For Collectors

What Is a Collector in Trove?

In Trove, a collector is anyone building a wishlist of books they want — whether that's a single title they've been chasing for years or a broad list across multiple interests. You're the demand side of the community: the reason thrifters pick up your book instead of leaving it on the shelf.

Collecting on Trove is different from eBay or AbeBooks. You're not bidding blindly — you're setting an intention. When a thrifter finds your book, they see your name and your max price right away, and they can message you directly. It's personal, fast, and often much cheaper than the open market.

Building Your Grail List

Your grail list is the heart of the collector experience. The more complete and specific it is, the more efficiently the community can find what you're looking for.

To add a book to your grail list:

1. Search for the book by title, author, or ISBN using the search tab.
2. Open the book's detail page. If you want a specific edition, tap Browse Editions first and select the exact printing — see the Editions guide for details.
3. Tap Add to Grail List.
4. Set your max price and any condition requirements.
5. Optionally add notes for sellers: "Prefer reading copy — condition doesn't matter" or "VG or better only, must have DJ."
6. Tap Save.

Your grail entry is immediately visible to any thrifter who scans that book. The list is cumulative — you can have as many entries as you want. More entries mean more chances a thrifter finds something for you on any given day.

Setting a Max Price

Your max price is the signal you send to thrifters about the book's value to you. Set it thoughtfully:

• Set it honestly. Thrifters use your max price to decide whether a book is worth buying. An artificially low max (to try to "bargain later") means thrifters leave the book on the shelf. Everyone loses.
• Consider the edition. A reading copy of a common paperback might be worth $5 to you. A first edition with dust jacket might be worth $150. If you've grailed a specific edition, your max price should reflect that edition's value.
• Account for shipping. Most Trove transactions are shipped, not local. A $15 max price for a book that costs $6 to ship may feel too tight for a thrifter who paid $3 for it. Build shipping into your mental model.
• You can always negotiate. The max price is a floor for the thrifter's interest, not a hard ceiling for the conversation. If you want a copy in Fine condition and the thrifter has one, they may ask for more — and that's fine.

You can update your max price at any time by tapping the entry in your grail list and adjusting the value. Thrifters who scan the book after your update will see the new price immediately.

Understanding Match Notifications

When a thrifter either posts a book from your grail list to their shelf or reports a sighting of it, you'll receive a push notification immediately. The notification includes:

• The thrifter's username
• Whether it's a shelf listing (for sale) or a sighting (spotted, not for sale)
• The condition grade and asking price (for listings)
• The store location (for sightings)

For shelf listings, tap the notification to go directly to the listing and tap Message Seller. Speed matters — popular titles can attract multiple buyers quickly. The first message doesn't guarantee a sale, but prompt, serious responses win most deals.

For sightings, tap to see the store location. If the sighting matches the specific edition you want, you may want to visit the store yourself before it's gone.

Following Thrifters — The BFF System

The BFF (Best Fellow Thrifter) system lets you follow thrifters whose finds consistently match your interests. When you BFF someone, a few things happen:

• You see their new shelf listings in a dedicated Following feed on the home screen
• Their listings appear slightly higher in your grail match notifications
• They can see that you're following them (it's not anonymous — it builds community)
• If they have a public profile bio, you'll see it in your Following list

To follow a thrifter:

1. Tap their username anywhere in the app — on a listing, a sighting, or in a chat.
2. On their profile, tap Follow.

There's no limit on follows. Many active collectors follow 20–50 thrifters across different regions, creating a distributed network of scouts. A well-curated following list can dramatically increase the number of relevant finds that surface for you.

Browsing the Shelf

The Shelf tab shows all current listings across the community — everything for sale, right now. You can browse it freely or use filters to narrow results:

• Search within shelf listings by title, author, or ISBN
• Filter by condition — e.g., VG or better only
• Filter by price range
• Filter by location — useful if you want to minimize shipping or prefer local pickup
• Filter by seller rating — limit results to sellers with a certain rating Pro
• Filter by edition — see only listings that match a specific ISBN Pro

The shelf is also a good way to discover books you didn't know you wanted. Browsing by category or scrolling your Following feed often surfaces books that collectors will recognize immediately — the kind of find that makes you regret not knowing about Trove sooner.

Nearby Store Sightings

The Sightings Map (found in the Discover tab) shows books that community members have spotted at thrift stores near you — books that are physically there, right now, unsold.

The map displays pins for each sighting, color-coded by age:

• Green pin — reported within the past 6 hours (go now)
• Yellow pin — reported 6–24 hours ago (likely still there)
• Orange pin — reported 24–72 hours ago (uncertain)
• Pins expire and disappear after 72 hours

Tap any pin to see what was reported, by whom, the condition notes, and the store address. If a grailed book appears on the map, Trove highlights the pin and sends you a separate sighting notification.

Free accounts see sightings within 25 miles. Trove Pro expands this to 100 miles — useful if you're willing to travel for the right book or want visibility into a broader region.

Rating Sellers After a Trade

After a deal is marked complete, you'll receive a prompt to leave a seller rating. This takes about 30 seconds and is critically important for the health of the community.

The rating includes:

• Overall rating — 1 to 5 stars
• Accuracy — did the condition match the description?
• Communication — were they responsive and clear?
• Shipping — did the book arrive as expected and in good time?
• Optional written review — a short note visible on the seller's public profile

Be honest. A seller who misrepresents condition deserves to know — and so does the rest of the community. Equally, a thrifter who ships quickly and packs well deserves a glowing review. These ratings are how trust is built in Trove.

After you rate the seller, they'll have the option to rate you as a buyer. Good buyer ratings (prompt payment, clear communication, fair dealings) make thrifters more likely to prioritize your messages when multiple buyers compete for the same book.