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Post by lobolover on Mar 19, 2009 22:26:55 GMT
Hello, tis your friendly neighbourhood spinster. You have heard me rant me arse of about this before, but now, it is here- the thread where we get to post and laugh at absurdly ridiculous, insanely exagerated and plainly obscenely high prices for books which aparently have nothing to warrant them . Here be my contribution. Of course, L.W.Currey . Tis a Bradbury book. Arkham house edition of Dark Carnival. I think it is worthy to not that if you want it singed by Bradbury, you can get one such for the astoundishingly low price of 8.500 dollars . This, on the other hand, costs a stuningly insignificant 2000 dollars . www.lwcurrey.com/details.php?record=95841&URLPAIR=%2F%2Fwww.lwcurrey.com%2FsearchResults.php%3Faction%3Dbrowse%26searchString%3D17511%26kwconj%3Dand%26category_id%3D17511%26searchType%3Dauthor%26recordsLength%3D25%26want_id%3D0%26mTitle%3DSupernatural%26store_id%3D0%26browseLetter%3DA%26numberRecords%3D2340%26recordStart%3D325%26nextStart%3D351%26prevStart%3D300%26thisStart%3D326%26thisEnd%3D350%26p%3D14%26fp%3D1Your contributions? Edit: Now I know there be considerable price to pay for an Arkham house title and a jarring diference between hardover and paperback. However, this copy is for sale for 14 times the amount of the lowest priced copy of the same book in the same format in the same edition . www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=1277780118&searchurl=bt.x%3D0%26bt.y%3D0%26sortby%3D3%26sts%3Dt%26tn%3DNINE%2BHORRORS%2BAND%2BA%2BDREAMNine Horrors and a Dream BRENNAN, JOSEPH PAYNE Book Price: £ 1446.35 Yes, this one is singed, but I just dont understand why they post it on abebooks . It's just like the Petaja leters, no one would buy it there .
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Post by Craig Herbertson on Mar 20, 2009 7:58:04 GMT
DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP?. Dick, Philip K.
Price: US$ 7500.00
I've confessed before that I'm a book collector. I like to collect first editions of my favourite authors - that's confined to four authors who I have collected over the years and only once paid a large amount for (£300 sort of investment as it won't devalue. The next closely would be £30) I've stopped collecting because I have no money.
The reason that I really dislike the price for one of Dick's famous books is contained in the dealers description below: people other than the author writing their signature in a book seriously devalues it for the mad collector.
A fine copy, previous owners signature in ink and two inked prices to upper corner of front free endpaper in a near fine dust jacket, rubbing to corners, front flap fold, mild shelf wear to spine ends and upper left front corners, tiny closed tear to base of front panel. Bookseller Inventoryy
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Post by allthingshorror on Mar 20, 2009 8:02:08 GMT
I've just bought The Hounds of Tindalos by Frank Belknap Long- signed by him - 1st Arkham edition for £40. They can be found if you search! ABE starts the same book by him signed for $650.
I think most of these people just put obcenely high prices on, because they don't want to sell them. They just want to show off...
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Post by Craig Herbertson on Mar 20, 2009 8:26:07 GMT
I think most of these people just put obcenely high prices on, because they don't want to sell them. They just want to show off...
That's true Johnnie. They're also hoping for a naive foreign collector.
One of the stories I heard was from brother the book collector. He sold an early Agatha Christie for £600 to a Japanese fellow. The guy came to collect it personally. He picked up the book, took off the dust-jacket and handed the book to my brother saying 'I don't need the book, only the jacket.'
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Post by lobolover on Mar 20, 2009 8:53:51 GMT
I agree . These people put the things of at 200+ pounds more then the lowest priced ones, which at times the later reprints are to sell for more then the original !
