Hard to find and out-of-print books: Worth the buy?

[Fergie]

I often wonder about how used book stores price their books, and will take pictures of the books, then check online to see what the current price is.

Case in point, I came across a 1943 printing of "The Sharps Rifle" by Winston O. Smith. The book is in good condition for the age, and has some neat personal notes in it from the previous owner, and their USN ID number inside the front cover.

The store wanted $50 for it, which seemed steep to me, but online they are only going for about $10 less, so I guess the cost is close.

The second book's price about gave me an MI...$175! This was Volume I of the Winchester Slide-Action Rifles by Ned Schwing.

And I was proven wrong in thinking that this was a crazy high amount for the book, but numerous different sites have it for $160-$180.

Not having either of these rifles and having too may other books to read, I passed, but I wonder if these books will ever sell for the amount the store was asking.

With all the info on the internets now, I know a lot of folks that have e-manuals and such, but I still like the paper reference as those still work when the power is out.

What's your take on the cost of used books? Specifically, gun related books.

[LUBEDUDE]

I'm with you. I like books.

Good reference books are like tools in my shop. They may sit around a while unused and neglected for while. But when I need them, I need them NOW. And THAT'S what makes them worth every penny. Even though it may have brought tears to my eyes at the time of purchase.

[Kent Fowler]

Depends on what they are and the condition. Hard cover Derrydale Press hunting and fishing books from the 20's and 30's, can command thousands. As in this example:
http://www.biblio.com/book/stray-shots-clark-roland/d/687512570?aid=frg&utm_source=google&utm_medium=product&utm_campaign=feed-details&gclid=Cj0KEQiAiamlBRCgj83PiYm6--gBEiQArnojDxe9ar7Xvl08y1h6lcK8CXCJjEpsC_IzHz6cAOqU Ww8aAsyr8P8HAQ

It would be nice to find one of these in a pile of books in an antique store or a garage sale.

[beagle]

Hardbacks are an investment if they're the right ones. I bought Skeeter Skelton's books when they first came out. They've gone up. Some of the older Charles Askins books have jumped as have original Keith books. Just select, read and enjoy. Always the old classics are worth the money and they don't make them anymore and there will probably be no reprints./beagle

[JSnover]

It's a lot like buying used guns: depends on why you need them. I would pay a premium for certain books if I knew they had collector value. But if the book in question is a 'shooter' I'll shop around for a fair price based on condition. If the book is not worth much but you're tempted to overpay because you really need it, look into reprints or reproductions first.

[Multigunner]

I have an original simultaneous first edition hardback of "Forbidden Planet" in mint condition. The dust cover which is usually missing or badly worn is near mint with only a single tiny repaired nick. Less well preserved copies have been priced by online rare book stores at over 2,000 USD. No interested buyers yet.
I guess the value of some books can scare off buyers.

[Bent Ramrod]

These Internet sellers have a huge customer base if they put the book on Line. All they have to do is wait. Somebody on a more local level might get excited over an Internet selling price, or hear that another bookseller made out like a bandit on a title, and puts a high price on his example in hopes of getting lucky too. Often, used book shop owners are countercultural types who don't like gun owners or hunters and price the books in these areas to fleece them.

You can see some of this with gun sellers as well. If a pristine example of a high grade gun fetches thousands of dollars, some hopeful is bound to think his corroded field grade specimen will bring that much too.

In terms of strict economics, you might come out ahead spending that 50 bucks for the Sharps book, rather than buying gasoline and entry fees and spending time haunting book stores and Gun Shows and piling up the costs in search of one that is cheaper. I myself generally enjoy the "hunt," although sometimes I get tired of looking and just want to read the book. I don't buy for collectibility or investment; I want to read the book. Fiscal appreciation after I get it usually leaves me with sticker shock rather than self congratulation over my "investment," when I see other copies for sale. But I'll take it, of course.

My most memorable disconnect between selling prices came when I "needed" to read Robert Ruark's Use Enough Gun. After about a year of looking, I found the cheapest example I had seen at a Gun Show for $25, and picked it up. A week later, I was looking over the Friends of the Library donation shelves here in town and there was a copy in identical condition for a quarter. Of course, I bought it, and gave it to a friend who thought I was bequeathing him a priceless treasure. I pointed out to him all the overpriced examples I could find as we cruised through the Gun Shows to bolster this idea, of course.

