{"id":84,"date":"2008-07-06T09:59:30","date_gmt":"2008-07-06T16:59:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vinsuprynowicz.com\/?p=84"},"modified":"2008-07-06T10:00:09","modified_gmt":"2008-07-06T17:00:09","slug":"are-books-an-appreciating-asset-depends-where-you-buy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vinsuprynowicz.com\/?p=84","title":{"rendered":"Are books an appreciating asset? Depends where you buy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Where do you go to buy books?<\/p>\n

\u201cA big bookstore, of course.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why?<\/p>\n

I strongly doubt any of us have read 2 percent of the books published in English in the past century. Even if you narrow it down to \u201cbooks in the genres, on the themes, or by the authors I prefer,\u201d it would take an astonishing effort to read 20 percent of what\u2019s available. So where did we get the idea the next thing we read has to have been published this year?<\/p>\n

If there are essentially just as may new-to-you books available to someone spending a few hours touring a yard sale and then visiting a local thrift shop, I submit the only folks who \u201cneed\u201d to limit themselves to new releases are book reviewers, those employed by film producers to spot fresh screenplay material, and those who attend social gatherings where they feel terribly at sea if they haven\u2019t read the latest \u201cbest-seller.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Even in the last case, I believe I\u2019d rather volunteer, \u201cActually, I just re-read \u2018Lord of the Rings\u2019 \u201d — or \u201cThe Judas Pair,\u201d or \u201cAtlas Shrugged.\u201d)<\/p>\n

I stopped by one of those new-book joints this week, looking for a few favorite titles and authors. If you haven\u2019t shopped one in awhile, the first thing you\u2019ll notice is the way paperbacks have shoved out most of the hardcovers, presumably due to high manufacturing costs squeezing the profitability of the longer-lasting books.<\/p>\n

When fans who read C.S. Forester\u2019s \u201cHornblower\u201d novels as teen-agers and then moved on to Patrick O\u2019Brian\u2019s \u201cMaster and Commander\u201d series ask where to go next, I generally recommend Bernard Cornwell\u2019s \u201cSharpe\u2019s\u201d series, which follow an up-from-the ranks British infantry officer through the peninsular campaign and on to Waterloo.<\/p>\n

(One of the interesting things about this series is the tiny hardcover press runs on first printings of the fourth installment, \u201cSharpe\u2019s Sword.\u201d This would tend to indicate sales were slumping and the series may have been at risk till the BBC introduced its TV series based on the books, starring Orson Bean. In fact, the TV series was awful, but such is the power of video.)<\/p>\n

My bookstore visit found only ONE Bernard Cornwell in hardcover, a first printing of his new \u201cSword Song\u201d — part of his series on Alfred the Great — at $26. Many of the \u201cSharpe\u2019s\u201d novels were available, but only in trade paperback (about 5X8 inches) at $14 apiece. Cornwell\u2019s later and more complex literary tapestry, the King Arthur trilogy concluding with \u201cExcalibur\u201d? Not to be found.<\/p>\n

The aforementioned \u201cMaster and Commander\u201d series about the British Navy in the Napoleonic era, by Patrick O\u2019Brian? No hardcovers available; only trade paperbacks: $14.<\/p>\n

Although the sequels never quite lived up to my hopes, I often recommend Laurie King\u2019s \u201cThe Beekeeper\u2019s Apprentice,\u201d which is not a new Sherlock Holmes novel but rather a novel about a bright and spunky orphaned girl growing up in the west of England after the First World War, featuring Conan Doyle\u2019s retired detective as a major character. My bookstore visit found no Laurie Kings. (A follow-up phone check confirmed \u201cnone in store,\u201d though other branches in town reportedly have the trade paperback reprints.)<\/p>\n

The aforementioned \u201cAtlas Shrugged\u201d? Paperbacks only at the \u201cnew\u201d bookstore, priced from $9 to $25. (Yes, a $25 paperback.)<\/p>\n

Anne McCaffrey\u2019s classic \u201cDragonflight\u201d? Paperback only; $8.<\/p>\n

A 10th printing of Cormac McCarthy\u2019s \u201cThe Road\u201d was available in hardcover at $24. His \u201cBlood Meridian\u201d? Trade paper only; $15.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the Road\u201d? \u201cOne Flew Over the Cuckoo\u2019s Nest\u201d? Paperback only: $10 to $15.<\/p>\n

Harper Lee\u2019s \u201cTo KIll a Mockingbird\u201d? The 28th printing of the 40th anniversary hardcover edition was available, at $20. Otherwise, only paperbacks at $13.<\/p>\n

