Date: Thu, 24 Apr 1997 00:21:58 -0700 (PDT) From: Sean Barry <sjbarry@ucdavis.edu> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg1635$foo@default> Subject: Re: Book Prices
On Tue, 22 Apr 1997, John Walker wrote:
I
> would love to have both of these books but I don't want to get ripped off.
>
> Adrian Slack "Carnivorous plants"
>
> Price: $102.00
> Shipping charge: $3.95
> Total charge for item: $105.95
> Ordered ISBN: 0262191865
> Binding: No information
>
> Charles Darwin "Insectivorous plants"
>
> Price: $239.50
> Shipping charge: $3.95
> Total charge for item: $243.45
> Ordered ISBN: 0404085125
> Binding: No information
You need much more information on condition, edition, binding, etc before
you can decide what is fair. Slack's book spent its final publication
years in paperbook form, and as nice as the book is, IMO its content is
not sufficient to spend $100+ on the paperback. There is no indication in
your data about that, and it is crucial that you know before you send
payment. Also, Slack's book is still listed in Bowker's "Books in Print"
as though it were still in print, but it has been out of print/out of
stock at the publisher for many years. There are many particulars about
condition that you _must_ know before you commit to the purchase at even a
much lower price, if you want to be certain to pay a fair price. If
hardcover, is the dust jacket present, and in what condition? Are there
spine bumps, writing or (god forbid) highlighting inside, FOXing (ferric
oxide staining on the endpapers), tears, etc? Used book traders use the
abbreviations "G" (good, free of major defects but shelfworn, nicked,
faded, perhaps FOXed), "VG" (very good, little wear, little or no FOXing),
"NF" (near fine--almost perfect), and "F" (fine--basically perfect) to
denote in a general way the condition of used books. Ratings lower than
"good" should not interest you unless it's a first of "The Origin of
Species" at a bargain price. Generally the notation is book/dustjacket,
so that "NF/VG" indicates a book that is in near fine condition with a
dustjacket that is just very good (nicks, minor tears, shelf wear). If
the dustjacket notation is missing, assume there is none and take 15-50%
off the going (not the asking) price. The term "wp" (wraps) refers to
paperback, and "bds" (boards) usually means cardboard covers without
cloth binding, although oddly enough the copies of Slack's book that I've
seen advertised usually indicate "bds" for what is a regularly bound
book--perhaps that is the true form of the paperback, which I've not seen.
I haven't kept track of the going price for Slack's book lately, but in
1994 it was about $40 for the hardcover in NF/NF to F/F condition. My
hunch (and this is just a hunch, do not quote me) is that it's a $75-$100
book these days, but only in that same condition. The paperback version
should go for much less. The trouble is that in any form it's a very
scarce book, and you may wait awhile before you find one at a better
price. Also, remember that the 1980 MIT version is not the "first
edition," --the book was first published in Great Britain in 1979 by
Ebury Press, and in that form it may be worth a bit more. I suggest that
amazon.com may not be the best place to search scarce/used books--try
bibliofind, abebooks, or other Net-based search machines, and circulate
your want list to used/rare book dealers. Request a booksearch from a
local used book dealer, and be persistent. Remember, for real estate it's
location, for used books it's condition.
What I wrote about Slack goes for Darwin x100, especially because so much
more money is involved. You need much more data, and you need to know the
going price for that edition in that condition. My impression is that
it's $50-$150 too high unless it's the very first edition, in which case
it's a steal unless the condition is really poor. Nevertheless, that's
just my impression, and you should research the going prices of both books
in the used book price guides that are available at libraries.
Sean Barry
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