Moderately priced paperback (or other) reprints often come out as soon as I've sprung for an expensive original, or sometimes I find the original for cheap after I've bought the reprint. Sometimes I spring for the new book as soon as it comes out, only to find that three months later it is remaindered on Amazon or at Half Price Books for a fraction of the price. Sometimes I hold off buying in hopes of getting the remaindered price and it either doesn't happen or takes years to depreciate only slightly.

I guess the upshot is that if you like to hunt for bargains, the books are ridiculously overpriced. If you want or need the information now and don't want to waste time searching, the prices are worth it.

[375supermag]

Hi...

I study military history and paleontology.
I have a large library but, if I need an out-of-print book for my research, I just bite the proverbial bullet and pay the cost.

I do agonize over the cost sometimes and have delayed and rejected some purchases because I couldn't reasonably justify the expense.
Typically, my limit on a single book is $200, whether in print or out-of-print. Others, with deeper pockets may well be able to afford more but my means are somewhat limited. If I need information that badly and can't afford the book, that is what the library system exists for.

[GoodOlBoy]

I just plain love books. But all of my books are "shooters" as described. Ain't a point in having one if I don't read it.

GoodOlBoy

[Blacksmith]

I used to be in the book business and books like anything else prices are set by the cost of production plus profit when they are originally published. On the used book market the prices are determined by supply and demand.

A rare books value is much like collector firearms, coins or stamps. Rarity, and condition are the primary drivers and true collectors look for such things as which edition and which printing in that edition. Like other collectables there are specialists who want just first editions, signed first editions, all the books by a certain author, or on a specific subject, or any number of other criteria. Like collectable firearms there are specific recognized descriptions regarding condition and other specifics that the true professional book dealers, often members of either ILAB ABAA or both, use and can be relied on. Other internet book sellers buyer beware.

For those who want to learn the language of rare books, things like incunabula (one of my favorite words), I would recommend ABC For Book Collectors.
http://www.oakknoll.com/pages/books/75338/john-carter-nicolas-barker/abc-for-book-collectors-8th-ed-u-s

Collectable books can vary in price from a few dollars to many thousands but the bottom line is always what someone is willing to pay and how much someone is willing to sell for. The internet has become a great leveler in used book pricing because it is much easier to find multiple copies at various prices to choose from. However you always need to be certain you are comparing apples to apples. How much is an M 1 Garand worth? The answer might be much different depending on if it is a Field Grade post war mixmaster Springfield or a Collector Grade all correct as issued International Harvester; now if you have a correct prewar gas trap you want to sell for a Service Grade price send me a PM.

If you want to learn more about book collecting browse these titles:
http://www.oakknoll.com/searchResults.php?category_id=312&action=browse&orderBy=custom2
Then make a list of titles and go to your local library and ask them to locate copies you can borrow.

[bcr]

I have a hard copy of Hamilton Bowen's "The Custom Revolver". It is one of my favorite books. Right now on Amazon the three available are $600, $1350 and $3000. I don't know if anyone is really paying these prices, and it's hard to see why they would when you can get the kindle edition for $10. Still, I don't think I'd sell mine for $600. But for $1000, I'd start to think of the rifles or revolvers I could pick up.

[GoodOlBoy]

yeah one thing I hate is how the "electronic" books have taken over. I love a good dead tree edition of a book.

GoodOlBoy

[MaryB]

Even first edition paperbacks can be worth cash. I sold some Heinlein's I had collected for far more than the $1 I paid for them cruising garage sales. One with an autograph went for $150 back in 1979

[GoodOlBoy]

I once bought a Stephen King Salem's Lot first edition for a quarter at a used book store. I did get a weeeee little bit more than that from the collector I sold it to.

GoodOlBoy

[StrawHat]

The Schwing book is a good one. Lot's of information about the 1890 and the 1906. Including photos and descriptions of rare variations and prototypes. Not the kind of thins you can find browsing the web.

[WILCO]

What's your take on the cost of used books? Specifically, gun related books.


Used books sell for the prices that the free market will bear.
Just like Milsurp firearms, they aren't making them anymore and the same goes for the classic gun writers. Their works hold value because of the time they participated and the frontiers they explored.

[shooter2]

Books, especially hardcover books, are going the way of news papers. Everything is going digital.

I think books will appreciate over time. I am sure you know that many factors contribute to value. Too many to ponder here.

If it were me, I would buy what I wanted and could afford, then sit back and enjoy them. I may have a few hundred books on my Kindle, but I still prefer the feel of the book. JMHO