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18 Aug, 2010
2010-8-18 1:04:56 AM UTC

Khamul wrote:
In early 2009, long after the rush, one eBayer sold CoH (#35) & S&G (#41), both super deluxe signed, together (in one auction) for £705. BH

That was me, Khamul. I sold those at the end of June / beginning of July of 2009. I had picked up several of the Super Deluxe COH when it was released, so I had a couple extras on the shelf. The Super Deluxe Sigurd and Gudrun had just been released in May and I bought only a single copy of that book, being a little skeptical of its resale potential. I actually only received my copy (#41), a couple of weeks before I sold it. I opened it, inspected it, decided that I didn't like it very much, and thought that I would get the best return if I sold it right away. In fact, I offered the book for sale with #35 COH in order to help it sell faster.

I still have a copy of the standard deluxe edition of S&G, but I came to the conclusion that the Super Deluxe S&G was not made to the same quality standards as the SD COH, nor was it as striking of a book.

As I typed this, I had a bit of deja vu:

https://www.tolkienguide.com/modules/n ... =ASC&type=&mode=0&start=5
18 Aug, 2010
2010-8-18 5:44:46 PM UTC
The going rate on eBay for S&G would appear to be £170...

The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún - Deluxe Edition

Deja vu indeed alpingloin! First of all he's (Wellinghall) asking about buying them; then he wants to get rid of them!

BH
18 Aug, 2010
2010-8-18 6:30:32 PM UTC

by Khamul on 2010/8/18 10:44:46

The going rate on eBay for S&G would appear to be £170...

The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún - Deluxe Edition

With the £7.50 postage my estimation of £180 wasn't too bad then! However, I think that price may be misleading as that auction was quite badly listed (in my opinion). For a start, it didn't have 'Tolkien' in the title, so it would only have been found through literally searching for 'Sigurd and Gudrun'. Likewise a casual spectator may not have realised it was the 'Super Deluxe', as it was listed simply as 'deluxe'. Also, the seller described it as 'in publishers packaging', when actually it was shrinkwrapped and sealed (which I think would have caught more attention as I assumed it was just a case of 'we still have the box'. With all that in mind, I would like to think the book was worth a bit more in reality.

Here's a way of finding out - would people here be brave enough to, like I did, post what THEY would realistically be willing to pay for these books right now. As I say, £250 for CoH and £180 for S&G would be my prices - anyone care to join in?
19 Aug, 2010
2010-8-19 11:43:08 AM UTC
I have acquired the CoH SD in a very fortunate way (I won't go on on this, because some of you know how), but I wouldn't spend more than £200 on it (but that's because I'm a student and life is quite expensive for us).
I probably wouldn't spend more than £100 on LoSaG SD, because I find it one of the most (if not thé most) unattractive deluxe editions, and that has mainly to do with the color.
I won't buy an unattractive edition of a Tolkien book neither if I already have it in another edition (unless it is a real bargain, of course).
19 Aug, 2010
2010-8-19 6:06:31 PM UTC
The going rate on eBay for S&G would appear to be £170... The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún - Deluxe Edition Deja vu indeed alpingloin! First of all he's (Wellinghall) asking about buying them; then he wants to get rid of them! BH

I think the main point here is why is this seller, selling a book which costs £350 from www.tolkien.co.uk for £170, you don't need to know much about maths to know that this is a bad deal, unless the book is already remaindered or they got a special price.

I think HarperCollins, if they have not already started, are going to have to remainder this book.

They took no notice of any posts on this forum prior to the release stating that 500 copies was 'bonkers' and they have charged far too high a price for an edition that is no where near as good as the previous CoH Super Deluxe and has a lot less appeal.
19 Aug, 2010
2010-8-19 9:45:46 PM UTC
No. 17 of the SD Sigurd with a buy it now of £299:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Tolkien-signed- ... 5?pt=Fiction#ht_500wt_920

Out of interest, for those who agree with low numbers being more valuable (and I know some don't) how low does a number need to be? Number 17 of 500 seems to be quite good I would think?
20 Aug, 2010
2010-8-20 10:16:25 AM UTC
Out of interest, for those who agree with low numbers being more valuable (and I know some don't) how low does a number need to be? Number 17 of 500 seems to be quite good I would think?


Personally, I don't think it makes much - if any - difference. Some of the prominent Tolkien book dealers would like to make the market think it does (and price lower numbered copies accordingly), but unless the lower numbered book is different (e.g. signed, vs unsigned), there is no logic to it costing more. The number is completely arbitrary.

I was fortunate to get two for the price of one (at the original price), so I only paid GBP 125 per copy. I think that is about what they are worth to me, and if I could get GBP250 for my lower numbered copy (19), I would be pretty happy as that would leave me with a single copy with no outlay. Realistically, though, I don't see them being "worth" much more than GBP 175 or so each, so I'll more than likely just hold onto them unless I have a pressing need for cash. I'm not as anti this book as some of the posters are (it grew on me), but the asking price and number of copies printed was always daft.


Stu
20 Aug, 2010
2010-8-20 10:23:38 AM UTC
"would like to make the market think"?? I guess it is the opposite way around. It is the market that makes me think that.

An example, I got the limited editions of the Folio Society available... all different limitations numbers will sell far less easy then matching limitation numbers. Is there any difference? No, but still I have seen it happen about 10 times before.

If I have a lower number limited edition it sells much, much better and demand is very high for the lower numbers, while the higher numbers always takes 'much' longer to sell.

No really, it is the market that dictates the value, not the other way around...
20 Aug, 2010
2010-8-20 11:23:18 AM UTC
So Beren - is 17 of 500 considered low enough to make it a bit more valuable than, say, number 435?
20 Aug, 2010
2010-8-20 11:47:37 AM UTC
As far as I am concerned it is a little more valuable...

I wonder why I have to log-in again and again every time I come to this board...
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