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.
Notice how many fiction and non-fiction top 10 titles are sold as Best Offer or Buy It Now? The trend continues in May 2009
with 16 - count 'um - selling without the traditional eBay auction experience taking place. Of those 16, 6 sold as Best Offers and
10 sold as BINs. Even in the Antiquarian & Collectible top 10, there were 1 BO and 1 BIN. Maybe it's time to nail down the underlying
import for booksellers.
eBay
Fiction Top 10
May 2009
| #1 |
$3,300.00 |
Lot SIGNED Cormac McCarthy Border Trilogy 1st Ed MINT |
| #2 |
$3,050.00 |
Dark Carnival, Ray Bradbury, 1st, Arkham House |
| #3 |
$3,000.00 |
THE SIGN OF THE FOUR-SHERLOCK HOLMES-1890-FIRST EDITION |
| #4 |
$2,000.00 |
Comics Hardcover LETTER A OF 26 COPIES SIGNED R. CRUMB |
| #5 |
$1,500.00 |
The Twilight Saga Collection by Stephenie Meyer SIGNED |
| #6 |
$1,498.95 |
HUCKLEBERRY FINN--MARK TWAIN--1ST ED/1ST PRINTING-1884-85 |
| #7 |
$930.00 |
Clive Cussler Vixen 03 Proof Extreamly RARE |
| #8 |
$898.00 |
THE LORD OF THE RINGS (1955) J R R TOLKIEN uk 1st eds. |
| #9 |
$750.00 |
George R. R. Martin A FEAST FOR CROWS Signed Ltd Edn |
| #10 |
$790.00 |
The Commitments Roddy Doyle First Edition Mint Unread |
#1
Border Trilogy
All the Pretty Horses
The Crossing
Cities of the Plain
Cormac McCarthy
380121464670
2 of the 3 volumes are signed by the author, and all are marked "first edition." Described by the seller as "new in excellent pristine condition.
The trilogy sold as a Best Offer.
60 bids took this Arkham House 1st edition to $3,050.
Published as a magazine series, this 1st edition consists of a "bound volume [that] contains January to June
copies of Lippincott's Magazine of 1890 without the magazine covers." It sold as a Best Offer.
#4
R. Crumb Comics: The Story of My Life - People...Ya Gotta Love'em - I'm Grateful! I'm Grateful!
Robert Crumb
120403445758
The fine copy in a slipcase was previously the property of the Black Sparrow Press publisher. It is described as "copy 'A' of 26 letterd
copies signed by Robert Crumb and lettered by him ...."
#5
Twilight Saga
Twilight
New Moon
Eclipse
Breaking Dawn
Stephenie Meyer
270383330948
Continuing the Project Book Babe fundraiser, Stephenie Meyer donated another 4-volume boxed set and signed all the books plus the box. 35 bids
It garnered 35 bids to sell for $1,500.
The 1st edition, 1st printing is described as containing "three (3) of the issue points that are most critical to having First
Printing status." It sold as a BIN.
Sold as a Best Offer, this "might be the rarest book I've seen in 7 years of collecting Cussler."
#8
Lord of the Rings
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers
The Return of the King
J.R.R. Tolkien
320366387351
The Fellowship of the Ring is 1st edition/4th impression in very good- condition with a good+ dust jacket. The Two Towers
is a 1st edition/2nd impression very good- copy in a good+/very good dust jacket, and The Return of the King is a 1st edition
in good+/very good condition with a good dust jacket. All 3 volumes have maps in fine condition. The set sold as a BIN.
#9
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
J.K. Rowling
320367106180
Signed by Rowling at Carnegia Hall, the book is described as in "absolutely mint A1 Condition." It sold as a BIN.
