Ridiculous secondary prices for FS books 2021

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Ridiculous secondary prices for FS books 2021

1wcarter
Modifié : Avr 30, 2021, 7:06 am

As the previous thread had reached almost 500 postings, time to start a new thread.

Book of the New Sun LE for US$18540!!
https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=30795708158&searchurl=pn%3...

2Jayked
Avr 30, 2021, 7:27 am

>1 wcarter:
But this is the rare 2012 version.

3NLNils
Avr 30, 2021, 10:12 am

>2 Jayked: The 1 of 1!

4cronshaw
Avr 30, 2021, 2:18 pm

Whenever I've cast a glance at Folio titles on eBay lately I feel as though I've entered a Philip K. Dick short story.

5Cat_of_Ulthar
Avr 30, 2021, 2:39 pm

>4 cronshaw:

That's what 'they' want you to think.

Of course, when you buy any of those titles you are contributing funding to my research into the wcarter memorial infinity library.

;-)

6cronshaw
Avr 30, 2021, 4:34 pm

>5 Cat_of_Ulthar: I should have guessed a feline misdemeanour was apaw as soon as FS titles began behaving like a cryptocurrency. Will their prices crash then? That's the limited edition question.

7L.Bloom
Mai 1, 2021, 5:54 am

8caesarofcaesars
Mai 1, 2021, 5:59 am

First printing of M&M for £175 anyone? Perfect if you love first printings or “FOLIO” rather than “FS” logos on the spine!

I will never understand the first printing premium on some FS books. It is baffling.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/174753253571

9coynedj
Mai 1, 2021, 8:17 am

>8 caesarofcaesars: It's not just FS books that get a first printing premium - that happens with a lot of books. I even sold a set of Japanese Manga that got a high price because it was all first North American printing copies.

10folio_books
Mai 1, 2021, 9:43 am

>8 caesarofcaesars:
>9 coynedj: because it was all first North American printing copies.

As I understand* it the "first printing" thing originated in America, who knows why. It spread to the UK only recently on the back of Folio Society SFF titles, which appeal to those seeking "first printings". In all other respects it is meaningless. I can understand the clamour for shrinkwrapped copies only very slightly more. IMO neither of these things warrants further expenditure, often in the hundreds, on top of the price of the book.

*My understanding may be imperfect, given I collect only Folios

11sekhmet0108
Mai 1, 2021, 12:02 pm

I am glad that I am not into first editions. It makes no sense to me to pay way more for a Folio Society book, which looks exactly like a newer copy, just because it's a "first edition".

I understand paying a bit more if the newer edition is of a lower quality (like Little Women). But for something like M&M, it makes no sense to me. Thankfully, it doesn't have to.

12Jayked
Mai 1, 2021, 12:11 pm

A first edition first impression of an early trade publication by an author who becomes famous is usually the only copy worth much. My local bookseller had such a copy of Iris Murdoch's first, Under the Net, for north of $1K.I've got a copy of her second, Flight From the Enchanter, which ain't for sale. Some booksellers carry the same mindset into Folio books, even though they're not usually scarce or original works. So they ask a premium for a first printing of the Blue Fairy Book even though devotees are discarding it in favour of the leaner second. Seems to work too.

13BionicJim
Mai 1, 2021, 12:58 pm

>8 caesarofcaesars: “I will never understand the first printing premium on some FS books.”

With modern printing there really shouldn’t be any physical difference between a first printing, a 10th printing, or even a print-on-demand book. However, in the bygone days of physical type on paper, there were significant differences. Type would eventually become worn, so electroplates and other forms of reproduction were used to extend out print runs or re-print. These could vary in quality.

I’m currently reading The Forsyte Saga, which the Folio Society originally issued in letterpress in 1984. The edition I have is the so-called “second impression” from 2002 and it is not letterpress as there are tell-tale signs of photographic reproduction (hairline marks in the text-block, less than perfect edges of letters).

There is also, of course, the current controversy of reprints being done at different presses with potential quality-control issues.

Overall, I think that the collecting mentality is the primary reason for the premium you describe, in that the first is the most desirable just because it is the first.

14English-bookseller
Mai 2, 2021, 5:18 am

>10 folio_books: As a bookseller, I justify my references in book descriptions to 'original shrink-wrapped' copies of Folio Society books, as I find perceptions of what a new condition book do seem ... to differ somewhat on occasion.

I have bought supposedly 'New' copies of other publishers' books from booksellers when on taking delivery I find really obvious signs of wear including serious flaws such as the text block separated from the book spine.

I think a new book should be free of flaws and signs of any use.

In selling a sealed Folio Society book still in its shrink-wrapping I know from scrutiny of the exterior that the book is without an external blemish. I accept that even a new and sealed Folio Society book might have an internal printing or internal binding error but having sold many hundreds of their books I have yet to receive notification from one of our buyers of a single defect in a new Folio Society book. It is a remarkable record that shows the quality control exercised by the printers and binders chosen by Folio.

15iesamina
Mai 2, 2021, 6:46 am

>12 Jayked: I love Iris Murdoch. I've got a first edition of An Unofficial Rose, bought from a library sale for about 20p decades ago. Obviously, it's in terrible condition, but I am very fond of it.

16Verkruissen
Mai 3, 2021, 12:09 pm

>1 wcarter: I wonder if they'd waive that $10 shipping fee on an $18K book? ;)

17U_238
Mai 8, 2021, 6:20 pm

I can’t find the thread, but there was a recent discussion about the prices of the Fairy books and how the FS can’t easily reprint the books because they’d have to start from scratch, essentially; something to do with the original ones using some older software to lay them out.

I’ve always struggled with this, because the FS is starting from scratch with 40-50 books per year, many of which cost $60 or thereabouts.

With some of these books fetching $1,500 apiece now, you’d think that would be good incentive to do the work to print them again.

18DMulvee
Mai 8, 2021, 6:37 pm

>17 U_238: But how many books sell in a year for $1500? Under 10?
There is no way they could market the book at even $500. I’m guessing the smallest print run they could consider would be 1000 (and perhaps closer to 5000). Are there this many people who would want the fairy books?

19abysswalker
Modifié : Mai 8, 2021, 6:40 pm

>17 U_238: replicating an older layout, especially when consumers are likely to notice and dislike deviations from the original, is much harder than doing a new layout for a new project from scratch.

Also maybe they just want to do something new.

20U_238
Mai 8, 2021, 7:03 pm

>18 DMulvee: I didn’t mean they could/should sell it for for $500, just that with that much demand it should sell. But true, we don’t know what the actual demand is.

>19 abysswalker: And yeah, I can see that they’d just prefer something new.

21DMulvee
Mai 8, 2021, 7:08 pm

>20 U_238: It would be interesting what the reaction would be if FS were to sell a very special LE (limited to say 50 copies) at $2500. Would they sell out quickly? Would it raise the prestige of the brand? Or would it put off devotees who looked at a different publisher.
Looking at some of the prices on the secondary market, the conclusion must be that higher prices could be achieved. Unfortunately for all of us, we are seeing this with rising prices (and in January) a sale that was less generous than previous years.

22SF-72
Mai 9, 2021, 4:22 am

I always found this rather peculiar. The Fairy books were a good and constant seller for many years. It's safe to say that FS could have sold more copies of the later editions than they did, but this seems to have been hindered by that other software. I'm sure they'd sell now, too, though certainly not at the crazy prices one sees on the internet. But there are enough people who would like to complete their set or who would pick one of the later ones for its own sake, e. g. because they like those particular illustrations. And new people could start on them at a reasonable price. FS children's books always seem to do well. I would have expected the older editions to be the problem, but it seems that those could be reprinted, the newer ones couldn't. Did they try out some software and it didn't work for them? I understand that starting from scratch would be harder than a new project, among other things they probably don't have access to the original illustrations anymore. But still, it's a rather weird case since only part of the edition - and only the later part - is affected.

23treereader
Mai 9, 2021, 6:02 pm

>17 U_238:

And by this notion, one might think that they would consider doubling down and making an even more impressive Fairy set, for the same or less than any other new release. Literally, they could build upon their own publishing mythology.

25Jayked
Mai 10, 2021, 6:25 pm

>24 RRCBS:
"The box has a few creases along the bottom edge."
Presumably they got a replacement from FS and are looking to cash in.

26wcarter
Mai 10, 2021, 8:45 pm

>24 RRCBS:
I wouldn't get it!!

27Willoyd
Mai 11, 2021, 1:00 am

>22 SF-72:
Whatever the reason, I'm sure that if the FS could see a way to reprinting for a decent profit, they'd go for it. The fact that they don't suggests that they've done the sums and they don't work out.
I recently sold off my Fairy Book collection (individually), and whilst I was happy with the prices, there wasn't a huge level of interest, just that there were a few prepared to chase prices up a long way. Admittedly that's an anecdotal sample, only based on watchers and bidders, but I'm not convinced there's the big market that some reckon.

28RRCBS
Mai 11, 2021, 6:54 am

>26 wcarter: And somebody has placed a bid! I wonder what they plan to do with the box...

29coffeewithastraw
Modifié : Mai 11, 2021, 7:12 am

>28 RRCBS: my guess is someone’s box was damaged after receipt and they feel this one is less so.

Still. Cray.

30U_238
Mai 11, 2021, 8:11 am

>27 Willoyd: It’s difficult to have a discussion about your sale without knowing how you went about it. Did you do them all as an auction starting at $0.99? Was it buy it now with a high starting price for an auction?

Also, most people don’t even bother, as they know the prices are insane for some of the rarer ones, so they just scroll past.

If you tried listing an orange, brown, violet or some of the other ones for $120 I bet they wouldn’t last longer than 10 seconds.

31Levin40
Mai 11, 2021, 8:59 am

>30 U_238: If you tried listing an orange, brown, violet or some of the other ones for $120 I bet they wouldn’t last longer than 10 seconds.

No doubt true. But anything listed for a small fraction of its current perceived market value probably wouldn't last longer than 10 seconds, because at that point you introduce a huge number of potential buyers who have no interest in the product itself but have a significant interest in making a quick buck. Doesn't necessarily translate into huge sales at FS level.

32U_238
Mai 11, 2021, 2:55 pm

>31 Levin40: Good point! I'd buy it myself!

33N11284
Mai 12, 2021, 10:44 am

>28 RRCBS: A bid of $200 for an empty box, the seller maybe.

34Willoyd
Modifié : Mai 13, 2021, 2:19 pm

>30 U_238:
No I didn't start the listings as low as that, but most were put on around starting bids of c £30, whilst my highest starting bid was £60 - the price of the Blue Fairy Book new from FS - so certainly all below the $120 starting bid you suggested would stimulate a stampede. It didn't!

36Sorion
Mai 13, 2021, 12:47 am

When you’re feeling down on FS secondary price just remember.. it can always be worse.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/303404567738?hash=item46a4524cba:g:bOoAAOSwIuVdDUz-

37wcarter
Mai 13, 2021, 1:23 am

>36 Sorion:
This is one of the most desirable Limited Editions Club books, but that price is ludicrous.
Also available at https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=17893299752&searchurl=an%3...
for a fraction of the price.

38Quicksilver66
Modifié : Mai 13, 2021, 7:22 am

The $12,666 PKD. Surely a joke !!!

39cronshaw
Mai 13, 2021, 6:25 pm

>37 wcarter: that copy you linked to lacked Joyce's signature. Since Joyce only signed the first 250 of the limitation (he stopped signing in a fit of pique when he learned that Matisse hadn't even read his work and had illustrated Homer's Odyssey instead), those signed by Joyce sell for multiples more than copies signed only by Matisse. I hope the person who has just bought the copy you linked to is aware that that copy lacks Joyce's signature and isn't necessarily a bargain...

