by Pamela Palmer

#138, 26 October 2009

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. To learn more about what's in and what's out of the lists, read our Top 10 on eBay Parameters.

NOTE: Items numbers are now included in this article. They are in the individual auction comments section below the author and title. Click the links to see the listings.

Keeping up with what sells for the highest prices on eBay is always interesting. But in August, the winner in the Antiquarian & Collectible category had an unusual wow factor. Though book related, it wasn't a book at all. The rest of that list included Moby Dick wedged between 4 volumes of the 1853 American Flora ... and Helmut Newton's Sumo. If you read Hebrew, be sure to see #5 in the Antiquarian & Collectible list.

In the Fiction Top 10, a US seller placed 2nd, 4th, 6th, and 10th with Stephen King titles. The non-fiction list ranged from Julia Child to Dwight Eisenhower to Barack Obama.

eBay
Fiction Top 10
August 2009

#1 $7,493.93 1851 HERMAN MELVILLE MOBY DICK THE WHALE FIRST EDITION
#2 $3,500.00 Stephen King- The Gunslinger Grant Signed Limited #109
#3 $2,587.01 Clive Cussler , Iceberg , 1st British Edition 1978 D/W
#4 $1,436.11 Stephen King- The Gunslinger Sphere Uncorrected Proof
#5 $1,200.00 "WE" by Charles A. Lindbergh
#6 $950.00 Stephen King- Salems Lot Signed Limited Ed. One of 300
#7 $849.00 The Haunted Air by F. Paul Wilson (2002, Hardcover)
#8 $764.17 Lord of the Rings. Folio Society. Goat skin Deluxe.
#9 $737.77 Robert Heinlein Gnome Press Sixth Column Pristine
#10 $711.00 Stephen King- The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Grant 1st

#1
Moby Dick or The Whale
Herman Melville
360178619795

A 1st edition, 1st state 1851 copy of Moby Dick attracted 8 bids to sell for $7,493.93. "Only 2,800 copies were originally published and many ... were tought destroyed in the 1851 Harpers warehouse fire." The book is described as having very good covers with a rebacked spine; pages are complete and in very good condition.

#2
The Gunslinger
Stephen King
190327416932

The like new signed limited edition sold after a single bid. The same seller sold #4, #6, and #10.

#3
Iceberg
Clive Cussler
380150074650

Listed by a UK seller, the 1st British edition attracted 15 bids. It was described as in near fine condition in a very good dust jacket.

#4
The Gunslinger
Stephen King
190325872877

4 bids took the advanced uncorrected proof in very good condition to $1,436.11. The same seller sold #2, #6, and #10.

#5
We
Charles A. Lindbergh
120454247031

Signed by the author and publisher, the 1st edition sold as a BIN. It is #258 of 1000 published, and is described as "pages are crisp and seldom opened, slight water stain."

#6
Salem's Lot
Stephen King
190327410824

The signed limited edition (#300 or 300) was published by Centiupede Press. It was described "as near, unread with a couple minor scuffs on the slipcase...." The same seller sold #2, #4, and #10.

#7
The Haunted Air
F. Paul Wilson
280381016198

Sold as a Best Offer, the new condition signed limited 1st edition was published in 2002 by Gauntlet.

#8
The Fellowship of the Rings
The Two Towers
The Return of the Kind
The Hobbitt
J.R.R. Tolkien
390079586047

A Folio Society limited edition set, the 4 volumes are "handbound in Morrocan goatskin leather and pure Indian silk. Sold by a UK seller, it attracted 29 bids.

#9
Sixth Column
Methuselah's Children
Robert Heinlein
330349261993

The 2 Gnome Press 1st editions sold after 10 bids. The 1949 and 1958 book are described as "in absolutely pristine condition, dust jacket perfect and radiant." They sold after 10 bids.

#10
The Gunslinger
Stephen King
190325873979

7 bids took the 1982 1st limited edition in near fine condition to $711. The same seller sold #2, #4, and #6.  

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