David Quammen Inquiry

Hi. Just picked up a copy of David Quammen's The Soul of Viktor Tronko
(Doubleday 1987 Stated First Edition hardcover.) I was aware of his Song of
the Dodo nonfiction book and wanted to do some research on his other titles
as this particular one seemed odd as it's fiction. I checked the author on
Abe, Alibris, Amazon and found prices upwards of $200 for this book. I'm
trying to figure out why this particular novel is fetching so much and if
this is just the result of some crazy bookseller trying to get as much as he
can for it. Does anyone know anything about this particular novel and/or
author?

Any input would be appreciated!
Thanks, as always!
Jen

I don't have any information about your specific question, but
your "crazy bookseller trying to get as much as he can for it"
reminded me of something. I've got two copies of the first
edition (there's a current, second edition out) of a technical
book ("Plant Drug Analysis") that isn't easy to come by. The
*only* two copies of the first that I've seen on the net in the
past five years are the two copies I've purchased (for ~$33 and
~$106 each; this becomes relevant below).

Currently, there's one copy of the first at $940 (abebooks, and
the same copy, I assume, also listed on eBay) and one of the
second edition at $895. (....!)

So. I've been wanting the second edition - this isn't so much
a collector thing, as a practical item that I'll use in my
work. Are they both so very rare that they're going to be
going for a thousand bucks or more, I'm wondering?

I found the publisher's site online, and saw a listing for the
second edition, at $299 (plus shipping from Germany). I emailed
them, to make sure they really, actually, did have copies in
stock. If it was gonna go out of print and not be reprinted, I
sure as heck want to get my 2nd edition before it's out of my
price range. On the other hand, if there aren't any around,
maybe I should sell one of my firsts and make a tidy little
profit.

The publisher emailed me back. They have about 200 copies of
the 2nd edition in stock.


So. I'm thinking of emailing the two booksellers who have
their outrageous prices listed, letting them know that the
book can be had, brand new, for a fraction of their price.

Is there an etiquette about this? Should I just leave them
to look like fools, and to make even bigger fools out of
any hapless buyers who are stupid enough to fork over $900?


-Allison



on Mon, 22 Aug 2005 13:54:17 -0400, krik999 stated:

Hi. Just picked up a copy of David Quammen's The Soul of Viktor Tronko
(Doubleday 1987 Stated First Edition hardcover.) I was aware of his Song of
the Dodo nonfiction book and wanted to do some research on his other titles
as this particular one seemed odd as it's fiction. I checked the author on
Abe, Alibris, Amazon and found prices upwards of $200 for this book. I'm
trying to figure out why this particular novel is fetching so much and if
this is just the result of some crazy bookseller trying to get as much as he
can for it. Does anyone know anything about this particular novel and/or
author?

Any input would be appreciated!
Thanks, as always!
Jen

"Allison Turner-" wrote in message
...

The publisher emailed me back. They have about 200 copies of
the 2nd edition in stock.


So. I'm thinking of emailing the two booksellers who have
their outrageous prices listed, letting them know that the
book can be had, brand new, for a fraction of their price.

Is there an etiquette about this? Should I just leave them
to look like fools, and to make even bigger fools out of
any hapless buyers who are stupid enough to fork over $900?


-Allison

Why do you believe the second edition of *any* book has
the same value as the first?

Let the marketplace work; if they sell their copies, you'll
be right in line behind them, trying to sell yours.

Kris

Kris Baker wrote:

Why do you believe the second edition of *any* book has
the same value as the first?

The kind of technical book that Allison was talking about is generally
bought for its contents, not as a collectible. If the second edition
contains revisions and updates of the contents then it is actually
probably more desirable than the first edition. And, anyway, one of the
two copies she mentions as currently being on sale at a high price
($895) is a second edition.

Let the marketplace work; if they sell their copies, you'll
be right in line behind them, trying to sell yours.

If they sell their copies she might do well to take up Michael's
suggestion and buy up those 200 copies at $299 from Germany!

John
http://rarebooksinjapan.com

on 23 Aug 2005 00:58:37 -0700, John R. Yamamoto-Wilson stated:

Kris Baker wrote:

Why do you believe the second edition of *any* book has
the same value as the first?

The kind of technical book that Allison was talking about is generally
bought for its contents, not as a collectible. If the second edition
contains revisions and updates of the contents then it is actually
probably more desirable than the first edition.

Exactly. There are many color images in this book (nearly
half the pages) and the second edition has sections, including
the color images that go with them, that the first edition
does not. In fact, in my graduate work I needed one of those
sections that was only in the second edition. Fortunately,
there was a copy in the department that I could borrow.

Second (and third and fourth etc.) editions are usually
published for a reason. While I recognize that a first of
the United States Pharmacopoeia would sell for far more
than a sixth, I collect all of them because the information
up through about the tenth (early 1900s) is of value to me
in my field. In fact, the information in the tenth edition
(I once bought one of those for a buck) might be just as
useful as the info in the first (haven't found a first, yet;
did get a second for a reasonable price once).

It is an interesting anomoly to me that collecting places
such value on firsts, rather than on content.


Let the marketplace work; if they sell their copies, you'll
be right in line behind them, trying to sell yours.