40kdweber
Mai 13, 2021, 6:48 pm

>37 wcarter: I've seen the Joyce signed version go for $25-30k. $50k is really high. I've seen the Matisse only signed version for under $5k.

41Sorion
Mai 13, 2021, 6:53 pm

>40 kdweber: I've seen it go for 10k. I think we can agree regardless that it's crazy.

Personally I only really care about Matisse's signature and will in time purchase the copy that only he signed.

Anyway, straying off topic there.

42Charon49
Mai 13, 2021, 7:39 pm

There’s one on eBay with both signatures for 50 grand at the moment.

43ChampagneSVP
Mai 13, 2021, 11:28 pm

How much was the copy linked by >37 wcarter: ? Can’t see the price but only Matisse’s signature is mentioned in the description so hopefully the buyer wouldn’t assume it also has Joyce’s.

44wcarter
Mai 13, 2021, 11:52 pm

>43 ChampagneSVP:
It was US$3500

45caesarofcaesars
Mai 14, 2021, 9:28 am

It’s not ridiculous and I’d imagine in a year it would be good value, but something seems ridiculous about asking £70 minimum for a book that is still £50 new...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FOLIO-SOCIETY-MISERY-STEPHEN-KING-FIRST-PRINTING-FINE...

47wdripp
Mai 14, 2021, 4:23 pm

>46 coffeewithastraw: But you are free to make an offer!

48coffeewithastraw
Modifié : Mai 14, 2021, 4:45 pm

>47 wdripp: I will reluctantly pass ;)

Edit: Though as the claim is that it is unopened I am curious how they know the limitation #

Oh oops its on the sticker, my bad.

Do they really expect to sell at this price or is there some other purpose to the listing that escapes me? (Yes I know, this is a further comment. Curiosity, cat, etc.)

49abysswalker
Mai 14, 2021, 7:36 pm

>46 coffeewithastraw: “Rare Limited Number 666”

Just as rare as every single other limitation number… 1 in 1000!

(Yeah it has some symbolic value… a seller with some flair would have gone for $6666. What’s with this leading 12 nonsense? No style.)

50SF-72
Mai 15, 2021, 4:37 am

I like the 'lucky 666' - that's a new view on that particular number.

You know, if this was The Exorcist, Good Omens or something of the sort, it would make at least some sense to consider this special, though still not special enough to justify that price.

51ubiquitousuk
Mai 15, 2021, 5:24 am

>46 coffeewithastraw:

eBay is just checking whether I need another few moments to think about it...

52ChampagneSVP
Mai 16, 2021, 4:26 pm

$999 for “A Clockwork Orange signed by Anthony Burgess”. Curious how this was possible when Burgess died in 1993 and FS first published this in 2014, I read the description to see that the seller has tipped in a blank page allegedly signed by Burgess before he passed. 🙄

https://www.ebay.com/itm/A-Clockwork-Orange-SIGNED-by-ANTHONY-BURGESS-Mint-Hardb...

53whytewolf1
Mai 16, 2021, 4:30 pm

>52 ChampagneSVP: Yeah, that seller is notorious for very high prices. He's also one of the ones that buys in-stock Folio and EP books and marks them up for sale on eBay

54terebinth
Mai 16, 2021, 4:57 pm

Anyone for a rare copy of the limited edition of Small Gods?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/254976763795?

It's £307 more than the FS are asking for the standard edition, but it does look to be in very nice condition with just a few marks on the slipcase. It can be your own little secret, because nobody else will know it's a limited edition, even if you show it to them since it looks exactly like the standard one in every particular.

55Charon49
Mai 16, 2021, 8:04 pm

The Call of Cthulhu SE has risen in price a fair amount over the last year but this one takes the cake.

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/224464372243?hash=item34431e8213:g:zeYAAOSw-CdgoaM4

56whytewolf1
Mai 16, 2021, 8:10 pm

>55 Charon49: That's very optimistic. I think that's double or more what the SEs have been selling for.

57U_238
Mai 16, 2021, 11:05 pm

>54 terebinth: Correction, the FS is not asking anything for a standard edition because it's no longer in print.

Now of course, the price makes the listing quite at home in this thread.

58terebinth
Mai 17, 2021, 4:32 am

>57 U_238:

Ah, thanks for that. I did a hasty search on the Folio website, found a price and assumed that the book could be bought for it: which will probably betray that I've not spent much time on the Folio website lately.

59DMulvee
Mai 18, 2021, 1:12 pm

>54 terebinth: An offer of £315 has went to those who viewed the item. Truly a bargain now!

60simbae
Mai 24, 2021, 10:20 am

Been watching eBay since March when Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None went out of print. First posting I’ve seen and it’s this monster:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/And-Then-There-Were-None-Agatha-Christie-Folio-Society-...

61behemoththecat
Mai 24, 2021, 10:45 am

>60 simbae: I haven’t seen a reasonably priced Agatha Christie for months. I saw two by a big seller for cheap/reasonable prices but passed a while back, but every single one that comes on eBay/FB is just ridiculous. You could probably buy the entire series new from FS for the price of a second hand volume these days!

62Nerevarine
Mai 24, 2021, 4:24 pm

>60 simbae: ridiculous

63U_238
Mai 24, 2021, 8:55 pm

Stranger things have happened - the copy of Malay sold.

64coffeewithastraw
Mai 25, 2021, 11:21 am

New Hardy LE already up...

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=30920651068&searchurl=pn%3...

I thought the FS direct price was high. SMH

65Jayked
Mai 25, 2021, 12:00 pm

>64 coffeewithastraw:
Wonder if he's sniffing something stronger.

66Hamwick
Mai 25, 2021, 3:28 pm

>64 coffeewithastraw:
I am surprised it is on AbeBooks and not eBay. I hope the person is correct and it is a “bit of a stunner”, given none of us have received it yet!

67ChampagneSVP
Mai 25, 2021, 3:36 pm

>66 Hamwick: perhaps they are referring to their price!

68CLWggg
Mai 26, 2021, 1:23 am

>64 coffeewithastraw: I'd go as far as to say that this listing is fraudulent. At the time of listing, they presumably won't have received their copy yet and have no idea what limitation number they'll receive. And yet their images (which show as "Bookseller image", not "Stock image") show this as being copy number one as they've taken the limitation page image direct from the FS website.

69Uppernorwood
Mai 26, 2021, 8:59 am

>68 CLWggg: I’ve sent a question asking what limitation number it is... no response so far.

70wcarter
Modifié : Juin 19, 2021, 4:24 am


71sekhmet0108
Juin 19, 2021, 11:18 am

Well, I bought this set for €50 and was worried I might have overpaid. I hope the prices start to become a bit reasonable once all the lockdowns end and people start spending their money on other things.

72ironjaw
Juin 19, 2021, 12:21 pm

What times we are living in. It’s all gone bonkers with these prices. Can they hold? I don’t understand and maybe never will why people are prepared to pay these higher prices.

73assemblyman
Juin 19, 2021, 1:11 pm

>70 wcarter: I see the same set currently up for £115 and looking at recent buys for it on eBay it was going for lower than that so if someone does buy it at that price they need there head examined. The problem is I have seen similar buys at jumped up prices even when the market is generally selling for far lower. I don't see the logic.

74behemoththecat
Juin 19, 2021, 4:36 pm

>72 ironjaw: it is weird. I now prefer to shop at physical stores rather than eBay because there are usually a few good deals. Back in 2018 or 2019 I would cower at the sight of second-hand bookstore prices. Especially Oxfam Books!

75ironjaw
Juin 20, 2021, 8:58 am

>74 behemoththecat: yes even Oxfam is listing them at higher prices

76LowlightLamp
Juin 21, 2021, 11:34 am

I always took this thread to mean FS books that are commonly available for normal prices, but that someone on EBay/ABE etc is trying to make a ton of money from by listed ludicrous prices. However I have noticed in just the last few weeks that various FS books which I thought were going for face value or there about have now increased by HUGE amounts on the secondary market, e.g. WE listed for £200-300, City of God is well into triple figures, Seven Gothic Tales is triple figures too. It all seems to be because they are now OOP. This only ever really seemed to affect a handful of books, e.g. MM and Handmaid's Tale, but it looks like sellers are now much more savvy to OOP FS books and the price is going up massively as a result. Seeing that a lot of these won't get re-printed (FS is not realistically going to re-print City of God given its current direction) it is going to be worthwhile really keeping an eye on what is going OOP because they may become affordable very quickly!

77Hamwick
Juin 21, 2021, 3:55 pm

I have been keeping an eye open for The Wanderer and Other Old English Poems, the LE illustrated by Alan Lee. With joy, I have finally seen it for sale, on e-bay. £1810.81 ($2500). I will keep looking.

78U_238
Juin 21, 2021, 9:43 pm

>76 LowlightLamp: I guess the unasked question is whether prices are ridiculous if that's what people are willing to pay for them. To many here, the answer is yes. To many other people, it's simply "the price."

79folio_books
Juin 22, 2021, 5:16 am

>78 U_238: To many other people, it's simply "the price."

Good news for sellers on the Fb Buy/Sell/Trade group and for dealers (though it's extremely difficult to tell the two apart).

80Jobasha
Modifié : Juin 22, 2021, 5:35 am

Ce message a été supprimé par son auteur

81SF-72
Juin 22, 2021, 8:02 am

>77 Hamwick:

Oh boy... I expected this one to rise in price once sold out, but not to this degree.

82abysswalker
Juin 22, 2021, 8:23 am

>78 U_238: let’s keep in mind that price listed is not actual willingness to pay. Especially for an eBay listing with best offer enabled. As such, the price listed for The Wanderer mentioned by >77 Hamwick: is only an upper bound. In negotiation terms, this is an aggressive first offer that serves as a high value anchor.

But yeah, more generally it’s just supply and demand.

83Hamwick
Juin 22, 2021, 9:18 am

>82 abysswalker: good spot, I did not pick up on the offer part. Still too rich for me, unless my counter offer was drastically lower :)
As you say, it is supply and demand. Or to quote Buffett, “Price is what you pay, value is what you get” and the value will vary by person.

84UK_History_Fan
Juin 25, 2021, 2:15 pm

Does anyone recall how to view the final sale price of a buy-it-now listing on eBay by right clicking on the view source code? I get that far but then I forget which term I am supposed to search for to get to the final sale price and my word searches have not narrowed it down. I swear it was in this thread where someone shared that but again my word searches have not revealed the decoder ring!

86UK_History_Fan
Juin 25, 2021, 2:29 pm

Oh thank you for the quick response!!

87UK_History_Fan
Juin 25, 2021, 2:36 pm

Hmmm...the search on taxExclusivePrice is not returning any results. I tried a few pages. I know this method worked for me in the past. Am I doing something wrong? I click on "See Original Listing" and from that page I right click "View Page Source" and then I search for "taxExclusivePrice" and nada.

88abysswalker
Juin 25, 2021, 2:53 pm

>87 UK_History_Fan: if you send me the link to the eBay item, I can take a look. You can add a private message to my wall (click on my profile to get there) if you don’t want to post it here.

It’s always possible eBay has changed the interface. I’m pretty sure it’s not officially supported.

89behemoththecat
Juin 25, 2021, 3:45 pm

I read a week or two ago that it was no longer possible. I don’t remember where unfortunately.

90UK_History_Fan
Juin 25, 2021, 4:40 pm

>88 abysswalker: I'm not hiding anything, will post the link here...
>89 behemoththecat: Would not surprise me. It seems eBay is constantly trying to avoid revealing these accepted offers which doesn't make any sense. This is at least the third or forth "workaround" that they have eliminated (closed the loophole). Unless they are hoping that without that info people will just assume a higher price than was actually paid and bid more. I primarily use it to update a database of books whose prices I'm tracking either because I want to buy them myself or because I have duplicate titles and may want to some day cull the collection.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/303960782867?hash=item46c5797813%3Ag%3A2FcAAOSwGFNgdyLF...

