"Selection of 6 Horror Books - Various Authors

The Silmarillion - J R R Tolkien"

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6-Horror-Bo ... ks_EH&hash=item25774c990c

- wellinghall

It's a pretty horrific read if you just wanted more Hobbits...

BH

£325 for a CJRT signature with no provenance?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ULTRA-RARE- ... ks_UK&hash=item20cd40ba5b

- wellinghall

Oh, there's provenance alright:-

lord of the rings book signed by christopher tolkien!!

We highlighted the original auction a while back in this thread I think. Looks like a1greatwesternsales786 bought it. Looking at the feedback trail it was purchased with a different (private account).

BH

Dear a1greatwesternsales786,

What is the provenance of this item? i.e. I'm assuming you yourself did not get it signed by CT, so when/where did this happen?

Let's see what we get...

BH

Check out the postage (to the UK) on this:-

Postage: US $1,207.55 (approx. £756.14) UPS Worldwide Express Plus

BH

On the postage rate:

Heh. to be fair, the postage quoted is using eBay's calculator, which is accurate given the correct weight of the item. Shipping books using UPS Worldwide Express Plus is basically hiring a person to hand carry them on a plane for you.

The US shipping is $70 on this auction, which is again super high but assumably because this seller only uses UPS. Had they offered USPS Media Mail for domestic economy shipping, it would be under $20 to ship all these including a nice pad for "time and materials".

Regardless, it is getting too expensive to ship books from the USA overseas. I have to pay at least $15 per book for anything I have to send (except to Canada/Mexico). I had someone recently from the UK who wanted "signature on delivery" (to make sure it wasn't left on a doorstep, I presume) and the cheapest rate to do this was over $50 for a single book.

The USPS is talking about removing Media Mail as an option, so I expect even domestic books will change from $3 or $4, to $8-10. Unless one ships at the quantities of an Amazon or B&N, who can essentially bankroll their own shipping company at this point.

I hope they don't do away with media mail!

Jeremy, UK buyers (or me anyway) have been paying "at least $15 per book" (for shipping from the US) for as long as I can remember --other than for pamphlets, when was it ever cheaper?

BH

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_S ... ce#International_services

On May 14, 2007, the USPS canceled all outgoing international surface mail (sometimes known as "sea mail") from the United States, citing increased costs and reduced demand due to competition from airmail services such as FedEx and UPS.[97] The decision has been criticized by the Peace Corps and military personnel overseas, as well as independent booksellers and other small businesses who rely on international deliveries.

Prior to May 14, 2007, I could send a 2 pound book to anywhere in Europe for about $7. Each additional book was about $2. I miss those days...