Joined: 25 Jul 2007 Last Visit: 30 Aug 2023 Posts: 891 Location: Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Posted: Fri May 22, 2009 1:06 pm Post subject:
Yes, there area couple different surrounds. Some don't seem to have any such as the one pictured in the auction and others have a fake wood frame that is about half an inch wide.
But I do remember seeing one seller on Ebay that had them for $30 each. I was tempted to buy another set but was worried about the shipping. The ones from NK were shipped fairly well but still ended up with a couple small cracks - I had to get one of them replaced.
Joined: 12 Nov 2005 Last Visit: 22 Mar 2020 Posts: 4574 Location: In the House of the Cosmic Frog
Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2009 5:01 pm Post subject:
I suspect that we'll see a lot more in the next few years. As time goes by it gets harder and harder to justify keeping money tied up in collectibles that are hemorrhaging value. Warriors of Mars for $270? I had thought that the drop was confined to the $1K+ group, but it seems to be creeping down into mid-level stuff. The people I know have their fingers crossed that things will turn around. I'm not in that camp. The economy coupled with a lack of serious promotion and development will keep the hobby floundering. The small attempts there have been will continue, of course, but they are not enough to raise the level of awareness. It would take a dedicated group effort to turn things around. _________________ "This is cool."
Joined: 12 May 2008 Last Visit: 12 Nov 2015 Posts: 144
Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 1:05 am Post subject:
Quote:
it gets harder and harder to justify keeping money tied up in collectibles that are hemorrhaging value
What isn't "hemorrhaging value" these days though... I think that the prices spiked unrealistically at some point is the main reason for the present decline.
Items such as the 1st print woodgrain will surely escalate in value over the years (similar I think to 1st print copies of Hobbit and LOTR). All modern fantasy is considered a copy/indebted to LOTR (whether it's true or no) and the same thing should happen with the woodgrain. Role Playing is very healthy and growing more and more, just online. How long did it take those rare Tolkien books to become really valuable?
Joined: 12 Nov 2005 Last Visit: 22 Mar 2020 Posts: 4574 Location: In the House of the Cosmic Frog
Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 2:38 am Post subject:
Obviously, given enough time, things should probably turn around. I simply can't imagine the 40-55 age bracket (my group) waiting around for 8-10 years. I really don't want to look in my garage 10 years from now and see the same pile.
Books are a lot different. 1st Tolkiens were already valuable and then word of the movies came out. The release of the Hobbit movie could help boost interest in Tolkien-related games. Battle of the Five Armies should do well, the LORE version especially since it one of the earliest. My initial point was that rpgs really don't have to be different than books. If things were done right, a 1st woody could have the same value as an early Tolkien, but that type of development isn't of interest to the community. _________________ "This is cool."
Joined: 11 Aug 2007 Last Visit: 09 Jun 2009 Posts: 102
Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 12:19 am Post subject:
Rifter wrote:
What isn't "hemorrhaging value" these days though...
Plenty, it seems, in that "mid-range" bracket.
Checking back over recent sales:
R1 (VF) - expecting $175-200, fetched $340
R4 (VF) - expecting $325-350, fetched $350
RPGA1 (F, corner crease) - expecting ~$250, fetched $305
RPGA3 (F-VF, edge-rubbing) - expecting ~$200-225, fetched $315
RPGA4 (VF) - expected $225, fetched $500
(all the above five as "visible grades", but with unstated staple rust...)