91UK_History_Fan
Juin 25, 2021, 4:41 pm

>88 abysswalker:
>89 behemoththecat:
This is what I used to use, but you can see from the message on the website that eBay is the one blocking access.

https://www.flippertools.com/tools/ebayOfferHistory/ebay-best-offer-actual-price...

92ironjaw
Juin 25, 2021, 5:32 pm

Higher prices higher list fees and selling fees

93ubiquitousuk
Juil 7, 2021, 10:22 am

It seems like Oxfam is well and truly in on the madness: £170 for the latest Great Gatsby: https://onlineshop.oxfam.org.uk/the-great-gatsby-folio-society/product/HD_300335...

At least the money goes the charity...

94assemblyman
Juil 7, 2021, 10:53 am

>93 ubiquitousuk: Definitely. There is still the odd bargain to be had on it but they seem more aware of the titles that go for silly prices and price accordingly. But as you say they are a charity and its hard to argue with that.

95boldface
Juil 7, 2021, 11:13 am

>93 ubiquitousuk:
>94 assemblyman:

I have been told more than once in Oxfam shops that they look at the prices on AbeBooks and then take a middle line, adjusting up or down for general condition. They don't appear to employ experts to do this, so there are occasional anomalies and bargains still to be had. Not long ago I found the Burton Arabian Nights 12-volume half-leather illustrated library edition (1897) in very good condition for £200. Sets in similar condition are currently on Abe for around £1500.

96assemblyman
Juil 7, 2021, 11:29 am

>95 boldface: Well I did say there is still the odd bargain. But I think your example ranges in to the steal category if they are anything like the pictures online of that set :)

97Charon49
Juil 7, 2021, 8:16 pm

eBay still some some bargains pop up I got Patrick O’Brian Blue at the Mizzen for 70aud still sealed yesterday.

98boldface
Juil 7, 2021, 9:59 pm

99just_visiting
Juil 18, 2021, 2:20 pm

100Jayked
Juil 18, 2021, 3:07 pm

>99 just_visiting:
Another of those Irish/ American sellers, where you can't be sure where it's coming from. Nearly every listing is described as "As new...near fine."

101SF-72
Juil 18, 2021, 3:07 pm

>99 just_visiting:

That makes me wonder if someone made a typing error, especially considering the price other sellers want for this book.

102RRCBS
Juil 18, 2021, 3:21 pm

>100 Jayked: I’ve bought some Everyman Wodehouse from them and their staff is pretty nice. But for non new books, they don’t even offer additional info if you contact them directly. For this listing, I would assume a typo.

103Jayked
Juil 18, 2021, 5:02 pm

>102 RRCBS:
I suspect they don't offer additional info because the books are in a warehouse in Ireland. But I wouldn't order in any case from someone who thinks that "as new" is identical with "near fine."

104terebinth
Juil 19, 2021, 3:49 am

>103 Jayked:

I only remember one purchase I've made from them, the life and works of Landor in eight substantial volumes, recently rebound, for £2.62 the lot including UK delivery. Taking that into account along with post 99 in this thread, it seems their pricing can be a little erratic.

105abysswalker
Juil 19, 2021, 2:15 pm

>104 terebinth: I also got what I thought was quite a good deal from Kenny's recently: a copy of the H. G. Wells Short Stories (1990). Postage across the Atlantic to Canada was only 1 Euro. At the moment, I forget exactly what I paid for the book itself, but it was in the ballpark of $20 CAD (in fine condition).

106Quicksilver66
Juil 22, 2021, 7:32 am

>100 Jayked: These vague listings with “as new” all the time always make me suspect a bookjacker.

107Uppernorwood
Juil 22, 2021, 9:14 am

My home contents insurance is up for renewal and the crazy secondary market prices got me thinking about whether I should recalculate my coverage for my Folio and other book collection.

Id be interested to know if anyone else does this? If so how do you assess the value of your collection? I think I’d be shocked to realise how much it would cost to replace my entire collection!

108Jeremy53
Juil 22, 2021, 6:20 pm

>107 Uppernorwood: I guess that's the question you have to ask yourself: if the unfortunate were to happen, and I lost everything, what would I want to replace?

If the answer is 'yes' to your entire Folio collection, then you need to factor in second hand market prices...even then of course, it would be a difficult task to find and replace them all? (Not knowing how many you have and from what eras)

For myself, I have insured mine as part of contents, but would I replace them all? Definitely not. But I'd like to have the money as compensation - which I would use to replace quite a few of them, and maybe the rest with other editions - or different titles...

109behemoththecat
Juil 23, 2021, 8:19 am

I know the title is coveted, but Oxfam seem to be a little too hopeful with this one:

https://onlineshop.oxfam.org.uk/goblin-market-and-selected-poems-2011-christina-...

110_WishIReadMore
Juil 23, 2021, 9:30 am

>109 behemoththecat: I actually did laugh out loud.

111SF-72
Juil 23, 2021, 1:48 pm

>109 behemoththecat:

I remember buying it at a good discount from FS at less than a 20th of that price.

112boldface
Juil 23, 2021, 2:41 pm

>109 behemoththecat:

Utterly ridiculous.

113AnnieMod
Juil 23, 2021, 3:22 pm

>109 behemoththecat: Misplaced comma maybe? :)

114antinous_in_london
Juil 23, 2021, 5:09 pm

>109 behemoththecat: Is it coveted ? I bought my copy on eBay a couple of years ago for £15 & I was the only bidder ! Oxfam have gone crazy

115TheEconomist
Juil 23, 2021, 6:12 pm

>114 antinous_in_london: There are three recorded sales on eBay.co.uk in the last three months, all Buy-it-now at prices ranging from £60-110. There's one currently available for auction; starting price of £190 with no bids yet. No copies on abe.

I would suggest that it is reasonable to describe it as coveted, but it is flying a kite to price it at £495. I wouldn't argue with £150-200, though.

116_WishIReadMore
Juil 24, 2021, 7:59 pm

>115 TheEconomist: I agree with your assessment of its availability, and the estimated range it would go for.

117antinous_in_london
Juil 24, 2021, 8:28 pm

>115 TheEconomist: My comment re it’s desirability was based on genuine surprise given the fact that when i bought my copy just under 2 years ago no-one else was watching it or placed a bid so I presume it’s desirability is quite recent (maybe part of the pricing frenzy that seems to have taken hold over the past year or so). I never look for it or check it’s current pricing since I already have it, so had no idea what current prices were but £495 seemed exorbitant for what it is.

119folio_books
Juil 29, 2021, 6:46 am

>118 behemoththecat:

Free delivery, though.

120SF-72
Juil 29, 2021, 8:30 am

>118 behemoththecat:

Look at the search results on Abebooks here: https://www.abebooks.de/servlet/SearchResults?sts=t&cm_sp=SearchF-_-NullResu...

There are two at a regular price and then a whole chain of sellers that are as crazy as that one on ebay. I can't remember the name, but I assume those are all sellers who don't actually have the book but offer it at an exorbitant price and then buy someone else's copy to fulfil a potential order. Or some of them use an automated system that adjusts their prices automatically and this is the result.

121affle
Juil 29, 2021, 9:21 am

>120 SF-72:

These are bookjackers. Here's how it works (link stolen from an older thread):

https://www.zubalbooks.com/article-bookjacking.jsp

122wdripp
Juil 29, 2021, 9:32 am

>119 folio_books: But this is not reassuring:

"Please note, the image is for illustrative purposes only, actual book cover, binding and edition may possibly vary."

124SF-72
Juil 29, 2021, 1:48 pm

>123 ubiquitousuk:

That's extreme.

125ubiquitousuk
Modifié : Juil 31, 2021, 4:16 am

I was about to spend $10,000 on a fine condition original Golden Cockerel Press copy of Eric Gill's The Canterbury Tales when, luckily, I noticed that I need only save an extra eight thousand dollars and then I could afford this:

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=30791355238&searchurl=n%3D...

126ironjaw
Juil 31, 2021, 9:25 am

>125 ubiquitousuk: yikes. There are 90 copies available. 51 starting from $12 and 39 and $4. I think this copy includes a private butler service for 6 months.

127abysswalker
Juil 31, 2021, 9:37 am

>126 ironjaw: those "90 copies" are mostly old trade paperbacks. The link is to the Folio Society limited edition which was around $500 USD new and is a beautiful set. I would poke fun at an aspirational $18k valuation, but it's also not comparable to a $12 used paperback.

128Jayked
Juil 31, 2021, 12:36 pm

Everything's bigger in Texas. And older... 2012?

129Uppernorwood
Modifié : Août 1, 2021, 10:24 am

>125 ubiquitousuk: the person who created this surely does not expect anyone to buy it at this price.

I’m certain these kind of listings are just a method of manipulating the market; create multiple listings selling the book at increasingly stupid prices (2,500, 4,000, 18,000) and it makes the genuine listing of $1250 look like an absolute bargin.

130vmb443
Août 3, 2021, 6:12 am

I saw that the Agatha Christie four volume Poirot set on auction sold for $750 dollars on eBay. Incredible.

131terebinth
Août 3, 2021, 7:26 am

"At last, however, the more prudent began to see that this folly could not last for ever. Rich people no longer bought Folio books to put them on their shelves, but to sell them again at cent per cent profit. It was seen that somebody must lose fearfully in the end. As this conviction spread, prices fell, and never rose again. Confidence was destroyed, and a universal panic seized upon the dealers. A had agreed to purchase a copy of The Dark is Rising from B, at four thousand dollars, at six weeks after the signing of the contract. B was ready with the volume at the appointed time; but the price had fallen to three or four hundred dollars, and A refused either to pay the difference or receive the book. Defaulters were announced day after day. Hundreds who, a few months previously, had begun to doubt that there was such a thing as poverty suddenly found themselves the possessors of a few books, which nobody would buy, even though they offered them at one quarter of the sums they had paid for them. The cry of distress resounded every where, and each man accused his neighbour. The few who had contrived to enrich themselves hid their wealth from the knowledge of their fellow-citizens. Many who, for a brief season, had emerged from the humbler walks of life, were cast back into their original obscurity. Substantial merchants were reduced almost to beggary..."

A preliminary extract from The Foliomania of 2020-2022, Golden Cormorant Press 2025, a reissue with certain minor amendments of the Tulipomania chapter of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, by Charles Mackay, R. Bentley 1841.

132wcarter
Août 3, 2021, 7:49 am

>131 terebinth:
I rather like what you have written😀

133terebinth
Août 3, 2021, 8:01 am

>132 wcarter:

I hardly wrote any of it. Human nature and the dynamics of markets that slip their moorings haven't changed much in a mere four centuries. At a time like this it's even somehow comforting, maybe ;)

134ubiquitousuk
Août 3, 2021, 9:33 am

>131 terebinth: well played. This game is indeed fun. Almost every paragraph can easily have Tulip substituted out for folio edition. https://www.econlib.org/library/Mackay/macEx.html?chapter_num=4#book-reader

135folio_books
Août 3, 2021, 9:45 am

>131 terebinth:

Excellent, Paul. Plus ça change. The one thing that never changes is the human capacity for greed.

136terebinth
Modifié : Août 3, 2021, 10:10 am

>134 ubiquitousuk:, >135 folio_books:

Yes, the game isn't a demanding one at all. I hesitated briefly over which out-of-print Folio title to single out as symbolic of the frenzy, before deciding that Year Round Things to Do would strain credulity a little too far. But, who knows...

