A second hand book is a book that has been owned by another person. The original owner must be someone besides the publisher or the retailer. In most cases a second hand book was previously owned by a library or another person. Used books can be found at used book stores or may be given to an individual. They are normally sold at reduced rates and cost much less than the original cost of the book. In some cases a very rare book will cost more in second hand form. Book lovers will also find some new book stores that stock second hand books. It helps to keep an author's name in the public eye even though he will not reap financial benefits from the purchase of a second hand book. Due to the popularity of online stores such as Ebay and Amazon and their huge trade in second hand books many writers are calling for a cut of second hand sales. Experts say it is highly unlikely this would ever happen.