WorthPoint® Acquires Licensing Rights for Collector Books Titles from Schroeder Publishing

WorthPoint Corporation today announced it has acquired licensing rights to digitally republish titles from Schroeder Publishing’s Collector Books catalog.

The Collector Books library includes multiple series of specialty antique and collectible guidebooks published from 1970 to 2010, including the iconic Schroeder’s Antiques Price Guide. More than 1,250 volumes on hundreds of collectibles topics are included in the deal.

The Collector Books acquisition doubles the existing content in WorthPoint’s Library. Once all the books are scanned, properly permissioned, and uploaded to WorthPoint.com this year, the company conservatively estimates more than 125,000 new pages of reference materials on specialty collectibles will be available to subscribers. This is in addition to the 2,000+ books outside the catalog that WorthPoint is preparing to inject by mid-year.

“The Schroeder family spent 40 years building a terrific catalog full of information important to our industry and to collectors,” said Will Seippel, founder and CEO of WorthPoint. “We want to make sure people have access to this valuable content while preserving this lifetime of work and the Schroeder legacy.”

Luminaries like the Schroeder family, Ted Hake, and Harry Rinker, all of whom are part of WorthPoint’s advisory board, are the early pioneers of the collectibles industry. The work they’ve done legitimized the market and paved the way for companies like WorthPoint to succeed.

According to a 2010 article published by Antiques.com, William L. (Bill) Schroeder launched Collector Books when he “recognized a need and filled it.” Response to his 1969 want ad offering to sell or purchase historic fruit jars inspired a booklet titled “1,000 Fruit Jars with Current Values.” Within five years, Schroeder was writing and publishing topical collector titles as his full-time occupation.

In 1982, the company started publishing Schroeder’s Antiques Price Guide, which set new industry standards and became the “blue book” for collectibles and antiques for nearly 30 years. All 29 editions will be accessible in WorthPoint’s Library.

Collector Books eventually branched out as a division of Schroeder Publishing, producing multiple editions of more than 200 titles, including Flea Market Trader (17 editions), Garage Sale & Flea Market Annual (17 editions), Huxford’s Old Book Value Guide (13 editions), Schroeder’s Collectible Toys (12 editions), and the Wanted to Buy series (seven editions).

Changes in the publishing industry and the rise of the internet contributed to William T. (Billy) Schroeder’s decision to close Collector Books in 2010. Billy continues to focus his efforts on The American Quilter’s Society, which Bill co-founded in 1984 with his wife, Meredith. In 1991, the Schroeders together opened the National Quilt Museum in historic downtown Paducah, Ky. Meredith and the family continue to publish the magazine American Quilter, which is a benefit of being a member of the American Quilter’s Society. The Society currently has over 60,000 members.

“I believe WorthPoint is the right place for these titles to live. Like our company, WorthPoint has a long history with this industry,” said Billy Schroeder. “We both want to help people learn more about what they have and what their items are worth. I am pleased these authors and the information in the books will be available long after their print dates.”

Subscriptions to WorthPoint.com start at $22.99 per month. For a free trial or to create an account, visit WorthPoint.com.

About WorthPoint: WorthPoint Corporation manages the largest online resource for researching, valuing, and preserving antiques, art, and collectibles. The company’s suite of offerings on WorthPoint.com includes a Price Guide, a resource gallery for identifying maker’s marks, autographs, patterns, and symbols (M.A.P.S.), and a digital Library with over 1,300 books on collectible topics. Through data aggregated from online marketplaces, including eBay and leading auction houses, WorthPoint empowers the antiques and collectibles industry by providing a steady stream of new data each month, building on more than 540 million archived prices and nearly 1.3 billion images to improve pricing transparency for buyers and sellers. Based in Atlanta, WorthPoint has subscribers on six continents.

Media Contact

Mary Eitel, MKE Communications, +1 678-733-1535, mary@mkecommunications.com