137Jason461
Août 7, 2021, 4:39 pm

After some of the talk lately, I went to look at what some of the fairy books I have are going for and, um... I am surprised. I didn't buy them with the intent to profiteer, but yikes. Everyone has a price, I suppose.

138ubiquitousuk
Août 8, 2021, 10:09 am

>137 Jason461: it isn't profiteering. That price is just the market telling you someone else values the book much more than you do. Selling produces only winners.

That's different to scalpers who buy up new stock with the express intent of robbing someone else of the chance to buy and selling to them at an inflated price. Scalpers create no value for anyone and just add extra costs and friction into the system.

139_WishIReadMore
Modifié : Août 8, 2021, 7:27 pm

>138 ubiquitousuk: There are many here who don’t make that distinction.

140woodstock8786
Août 9, 2021, 10:55 am

I would love to have the full set of Rainbow Fairy books, but I don't know if I would feel like a winner after paying 900€ for the Orange Fairy book... :'(

141Uppernorwood
Août 9, 2021, 11:51 am

>139 _WishIReadMore: I think most people would.

Selling a book several years after publication after having read it is very different from creating an eBay listing for a sealed copy 24 hours after a new book sells out from FS.

Of course there is a grey area in between…

142jranstead
Août 9, 2021, 12:39 pm

>140 woodstock8786: there is a full set of FS Fairy books up for auction on 11 August at Dominic Winter - with a guide price of £1000-1500. Of course, you need to add 24% (I think) commission and VAT - and this auction house seems to issue quite pessimistic guide prices for FS books - so I would not be surprised to see the lot go for £3k (all inclusive). Still, there might be money to be made from splitting them back up if someone has time on their hands … (no connection to the seller or the auction house!)

143woodstock8786
Modifié : Août 9, 2021, 12:58 pm

>142 jranstead: This is great! What wonderful prints they have! I love the map of Denmark and Holstein. And the books... Auctions are tricky, not only the commission, but I would also have to pay Shipping, VAT and probably customs.
The prices shown are estimates right?
Ah, this is great, thank you!

144ubiquitousuk
Modifié : Août 9, 2021, 2:41 pm

>139 _WishIReadMore: people can argue with the ethics of reselling, but I deliberately avoided engaging in that aspect of the debate, which is largely based on personal opinion, and instead focused on the economic efficiency aspect.

All else equal, we use markets to see that scare resources go to where they are most valued or can be put to the best use. The relevant question is whether someone's actions facilitate that process or obstruct it.

If you discover that something you originally bought because you valued it is now worth much more to someone else than it is to you then reselling it is part of the natural process of reallocating the resource to a better use. There are no losers in that transaction: both the buyer and the seller enter into the trade voluntarily and must therefore both be better-off.

If a scalper deliberately buys something they don't value merely in order to sell it (at an inflated price) to someone who would otherwise have bought it direct from the seller anyway, there is no efficient reallocation of resources going on. The ultimate buyer is worse-off because the price went up and the seller is no better off because the price they receive is the same whoever buys it. Society as a whole is also worse-off because we used a bunch of extra time and energy supporting two transactions where one would have resulted in the same outcome, and because we unnecessarily delayed the eventual allocation. Whereas in the previous case everyone is a winner, here the only winner is the scalper who takes a piece of the pie while only creating additional costs and delays for everyone else.

Again, I make no moral judgement whatsoever in either case. I merely observe that there is an objective sense in which the two are quite distinct.

145antinous_in_london
Modifié : Août 9, 2021, 2:59 pm

>142 jranstead: Fortunately as there is no VAT on books, there would only be the commission to pay if purchased from within the UK, so 20% more affordable than for someone buying from outside the UK. My local auction house also charges reduced commission on non-VAT items as i guess they have less tax paperwork to do on these lots (?)

146terebinth
Août 9, 2021, 3:17 pm

>144 ubiquitousuk:

Everything is intricate. Can not a case be made in the same terms that the "scalper" (I'd choose a neutral term myself, as I've no animus against the occupation, though I've never indulged in it) who buys, say, some of the final available copies of a £100 book in order to offer them at £400 as soon as it's out of print, performs a useful social role in guiding the books into the hands of owners who value them at £400 or more, rather than leaving them to fall to folk to whom they may only be worth £100?

The crucial point is that those who buy from the "scalper" and those who would otherwise have snapped up the last available copies, will in the main not be the same people. The ultimate buyers, most of them, who would have come too late to buy at £100, far from being worse off, are beneficiaries of the chance to buy at £400. Take the "scalper" away and the market value would rise still further, with those who would have bought from him compelled either to forgo the book or to compete amongst themselves for just the copies coming to market through death, downsizing or additional owners being tempted to sell by a yet more spectacular rise in the going rate.

147jranstead
Août 9, 2021, 5:23 pm

>143 woodstock8786: Yes, the prices are estimates, but I guess it is in the interests of the auction house to err on the side of a low guide price to generate plenty of bidding interest. Certainly my experience of DW’s frequent batches of FS books is that they can sell for 2-3x guide. I haven’t paid much attention to other lots so not sure if this would be equally true of maps. But it doesn’t cost anything to bid, so no harm trying! A map of Denmark might just be obscure enough that you are the only bidder …
>145 antinous_in_london: The way I understand it is that the VAT is on the commission (so in this case 20% commission then 20% VAT on the 20% commission = 24% total commission). So i don’t think it makes any difference that new books themselves don’t have VAT attached. But I am prepared to be corrected. How it works for an overseas buyer i don’t know - though i suspect it will be more expensive …

148antinous_in_london
Modifié : Août 9, 2021, 6:30 pm

>147 jranstead: Have bought Folios at auction, but have never had to pay VAT - or additional VAT on the commission (or Buyers Premium as they often call it). Most auction houses seem to build VAT into the quoted commission prices (ie my local auction house charges a 21% buyers premium which is made up of the actual commission at 17.5% plus VAT@20% on the commission). If you buy from an auction house online rather than in person there is often a flat-rate online surcharge (usually around £5) to pay for the online cataloguing & costs of live hosting of the auctions etc & this is also liable for VAT & itemised separately in the invoices (so an additional £1 VAT on the £5 internet charge)

149dlphcoracl
Août 10, 2021, 6:01 am

With regard to ridiculous prices for FS books, I have several questions regarding one of the frequent offenders - namely, the Andrew Lang Rainbow Fairy Books series. Specifically:

1. Were all of the twelve books in this series reprinted and reissued at a later date or is this true only for the first several books in this series?

2. For books which were reprinted, aside from the date given on the title page or colophon page, how can one determine if a book is a 1st printing, 2nd printing, 3rd printing, etc.?

3. What accounts for the ungodly prices several of the later books in this series, published between 2011 and 2013, command on secondary market sites such as Abebooks, eBay, etc. ? I believe it is the current norm for the Orange, Grey, Olive, and Lilac books to list for 700 GBP (approx. $1,000.) or more on these sites.

150TheEconomist
Août 10, 2021, 7:20 am

>144 ubiquitousuk: "the seller is no better off because the price they receive is the same whoever buys it. "

I agree with everything else you say, but not with this part. Whilst the seller may not benefit on this individual transaction, the fact that many FS books are increasing in value when they go out of print must increase their perceived value when they are still in print. Customers who previously were happy to wait for a book to end up in a sale, or to drop in value in the medium term (so that it can be picked up cheaply from the secondary market) will now have to consider that, if they are at all interested in a particular book, the cheapest way to obtain it may well be to purchase it at the ful price whilst it is still in print.

You model is perhaps more applicable where the seller has only a limited degree of control over the supply - concert tickets, for example. Or games consoles, where there is insufficient worldwide manufacturing capacity to meet the demand of the market. With FS books, the Folio Society has the ability to reprint pretty much any amount of most of their existing titles (although in practice it would be a poor long-term decision to reprint some of them, eg the limited editions).

An interesting comparison is with the fashion collections created in recent years by H&M. These collections - all of which are collaborations with existing designers - tend to sell out extremely quickly, and there is a general understanding that no additional garments will be produced once the initial stock has gone. This brings in the scalpers, of course, and despite that fact that limits are placed at the tills, things start to appear on eBay at inflated prices more or less the same day that the collection drops. Nonetheless, H&M take the view that this generates greater interest in their brand, and it is in the long-term interest of the company for this to continue. If they were to prevent this situation occurring (by ordering additional stock when a collection sells out), it would lower the interest in future collections.

151RaquelAHoskin
Août 10, 2021, 7:27 am

Cet utilisateur a été supprimé en tant que polluposteur.

152TheEconomist
Août 10, 2021, 7:33 am

>148 antinous_in_london: "Most auction houses seem to build VAT into the quoted commission prices"

There is a special VAT scheme for auctioneers known as the "auctioneers' margin scheme". Detailed information is available here:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/auctioneers-scheme-for-vat-notice-7182

To summarise the document: a scheme is available for auctioneers to charge VAT on their commissions only, not on the hammer price of the goods. This works differently from standard VAT - in particular, the buyer is not permitted to relaim the VAT even if they are VAT-registered.

Auctioneers should not apply the scheme to lots that are zero-rated, but in practice some do anyway, particularly those auctioneers that rarely sell zero-rated items.

For an auctioneer that specialises in books, such as Dominic Winter, most of their lots will be mostly free of VAT (the only VAT charged will be on the commission of the service that enables live internet bidding, such as The Saleroom or Invaluable). However, VAT will be added to the auctioneer's premium when the lots are not zero-rated - this includes framed maps, for example.

There are some limited cases where auctioneers do charge VAT on the hammer price as well as the commission, but these are extrememly unusual.

153antinous_in_london
Août 10, 2021, 7:59 am

>152 TheEconomist: Thanks for the additional information! In my experience most general auction houses do seem to apply the scheme across the board, even on zero rated items which they sell infrequently, whereas as you say an auctioneer who specialises in books or other zero-rated items usually wouldn’t.
I’m guessing that when a map is framed it’s no longer classed as printed-matter that would be zero-rated but moves into another category such as ‘collectibles’ that would be charged VAT ?

154teppi2
Modifié : Août 10, 2021, 10:09 am

>149 dlphcoracl:
1. To my understanding, all books except for orange and grey were re-printed

- Olive, Brown, Lilac, Violet: I have the 2nd printing of each, all were printed in 2014. Brown was part of the 50% off sale Folio did to clear the remaining inventory, so this is almost certainly the last printing.
- I only have the first printing of Crimson, but based on the original issue date there is a high chance this got a second printing as well.
- I bought Grey and Orange shortly before they went out of stock, and both of mine are the first printing. Thus, I assume only one printing was done for each.
- The remaining five (Blue, Yellow, Green, Red and Pink) should have had more than 2 print runs; I have the 4th printing for Pink (2014), which is likely the last batch. The second printing for Yellow was done in 2010, and the 3rd printing for Green was done in 2012, so my educated guess would be four printings for each.

2. The printing is stated on the copyright page.

3. Much harder to address than the top two, multi-faceted and quite frequently discussed here. I think new buyers are introduced to the higher priced book market through this book set, which is showing up frequently on social media posts and attracts attention due to high shelf appeal. Many of the new buyers probably do not do full due diligence and compare against other book options at high price points (e.g. against the original fairy books from the late 19th to early 20th century).

155dlphcoracl
Août 10, 2021, 10:11 am

>154 teppi2:

Thank you for your detailed response.

Incidentally, it is ironic that you should mention "comparing against other books options at high price points (e.g., against the original fairy books from 1889-1910)" because I own the complete set of original Andrew Lang Fairy Books in the 1st edition/1st printing from the U.K. and I believe (with patience) they can currently be accumulated for less cost than the complete set of FS Rainbow Fairy Books.

