Buying first editions

I want to buy someone a first edition as a gift but have never done this before. I'm perusing Abebooks and hoping that all the info can be trusted. This person is a bibliophile and a lover of objects, so I'd be getting her copies of something she has already read. I'm thus imagining that these books will speak of their own history and look pretty, but I guess I don't know what to expect!

Anything I should know or look for?

First editions are tricky. I have no special expertise to share. I just feel like blathering.

I personally attach no value or importance to owning them and I only get excited to find a first edition if it's one that I imagine I could sell to someone else who'd be willing to pay much more for it than I did. Then I could use that extra money to buy ordinary reading copies of stuff I want to read. For books I have a permanent attachment to, I just look for particularly nice reading copies, regardless of edition.

Having revealed both my prejudice and ignorance, I'd say that for recent books (less than 100 years old) that had a respectable first run of 5,000 copies or more, the premium for a first shouldn't be all that huge. I'd be quite wary of paying more than a $20 premium for a first edition over the cost of a nice reading copy, unless it is a special circumstance, where the book is considered a stone-cold classic in its field and the first edition was quite limited (under 1000) and therefore rare.

But this advice is not based on any real familiarity with the marketplace, since, as I said, I avoid it.

The FAQ at http://www.fedpo.com/ might be worth looking through. I know nothing about first editions except that No dustjacket = virtually worthless.

I've had positive experiences buying 1st editions and out of print books on abebooks, though not in recent years. Descriptions were accurate, but it's good to read up on the lingo so you know what to expect (fine vs. good, fixed vs. sunned, etc). Giving someone a special edition of a book they love is awesome imo.

Foxed, not fixed.

foxed, sonned, rope-a-doped

jaq otm. as long as you know that "fine" and "very fine" actually mean "close to perfect" or "perfect" condition, while "good" actually means "kind of crappy condition", you'll be okay. and yeah avoid copies missing dust jackets and also price-clipped dust jackets, esp if you are paying premium prices. foxing is those orange rust spots and i think it's a sort of fungal thing so avoid that too.

check ebay too.

If you know the lingo, Abebooks has accurate descriptions and I've had good luck with them. They seem to police pretty tightly. There's always some sellers on there with ridiculously inflated prices, but most of the sellers there seem to be fine. That's where I've had the most luck.