Penguins

In my youth, I collected those Penguins with the numbers on the spine.
I'm now trying to get rid of them on ebay and my other half suggested I
try and promote it on a discussion group. This feels really cheeky as
it looks like you lot are having serious discussions, but if anyone
does fancy taking a peek at my ebay listing, here's the URL:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/43-Vintage-Pen...cmd ZViewItem

Oh no. I've just read some of your posts and it's quite scary. I'm
sorry. I will kick my other half.

"joholondon" wrote in message
oups.com...
In my youth, I collected those Penguins with the numbers on the spine.
I'm now trying to get rid of them on ebay and my other half suggested I
try and promote it on a discussion group.

Your other half hates you, and encourages you to SPAM?

Didn't you read eBay's rules, or our FAQs?

Kris
Damned Google Groups spammers

"joholondon" wrote in message
oups.com...

In my youth, I collected those Penguins with the numbers on the spine.
I'm now trying to get rid of them on ebay and my other half suggested I
try and promote it on a discussion group. This feels really cheeky as
it looks like you lot are having serious discussions, but if anyone
does fancy taking a peek at my ebay listing, here's the URL:


I doubt if you'll get one bid.

If you do, then people are even dumber than even I thought.

Humble Pie Certificate, in the post no doubt.

The only people who would pay £99 for any Penguin, or
accumulation of Penguins, would be Penguin collectors.

They're not going to buy up job lots, more especially job
lots of later Impressions (printings). All collectors are already
lumbered with accumulations like yours.

They want individual titles, in very good condition in the
first or at least early Impression. For which they might pay a fiver
each for a sought after number. Excepting Ariel obviously. No 1.
Which you haven't got I notice. My two 2nd Impressions each cost
me around £2.

They need to know the condition and printing information for
individual titles and be able to bid for those individual titles.

All Penguins were printed in millions. None are particularly
rare. They're all over the place and can still be picked up for £1
in good condition if you know where to look. Even early ones
complete with covers. All series Pelicans, Classics, whatever.
The problem for collectors is finding just those ones they need.



michael adams

correction: "wrappers" substituted for "covers" in previous post.

joholondon" wrote in message
oups.com...

In my youth, I collected those Penguins with the numbers on the spine.
I'm now trying to get rid of them on ebay and my other half suggested I
try and promote it on a discussion group. This feels really cheeky as
it looks like you lot are having serious discussions, but if anyone
does fancy taking a peek at my ebay listing, here's the URL:


I doubt if you'll get one bid.

If you do, then people are even dumber than even I thought.

Humble Pie Certificate, in the post no doubt.

The only people who would pay £99 for any Penguin, or
accumulation of Penguins, would be Penguin collectors.

They're not going to buy up job lots, more especially job
lots of later Impressions (printings). All collectors are already
lumbered with accumulations like yours.

They want individual titles, in very good condition in the
first or at least early Impression. For which they might pay a fiver
each for a sought after number. Excepting Ariel obviously. No 1.
Which you haven't got I notice. My two 2nd Impressions each cost
me around £2.

They need to know the condition and printing information for
individual titles and be able to bid for those individual titles.

All Penguins were printed in millions. None are particularly
rare. They're all over the place and can still be picked up for £1
in good condition if you know where to look. Even early ones
complete with covers*. All series Pelicans, Classics, whatever.
The problem for collectors is finding just those ones they need.



michael adams


*For covers read wrappers.

Up until at least 1940, all Penguin series were issued in dust
wrappers. It's not that unusual to find titles complete with
wrappers, although in many the folds of the wrappers are very
badly worn and are close to separation. Most are "chipped" to
some degree. However this does usually protect the cover
underneath from tanning in the white parts and keep the colour
fresh. The edges of most text blocks remain browned however.
In many cases but not all, the wrapper has the price of 6d.
in largish print at the foot of the spine. Unlike the books
themselves. Early Penguins sold extensively through the
Woolworths chain, who were present on most U.K high street,
where 6d. was a standard price.


michael adams

....

Dear Michael, thanks for this. I have managed to sell a few later
Penguins and yes, they were all firsts (in Penguin). I have tried to
include some information about my assemblage - if they are in poor
condition or if they have their dust jackets. But I didn't put the
impression number as I figured if anyone was that keen they'd work it
out from the publication year. I based my price on how much I paid for
them. One of them, The Unpleasantness at the Belladonna Club, cost me
£25. God knows why as it's a fifth impression! The rest mostly cost me
£1-4. And I was buying these 10 years ago. It's disappointing they
haven't really gone up in value.
And Kris, before joining your group I looked at the About Group page
and didn't see any FAQs.
Jo

"joholondon" wrote in message
oups.com...
Dear Michael, thanks for this. I have managed to sell a few later
Penguins and yes, they were all firsts (in Penguin). I have tried to
include some information about my assemblage - if they are in poor
condition or if they have their dust jackets. But I didn't put the
impression number as I figured if anyone was that keen they'd work it
out from the publication year. I based my price on how much I paid for
them. One of them, The Unpleasantness at the Belladonna Club, cost me
£25. God knows why as it's a fifth impression!

....

Point taken. "The Unpleasentness at the Bellona Club" probably
appealed to an Agatha Christe completeist, who wanted a copy of every
separate publication of her work. All the more reson maybe to list
the titles separately, I'd say.

....

The rest mostly cost me
£1-4. And I was buying these 10 years ago. It's disappointing they
haven't really gone up in value.

....

You may get plenty of bids and I may end up with egg on my face.

However -

One reason they may not have gone up in value is that if
they were in one piece ten years ago, then its unlikely anyone
will have destoyed that many in the meantime. The destruction
curve was probably greatest in the first two years after their
publication, and tailed off ever since. The war won't have
helped either. This is pure conjecture on my part however.
While the rise of the charity shops conversly may have aided
their preservation. As doners wanting to be rid of them, may
be less inhibited about giving them away to Charity Shops
than they would trying to sell them to a second-handbookshop.
And so dumped them instaed.

That and the fact that seemingly nobody is that interested in
the 30's that much nowadays. But then eBay "lunacy" didn't exist
10 years ago either.

Coupled with with the fact that all Penguins are now becoming
increasingly brittle - plastic wallets nonwithstanding. The point
being that these latter make it difficult if not impossible to
display them on the shelf in all their glory. While thorough
deacidification would require disbinding and restitching.
Which would be prohibitively expensive for anyone other
than an eccentric millionaire with a mission. One set of
The Pelican series for one, is certainly deserving of such
treatment IMO, if only for their historical\cultural
significance. Penguins selling off parts of their archive
at a knockdown price, didn't exactly help matters either.

Anyway we'll know soon enough


preparing to duck


michael adams

....








And Kris, before joining your group I looked at the About Group page
and didn't see any FAQs.
Jo

"michael adams" wrote...

[...] "The Unpleasentness at the Bellona Club" probably
appealed to an Agatha Christe completeist, [...]

That's a funny way to spell Dottie Sayers!

Matti

"Matti Lamprhey" wrote in message
...
"michael adams" wrote...

[...] "The Unpleasentness at the Bellona Club" probably
appealed to an Agatha Christe completeist, [...]

That's a funny way to spell Dottie Sayers!

Matti


Oh dear! A spelling flame - a surfeit of Lamprhey.



michael adams

....

"michael adams" wrote...
"Matti Lamprhey" wrote...
"michael adams" wrote...

[...] "The Unpleasentness at the Bellona Club" probably
appealed to an Agatha Christe completeist, [...]

That's a funny way to spell Dottie Sayers!

Oh dear! An author flame - a surfeit of Lamprhey.

:-)))

Matti