156AnnieMod
Août 10, 2021, 10:44 am

A bit over a decade ago, there were two sets of the Lang books being sold - Easton Press had the leather bound small format ones and Folio were working on this set. EP pulled their set out from the market about 12 years ago (I was almost done getting them and never got the last few - they could be annoying with their sets that way), Folio published the last of the set around that time (or a bit later). Not that the two sets are similar but having at least one publisher offering a complete set as new tends to draw people there occasionally (partially how I discovered Easton Press back then).

At the moment there are no publishers having the whole set new - which means that if you want them, you need to go second hand. And the Folio ones are the much more interesting set.

157TheEconomist
Août 10, 2021, 10:45 am

>154 teppi2: "Many of the new buyers probably do not do full due diligence and compare against other book options at high price points (e.g. against the original fairy books from the late 19th to early 20th century)."

It is also possible that these buyers do do full due diligence, but conclude that they would far rather have a full set of the FS Fairy Books than a set of the originals. I would certainly count myself in that category.

158teppi2
Août 10, 2021, 11:25 am

>157 TheEconomist: This is of course a possibility as well. I guess I am projecting my own value perception on what I think other people's value perception should be.

159wdripp
Août 10, 2021, 12:41 pm

>154 teppi2: As has been noted elsewhere, four of the fairy books were offered as freebies under the membership model (Blue/Red/Green/Yellow), so there are many more copies of these floating around, including some owned by folks who never intended to purchase a complete set.

>155 dlphcoracl: >157 TheEconomist: >158 teppi2: I too prefer the FS editions to the original editions. I really like the illustrators FS used and the book designs, but the most important factor for me is that the FS editions are sturdy enough to lend to my nieces. I have a set of Lucy Fitch Perkins' Twins books that I inherited and although they are in good condition, they are 100 years old and pretty fragile.

160jranstead
Août 11, 2021, 2:02 pm

In case anyone is interested - that full set of Fairy books I mentioned a few posts back seems to have sold for £3,600 at the Dominic Winter auction today. I think that means c£4500 including commission and delivery. As I suspected, an over-cautious estimate!

161Juniper_tree
Modifié : Sep 12, 2021, 3:58 pm

Speaking of insane prices, saw a post earlier on a Facebook group, someone had sold a set of four Poirot Christie’s and purchased in their place

LE Canterbury Tales
LE Troilus and Criseyde
LE Tractatus de Herbis
LE Liber Besiarum
White leather Decameron
And what appears to be three of the fine press series of books.

Now that is what I call trading up!

162folio_books
Sep 12, 2021, 4:24 pm

>161 Juniper_tree:

Yes, I saw that. The best illustration I've seen of how crazy certain Folio titles have gone

163adriano77
Fév 14, 2022, 10:16 am

Just saw the prices for Zamyatin's We. Unreal. Might have to flog my copy.

164Kainzow
Fév 14, 2022, 11:04 am

>163 adriano77: it's crazy!!

165Willoyd
Modifié : Fév 14, 2022, 11:07 am

It's interesting though, that go down through the FS titles on Ebay, and book after book has no bid - silly prices are for quite a limited market.

166wongie
Fév 14, 2022, 11:09 am

Wow. That prompted me to look up some other Folio sci fi classics out of print or sold out and I,Robot is equally going for the same figures. Martian Chronicles isn't as high but I can see it reaching the same region and Twenty Thousand Leagues is apparently still going strong as ever at a higher price point.

167NLNils
Modifié : Mar 27, 2022, 3:14 pm

>163 adriano77: £400 on average on Abe. I bought it as an online exclusive in a Sale for £25.45. Even dithered until it went low stock, hoping for a better price in the Summer Sale. Will never sell it. A unique FS production with pride of place on the shelf.

169English-bookseller
Mar 27, 2022, 1:22 pm

Some of these unread FS books seem to be treated like a crypto currency. The Society just needs to employ blockchain technology to make them so.

If these titles are not going to be read, the Society might wonder if they actually have to print any pages or provide any illustrations.

170folio_books
Mar 27, 2022, 1:43 pm

>168 cronshaw:

Do you think she actually believes there's someone going to pay that? Surely it's just a desperate try-on? Whoops there goes another rubber-tree plant .. ?

171DMulvee
Mar 27, 2022, 1:47 pm

It is odd because some of her other prices are reasonable - the LE Rupert Brooke at £150 which accepts offers

172mr.philistine
Mar 27, 2022, 1:53 pm

>168 cronshaw: If biscuits/ books could be purchased over the counter and consumers could stand up for their rights...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2YRMixW9u8&t=2m51s

173cronshaw
Modifié : Mar 27, 2022, 2:04 pm

>170 folio_books: Of course, the seller's perfectly entitled to ask whatever price she wants, and presumably she must imagine there's at least a tiny chance that someone is desperate (and wealthy) enough to pay ten times the original price for a remarkably unremarkable limited edition. I'm sure if I hadn't had a hangover today following an excessive birthday party last night (maturity and age do not always hold hands) and had been in the joyful position of being able to concentrate on reading my own Folios this afternoon, I wouldn't have found myself browsing aimlessly on eBay, commenting on the asking price of someone else's 🤕

174cronshaw
Modifié : Mar 27, 2022, 2:04 pm

>172 mr.philistine: I hope I'd never take things quite so far. I'd just refuse to buy the over-priced soda, though admittedly today I'd probably be willing to pay a little more than usual :)

175folio_books
Mar 27, 2022, 2:38 pm

>173 cronshaw:

(whispering softly) happy birthday for yesterday ...

176Hrodberht
Mar 27, 2022, 2:52 pm

>170 folio_books: >171 DMulvee:
I've purchased a number of books from this seller over the years and always been happy with both price and condition. I can only see one copy of the LE Count of Monte Cristo in ebay.co.uk's completed items listings and that sold for £2,550 with 33 bids so the current seller is probably just following the market.

177cronshaw
Modifié : Mar 27, 2022, 3:27 pm

>176 Hrodberht: Oooh, well spotted, it didn't occur to me to check sold prices on eBay as I honestly find it hard to believe anyone (let alone two individuals on eBay) would chase bidding to anything like that sort of figure for this particular edition which originally cost £250. I see there was even a third bidder willing to pay £1,900. Clearly, I have not kept up with FS LE secondary market prices and am quite out of touch. My mistake. I am truly flabbergasted!

178boldface
Mar 27, 2022, 3:32 pm

>168 cronshaw:

For what is essentially the old standard version with the addition of an etching printed in what is now an unfashionable part of the world, repackaged between two slices of goat, that's on the wrong side of reasonable. If it does sell at that price, I expect it will soon reappear at £3000, provided, of course, it has remained behind an ultra-violet screen in a darkened room, unread and hermetically sealed, and in a smoke- and pet-free environment, in the interim.

179cronshaw
Mar 27, 2022, 3:45 pm

>178 boldface: no matter from what direction you look at it, it's halfway from Plaistow to Dagenham.

180What_What
Mar 27, 2022, 3:46 pm

>176 Hrodberht: This book has inexplicably sold for just about that price over the last two months. So yeah, while it does look crazy, clearly there are a few people out there willing to pay that much for it. A head scratcher really.

181folio_books
Mar 27, 2022, 4:27 pm

>176 Hrodberht: the current seller is probably just following the market.

Apparently so. It's the market that's crazy, not the seller.

>177 cronshaw: it didn't occur to me to check sold prices on eBay

No, me neither. That'll teach us.

I'm still quite astounded. I rate that book as a very sub-par LE, slapped together by Folio, with, as >178 boldface: suggests, no real "extras" to commend it. It sits next to its soulmate, The Three Musketeers, semi-hidden on a bottom shelf. Two and an 'arf grand? Yer 'avin' a larf.

182ironjaw
Mar 28, 2022, 5:09 am

I’m shocked at the price of The Three Musketeers LE. Now I don’t know if I should list mine or seal it deep underground in a nuclear bunker?

183ironjaw
Modifié : Mar 28, 2022, 7:53 am

Just saw someone selling the 2nd volume of Icelandic Sagas for £40 on Facebook Folio group. Is the crazy Folio tulip crisis over? Other volumes in the listing was also very reasonable and picked up hopefully by a good collector and not an opportunist looking to sell it on eBay for at least double or triple the amount

184GusLogan
Mar 28, 2022, 7:43 am

>183 ironjaw:
It’s always been possible to find the occasional good deal, though…

185icewindraider
Mar 28, 2022, 10:06 am

>183 ironjaw: Still available? Do you happen to have a link?

186ironjaw
Mar 28, 2022, 10:49 am

>185 icewindraider: long gone, I’m afraid. You can search the folio Facebook group. I just saw it by chance. It was a great price

187folio_books
Mar 28, 2022, 12:49 pm

Anyone else had this?

Following checking out the eBay listing for "Count of Monte Cristo" referred to above, I've just received an offer from the seller - a mere £2450! And the postage is still free!

188cronshaw
Mar 28, 2022, 1:05 pm

>187 folio_books: yes, me too, though it wasn't even in my watch list. Clearly, merely looking in disbelief gets you logged as a potential target for offers. If she knocks another £2,400 off I'm sure I'll start feeling vaguely interested.

189antinous_in_london
Modifié : Mar 28, 2022, 2:06 pm

>187 folio_books: They seem to be doing this more recently, you only have to look at an item & soon after you’ll get a “Because you showed an interest in ….. here’s an offer’ email.

190folio_books
Mar 28, 2022, 2:26 pm

>189 antinous_in_london:

Quite possibly. I've had one other, recently, but there again it's only rarely I'm sufficiently interested in an eBay item to click on it.

191terebinth
Mar 28, 2022, 3:43 pm

>190 folio_books:

I've had several lately, though rarely for books, which only reflects my eBay browsing habits, and usually offering a discount of say 10%-15% rather than 2% as in this case. Not that 15% would be nearly enough to pique my interest in this case...

192ironjaw
Mar 29, 2022, 7:48 am

You are all climbing the ladder so to speak of rich individuals receiving Sotheby’s types of offers 😂

193cronshaw
Avr 4, 2022, 5:09 pm

Just a reminder to Devotees (and to anyone else who's wandered the web in this direction) not to pay the currently exorbitant secondary market prices for the Folio Society edition of The Man in the High Castle, 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Call of Cthulhu, or Lord of the Flies, as they're all soon to be re-issued by FS. Unless of course you just have to have it NOW :)

194mr.philistine
Avr 9, 2022, 1:27 pm

Someone is trying to sell the 2018 William Morris facsimile edition of Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám for £150, currently available from FS for £29.95! https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/165425599914

The same edition sold for £120 on eBay this March, 2022.

195antinous_in_london
Modifié : Avr 12, 2022, 6:57 am

Nice to see that 2001 is back in stock on the website - saves people paying ridiculous prices. Even Oxfam is still trying to charge £140 for a copy !

196RogerBlake
Modifié : Avr 14, 2022, 4:25 am

"The Sound And The Fury" SE for *only* £575 on Ebay UK

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/394029967147?hash=item5bbe04272b:g:rMMAAOSwnk9iVvaY

I think not! Has the seller mixed this up with LE? Although having just checked the LE prices, maybe not ... .

197mr.philistine
Avr 14, 2022, 4:32 am

>196 RogerBlake: Has the seller mixed this up with LE?

With most entries on this thread; mix-ups, delusions, scalping or simply 'blame the market' can be used interchangeably.

198mr.philistine
Modifié : Avr 14, 2022, 6:44 am

The Blue Fairy Book 2003 just sold for £1,000 - am I missing something?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/313956499430

Edited to add:
Equally suspicious is the first feedback this eBayer has received as a seller for this transaction from a buyer who appears to have transacted for the first time too!

