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Lycan 01
2010-03-14, 04:34 PM
So I heard that one of my old RPG books, a space supliment for Star Wars Saga called Starships of the Galaxies, was out of print and hard to find. I bought it new only a couple of years ago, so I found it kinda strange that it'd be out of print, let alone hard to find. So I decided to check online, and see what people were paying for it.

Wow.

Apparently, Amazon.com has SotG selling for about 70 dollars new and 74 dollars used. I payed about 35 dollars for it. And I didn't even use it that much. :smalleek:

So out of curiousity, I checked to see how much another suppliment, the Knights of the Old Republic setting guide that one of my players has, was worth.

WOW.

99.97 used, 160-something new. We only used it once. :smalleek:


So now I'm just sitting here wondering how on earth books we paid little attention to are suddenly worth more than double/triple what we originally bought them for. Do people actually buy these books for that much money now? Is there really that much demand for something in surprisingly short supply? :smallconfused:

Also, a friend of mine has an Amazon account, so I'm curious to see if I should keep these old books, or try to make some money off of them. My gaming group never plays Star Wars Saga anymore, so these books are literally just gathering dust. There's a chance I might have use for them eventually... but I doubt it. And I could use the money for other RPG or Warhammer 40K stuff, or some other useful purpose.

So, should I see if I can make a little bit of cash off of a book I never use? Or should I keep it in case I have eventually need for it, or the price goes up? :smallconfused:

Also, does anyone else have any old books that are worth more than they thought? Perhaps everyone should check Amazon and Ebay to see what their old junk is worth... :smallbiggrin:

Scoot
2010-03-14, 04:40 PM
My cousin recently gave me a few books he had gotten from a friend.

One was an old "The Necromican", last time I check I think it was $200+.

Also was "The Ardouin Grimoire" Volumes 1-3. Not worth as much, but were still more than I expected, I think around $60-70 each.

I don't know the exact system these were made for, but they have adapted to D&D 3.X well enough.


As for selling or keeping, it's all a gamble. At the current rate, it looks like they're going up, but crashes are always possible, (See Baseball Cards).

I'd keep them though, but that's just personal preference.

Nero24200
2010-03-14, 05:53 PM
XPH's seem to be going for alot. Just after 4th Edition started comming out I was seeing it on sale -everywhere- for about £50+. It wouldn't surprise me if the price was still going up in some places.

The Rose Dragon
2010-03-14, 05:55 PM
XPH's seem to be going for alot. Just after 4th Edition started comming out I was seeing it on sale -everywhere- for about £50+. It wouldn't surprise me if the price was still going up in some places.

Which is weird, since nearly all of the book can be found online. For free. Legally.

Lycan 01
2010-03-14, 05:57 PM
What are XPH's? :smallconfused:

My friend is considering selling his book now, while I think I may hold on to mine for a few more months and see what happens to the value of it.

the_archduke
2010-03-14, 05:57 PM
Online... for free... legally? Other than the SRD? I would like to know where you are referring to.

The Rose Dragon
2010-03-14, 05:59 PM
Online... for free... legally? Other than the SRD? I would like to know where you are referring to.

That's actually what I was referring to.

Tyndmyr
2010-03-15, 06:04 AM
Which is weird, since nearly all of the book can be found online. For free. Legally.

There's something to be said for having the actual dead-tree book. Much easier reading.

I spent a rather goodly sum collecting the long out of print D10 7th Sea books...have nearly all of them now.

The Rose Dragon
2010-03-15, 06:06 AM
There's something to be said for having the actual dead-tree book. Much easier reading.

Weird, I found just the opposite. I bought the hardcopy of M&M simply because I assumed it would be easier to read. It wasn't.

Ravens_cry
2010-03-15, 06:47 AM
Weird, I found just the opposite. I bought the hardcopy of M&M simply because I assumed it would be easier to read. It wasn't.
Each to thier own. There are features I like about Tree Book technology though, such as the boot time and the battery life. And considering there's no back light, it's surprisingly easy to read in a variety of lighting conditions. The search options are limited, and vary from model to model, but are generally sufficient if you have a general idea of what your looking for, thanks to patent pending Indexing tech.
Back on topic, I just got handed a bunch of 1.0 AD&D books. Wow, the system. .. sucked. Confusing, poorly presented, with art that would make a pre school finger painter cry. So many ways to die with no save. So much latitude for DM dickery. So many bad puns in the monster names. So many syllables strung together with no meaning.
I also got my hands on the 3.0 DM and PHB.
A lot of art isn't in 3.5, much of it focusing on the 'default party', like Mialee, my favourite elf nerd, being freaked out by a spider.

raitalin
2010-03-15, 11:27 AM
When I was still buying and selling books Stormwrack and Complete Divine both caught decent prices. I sold a copy of Stormwrack for $60 and 2 complete divines for 40+. I think SC and MiC are going up, and will probably continue to.

Yeah, some of the SAGA edition books have had very short print runs. SoTG is basically core and KotOR might be the most popular SAGA setting, so their costs have gone through the roof. I've personally sold 2 SotG for 70+ and a KotOR for 100.

The old RCR Starships book also catches between 30-60 dollars, and the RCR Arms and Equipment book can get 30.

Some of the more obscure White Wolf books also go for a decent amount, but I can never find them to resell them.

Mongoose87
2010-03-15, 11:32 AM
I will trade you my mortal soul for that Starships of the Galaxy.

SpikeFightwicky
2010-03-15, 11:56 AM
I will trade you my mortal soul for that Starships of the Galaxy.

If I had more than one soul to offer, I'd trump your offer. I've been looking for that book since it came out. My LGSs never got their original order copies, and it was out of print before they got any 'back orders'.