The US seller describes this 1st edition as "published in Dublin under the name 'King Farouk,' by the author himself. Very limited and very
scarce now."
eBay
Non-Fiction Top 10
May 2009
| #1 |
$5,000.00 |
BLINDS & SHUTTERS SIGNED BEATLES ROLLING STONES BOOK HC |
| #2 |
$4,000.00 |
I Me Mine by George Harrison, Genesis Publications |
| #3 |
$2,700.00 |
The White House SIGNED by Bill & Hillary Clinton |
| #4 |
$2,499.00 |
SIGNED Jean-Michel Basquiat: Drawings 1985 ltd 1000 |
| #5 |
$1,300.00 |
LENI RIEFENSTAHL - SHÖNHEIT IM OLYMPISCHEN KAMPF 1937 |
| #6 |
$912.00 |
Lizards of Taiwan - Lin & Cheng 1990 |
| #7 |
$900.00 |
GREATEST SERIAL KILLERS BOOK |
| #8 |
$800.00 |
SIGNED Masao Yamamoto Omizuao (Pillow Book) LTD w/print |
| #19 |
$750.00 |
THE WRITGHT BROTHERS: **Signed by Orville Wright*** |
| #10 |
$700.00 |
Margin of Safety by Seth A. Klarman |
The 1990 Genesis publication is #825 of the 5000 limited edition and was signed by Bill Wyman and 12 other contributors. The listing
ended with a BIN by a buyer with 0 feedback. Over a month later, the novice buyer still has no feedback.
Another Genesis publication sold as a BIN. The seller, who had sold 6 other copies, called this "the only green copy I have ever seen."
It was stored unread in the original box that was placed in a climate controlled room.
#3
The White House
The History of an American Idea
William Seale
390047758848
Signed by both Bill and Hillary Clinton and given as a presentation copy to Robert A. Levin, this is #117 or 152. It sold as a BIN.
#4
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Drawings
Jean Michel Basquiat
200319721276
The signed limited edition copy is 1 of 1000. It is described as "near fine in near fine dust jacket." It sold as a BIN.
#5
Schönheit im Olympischen Kampf 1937
Leni Riefenstahl
310131913769
Riefenstahl's Nazi classic sold as a BO. Housed in the "original shipping carton," the volume formerly belonged to Arthur Holz,
a German athlete. It was described as fine+ in a near fine+ dust jacket.
Published by Taiwan Museum Press, this volume is in Chinese. The auction received 32 bids.
#7
The World's Greatest Serial Killers
Nigel Cawthorne
180354783150
Hmmmm. The Australian seller listed this book with a minimalist description - KILLERS BOOK, leaving us to wonder. Why would
a book that sells for
2 cents on Amazon attracted a $900 BIN?
The 2003 "accordian fold book bound between wood boards [and] housed in matching custom made wood box," sold as a BO. It is 14' wide when fully
opened and in fine condition.
After mangling the listing title, "Writght Brothers," the seller got the rest right. Signed by Orville Wright on the title page, the 1943
biography was described as "very good or better, in good dust jacket. It sold as a BIN.
Sold as a Best Offer, this copy was still unopened and still "factory sealed in plastic."
By the Numbers
18 sellers were from the USA
1 sellers was from the UK
1 seller was from Australia
2 sellers each sold 2 books
13 books were published during or after 1950
7 were published before 1950
10 sold as BIN
6 sold as BO
1 to 60 was the range of bids
Seller feedback ranged from 87 to 4659
18 books were sold by sellers with 100% positive feedback
Feedback percentage ranged from 98.1% to 100% for sellers who had feedback
The oldest book was published in 1884-85.
*feedback is noted at the time the auction is viewed by BookThink.
eBay
Antiquarian & Collectible Top 5
May 2009
| #1 |
$10,000.00 |
SHAKESPEARE - MACBETH & HAMLET FROM 2nd Folio 1632 |
| #2 |
$7,876.00 |
1491 INCUNABULA FORBEN'S POOR MAN'S BIBLE! NO RESERVE!! |
| #3 |
$6,850.00* |
RARE 1757 1ST EDIT 1ST STATE JOHN BASKERVILLE VIRGIL |
| #4 |
$6,766.66 |
1497 DANTE Divine Comedy ILLUSTRATED Italian INCUNABLE! |
| #5 |
$6,500.00 |
1479 Rare Latin Incunabula, LACTANTIUS OPERA |
* Purchase not completed due to non-paying buyer.
The 2 plays from the second folio (1632) were sold as a best offer.
The 1491 Forben's Bible was "bound in very old wooden boards." It sold after 24 bids.
#3
Publii Virgilii Maronis Bucolica, Georgica, Et Aeneis
180290051103
Published by Johannis Baskerville in 1757, this 1st edition was a BIN. However, the same not completed.
Called a "splendid Renaissance edition in folio with 99 woodcuts," the 1497 book sold after 30 bids.
The 1479 work sold after 25 bids.
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