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Post by lobolover on Mar 20, 2009 8:59:08 GMT
DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP?. Dick, Philip K. Price: US$ 7500.00 I've confessed before that I'm a book collector. I like to collect first editions of my favourite authors - that's confined to four authors who I have collected over the years and only once paid a large amount for (£300 sort of investment as it won't devalue. The next closely would be £30) I've stopped collecting because I have no money. The reason that I really dislike the price for one of Dick's famous books is contained in the dealers description below: people other than the author writing their signature in a book seriously devalues it for the mad collector. A fine copy, previous owners signature in ink and two inked prices to upper corner of front free endpaper in a near fine dust jacket, rubbing to corners, front flap fold, mild shelf wear to spine ends and upper left front corners, tiny closed tear to base of front panel. Bookseller Inventoryy And the fact it is seven and a half grand for a very recent book (without the author's signature?) isn't a reason to dislike it ? Edit: Burke, Thomas. NIGHT-PIECES: EIGHTEEN TALES Price: $1,250.00 www.lwcurrey.com/details.php?record=102676&URLPAIR=%2F%2Fwww.lwcurrey.com%2FsearchResults.php%3Faction%3Dbrowse%26searchString%3D17511%26kwconj%3Dand%26category_id%3D17511%26searchType%3Dauthor%26recordsLength%3D25%26want_id%3D0%26mTitle%3DSupernatural%26store_id%3D0%26browseLetter%3DA%26numberRecords%3D2340%26recordStart%3D400%26nextStart%3D426%26prevStart%3D375%26thisStart%3D401%26thisEnd%3D425%26p%3D17%26fp%3D1Okay, call me crazy, but for a book from the thirties to cost 1 and 1/4th grand, there would have to be serious author signaturation involved (yes, I wrote that on purpose ) ,otherwise, I see no point . The Constable 1st printing costs £ 38.50 on abebooks, the 2001 colection (yes,Ash tree) does "only" £ 28.60 . While extreme far beyond my range, their stil beter off then that copy . Burroughs, Edgar Rice. THE ETERNAL LOVER Price: $3,500.00 www.lwcurrey.com/details.php?record=10433&URLPAIR=%2F%2Fwww.lwcurrey.com%2FsearchResults.php%3Faction%3Dbrowse%26searchString%3D17511%26kwconj%3Dand%26category_id%3D17511%26searchType%3Dauthor%26recordsLength%3D25%26want_id%3D0%26mTitle%3DSupernatural%26store_id%3D0%26browseLetter%3DA%26numberRecords%3D2340%26recordStart%3D425%26nextStart%3D451%26prevStart%3D400%26thisStart%3D426%26thisEnd%3D450%26p%3D18%26fp%3D1
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Post by Craig Herbertson on Mar 20, 2009 9:09:24 GMT
Yes, it's a shocker. The worst ones are limited editions designed to be rare and unobtainable...and severely expensive - wouldn't touch them with a bargepole
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Post by David A. Riley on Mar 20, 2009 9:14:59 GMT
What gets me, as a bookseller, is the description. He calls this a "fine" copy - which means it should be in perfect condition, with no faults whatsoever. Yet it has a previous owner's signature - two inked prices. Which means this book is nowhere near Fine.
He describes the dj as "Near Fine", which is the next grade down, but should mean no more than the very mildest of damage, somethimg all but unnoticeable at first glance. Rubbing to the corners? Front flap fold? Mild shelf wear to spine ends and upper left fronmt corners? Tiny closed tear to base of front panel? No way is this "Near Fine".
The good thing is that at least the dealer describes the faults in detail, even if his idea of grading is complete rubbish.
David
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Post by lobolover on Mar 20, 2009 9:25:52 GMT
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Post by lobolover on Mar 20, 2009 9:40:40 GMT
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Post by Craig Herbertson on Mar 20, 2009 9:49:24 GMT
What gets me, as a bookseller, is the description.
David, apart from the obvious respect for you as a great author and as a manifestly decent bloke I have to say that one look at the picture on your website told me 'good book-dealer'. I spent a lifetime hunting books in every available venue from the terrors of scout halls to grotesquely overpriced antique shops. I can tell a good bookshop by smell alone. Its abundantly clear that you know about books and your kind of shop was the pot of gold I used to find so rarely.
It must be frustrating to see these ebay descriptions like
'great condition' accompanied by a picture of a mould cover book with the cover missing.
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Post by lobolover on Mar 20, 2009 13:34:39 GMT
On thw topic of mold: my corgi paperback for The Scarlet Boy had a scent it has now all but lost, a most profound, almost watery smell of a cellar . Absolutely wonderfull stuff . And to such a book: perhaps it is relative to what the usual copy of such a book looks like . Like sawdust , for example .
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Post by lobolover on Mar 20, 2009 13:42:04 GMT
David: If youre a bookseller, I have sort of a question. Is there any way that a single moderately sized paperback could cost over 21 pounds for shiping alone ?
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Post by David A. Riley on Mar 20, 2009 15:38:46 GMT
Assuming it's just first class within the UK, only if you wanted to make a cool £20 profit. Is there anyone charging that much? David
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Post by lobolover on Mar 20, 2009 16:29:17 GMT
It was calculated to the czech republic from Britain. Which is not only close, but the average price is between 5-9 pounds usualy (on person actualy deducted 3.60 and only charged me 1.89 pounds, due to "actual cost" . That seller is www.anybookworld.com if youre gonna be on abebooks) And yes, there is someone like that, charged so for an Aickman volume which they sold for 2.80 . How "cheap" will people get to make money these days ?
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