hardcover overload on ebay

[jordan]

does anyone else see the prices of bukowski hardcovers declining over the past couple months? there have been a TON of them lately, so that may have something to do with it, but when i first joined here, they seemed to be going for $40-60, and now they're going for $20-$40. i couldn't believe "there's no business" went for under $10 the other day (pissed i forgot to bid on it). maybe they'll go back up soon, but it looks like now is the time to stock up... unless i'm just imagining things.

 

[bospress.net]

Hi,
Hardcover firsts (first edition/first printing) are still selling well, but later edition hardcovers are NOT rare, no matter what ebay sellers want to say in their listings. Just because they are not being printed by Black Sparrow anymore, does not mean that Black Sparrow did not print thousands and thousnds of hardcovers of these titles. I understand why some people would not care about having a first edition, but to say that a 28th HB printing of Post Office (from 2001) is worth $75 is fooling yourself. It is probably worth about $27.50, the price that they were sold for in 2001.


Still, in the end, the words are what matters. Given the choice of no copy, of a later edition, I'll take the later edition every time!

Bill

 

[mjp]

This happens all the time, something sells for a high price and suddenly they all come out of the woodwork and the price inevitably goes down.

As far as later printings, there are still some hardbacks that are less common than others, even in the later printings, and Post Office seems to be one of those.

I don't have any production numbers to back that up (does anyone?), just what I see for sale out there, and you just don't see the earlier titles in hardcover (even later printings) as often as a lot of the later titles.

 

[HenryChinaski]

Firsts are really only for hardcore collectors to pay massivce ammounts of money on. but for somebody like me, a person who just wants a nice/clean/tight hardbound copy of a great blacksparrow publication, the lower prices are a gift from the gods.

 

[jordan]

remember the copy of HWM you almost bought from me? i got $15 on ebay for it. honest, i wasn't trying to rip you off- i had seen a few get $50 in recent weeks, but i guess i tried to get in on it too soon, rather than waiting for the price to go back up.

 

[bospress.net]

Hi,
I just posted a couple items under ebay seller "bospress", including a VERY early BSP Hardcover edition of WOMEN from 1979.

Also, I have a copy of "The People Look Like Flowers At Last" in 1st HB in perfect condition that I will sell for a fair offer. I bought a copy, and then was sent one as a gift....

Best,
Bill

 

[HenryChinaski]

remember the copy of HWM you almost bought from me? i got $15 on ebay for it. honest, i wasn't trying to rip you off- i had seen a few get $50 in recent weeks, but i guess i tried to get in on it too soon, rather than waiting for the price to go back up.

yeah i was gonna tell you you wouldnt get 50 for it. that would've been a total rip off. thats why i didnt do it. if you have any other hardcovers that youd like to part with , but at fair prices, let me know.

 

[jordan]

i guess "fair price" is the hard thing to determine. you'll see trade hardcovers on abe from anywhere between $35 up to $150 for ones like hot water music and post office. on ebay, the prices are a little more realistic, but like i said, i had even seen HWM go for $50 twice in the last month before i decided to offer it for the same price (so i didn't think it was so much of a ripoff). i thought i'd get at least $30 for it, but no such luck. on the flipside, i had no trouble unloading betting on the muse for $40, so who knows. i guess it's all about getting lucky and finding someone who just has to have the one you happen to be selling. i think $30-$50 is a fair price for most of them... less for the newest editions (for instance, no one is going to pay $30 for a trade ed. of beerspit night and cursing). i'm getting close to having all the black sparrow non-special, commercially available editions (eg, the "normal" ones and not ones like "in the shadow of the rose" or "this") in hardcover, and i tend to sell off my trade editions when i have enough to buy a special edition. i'll keep offering them on this site first, probably for around $40 to start and then coming down from there.