What would you pay for a hardcover copy of any of these novels at a used bookstore? It would depend very much on condition and whether you had in hand a first or other early printing. (Book club editions are much cheaper. If your modern book has a pre-printed price on the front dust-jacket flap and a complete number line — 1 through 10 — it\u2019s probably a first printing.)<\/p>\n

What would you pay for a used hardcover copy of any of these books at a thrift shop, a yard or estate sale, or as a cast-off library donation? A buck or two.<\/p>\n

Which of the books above is an appreciating asset, and which is a depreciating asset?<\/p>\n

Aha.<\/p>\n

If you treat it well, that first printing of Bernard Cornwell\u2019s \u201cSword Song\u201d from the big chain bookstore will hold its value well, currently selling for about $20 Online, used. It could appreciate.<\/p>\n

Later printings of Cormac McCarthy\u2019s \u201cThe Road\u201d also hold their value at about $20, and could go up.<\/p>\n

All those trade paperback reprints the \u201cnew\u201d bookstores now peddle? Resale value a couple of bucks, at best.<\/p>\n

Now let us suppose that in your used book hunting you come up with a \u201cvery good\u201d first printing of \u201cSharpe\u2019s Waterloo,\u201d in a very good dust jacket (not quite as good as \u201cfine.\u201d) If you treat it well while reading it, your resale value on that book should be about $80 Online, which means a reputable used bookstore owner might pay you $15 to $25. \u201cSharpe\u2019s Eagle\u201d — the first in the series? About $35 Online; resell it for $7 to $10 (but not if you spilled iced tea on it.)<\/p>\n

The 1983 first of \u201cSharpe\u2019s Sword\u201d? $300 in the American first edition from Viking — a reputable used book dealer might give you $60 to $100. The British first printing from Collins, of which only some 500 were printed, can be a $2,000 book.<\/p>\n

Used \u201cvery good\u201d copies of Patrick O\u2019Brian\u2019s \u201cMaster and Commander\u201d? The 1969 Lippincott true first can run $250 to $800 Online — resale to a used book shop could net you $50 to $250. The 1970 British Collins first edition? More.<\/p>\n

A late, 26th hardcover printing of \u201cAtlas Shrugged\u201d from the 1970s (original list price $26.50) is now a $40 book. A true 1957 first printing? $300 to $700 Online.<\/p>\n

A first of \u201cThe Beekeeper\u2019s Apprentice\u201d runs $100 to $200. Might as well get a signed copy at $250.<\/p>\n

The true 1968 first of \u201cDragonflight\u201d is a $1,000 book — the dust jacket alone can fetch hundreds. The hardcover first of Cormac McCarthy\u2019s \u201cBlood Meridian\u201d? $500 to $1,500 Online.<\/p>\n

\u201cMockingbird\u201d: over $500. \u201cOn the Road\u201d: $600 to $3,000. \u201cOne Flew Over the Cuckoo\u2019s Nest\u201d: $1,500 to $6,500.<\/p>\n

Are you likely to find all or most of these sought-after first editions with \u201cvery good\u201d dust jackets in a month of looking? A decade? Probably not. I certainly wouldn\u2019t recommend PAYING these full prices unless you\u2019re a knowledgeable collector — many is the likely sounding book that\u2019s broken hearts by turning out to be an ex-library veteran or a hard-to-pin-down book club edition.<\/p>\n

And alarm bells should go off whenever anyone mentions a collectible category that \u201conly goes up.\u201d Tell that to the folks who sank fortunes into sports collectibles. Authors can rise and fall in popularity, too.<\/p>\n

The point is simple. With rare exceptions (including true “paperback firsts” never preceded by a hardcover edition), the $14 you spend on a paperback reprint is thrown away after a single reading. Seek carefully for used hardcovers by collectible authors, and not only do you get the pleasure of reading a good book — take care of it, and you just might be able to sell it for more than you paid. Or bequeath it to your grandchildren.<\/p>\n

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Where do you go to buy books? \u201cA big bookstore, of course.\u201d Why? I strongly doubt any of us have read 2 percent of the books published in English in the past century. Even if you narrow it down to \u201cbooks in the genres, on the themes, or by the authors I prefer,\u201d it would […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-84","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-literacy"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pWqFl-1m","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vinsuprynowicz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vinsuprynowicz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vinsuprynowicz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vinsuprynowicz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vinsuprynowicz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=84"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vinsuprynowicz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vinsuprynowicz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=84"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vinsuprynowicz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=84"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vinsuprynowicz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=84"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}