Understanding second hand book prices

[Katsunami]

Some second hand book prices are way out of line, especially the ones by well-known writers. I've been looking to buy some hardcover versions of books that are not available as ebooks.

- Look at Amazon.co.uk: see price of € 24,95 (after conversion)
- Look at "New from other sellers": see price of € 23,95 - € 29,95)
- Look at "Used from these sellers": see price of € 24,95 - € 100+ for books in the "Good" to "Like new" category.)

I'm confused.

How does one expect to sell a used book, even if it's in the "Good" category, for € 24,95 or up, if I can get it NEW for the same price? How come some people expect to get € 100+ for such a book?

Obviously, this is not the case with all books, but I have encountered quite a few.

[WillAdams]

What the market will bear.

Usually such higher used prices get set during a period of time when the book is out-of-print, then get re-set once the seller notices it has come back into print.

Some of them though are a result of Amazon having bought into direct links of abebooks, so those books may be collectible, or have some especial provenance.

[cfrizz]

Amazon just started republishing the books of an author I loved but passed away in 2003and her books are out of print. Those who want used pb of her books are paying through the nose for them.

I never expected that her books would be converted over to ebooks, but they have been thanks to Curtis Brown publishing & Amazon for the amazing price of $2.99 each!

Needless to say I'm snatching them up as I go along.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by cfrizz

Amazon just started republishing the books of an author I loved but passed away in 2003and her books are out of print. Those who want used pb of her books are paying through the nose for them.

I can understand that, but the books I was looking at are in print, and Amazon even has them in stock, even. There is no use to look at second hand books if they are as expensive as the new ones.

[speakingtohe]

Many Amazon.ca prices are very high. Not just books. I assume someone pays 3 times as much for an item than elsewhere as otherwise why bother listing it? It seems more justifiable with hard to find books than say a mixmaster bowl I can order from Sunbeam for much less.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by speakingtohe

Many Amazon.ca prices are very high. Not just books. I assume someone pays 3 times as much for an item than elsewhere as otherwise why bother listing it? It seems more justifiable with hard to find books than say a mixmaster bowl I can order from Sunbeam for much less.

Amazon takes a commission from sellers. Guess what is built into the price

[Geralt]

How about ebay for used books? Is that better?

I wouldn't know. I never buy used, because of high prices. It just isn't worth it when I can get a new book for the same price, or ebook for half a price (thanks to kobo codes)

[fjtorres]

I've actively sought used books off ABE a few times, both before and Amazon bought them out. Prices will vary according to scarcity and demand, with scarcity being the main driver.
As WillAdams said: what the market will bear.

Two examples:

When I first started targeting SF books in my early teens I compared notes with my school buddy who mentioned his uncle hadleft behind a few paperbacks. I loaned him mine, he loaned me his. I had Heinlein and Blish; he had a couple of ACE doubles from the 50's, old even then. Fun reads. And being among my very first genre reads they stuck with me. Those ACE books were dirt cheap and relatively high volume for the genre but when I went looking for copies for myself, 50 years after release, there were maybe 5 copies on the market in the whole planet. And not in very good shape. They still commanded 20x the original list. (Which was fortunately in the $5 range. ) For my purposes, the fact it pretty much unbound the moment you opened it was expected and no problem.

A second case was a hunt for Chad Oliver's SHADOWS IN THE SUN. Also a book from the 50's. That one I read from the university library. Like most 50's SF novels it saw a hardcover print run of maybe a thousand copies total. There was an early 70's limited edition reprint because Oliver is one of the seminal soft SF writers. When I went hunting, the most readily-available edition ran $60 and there were maybe 5 or 6 copies available. One vintage edition ran $600. I found a decent one from another, more recent, reprint for $22. And I was lucky; it was the only copy that low.

Used book prices can range from bargains to outrageous depending on supple, demand, condition, and significance to the likely buyer. When I ordered the Oliver book, I picked up replacement copies of a couple of my old Heinlein psperbacks for $1.50 each. Excellent condition, too. Same edition I had from decades past, a lot cheaper than the current in-print edition because Heinlein is always in print. And now he's in nicely-priced ebooks. Unless it's a vintage hardcover edition there's not much point to go used.

But for lesser-known authors and rare editions the price can go very high simply because there are few copies to go around and the market will sooner or later bear a lot.

When you get down to it, they aren't priced as books but as collectibles.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

When you get down to it, they aren't priced as books but as collectibles.

I understand your post, and it's perfectly logical.

What is perfectly ILLOGICAL is to ask €100+ for a second hand book that can also be ordered *new*, for €25, RIGHT NOW, because it's in print.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

I understand your post, and it's perfectly logical.

What is perfectly ILLOGICAL is to ask €100+ for a second hand book that can also be ordered *new*, for €25, RIGHT NOW, because it's in print.

On the face of it, I agree.

But, are both editions available in the same country? At the lower price?
A lot of used book sellers run bookstores; they may be pricing to their local market rather than the internet market. If the new edition is a recent release, they may not be aware it's being undercut.

Failing all that, they may just be clueless.
It happens.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

On the face of it, I agree.

But, are both editions available in the same country? At the lower price?
A lot of used book sellers run bookstores; they may be pricing to their local market rather than the internet market. If the new edition is a recent release, they may not be aware it's being undercut.

Failing all that, they may just be clueless.
It happens.

I don't know.

I just find the book at Amazon.co.uk, and see a price of €24.95 for the hardcover. Then I click on "X items used", and sometimes see prices so high that would make any non-millionaire go a whiter shade of pale.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

I don't know.

I just find the book at Amazon.co.uk, and see a price of €24.95 for the hardcover. Then I click on "X items used", and sometimes see prices so high that would make any non-millionaire go a whiter shade of pale.

Well, did you look at the used books? Did you check them to see what justified the price? That they were all available, at the same time, same place, same country?

Many of the "used" books shown on Amazon are signed FE's, or limited editions, or collectibles. Some are books in other countries, where Amazon won't ship, from sellers in those countries. You can't judge the "used book" market without spending at least five minutes investigating.

And, yes, there are many instances in which some idiot bought a pre-release copy (I've seen ARCS for sale on there, even though they shouldn't be) and is trying to sell it above retail. It happens. If you don't look at the used books to see WHY they are priced over the new, you have zero facts, so cannot make any type of judgement.

Hitch