If they sell their copies she might do well to take up Michael's
suggestion and buy up those 200 copies at $299 from Germany!

Oh, the demand really isn't there. And I just checked my
email - they have about 300, not 200 copies. I'd suspect
they sell a handful of copies a year - perhaps 20 or 30 if
they're doing really exceptionally well. Excellent
marketing might increase those sales a bit (one could,
perhaps, convince the herbal OTC industry that they want
to use the methods in the book to test their products,
thus acquiring a few dozen new customers), but these books
are never going to fly out the door. There just aren't
that many of us that need them.

If I were into scams, though, I might buy up four or five,
and list them one at a time, with intervals in between, on
eBay for, say, $400. Undercutting the $900 guy by a lot,
and probably selling mine for a profit. Or it might not
sell, if the buyers in my field have a clue and go hunt
down the publisher's web site.

I'm still tempted to tell the two sellers what fools they
are.


-Allison

Allison Turner- wrote:

If I were into scams, though, I might buy up four or five,
and list them one at a time, with intervals in between, on
eBay for, say, $400. Undercutting the $900 guy by a lot,
and probably selling mine for a profit. Or it might not
sell, if the buyers in my field have a clue and go hunt
down the publisher's web site.

The dealers are *asking* $900 for it, not *getting* $900 for it.

At one point I saw a book at a convention marked $100. Since I had a a
copy, I thought, "Wowo, it's worth $100!" (That was a lot back then.)
But when I saw the same dealer with the same book three, four, five
years in a row, still asking $100, I concluded that maybe it wasn't
after all.

Similarly, the dealer may be asking $900, but if it's still listed, he
isn't getting it.

--
Evelyn C. Leeper
http://www.geocities.com/evelynleeper
The foolish man wonders at the unusual;
the wise man at the usual. -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Allison Turner wrote:

It is an interesting anomoly to me that collecting places
such value on firsts, rather than on content.

It really depends what field you're in. Many collections contain mainly
fiction, and the content usually doesn't change from one edition to
another, so what collectors want is one of the very first books that
hit the streets. If the content *does* change, though (for example, the
first Arthur Rackham-illustrated edition, or something), then that may
spark an increase in collectible value.

The same feeling of revering the original edition spills over into
nonfiction to some extent, but is tempered - and quite often outweighed
- by the fact that the purchaser is more likely to want to consult the
actual contents, plus the fact that in many cases the contents may
change in later editions.

I happily paid a higher price for a copy of Ferguson and Pantzer's
second edition of Pollard and Redgrave's A Short Title Catalogue of
Books Printed in England, Scotland, & Ireland...1475-1640 (STC), than I
would for a first edition, and all the $300+ copies currently on offer
on ABE are the second edition.

Like you, I - along with most other people who buy the STC - want the
book for reference purposes, and the second edition is, quite simply, a
far better tool than the first. There may be a few people who would pay
the prices in the $200-$300 range being asked for a copy of the first
edition, but such people are probably few and far between.

If I were into scams, though, I might buy up four or five,
and list them one at a time, with intervals in between, on
eBay for, say, $400.
[snip]
I'm still tempted to tell the two sellers what fools they
are.

Go with what your gut tells you. But if you tell them the second
edition is still available new at $299 they may go ahead with the very
scam you outline!

John
http://rarebooksinjapan.com

Hello Allison

A check on Amazon UK reveals both books available for about $ 300 - $
325.

What you must appreciate is that there are book sellers on both ABE and
Amazon who have a deliberate policy of violently over pricing scarce
books. Im afraid you telling them they are being silly wouldnt do any
good because they think they are being very clever and if you could see
their sales of expensive books to sucker buyers then maybe they arent
so silly after all but definitely unethical.

Stan Giltedge Books

"Evelyn C. Leeper" wrote in message
...
Allison Turner- wrote:

If I were into scams, though, I might buy up four or five, and list them
one at a time, with intervals in between, on eBay for, say, $400.
Undercutting the $900 guy by a lot, and probably selling mine for a
profit. Or it might not sell, if the buyers in my field have a clue and
go hunt down the publisher's web site.

The dealers are *asking* $900 for it, not *getting* $900 for it.

At one point I saw a book at a convention marked $100. Since I had a a
copy, I thought, "Wowo, it's worth $100!" (That was a lot back then.) But
when I saw the same dealer with the same book three, four, five years in a
row, still asking $100, I concluded that maybe it wasn't after all.

Similarly, the dealer may be asking $900, but if it's still listed, he
isn't getting it.

--
Evelyn C. Leeper

Exactly. If you tell them about it, all they'll do is get ****ed.
If their books sit there unsold, then they'll learn.....which is
why I made my "marketplace" comment.

Kris

"Dolph" wrote in message
ups.com...

Hello Allison

A check on Amazon UK reveals both books available for about $ 300 - $
325.

What you must appreciate is that there are book sellers on both ABE and
Amazon who have a deliberate policy of violently over pricing scarce
books. Im afraid you telling them they are being silly wouldnt do any
good because they think they are being very clever and if you could see
their sales of expensive books to sucker buyers then maybe they arent
so silly after all but definitely unethical.

Stan Giltedge Books

It's an eBay trick, too. List one copy of a book at a seriously
inflated price, then list another under your other eBay ID, with
a lower price.

Kris