by Pamela Palmer

#70, 5 June 2006

BookThink's Top 10 on eBay
April 2006

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Top 10 on eBay
Series

Which fiction and non-fiction books are winners on eBay? Each month this series answers the question and, along the way, looks at the listing strategies sellers use to bring in big bucks. In early January, we'll look back at the year and consider trends and highlights. To learn more about what's in and what's out of the lists, read our Top 10 on eBay Parameters.

Readers of Bill Klimon's article in the May 29th issue of The BookThinker won't be surprised to see a magic book atop the non-fiction Top 10 for April. The group also includes a biography of Pierre Curie signed by the author Marie Curie, a golf architecture book, and the 1907 Polar Times. The fiction Top 10 includes the usual Pullman, Tokien, and King along with the unusual - Injun Babies, Harper Lee, and Salman Rushdie.

For those tracking changes in closed eBay auctions, the listing and payment details section now shows details with the option of hiding them. This is a welcome change from the previous practice of hiding details with the option of showing them, an option so discreet it was easy to miss entirely. One auction in the April Top 10 mentions a reserve price in the listing itself, but eBay closed auction records no longer routinely indicate whether a reserve was used - at least for now.

Fiction Top 10
April 2006

#1 $9,844.62 The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien 1954-1955 1/1/1/UK
#2 $3,676.01 The Dark Tower: THE GUNSLINGER Autographed Signed RARE
#3 $3,042.49 PHILIP PULLMAN - NORTHERN LIGHTS x 3!!! 1/1 HB/DJ
#4 $2,959.19 J.R.R.Tolkien...The Two Towers...1st imp in d/w...1954.
#5 $2,289.02 SEAMUS HEANEY ? THE ISLAND PEOPLE ? BBC 1968 1st Ed.
#6 $2,276.30 PHILIP PULLMAN NORTHERN LIGHTS TRILOGY ALL 1ST/1ST
#7 $2,177.21 Dashiell Hammett Glass Key 1st Ed w/DJ 1931 Scarce
#8 $2,050.03 Autographed Copy of To Kill a Mockingbird
#9 $2,025.00 Injun Babies by Maynard Dixon 1st Edition Mint No Res
#10 $2,024.15 Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie

#1
The Lord of the Rings
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers
The Return of the King

J.R.R. Tolkien

The 3 first printing, first edition volumes have dust jackets, are not price clipped, and are in very good condition. The UK seller describes them in detail, including a litany of what each does not have - foxing, bumping, inscriptions, offsetting, internal marks - making it a bit difficult to find the statement of flaws. 12 photos illustrate the 10-day auction which started at GBP 5000. After 4 bids, the set sold for $9,844.62.

#2
Dark Tower: The Gunslinger
Stephen King

Started at $9.99, the first limited edition volume received 25 bids and sold for $3,676.01. Signed by King and Michael Whelan, the book is #454 of 500. The seller appears to be selling for others, making the brief description with run-together words all the more unusual. For example, "ofthevalue" is written as one word, as is "itwill." Spelling and grammatical errors appear throughout the auction.

#3
Northern Lights
The Subtle Knife
The Amber Spyglass
Philip Pullman

Listed by a UK seller who frequently makes the top 10 list, this set of 1st UK printings is in very good condition with light shelfwear and light sunning. The 10-day auction received 22 bids, reaching the selling price of $3,042.49.

#4
The Two Towers
J.R.R. Tolkien

Shown in 12 photos, this first edition, first printing is in "very good condition" with a near fine dust jacket. Minor flaws are described and shown in the photographs. The UK seller started the 10-day auction at GBP .99. After 19 bids, the book sold for $2,959.19.

#5
Island People: An Irish Sequence of Music and Poetry
Seamus Heaney

Listed in a 7-day auction with no pictures, this book went from a GBP .99 starting price to $2,289.02. The UK seller describes it as in very good condition. Surprisingly the author punctuates the auction title with question marks, seeming to indicate doubt. In the auction itself, though, includes no doubts about authenticity; the seller calls it "rare" and "scarce."

#6
Northern Lights
The Subtle Knife
The Amber Spyglass
Philip Pullman

Another UK seller takes an ignore-the-grammar approach to online selling with this set. "Has all the point's so you no its a true first" and "Dust jaket perfect,no tanning,rips..." are part of the description. Described in "mint condition," the set started at GBP 120 and sold for $2,276.30 after a 7-day auction.

#7
The Glass Key
Dashiell Hammett

The US seller calls this book a "first edition, stated second printing before publication." After a careful description, the seller notes that the "Original second issue dust jacket issued same time as the first; this jacket meets all of the first issue points except that it is 1/16th of an inch shorter than the first issue." Sold in a 10-day auction that included 11 photos, the book received 4 bids. Starting bid was $1,500; selling price was $2,177.21.

#8
To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee

Autographed in the author's full name of Nelle Harper Lee, this 6th edition copy was inscribed to Thomas Earl Nettles. The auction states that he "has retained the book with him ever since." The dust jacket is missing and the 8 photos serve as a condition description. Sold in a 10-day auction with 20 bids, the book had a starting bid of $25 and a selling price of $2,050.03.

#9
Injun Babies
Eight Stories and Eight Drawings for American Children

Maynard Dixon

Published in 1923, the 1st edition hardback book is described as in "beautiful condition" and the 6 photos reinforce that description. Clean and unmarked, the book started at $.99 in a 5-day auction and sold for $2,025.00.

#10
Midnight's Children
Salman Rushdie

Coming in at #10, the Booker Prize 1st edition hardback with dust jacket was inscribed by the author to the seller at the launch party. Described as in "excellent condition, except for the dust jacket which has been partly faded by sunlight," the book was listed in a 10-day auction with no photos. Starting bid was GBP 10. After 31 bids, it sold for $2,024.15. The auction attracted 4 questions focused on requests for scans and edition details.

 

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