R3 (G-VG, scribbled on) - expecting $100-125, fetched $153
RPGA1 (VF) - expecting ~$275-300, fetched $296
H1 (unpunched, but worn box) - expecting ~$100, fetched $114
B10 (unp. copies) - back to $80-90 ask vs. $100-125 previously
Outdoor Geos, wizard (VF, but incomplete) - expecting $75-100, fetched $104
Dragon Magazine Archive, to $140 BIN'd (pretty much as expected from $90 up)
UK Basic book (F+, usual wear but better than usual) - expected ~$100, fetched $68
White boxes, crushed 5th print BIN'd at $200 (would've expected a push to go over $150-175), others more-or-less "per usual" or fractionally low - only notably low was sweet 6th/7th - expecting $150-175+, fetched $143
D&D, first French printing - expecting $125-150, fetched $182
WoM (VF) - expecting ~$350, fetched $270 . Previous copy (VF+) - expecting ~$350-375, fetched $400 (reserve minimum)
Infernax (F-VF; nice non-penstroke copy despite annotations) - expected $125-150+, fetched $224
Misty Isles (F-VF, small waterstain, etc.) - expecting ~$200-250, fetched $225
PotVQ 3rd, genuine copy (F+, nice apart from cover creases) - expecting $300-350, fetched $288 (nobbled sale possibly thanks to Acaeum thread, IMHO) : other digest PotVQ & DG pretty much as expected (losing by cents at ~$300 F++ , comfortably above previous BIN on better DG)
Boot Hill 1st (F-VF, presumed complete) - expecting $75+, fetched $58
Castle Zagyg - working back down to $125-150ish, pretty much as expected (thankfully)
CoC: Horror on the Orient Express - expecting $125-150ish(?), fetched to $560
TUO 1 (not pre-release) - BIN'd finally at $250 - would've expected ~$100 on open market ; other CoC generally fairly strong
Pavis & Big Rubble HB - expected ~$75, fetched $184
Dune RPG - expected ~$150, fetched $163
JTAS 1 - expected ~$100-125, fetched $215 ; other Traveller fanzines mostly doing quite well
Warpstone 1 + misc - expected $150-200, fetched $364. (Further downmarket on general UK RPG fanzines, a good number of sales of more "common" items to $40 and early-but-nothing-special WDs to the same which seemed rather high).
Hadn't expected $103 for a SW'd Car Wars box at all. *g*
Glancing through other items in $60-100 band, more-or-less as expected with a few a bit high, others a bit low; nothing overly exceptional for "visible" items outwith a cheap Pooka, phps. JG more notably on the low side/slipped further down below that band.
Rifter wrote:
I think that the prices spiked unrealistically at some point is the main reason for the present decline.
Prices in general in that mid-range are still holding up pretty well in US dollars, IMHO; and add 20%+ for GBP, for one.
Rifter wrote:
Items such as the 1st print woodgrain will surely escalate in value over the years (similar I think to 1st print copies of Hobbit and LOTR).
Escalating "1st only" prices is a sign of an unhealthy market (collector/investment vs. more "interested" parties), IMHO; Dragons and Woodgrain boxes have already gone that way in recent years.
1st Tolkiens are not /that/ expensive, it's the dustwrapper that is. Speaks volumes that does...
Rifter wrote:
How long did it take those rare Tolkien books to become really valuable?
1995ish and declined somewhat in past few years aside from a small number of exceptional items. Bookseller "ask" prices do not reflect actual private or auction sale realisations, of course.
Joined: 25 Jul 2007 Last Visit: 18 Jun 2017 Posts: 148 Location: Cairns, Queensland, Australia
Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 3:28 am Post subject:
harami wrote:
CoC: Horror on the Orient Express - expecting $125-150ish(?), fetched to $560
TUO 1 (not pre-release) - BIN'd finally at $250 - would've expected ~$100 on open market ; other CoC generally fairly strong
Yeh I supprised when I saw both of these.. I think the Orient Express will be more of a blip.. The TUO.. well someone just wanted it I suppose, it was on a BIN for ages (and quite right for that sort of $$)..
harami wrote:
Warpstone 1 + misc - expected $150-200, fetched $364. (Further downmarket on general UK RPG fanzines, a good number of sales of more "common" items to $40 and early-but-nothing-special WDs to the same which seemed rather high).
That was me that pushed that;) and I still came in second... the "mainstream" zines ie Beholders have really attracted a bit of interest it seems and the price on some of these has spiked, I think it will have been a few collectors finishing off runs? be we will see...
Joined: 12 May 2008 Last Visit: 12 Nov 2015 Posts: 144
Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 11:03 am Post subject:
Is that midrange stuff a spike or a trend though? 2-3 guys can create stupid numbers over a short period of time and then disappear as a major buyer ala Degassy... or TFM even Then, all of a sudden, things sell for "surprisingly low amounts" till the next 2-3 guys come along.
I agree overall with TFM's synopsis. I just think that in the scheme of things (the really big picture) this stuff, the alpha D&D, has a great deal of upside beyond my generation. The near present looks pretty grim though! Meaning (the same as TFM I believe) that a good portion of present "collectors" are not people you would actually like to associate with for various reasons There's no real "community". There's less appreciation of the source material as opposed to the $$$. The newbie collector comes along and gets burned or disillusioned- Hostile forums, dealing with shady characters on Ebay... It really isn't an easy hobby.
