by Pamela Palmer

#152, 3 January 2011

-

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.

In the leadup to Christmas, eBay fiction top 10 was led by a signed 1st edition of Suttree. The Cormac McCarthy volume was way ahead of the pack, selling for more than double the sale price of #2. Others on the list ranged from a signed Conrad title to a 1922 Clement Woods book. The non-fiction list was headed by a signed limited edition of Paul McCartney's Blackbird Singing, followed by Easton Press' Long Walk to Freedom and a 1982 title by a college professor who believed the US government was taking control of her mind; the book was self published.

eBay
Fiction Top 10
November 2010

#1 $4,000.00 Suttree by Cormac McCarthy First Edition, Signed
#2 $1,801.50 To Kill a Mockingbird First Edition Signed
#3 $1,704.00 Within The Tides - Joseph Conrad, Autographed!
#4 $1,450.00 Clement Wood SIGNED 1st Nigger 1922 African Literature
#5 $1,403.80 RARE 1ST PRINTING HARRY POTTER CHAMBER SECRETS- ROWLING
#6 $1,200.00 Firestarter by Stephen King signed limited 1st edition
#7 $1,299.95 Joseph Heller --CATCH-22 1st ptg HCDJ Signed
#8 $1,075.00 The Secret Soldier by Alex Berenson (2011, Unabridge...
#9 tie $1,000.00 BRADBURY, DARK CARNIVAL, ARKHAM. SGD. 1ST.ED. HC/DJ
#9 tie $1,000.00 "A" BY ANDY WARHOL 1968 SIGNED 1ST EDITION W/DRAWING

#1
Suttree
Cormac McMarthy
180587181400

Listed as a fine copy, the signed 1st edition sold as a best offer.

#2
To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee
220697972886

The 1960 signed 1st edition attracted 11 bids to close at $1,801.50.

#3
Within the Tides
Joseph Conrad
280587905017

Published in 1916, the hardcover in dust jacket was signed by the author. Several items were included in the listing; these included "a letter from Josephs [sic] widow to the person who the book was signed for.... A photograph of Joseph Conrad sitting in a lawn chair in his garden shortly before his death" and several newspaper clippings. The listing attracted 25 bids.

#4
Nigger
Clement Wood
380285251061

Signed by the author on the first page, the hardcover sold as a best offer.

#5
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
J.K. Rowling
310264989904

Listed by a London seller, the 1st printing sold as a best offer.

#6
Firestarter
Stephen King
230542914256

The signed limited edition in like-new condition sold as a best offer. It was #187 of 725. It was described as in "fine condition in near fine dustjacket." It was listed by a New Zealand seller.

#7
Catch-22
Joseph Heller
140451596195

Signed by the author, the like new signed 1st edition sold as a BIN.

#8
The Secret Soldier
Alex Berenson
120655159980

The charity auction of the "'#1'" softcover advance copy" was donated by the author. After 20 bids, it sold for $1,075.

#9 tie
Dark Carnival
Ray Bradbury
110615353372

A single bid won the signed, 1st edition hardcover.

#9 tie
A
Andy Warhol
130453522346

Coming in at #10, the signed 1st edition sold after 2 bids. The 1968 publication was described as in like new condition.

 

Google
BookThink
www