Black Mark?

Question

I've bought 2 books online, the books description states that the books still have the "author's black mark" on them. what does it mean, or what is the signifigance of these. When i obtained these books, the books actually had the black mark on the depth pages, like a little mark with a marker or something. just curious about what it means.

Answer 1

I work during the holidays for the Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle and I've run this past a few friends there and no one has heard of this.

What this could be is a "remainder mark." Often a book that is discounted or part of a special promotion will have a little black marker dot placed on the depth or lead edge of the pages. This allows the books seller to keep track of the book from the rest of the inventory and to know that it was sold at a different price from the others.