199cronshaw
Avr 14, 2022, 10:50 am

>198 mr.philistine: Oh dear, if that's a genuine sale (I hope it's not) the buyer has been well and truly scalped :(

200folio_books
Avr 14, 2022, 10:58 am

>199 cronshaw:

The whole deal, from both sides, seems to me to be very suspicious. And yet, someone has some eBay fees to pay ...

201CobbsGhost
Avr 14, 2022, 11:10 am

>198 mr.philistine:
>199 cronshaw:

I just had to add, deservedly so if it's real... As someone who had been a prolific collector (long time lurker here) turning minimalist, I can't believe the prices some are willing to pay, but... I think the sale is definitely suspicious >200 folio_books:. Possibly there's a transaction happening that someone is looking for a way to legitimize the income? Maybe a former politician.

202mr.philistine
Avr 14, 2022, 8:56 pm

203snottlebocket
Avr 15, 2022, 5:35 am

Maybe I'm just collecting unpopular books. but I've been quietly buying many folio society books from little second hand shops. In the last couple of months I've bought treasure island, Hemingway's short stories, slaughterhouse 5, Gulliver's travel, Conan Doyle's lost world, Greek Myths, the Odyssey and a bunch more along those lines all for under 20 euros each and many under 10 euros.

Did make me realise a lot of the older books are cloth bound while paper bound seems to be the standard now.

204antinous_in_london
Modifié : Avr 28, 2022, 7:15 pm

Just saw the 4 volume Miss Marple set sell for £630 on eBay UK even with a slightly damaged & scuffed slipcase, with 13 bidders & 60 bids - almost makes the LOTR look like a bargain !

205CLWggg
Avr 28, 2022, 11:56 pm

>204 antinous_in_london: The same seller was also selling the 4 volume Poirot set at the same time, which went for £601 - apparently to the same buyer. With pretty frenzied bidding on these, they don't look like dubious money-laundering listings.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/234525592462?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/234525574209?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

206English-bookseller
Avr 30, 2022, 3:21 am

>204 antinous_in_london: I often see quite ordinary books advertised for sale at ridiculously high prices and I am left wondering how any sensible person could be taken in by such conning.

I suppose there is a commonly held perception that some object which has a very high price attached to it must therefore be both scarce and of enduring value.

From the seller's point of view there are no additional charges on existing sellers for listing an item for sale on Amazon etc, so putting up these spuriously highly priced books has no marginal cost.

You wonder whether these sellers have much of a conscience though. And this over-pricing does does not say much for the ethics of the management of the companies that own and run the selling platforms.

207antinous_in_london
Avr 30, 2022, 9:10 am

>206 English-bookseller: I suppose that at least this set is actually out of print - what amazes me even more is seeing people buying editions that are still in print & available from FS, for way more than they could buy them directly from the source ! Caveat Emptor, i guess !

208DMulvee
Avr 30, 2022, 9:12 am

I noticed an aggressive seller on the Facebook group defending listing Principia Mathematica at double the last sold price on eBay. I was surprised at their gumption.

209What_What
Modifié : Mai 1, 2022, 4:10 pm

>206 English-bookseller:

How are buyers getting conned exactly, when they pay a clearly labelled price and get exactly what they paid for?

Are you suggesting that the companies intervene to set “reasonable” prices for the things people list on their websites? And who would define what’s reasonable?

Do you think people in general should be restricted in how much they sell their personal property for?

210stubedoo
Mai 1, 2022, 11:30 pm

>209 What_What:

Conned is perhaps strong, but it is - IMHO- unethical to sell something used for a price that is vastly more than that product is still available for from the manufacturer (assuming as a seller you know that to be case). It is basically looking for a mug with the deliberate intent of taking advantage of them. Not something I would personally do, but everyone has their own standards of ethics.

211What_What
Mai 2, 2022, 8:59 am

>210 stubedoo: I agree with you, but it doesn’t look like that was specifically the subject of the poster’s comment.

212PartTimeBookAddict
Mai 2, 2022, 6:15 pm

>206 English-bookseller: I just ordered Earthing Publications "The Ghoul n' the Cape" Limited Edition from an ebay seller for more than what the publisher is currently selling it for. However, for some reason the ebay shipping was cheaper I saved $25 USD overall.

Shipping a single FS book to Canada costs us $66. So maybe some buyers in the US with their media mail rates are saving money on single volume orders within the states. I think a lot of ebay flippers live in this margin.

213Lukas1990
Mai 3, 2022, 12:41 am

215ubiquitousuk
Mai 20, 2022, 11:33 am

>214 coffeewithastraw: Lol, if only he had copy 999 he could have upped the price!

216folio_books
Mai 20, 2022, 12:02 pm

>214 coffeewithastraw:

I was once told, in a galaxy far, far away (actually by Folio) that 666 was the most-requested limitation number. Shame you can't just request it and get it (I'll take one, please) but evidently there's so many people wanting one I'm going to have to cross it off my must-have limitation numbers list. Damn. That only leaves the last number (eg 750 of 750) and 69, though I missed my chance with the Kama Sutra LE.

217PrestigeWorldWide
Mai 20, 2022, 12:17 pm

I would hazard that 420 will also be a popular limitation

218SF-72
Mai 20, 2022, 12:38 pm

>214 coffeewithastraw:

I wasn't aware that 'the number of the beast' is now considered a 'lucky number'. lol

219Cat_of_Ulthar
Mai 20, 2022, 2:03 pm

>216 folio_books:
I don't tend to bother too much about which number I get but I was mildly disappointed that my LoTR LE wasn't the eleventy-first copy.

220folio_books
Modifié : Mai 20, 2022, 2:25 pm

>219 Cat_of_Ulthar:

It doesn't pay to be too bothered as you have very little chance of influencing the Folio Fates.

221hoyasaxa
Mai 20, 2022, 5:15 pm

>216 folio_books: my copy of LotR is 69. Made me chuckle.

222antinous_in_london
Modifié : Mai 21, 2022, 9:21 pm

>218 SF-72: * though many scholars & fragments of the original manuscripts advise the actual ‘number of the beast’ to be 616 not 666

223stubedoo
Modifié : Mai 22, 2022, 5:06 pm

>222 antinous_in_london:

Or even 216. There is much contention, I believe.

224Shadekeep
Mai 22, 2022, 7:30 pm

>222 antinous_in_london: There's a contention in gematria that 6 is a flawed, or evil, number and 7 is a perfect, or holy, number. Since arrangements of three are considered powerful in that system (such as the trinity), it follows that 666 is the number of the adversary and 777 the number of god. But you are correct that there is significant debate over what the actual number of the beast is intended to be, both numerically and symbolically. The side that goes with 616 often cites that this number relates to the Roman Emperor Nero (or Neron), who was the reigning "beast" at the time.

225coynedj
Mai 22, 2022, 8:27 pm

All of this is an academic discussion, though. To 99.999% of the population, 666 is the number of consequence. It is the combination to the briefcase in Pulp Fiction, after all - what higher authority need be cited?

226TheEconomist
Mai 24, 2022, 6:14 pm

>224 Shadekeep: To mathematicians, however, it is 6 that is considered a perfect number (defined as a number that is equal to the sum of its aliquot divisors).

227Shadekeep
Mai 24, 2022, 8:59 pm

>226 TheEconomist: Agreed, I find 6 a far more interesting number than 7. For one thing, 6 figures into two of the five Platonic solids. Meanwhile, 7 just sits there, as though simply being prime is the greatest thing in the world.

228Kainzow
Mai 25, 2022, 1:16 am

Well, I like 6 for the sole reason that I was born on January 6th.

229InVitrio
Mai 25, 2022, 3:22 am

You can have some fun spotting where 142857, the decimal expansion of 1/7, fits in whenever you multiply it by another number.

E.g. at random 142857 x 41 = 5857137.

You've already got the 1 and the 857 in there; 3+7+5 = 15, 1+5 = 6, which is also 4+2.

230terebinth
Modifié : Mai 25, 2022, 3:47 am

>217 PrestigeWorldWide: I would hazard that 420 will also be a popular limitation

I'll confess I needed a search engine for that one, after initially wondering (though my familiarity with Douglas Adams is close to zero) whether you had meant 42...

231boldface
Mai 25, 2022, 11:35 am

Gargantua and Pantagruel LE seems to go for around £800 these days, as against £545 originally, except here:

https://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=30791346616&searchurl=pn...

232SF-72
Mai 25, 2022, 12:08 pm

>231 boldface:

Now that's steep. But it's also interesting to think what you got from FS for 545 Pounds back then, compared to today.

233folio_books
Mai 25, 2022, 12:30 pm

>232 SF-72:

Bearing in mind that "back then" was only 3 years ago - 2019.

234assemblyman
Mai 25, 2022, 12:47 pm

>233 folio_books: >232 SF-72: I checked eBay sold history and one went for £600 in March so it seems that it can still be acquired at times for near enough original price.

235SF-72
Mai 25, 2022, 3:00 pm

>233 folio_books:

Exactly. It's really escalated.

236English-bookseller
Mai 25, 2022, 3:59 pm

In the UK during Covid, the Government had recourse to a Magic Money Tree and chucked cash at business and elsewhere to ensure we still had an economy at the end of the pandemic.

Meanwhile there was a huge reduction in economic output as many workers were paid furlough to stay at home.

Not surprisingly UK inflation is taking off and is heading for 10% as too much money is chasing too few goods.

I am shocked at the prices of new Folio Society books but there are plenty of high earners and well off people around the English speaking world who can afford them.

237Uppernorwood
Mai 26, 2022, 1:41 am

>236 English-bookseller: inflation is a global problem caused by Covid lockdowns and governments printing money.

In a typical 3 years prices would increase 6-7%, now we should expect 20-25% and often much more for certain products.

Also the secondary market for collectible items has exploded recently in everything from vinyl records to baseball cards, so FS can be confident that desirable books will sell out even at a high price.

238Jeremy53
Mai 27, 2022, 2:33 pm

Ok I thought things might have calmed down a little by now, but not on your life!

One example: The Bull From the Sea + The King Must Die for AUD $150 each.

I think I picked them up in a Folio sale a few years ago for about $20 each or something. And they were in multiple sales!

How times change.

239antinous_in_london
Mai 27, 2022, 10:02 pm

>238 Jeremy53: You could say the same about almost anything where you are adding together scarcity , desirability + time. 15 years ago i bought a signed Warhol print for £800 , the same item today sells at auction for around £150,000

240What_What
Juin 12, 2022, 9:09 pm

241Kainzow
Juin 12, 2022, 11:15 pm

>240 What_What: This needs to come back so bad!!

I ordered it and then it got lost in transit. It still hurts, lol.

242SF-72
Juin 13, 2022, 7:11 am

>240 What_What:

Sheer lunacy.

243mnmcdwl
Juin 13, 2022, 7:32 am

As much as I love my copy of Japanese Tales, if second hand Folio Society books start going for prices like this I'll be selling off my library to pay off my mortgage...

244What_What
Juin 13, 2022, 10:14 am

Maybe we can find some copies to short sell.

I just feel bad for whoever might buy it. Hopefully it goes unsold.

245woodstock8786
Modifié : Juin 13, 2022, 10:17 am

>243 mnmcdwl: oh my god, that really made me laugh.
The sad thing is, that indeed you start thinking: „Do I really need the Agatha Christie so bad?“
If I sold all books on one of my boards of one shelf, I probably can pay three mortgage payments with these crazy prices 🤣👍

246Hamwick
Juil 16, 2022, 7:42 pm

The Wanderer: $7145.00

https://www.ebay.com/itm/125299269271?hash=item1d2c6b1e97:g:vkIAAOSwiqFidHbY

I like it, just not that much!