Yora
2010-03-15, 12:09 PM
Maybe I should let go of my KotOR-CS then. Found it on a shelf in small rpg shop and paid only about 25€. And it isn't even a good book. Equipment, PrCs, and Feats are nothing special, and you get much more fluff at wookiepedia for free.
I baught XPH online just some months ago, and I think I didn't pay much more. But I'll keep that one. I still use it a lot! :smallbiggrin:

The big differences to baseball cards is, that those are only colectables. People who pay for old RPG books usually want to actually use them for their own games. It's demand that drives the prices up, not their investment value.

Person_Man
2010-03-15, 01:05 PM
1st editions of Little Wars (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Wars) (arguably the first tabletop war game, and the spiritual father of Chainmail -> D&D) by H.G. Wells usually go for around $200+ in Fair or Poor condition, and much more if you can find it in Good or better condition (nearly impossible to find). I was at a convention years ago where someone had a signed copy that was going for $10,000.

None of the books published today could approach the importance of Little Wars. So if you see something selling for $70+, that's probably the best price you are going to get.

On the flip side, I wouldn't sell my old copies of 1st and 2nd edition D&D books at any price. My childhood memories are worth more then a few hundred dollars.

absolmorph
2010-03-15, 01:06 PM
If I had more than one soul to offer, I'd trump your offer. I've been looking for that book since it came out. My LGSs never got their original order copies, and it was out of print before they got any 'back orders'.
You could add $10 to your offer.

Also, I was really surprised at how expensive the 3.5 PHB is now. I'm one of those people who like being able to have their information on hand and not requiring electricity (that's the main advantage of books, in my opinion), so I really wanted it. Instead, I've got the copy one of my players owns, along with his DMG and MM. Ah, the joys of being a new DM.

SpikeFightwicky
2010-03-15, 01:18 PM
I have just about every 3.5 book released (PHB and Complete Warrior in doubles), so I'm happy with that collection. I also picked up the original Ravenloft I6 1st ed. adventure for 0.50$ from a used book shop a few years back (and the followup adventure for another 0.50$). I'm definately a fan of books over PDFs for RPG supplements. I'm not sure what it's worth, but I likely wouldn't trade it for anything.

Steveotep
2010-03-15, 04:01 PM
I picked up a D&D scenario called "Up the Garden Path" for free at a TSR stall at a convention. TSR then pulped the entire print run.

It now goes for £1500! :belkar:

Lycan 01
2010-03-15, 05:35 PM
Wow, I didn't think there was actually that much demand for these books. I figured people were just selling 'em high in hopes an uninformed buyer would take the bait. I didn't realize this books were really worth that much. :smalleek:


I actually watched a couple of Ebay sells yesterday. I saw one copy of Kotor go for 97 dollars (with 15 dollar shipping, which is obviously a rip off :smallannoyed:), and a copy of Starships for 57 or so dollars.


My friend has decided to sell his book, so I'll be taking it back to college with me for my Amazon-connected buddy to sell. I think he wants to ask about 120 for it... :smalleek:

I think I'm just going to hang onto Starships. For now, at least. If the price keeps rising, which it probably will, I'll likely sell it then. Besides, I need time to photocopy some of my favorite sections. :smallbiggrin:



I'm also sorely tempted to go out and buy random SWS suppliments, since apparently they're good investments... :smallconfused:

raitalin
2010-03-15, 06:00 PM
Wow, I didn't think there was actually that much demand for these books. I figured people were just selling 'em high in hopes an uninformed buyer would take the bait. I didn't realize this books were really worth that much. :smalleek:


I actually watched a couple of Ebay sells yesterday. I saw one copy of Kotor go for 97 dollars (with 15 dollar shipping, which is obviously a rip off :smallannoyed:), and a copy of Starships for 57 or so dollars.


My friend has decided to sell his book, so I'll be taking it back to college with me for my Amazon-connected buddy to sell. I think he wants to ask about 120 for it... :smalleek:

I think I'm just going to hang onto Starships. For now, at least. If the price keeps rising, which it probably will, I'll likely sell it then. Besides, I need time to photocopy some of my favorite sections. :smallbiggrin:



I'm also sorely tempted to go out and buy random SWS suppliments, since apparently they're good investments... :smallconfused:


Prices on SWSE products will likely increase until another company picks up the license. Even then it would have to be better than SWSE, which is probably the height of the 3.X family of systems before the switchover to 4th.

However, picking books to go up in value significantly is a risky business. In most cases you're doing well if the book retains it's retail price, as they're generally worth 1/2 used right out of the gate. More SWSE books are likely to go up in value, but they'll likely be ones that can be used in several different styles of campaign and have been underprinted. I'd say Jedi Academy Training Manual, Scum and Villainy, Galaxy of Intrigue and Galaxy at War are likely candidates. The specific setting books not so much.

Lycan 01
2010-03-15, 08:23 PM
I know for a fact that Scum and Villainy is not going to be rare any time soon. I see it everywhere... :smalltongue:

I was actually thinking about Galaxy at War just because, since I personally prefer the GCW for campaign settings... :smallconfused:

The Big Dice
2010-03-15, 08:51 PM
Wait a minute, I've got Ships of the Galaxy, KotOR and half a dozen other SWSE books on my shelf right behind me. And they are worth money?

Lycan 01
2010-03-15, 09:07 PM
Apparently, yes.

Kotor is the most expensive, followed by Starships. The rest are just market price at the moment.

In fact, I watched another Kotor book sell for 80 dollars on Ebay, and a Starships guide go for 51... :smallconfused: