|
Close this window to return to BookThink
|
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: For item numbers of auctions featured in Top 10, subscribe to our free email list by writing Editor Craig Stark at editor@bookthink.com.
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.
#1*
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)
#2*
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.
#3
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.
#4*
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.
#5
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.
#6
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."
#7
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.
#8*
The second copy of To Kill a Mockingbird in the June list met the same fate as the first - another NARU struck.
#9
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.
#10
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.
*Non-registered buyer so sale not completed and final value not validated.
A NARU caused the charity sale of Diary of the American Revolution to go awry. Listed by a US seller to benefit the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Vermont, the listing closed with a BIN.
#2
Signed by Babe Ruth, this first edition "has been kept in a plastic book cover, and still have the paper dust cover, which is also
in good condition." Listed by a US seller with 5 photos, the book sold as a BIN.
A 1582 Bible was rebound, "probably well over 100 yrs ago." It was listed by a US seller in a 5-day auction with 4 photos. After receiving
7 bids, it sold for $2,676.
Security Analysis frequently shows up in the top 10. This first edition was listed by a Canadian seller with 1 photo. Described as in
fair to good condition, the corners are bumped. It sold as a BIN 2 days after listing.
The 1979 signed first edition was listed in fine condition with "an exquisite drawing of one of Whiteley's famous bums." It was listed by
an Australian seller in a 3-day auction with 6 photos. After 19 bids, the auction ended at $1,811.76.
Copy #400, the 1982 first edition was described as in near mint condition with a small amount of highlighting. It was listed by a
US seller with 7 photos and received
15 bids.
Listed by a US seller who wanted to use the proceeds of the 2 copies of the 2000 paperback
"to pay for one graduate class at Wheaton College...." which Graham attended. With a focus on his religious beliefs, 1 copy sold
as a BIN at $1,650.00.
Eighteen bids took the first edition, second printing from a starting bid of $19.99 to a selling price of $1,613.71. Listed by a US seller with
4 photos, the blue volume is described as in "good condition."
16 sellers were from the USA
*feedback is noted at the time the auction is viewed by BookThink.
*Non-registered buyer so sale not completed and final value not validated.
Listed in an elegant presentation with 14 photos, the "authentic first edition in original leather binding, complete with all text ..."
attracted 15 bids to sell for $70,099. Housed in a custom leather clamshell box, the book has some soil, a few repairs/restorations, faint damp
stains, and foxing. It was listed is a 10-day auction by a noted expert in Mormon antiquarian books.
Described as "this complete 1479 Jenson's Biblia Latina with its stunning illumination, splendid typography, distinguished
provenance and superb state of presentation ... museum quality ...," the volume was listed by a US seller in a 10-day auction with
71 photos. After 27 bids, it sold for $35,000.
Nineteen woodcuts are among the highlights of the "first volume of the Biblia Latina by Sebastian Brant."
It is described as "half bound in
pigskin on wooden covers with six raised bands and one original clasp." Listed by a German seller in a 10-day private auction with 12 photos,
the volume attracted 12 bids before selling for $15,000. The same seller sold #4.
Sold by the German seller of #3, the heavily illuminated volume with vellum leaves is described as an "extremely rare example for the
art of book design between the late Middle Ages and the early modern times." It was listed in a 10-day private auction with 12
photos and sold for
$12,000.
This copy of To Kill a Mockingbird is the same auction that came in #1 on the non-fiction list. A NARU ended it with a BIN.
Copyright 2003-2011 by BookThink LLC
|