: used books represented 8% of spending on printed books in 2022 in one panel and 9% in an alternate panel. Another estimate put used books at about 7% of total book-market spending, while an alternate estimate put the share at 9%.
Prices, units, and sales channels
The French report placed the usual average purchase price for a used book between €4 and €4.50. The usual average purchase price for a new printed book was between €10.80 and €11.30. It described used books as bought at an average ratio of 2.5 times cheaper than new printed books.
Price alone does not establish collectibility. A low average used-book price can coexist with much higher prices for scarce, signed, early, or unusually well-preserved copies. Still, the comparison helps explain why used books can support discovery, reading, and collection-building at different budget levels.
The 2022 French used-book market was distributed across several channels. Peer-to-peer sales represented almost 30% of purchased units. Internet sales through unidentified sites represented more than one quarter of units. Historic marketplaces, including Amazon, eBay, Rakuten, and Cdiscount, represented one tenth of units. Other physical channels represented around one fifth, bookshops about one tenth, and large general retailers less than 5%.
Spending shares differed from unit shares. Historic marketplaces accounted for more than 15% of used-book spending, while other unidentified Internet sellers accounted for more than 30%. Bookshops and large general retailers captured slightly more spending share than unit share. This suggests that channel comparisons should specify whether they measure copies purchased or money spent.
Genres in new and used purchases
The French report also compared printed-new-book purchases with used-book purchases across 2018–2022. Literary works made up 28% of printed-new-book purchases but 54% of used-book purchases. That is a 26-percentage-point difference between the two purchase patterns.
Comics, manga, and graphic novels represented 18% of printed-new-book purchases and 10% of used-book purchases. Youth books represented 21% of new-book purchases and 14% of used-book purchases. Humanities and technical books were about 5% of both new and used printed-book purchases.
| Category | Printed-new-book purchases | Used-book purchases |
|---|---|---|
| Literary works | 28% | 54% |
| Comics, manga, and graphic novels | 18% | 10% |
| Youth books | 21% | 14% |
| Humanities and technical books | About 5% | About 5% |
For collectors, the literary-work share is the clearest difference in this comparison. It does not prove that literary titles are more valuable, nor does it describe every country’s collecting habits. It does show that literary works formed a much larger share of used-book purchases than of printed-new-book purchases in this French measurement covering 2018–2022.
Antiquarian bookselling organizations
Association membership figures offer a view of the professional network around antiquarian books. The Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America (ABAA) was established in 1949 and has over 450 members in the United States. ABAA says its average member has been in the antiquarian book business for more than 20 years, and its quarterly e-newsletter subscriber list was 1,200 and growing.
The Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association (ABA) publishes that it has over 220 members. In the ABA’s 2023 Membership Survey, 91% of members said they engaged with the office, 93% were happy with the bulletin, and 95% read the bi-annual newsletter.
The same survey recorded participation in several fairs: 54% participated in Firsts, 50% in Chelsea, 22% in Edinburgh, and 38% in Firsts Online. Chelsea Fair was preferred by 49% of members, while 44% preferred Firsts Fair. Only 17.4% felt the association needed a new fair; 82.6% did not.
Cost and logistics were common reasons for skipping fairs. The survey says 25.8% cited exhibiting costs and 25.8% cited shipping or logistics. Members also identified possible educational interests: 52.6% wanted a social-media seminar and 26.3% wanted a photography seminar.
The survey’s satisfaction results were distributed across five responses: 38.7% were very satisfied, 22.7% satisfied, 24% neutral, 10.7% unsatisfied, and 4% very unsatisfied. Separately, 96% felt YABS was a positive addition to the calendar, and 80.3% thought the subscription was good value for money.
Together, these figures describe an organized trade with established associations, fairs, newsletters, and member services. They do not quantify the value of private collections or predict which books will appreciate. They do show the scale and structure of the professional community that helps connect collectors with antiquarian books.