Joined: 25 Jul 2007 Last Visit: 18 Jun 2017 Posts: 148 Location: Cairns, Queensland, Australia
Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2009 1:08 am Post subject:
in 8-10 years time I be looking at the same stuff I have now (and more!) LOL.. I don't buy rpg stuff to "invest" in.. I buy it because I collect it, I don't generally buy more than 1 rare item as I usually don't sell anything (I'm too busy buying;).. do I worry if I have spent too much on an item? not really.. I worry if my house burns down and its all lost more than anything... and your right 2-3 people and push rare items to a level that is just not sustainable in the short (or even long term).. if I was going to invest my money it would be in (more) houses and not a niche market like rpg's.. if you can make money by buying and selling and investing in RPG items than all the more power to you, personally I don't have the time or effort to buy items and make a couple of $$ more profit on them by selling em...
Joined: 12 Nov 2005 Last Visit: 22 Mar 2020 Posts: 4574 Location: In the House of the Cosmic Frog
Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2009 6:59 pm Post subject:
Not me, mate! I was very close to having stacks of games placed haphazardly all over the garage, which in my mind would make me a case. I looked at everything one day and said, "I'm five minutes away from being a nut." Since then, I've been thinning things out a bit. My Goodman crap was taking up two office boxes with no end in sight, so I cleared it out. I've been going through everything, thinning out the extra copies, sending the stuff Aaron wants to Nobleknight and ebaying the stuff he's already got. I'd like to get it down to 50 boxes if I can. I've also done some private sales of some of the rares. True, they don't take up much room, but the person I sold them to wanted them more than I did and will take very good care of them. I'm pretty obliging in that regard. Having fun is still the key, I think. Right now I'm working on my own campaign that mates Warhammer, Cthulhu, Tolkien, and Howard. At first, I didn't think that they would dovetail tail very well, but digging into them has revealed a sort of ubermyth. They do plug in to one another thematically. It should be interesting. My kids are getting old enough to grasp the basics. I can't wait to send them through. They've been bugging me for years to play with my lead figures in the trunk. _________________ "This is cool."
Joined: 25 Jul 2007 Last Visit: 30 Aug 2023 Posts: 891 Location: Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Posted: Thu Jun 11, 2009 2:27 pm Post subject:
beasterbrook wrote:
if you can make money by buying and selling and investing in RPG items than all the more power to you, personally I don't have the time or effort to buy items and make a couple of $$ more profit on them by selling em...
I have done a bit of this lately for the last couple of years. Mainly I try and find small press items that I can't find and want for my collection but if there happens to be extra copies then I will make some arrangement to obtain and sell them. Let me just say that from a business perspective the time/effort vs profit return is really not very good. I probably make a couple dollars an hour but I do find some cool stuff.
Joined: 25 Jul 2007 Last Visit: 29 Dec 2023 Posts: 230 Location: Wichita, KS
Posted: Thu Jun 11, 2009 9:38 pm Post subject:
tfm wrote:
Right now I'm working on my own campaign that mates Warhammer, Cthulhu, Tolkien, and Howard. At first, I didn't think that they would dovetail tail very well, but digging into them has revealed a sort of ubermyth. They do plug in to one another thematically. It should be interesting.
Sounds good!
tfm wrote:
My kids are getting old enough to grasp the basics. I can't wait to send them through. They've been bugging me for years to play with my lead figures in the trunk.
Teach them to paint: Ethan loves it when spend Saturday mornings painting minis, and he's about out of his starter set of plastic Citadel/Warhammer dwarves, elves, men, orcs, goblins, and skaven. So, I opened up some Reaper figures and now he's got 3 metal ones to start in on, and he's in hog heaven _________________ grodog
---
Allan Grohe
grodog@gmail.com http://www.greyhawkonline.com/grodog/greyhawk.html
Joined: 25 Jul 2007 Last Visit: 30 Aug 2023 Posts: 891 Location: Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2009 1:52 pm Post subject:
scribe wrote:
I feel like I saw that exact sign while in Lake Geneva 10 years ago.
You probably did. There were two signs up until a few years back, then someone took them down and sold them on Ebay. Here's a pic of what hey looked like while still up:
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Then, all of a sudden, things sell for "surprisingly low amounts" till the next 2-3 guys come along.
There's no real "community". There's less appreciation of the source material as opposed to the $$$. The newbie collector comes along and gets burned or disillusioned- Hostile forums, dealing with shady characters on Ebay... It really isn't an easy hobby.