247RogerBlake
Juil 17, 2022, 7:18 am

>246 Hamwick: and with only a couple of light stains on the slipcase :-)

248What_What
Déc 6, 2022, 3:39 pm

$4,600 for the LOTR limited edition because it’s 1,000 of 1,000 lol
https://www.ebay.com/itm/115630290574

249Tambien
Déc 6, 2022, 9:42 pm

>248 What_What: And even at that price tag, the buyer has to pay for shipping! Lol

250pse1
Jan 20, 2023, 7:41 pm

On a smaller scale Gaiman’s American Gods on sale with Folio for £85. A used copy on eBay for £150 (or orders) for the current third edition.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/334459544105

I offered £65 noting the current selling price and used third edition nature of the volume for sale and was told it was “Ridiculously low”

£150 seems ‘ridiculously’ high to me for a second hand book on sale new for £85 but who knows…

251SF-72
Modifié : Jan 22, 2023, 4:09 am

>250 pse1:

A few years back, Ardis tried something like this with Dune, though on a smaller scale with regard to the price. When I contacted them, I was told they didn't know it was still available but even then had to ask a higher price than FS for their used copy since otherwise it wouldn't pay off for them. My only explanation is that sellers like that hope for buyers who are uninformed and don't know that they could easily get a new copy from FS.

It's particularly ridiculous when the seller and FS are in the same country. I sometimes buy something used locally to avoid shipping and customs hassle from abroad for the new item, but you don't even get that here.

edited to correct the title: It was Dune, not American Gods.

252woodstock8786
Jan 21, 2023, 5:54 pm

I always ask myself how completely uninformed you have to be, to not just check the Folio website.
And of course I am really curious to know how many people actually buy at these prices.

In Germany there is one seller who seems to buy at Folio and then resells. There is abMurder on the Orient Express on eBay by this seller for 200€…

He seems to be trying to sell the Haunting of Hill House LE for months, but no one seems to want it for €600.

253What_What
Modifié : Fév 21, 2023, 6:03 pm

Not sure if we have a thread for 2022, but we might have a winner for this year already. A copy of the Frankenstein LE, but #1. A steal at $2,500.

Interesting that they received number 1 though. I guess with the change in ownership it no longer goes to the former owners.

Edited to add I saw it on eBay.

254folio_books
Fév 22, 2023, 10:30 am

>253 What_What: I guess with the change in ownership it no longer goes to the former owners.

I checked this with Folio. As a matter of courtesy they continue to offer a copy of each new LE to Lady Gavron. From time-to-time she doesn't take up her copy, so you can see them pop up occasionally, though not very often.

255What_What
Fév 22, 2023, 11:03 pm

>254 folio_books: That's very interesting, thanks for sharing.

256JacobHolt
Modifié : Fév 23, 2023, 10:58 am

>253 What_What: I've often seen eBay listings that seem to confuse "one of an edition of X" with "#1 of X"--so I wonder if that's what happened here?

257assemblyman
Fév 23, 2023, 11:07 am

>254 folio_books: Someone posted on the Facebook group that they received number 1 of the Roadside Picnic LE so that also did not go to Lady Gavron.

258folio_books
Fév 23, 2023, 11:10 am

>257 assemblyman:

I wish I'd known that Lady Gavron didn't want it!

259assemblyman
Fév 23, 2023, 11:39 am

>258 folio_books: Well the upside is in future, you know there is more of a chance of getting that number 1 LE.

260folio_books
Fév 23, 2023, 12:15 pm

>259 assemblyman:

According to Folio, not much more of a chance - she doesn't pass on many. I guess some things just aren't meant to be.

261folio_books
Fév 23, 2023, 1:39 pm

Has True Grit suddenly become a collectors' item? Someone has one up on eBay UK for £300. Am I just out of touch?

262assemblyman
Fév 23, 2023, 1:56 pm

>261 folio_books: The last three sales on eBay are between £30-£80. It’s only the starting bid also.

263What_What
Fév 23, 2023, 9:11 pm

>256 JacobHolt: They actually had #1, but I know what you mean.

264JacobHolt
Fév 24, 2023, 1:40 pm

>263 What_What: Very interesting, thanks for confirming.

265Joshbooks1
Fév 24, 2023, 2:23 pm

Out of curiosity, what is the allure of the limitation number? I have a few under ten and Moby Dick 1750/1750 but I bought it because it was a good price and had nothing to do with the number.

266mr.philistine
Fév 24, 2023, 2:48 pm

>265 Joshbooks1: ...what is the allure of the limitation number?

Here's a thought: Lucky number

267Joshbooks1
Fév 24, 2023, 5:26 pm

>266 mr.philistine: What does a lucky number have anything to do with the value of getting a lower limitation number? You're getting the exact same product whether it is 1 or 421.

268antinous_in_london
Fév 24, 2023, 8:29 pm

>267 Joshbooks1:

‘You're getting the exact same product whether it is 1 or 421.’

I feel the same way with matching limitation numbers where rights are issued. Is there some allure to having the same limitation number across numerous books from a specific publisher ?

269Shadekeep
Fév 24, 2023, 10:57 pm

>268 antinous_in_london: Perhaps having the same number across volumes is a way of displaying your patronage of the press? By having all your volumes from that press the same number, it shows that you purchased them directly as a subscriber of the press. It would be possible but quite difficult to recreate this pattern later. So it's an extra bit of O.G. street cred, showing that you backed the press at the time.

For myself there are certain numbers I find pleasing, so I try to use those when I have the chance to request a specific number. But getting a random number doesn't bother me or make me think less of the work. It's not a superstition or anything like that, just a nice bonus. Currently the only press I have a running sequence with is No Reply, and that's because I've been pretty close with Griffin behind the scenes as well.

270mr.philistine
Fév 25, 2023, 9:24 am

>269 Shadekeep: My experience with acquiring LECs' is that a specific subscriber/ limitation number is a fairly accurate indicator of the ephemera one can expect. I have purchased titles with specific numbers from different sellers and received the Monthly Newsletters and pamphlets based on expectations from past acquisitions; if that makes any sense.

271Shadekeep
Fév 25, 2023, 11:22 am

>270 mr.philistine: That's interesting. I wouldn't have expected that connection, but I can see the logic behind it.

272InVitrio
Fév 25, 2023, 2:29 pm

In some presses a lower limitation number means a better quality because you're getting first runs...

273wcarter
Modifié : Mar 12, 2023, 4:42 am

AU$6000 (US$3950, £3280) for four fairy books (green, red, yellow, blue)!!
See here.

274wooter
Mar 12, 2023, 10:26 am

yeah, the draw to certain numbers mystifies me too.

275Kyle81
Modifié : Mar 12, 2023, 11:10 am

Ce message a été supprimé par son auteur

276antinous_in_london
Mar 21, 2023, 5:01 pm

Anyone fancy a slightly faded 2017 Ulysses for… £800 ? (Wasn’t this £125 when first released, then ended up in a half-price sale a couple of years later ?)

https://onlineshop.oxfam.org.uk/ulysses-folio-society-2017-edition/product/HD_30...

277Jobasha
Mar 21, 2023, 6:06 pm

>276 antinous_in_london:

There was a period of time after Ulysses (2017) went out of stock that secondary-market prices went as high as that, that was until the release of the Ulysses LE which was the same inside with a solander box and improved bindings which tanked their prices. So I think whoever posted this looked up ebay sales and found all those before the LE. However, they then proceeded to choose the very upper end of those prices.

278Elmbridge
Mar 22, 2023, 6:01 am

Oxfam are an important charity and in the UK are one of the largest sellers of second-hand books but in the main they do rely on unpaid volunteers to do the work.

On every book listed on Oxfam online there is the opportunity to provide feedback on the Oxfam price.

279mr.philistine
Mar 24, 2023, 9:16 pm

>271 Shadekeep: As an example, I recently bought another LEC title which did not list any ephemera but had the same limitation no. and was pleasantly surprised to receive the ML, advertising leaflet and an 8-page pamphlet titled 'What a Typographer Does To/ For/ With A Book'. The HP edition has been reviewed here along with information relevant to the LEC: https://georgemacyimagery.wordpress.com/2011/01/24/heritage-press-john-browns-bo...

280Shadekeep
Mar 24, 2023, 10:04 pm

>279 mr.philistine: Handy tip, thanks, and that is a nice batch of extras.

281MobyRichard
Modifié : Mai 7, 2023, 5:14 pm

The best I've ever seen?

https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Novels-Farewell-Goodbye-Playback/dp/B000J2E9JW/r...

$377,534.23 for the folio society Raymond Chandler set. I love how specific the price is. Big data analytics undoubtedly.

282terebinth
Mai 7, 2023, 5:47 pm

>281 MobyRichard:

Offered by a seller called powerofdreams. Methinks they're overestimating that a little: some wonderful things have come my way in mine, but then I wake up and they're never there.

283CobbsGhost
Mai 7, 2023, 7:29 pm

>281 MobyRichard:
>282 terebinth:

Hahaha, I love this comment.

285Shadekeep
Mai 25, 2023, 7:55 am

>284 wcarter: "What's in the box?" "Pain."

286mr.philistine
Mai 25, 2023, 8:27 am

>285 Shadekeep: where Pain = divorce OR bankruptcy?

287Shadekeep
Mai 25, 2023, 9:11 am

>286 mr.philistine: Why choose when you can have both?

288Tambien
Mai 25, 2023, 5:18 pm

It’s not quite to the level of others on this thread, but it always tickles me a little when I see prices on eBay for in-print books that are higher than FS’ https://www.ebay.com/itm/275639315284

289SF-72
Mai 26, 2023, 4:38 am

>288 Tambien:

True, though in this case (Tolkien) the older editions actually can be in demand more so than the later ones since the print quality decreased quite a bit at some point.

290cronshaw
Modifié : Mai 26, 2023, 5:42 am

>288 Tambien: Some 'reputable' re-sellers have the FS Rubicon for sale at some multiples of the price it's available at direct from Folio, presumably because it's a 'first printing'. Personally I find this 'first printing' business a bit of a joke when it's not letterpress and when there's zero difference in the contents between the first and any subsequent printing. The first print of the FS 'From Dawn to Decadence' is one to avoid because of egregious reference errors in the first volume; and the last printing of Dubliners is the best to get because it has an added preface not present in the first few issues. No doubt there are other FS titles where errors in the first printings have been amended for later print runs. First isn't always best. The early bird may catch the worm but it's the second mouse that gets the cheese.

291ubiquitousuk
Modifié : Mai 26, 2023, 11:45 am

It's a curious practice listing in-print books at a premium. Some reasons that come to mind:

1 - exploiting customers' ignorance. The sellers only need to find one guy looking to buy a nice book as a gift, who doesn't know about the current catalogue or bother looking, to make a profit.

2 - the copies listed are first printing and this somehow commands a premium.

3 - the third-party sellers can beat the FS on some terms (e.g., they are willing to ship at lower cost or ship to destinations the FS won't ship to). Or perhaps some people like to see a photo of the actual book they are bidding on.

4 - the sellers' business model is to buy the book at retail, list it, and then wait for it to go out of print at which point their listing becomes viable.

5 - the sellers have several copies to eventually sell--or even just copies of other Folio books--and hope to inflate their perceived value by posting high prices.

My guess is that 1 and 4 are the main explanations.

Edited to fix some typos.

