BookThink's Top 10 Ten on eBay
June 2007

The June Top 10 revealed both good and bad news. On the positive side, there were more international auctions with sellers from Poland, Canada, Australia, and Germany.

NARUs were the negatives. They struck 5 of the top fiction and non-fiction winners, including the top sale in each category. Was it summer "fun" or the start of a trend?

*Non-registered buyer so sale not completed and final value not validated.

By coincidence, this auction is #1 in the fiction top 10 and #4 (tie) in the Antiquarian & Collectible Top 5. Ending with a BIN, the buyer is not a registered user. (NARU)

Calling this a "tasty copy," the US seller listed the near fine+ copy of Carrie with 4 photos, and it sold as BIN to a buyer with 0 feedback. A quick check 9 weeks later showed the buyer feedback is now -3, no longer a registered user. The same seller sold #7.

A US seller listed a signed and lettered copy of From a Buick 8 with 1 photo. It sold as a BIN. Described as "the RARE cemetery dance LETTERED and TRAYCASED version of "From a Buick 8," the edition is said to be limited to 52 such copies. Features include leather black goatskin spine and French marbled endsheets with the volume housed in a traycase "lined with purple baroque satin purple/black corinthian paper wrap silver curved hinge and button clasp ...." It was signed by both King and Bernie Wrightson, the artist.

Yet another NARU struck at #4, an Easton edition of Dune with a signed bookplate tipped in. The NARU ended the auction with a BIN.

The 1938 1st US edition with no dust jacket was listed by a US seller in 10-day auction with 5 photos. It received a single bid. Flaws were described as a two small stains and light wear.

A 1st edition, 1st printing limited edition (of 5000) copy of I, Robot with the dust jacket attracted 4 bids to sell for $1,824. Listed by a US seller in a 7-day auction with 13 photos, the book is described as having slight rubbing and the volume as spotless with "very tiny bumps at the top outside corners of the boards."

Listed by the same US seller as #2, the leatherbound copy of The Stand runs 1,237 pages with illustrations by Bernie Wrightson. This is #358 of 1,250 copies and is housed in a velvet-lined wooden box. It sold as a best offer.

The second copy of To Kill a Mockingbird in the June list met the same fate as the first - another NARU struck.

Selling as a BIN, the signed first edition, first printing has Vonnegut's "self-portrait caricature on the first asterisk page ... filling the whole page." Condition is described as fine in a fine dust jacket. It was listed by US seller with 2 photos.

How many Persian language books have you run across? The Polish seller listed this copy of The Hobbit in a 7-day private auction with 1 photo. The seller commented, "I don't know how to spell the name because everything is in Persian language... because the book has been printed and published in Iran only.... The only non-persian characters have been used for the ISNB number...." Condition is described as very good/excellent. After 9 bids, the book sold for $865.11.