292antinous_in_london
Modifié : Mai 26, 2023, 10:53 am

>291 ubiquitousuk: One UK ebay seller did list a copy of the Hitchhikers LE earlier this week & seem to be playing on number 3 on your list. To quote them :

“With exchange rates and shipping more expensive to purchase directly from Folio Society (~820 GBP to the US), DON'T PANIC because here's your chance to bid on this LIMITED EDITION of only 750 copies starting at cost (£600 + £25 expedited shipping).”

293ubiquitousuk
Mai 26, 2023, 11:47 am

>292 antinous_in_london: Thanks, I hadn't seen talhat. In a way, it's not too surprising to see people taking advantage of an arbitrage opportunity. But it's interesting to see them be so explicit about it.

294What_What
Mai 26, 2023, 8:03 pm

>292 antinous_in_london: I saw that but couldn’t make sense of it - after eBay’s fees, wouldn’t they be losing money?

295antinous_in_london
Mai 26, 2023, 9:54 pm

>294 What_What: Depends, eBay often has seller offers like ‘only pay maximum £1 final value fee’ so you could sell an item for £1000 and still only pay £1 in fees rather than the usual (i think) 10%

296What_What
Mai 27, 2023, 5:39 am

>295 antinous_in_london: That would explain it. Thanks.

297AlexBookshelfFrog
Mai 27, 2023, 5:54 am

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298AlexBookshelfFrog
Mai 27, 2023, 5:57 am

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299Juniper_tree
Modifié : Mai 27, 2023, 8:54 am

>298 AlexBookshelfFrog: yes and no. The listing fees have gone, but not the final value fees which are 12.8% and there’s also an international fee (2.2%), so you’re looking at 15% all in.

However, EBay used to do £1 flat seller fees every now and again, but I haven’t had one for a while. More common is 70% off final seller fee, which brings it down to a total of 6%.

A £750 sale (inc P&P) would cost £45 fees, add on Folio shipping and your own shipping to the US, seems a lot of work/risk for £50 profit.

Edited to add this is for the UK (where this eBay seller is based) and will vary country to country

300AlexBookshelfFrog
Mai 27, 2023, 8:00 am

Ce message a été supprimé par son auteur

301Juniper_tree
Mai 27, 2023, 8:55 am

>300 AlexBookshelfFrog: zero fees in your country, nice. Haven’t quite got to that in the UK yet. I guess they must hit you with some fees otherwise how could they make any cash - are there fees on withdrawing money now they no longer use PayPal?

302TheEconomist
Mai 27, 2023, 10:33 am

>299 Juniper_tree: A £750 sale (inc P&P) would cost £45 fees, add on Folio shipping and your own shipping to the US, seems a lot of work/risk for £50 profit.

Particularly since there seem to be some production issues with the Hitchhikers LE set....

303coynedj
Mai 27, 2023, 11:04 am

Being a regular Ebay seller (about four items per day, but generally not books), I know that fees are definitely still being charged. As noted, the fee to list something for sale is pretty much gone, but they collect a chunk when an item sells. And they charge fees on the shipping and the sales taxes as well, not just the selling price. If they didn't charge any fees, they would go bankrupt very quickly.

304PartTimeBookAddict
Mai 27, 2023, 12:44 pm

Ebay keeps losing sellers. I think more are going to Facebook marketplace to avoid their high fees. Ebay stock went up during the pandemic, but now has crashed to half of its highest value.

It'll be interesting to see if there will be more online selling sites to offer them competition and see if they lower their fees. So many times I resist buying off ebay because I know I'm being dinged so much on inflated fees.

305AlexBookshelfFrog
Mai 27, 2023, 1:29 pm

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306AlexBookshelfFrog
Modifié : Mai 27, 2023, 1:32 pm

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307Joshbooks1
Mai 27, 2023, 2:50 pm

>304 PartTimeBookAddict: Ebay does charge a hefty sum, around 15% in the US, but i do prefer it over other platforms. I tried using facebook buy/trade for a while but found it tedious with so many messages, having to keep bumping your post, and selling prices that are lower than ebay so I dont think much was lost in the long run.

As a causal seller, I prefer ebay with the convience of listing multiple items and selling one or two books a week. Plus its nice to trend prices. For someone like myself who rarely buys folio books now but has a large collection, mostly from prior sales, I have been listing those that I dont love and selling them for hefty amounts. Which then, of course, directly goes to other publishers with the occasional Folio purchase.

308PartTimeBookAddict
Mai 27, 2023, 3:21 pm

>307 Joshbooks1: I think it is just an overall slowing down of my online purchases. The inflated fees (also on the shipping, especially in Canada) are one thing. But, too many ebay and ABE sellers have shipped me damaged books, mouldy or smoky books, or the wrong book (half priced books was the worst scammer) and I end up spending so much time either having to return it or fighting customer service. It ends up being very tiresome.

There are a few good used bookstores near me and I will always make them my first stop before looking online.

My backlog is also tremendous and I've imposed a "get rid of 150 books before I buy" policy on myself. I'm up to 26.

>AlexBookshelfFrog I looked at the German ebay policy and it said there are no fees for private (not corporate) sellers as a way of attracting more sellers to their platform. I hope they install something like that in Canada as most FS resellers are not corporate entities.

309MobyRichard
Modifié : Mai 28, 2023, 4:44 pm

>297 AlexBookshelfFrog:

Don't know about the UK, but there's definitely extra bureaucracy if you send a valuable book from the USA to Germany. It took an hour at least for me to figure out with the help of a very uncertain UPS employee. The hassle was definitely coming from the German side, not the USA.

310English-bookseller
Mai 29, 2023, 5:41 am

>297 AlexBookshelfFrog: I sell books mostly on ABE Books nowadays and there is a general rule laid down by that selling platform that when a dealer lists a book on ABE it is available to bought from a customer irrespective of their country of residence. I am not aware of any exceptions to that rule at present.

The dealer can protect themselves up to a point from very high delivery costs (to say, Tibet) by setting an automatic 'commercial' delivery charge for delivering to that country for books weighing upto 1 kg.

Where the book weighs more than 1 kg the ABE seller can seek to charge whatever the actual cost of delivery of their order is and usually they will email the customer and request the revised amount and it is up to the customer whether to accept or reject that quote. A customer faced with what they think is an unreasonable delivery request can obviously ask the bookseller to provide an explanation.

The sellers on ABE Books are in general professional booksellers and with their experience they should know the best means of getting a book safely to an overseas customer. My default in this situation is to look at the quotes on Interparcel and choose from reputable firms like Fedex or UPS.

The reason I have replied to you is that Germany and France are likely to be the first exceptions to the ABE Books rule that their sellers must be prepared to sell worldwide and that is due to a new EU law on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is an environmental policy to reduce waste and encourage recycling. First introduced in the 1990s, it makes manufacturers and suppliers responsible for the life cycle of certain products and packaging.

EPR legislation is introduced on a country-by-country basis. Each country has different registration requirements, processes, categories, and authorized governing bodies.

ABE Books are likely in the near future to bar any of their booksellers (and this will include my bookshop) from selling in Germany and France and presumably in due course the other EU member states unless I enter into an agreement to do the following on an individual EU country basis:

(A) Financial responsibilities: Depending on the amount of packaging and/or products shipped to customers in an EPR region, I may be required to pay eco-fees to a Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO). In some countries, I will need to register with EPR authorities, which will come at a cost.

(B) Information responsibilities: I typically will be obliged to file reports to government authorities and PROs on the amount of packaging and/or products shipped to customers. I will also need to provide EPR registration numbers to AbeBooks as proof of compliance. In the absence of EPR numbers, ABE Books will stop my sales to EU countries.

311ubiquitousuk
Mai 29, 2023, 1:27 pm

>310 English-bookseller: informative post, thanks.

When people coined the pejorative red tape I think this is what they had in mind.

312wcarter
Modifié : Sep 24, 2023, 7:02 am

Travels with a Donkey, 1967 edition, for A$1500.00 (about £750)!
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/266424284839?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=705-1547...

313BooksFriendsNotFood
Sep 24, 2023, 7:24 am

>312 wcarter: I think it was a typo because the starting bid is now AU $15.00. 😂

314Lukas1990
Sep 24, 2023, 10:20 am

>312 wcarter: Travels with a Donkey... for Donkeys!

315LesMiserables
Sep 26, 2023, 4:54 am

>314 Lukas1990: Notwithstanding, a wonderful travelogue.

316Pax_Romana
Modifié : Mar 11, 6:38 pm

Ce message a été supprimé par son auteur

317English-bookseller
Fév 12, 7:40 am

>316 Pax_Romana: For that price I would expect Herodotus to have signed the copy....

318L.Bloom
Fév 12, 9:22 am

>316 Pax_Romana: Prices for this became absurd when people learned about the Thucydides LE. They know people will pay a huge premium to have the "matching set".

319Pax_Romana
Modifié : Mar 11, 6:38 pm

Ce message a été supprimé par son auteur

320PartTimeBookAddict
Fév 14, 3:09 pm

File this one under Ridiculous Books for Secondary Prices:

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/335251324933?itmmeta=01HPMKRH3AE83J7ZM76QAXW3ZR&hash...

321Shadekeep
Fév 14, 3:29 pm

>320 PartTimeBookAddict: Wow, and even updated after a move. I guess they were precious to her, in a way?

322A.Nobody
Fév 14, 3:30 pm

>370 Mrs. Diane L. McCarthy is one possessive woman

323SF-72
Fév 14, 4:06 pm

>320 PartTimeBookAddict:

Oh my gosh, that's pure vandalism. One hopes this was a kid, not an adult.

324SammyPepys
Fév 14, 4:35 pm

>316 Pax_Romana: Joshbooks1 may not be pleased with these comments.

325wcarter
Fév 14, 4:53 pm

>320 PartTimeBookAddict:
Appears to be an adult. I think there are some mental health issues here.

326Pax_Romana
Modifié : Mar 11, 6:37 pm

Ce message a été supprimé par son auteur

327What_What
Fév 14, 7:43 pm

Does anyone know who the books may have belonged to?

328Pax_Romana
Modifié : Mar 11, 6:37 pm

Ce message a été supprimé par son auteur

329cwl
Fév 15, 4:44 am

I’m sadly getting a dementia vibe with these.

330ubiquitousuk
Fév 15, 11:37 am

>320 PartTimeBookAddict: I particularly like the ownership inscription on the front pastedown and then again on the ffep. Just in case the front board should be ripped off and the slipcase lost. Better safe than sorry!

Now, where did I leave my marker? I have a set of Letterpress Shakespeares to protect.

331plasticjock
Fév 15, 7:50 pm

>330 ubiquitousuk: "Now, where did I leave my marker? I have a set of Letterpress Shakespeares to protect."

There's no emoji for a simultaneous laugh and a wince

332RogerReads
Fév 15, 11:30 pm

>329 cwl: I've unfortunately had close firsthand experience with dementia of a loved one and sadly agree. I hope the books brought her joy.

333Cat_of_Ulthar
Fév 16, 1:14 pm

>329 cwl:, >332 RogerReads:

Me too. Songs, old photos, books, they can bring back the person you knew and loved, at least for a while. Take joy when you can find it.

335boldface
Mar 17, 8:51 pm

At some time in our lives we are all faced with that eternal question: Should I buy a set of FS Rainbow Fairy Books or a shiny new small car?

Now, I know things are big in Texas, but . . .

US$17,545.00
https://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/SearchResults?bi=0&bx=off&cm_sp=Searc...

= £ 14,188.67 on the UK site
https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?bi=0&bx=off&ch_sort=t&amp...

(Includes shrinkwrap, by the way.)

336What_What
Mar 18, 9:27 pm

337wcarter
Mar 18, 9:58 pm

I actually think the prices for the FS fairy books are dropping now. I bought three (red, green, yellow) for A$450 (US$300) a few days ago.