Interesting Non-TSR Items Currently on eBay
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Post Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2016 9:54 am 
 

ZardokhasSpoken wrote in Interesting Non-TSR Items Currently on eBay:Though I am an active collector, I tend to gravitate towards useful items over simply interesting historical ones. ...........  Is it worth this price in your opinion?  Thanks!


Your statement and question raised an interesting question.  I would like to see a thread for items deemed high value for the money.  For example, ST1 is reportedly not that good of an adventure costing thousands, while Ravenloft can be purchased for $25 and was chosen as one of the greatest adventures ever written(according to an "all-star panel of judges").  Of course, different people value different qualities.  

The historical value of publications is one of the common values emphasized by this community over other D&D on-line communities, so this kind of thread could stir up trouble unless carefully crafted.  Another value admired by many is the cost of an item or the overall monetary value of their collection.  Therefore a thread like that could be perceived as running counter to the predominant culture.  However, I would like to argue, for the sake of our own community growth, that pointing out higher-quality low-cost items serves our overall goal of promoting quality collecting.  We all started out with low-value collections, and by purchasing items we've loved and admired, our collections have expanded as time and money allow.

Maybe the better way to craft this topic is for people to simply state their own top 10 list of favorite D&D adventures.  Here's a link to a site showing the top 30 list of adventures selected by an "all-star panel of judges":  GROGNARDIA: 30 Greatest D&D Adventures of All Time  To me, the list factors in nostalgia as a valued quality.  Anyway, by featuring adventures that people value, for whatever reason, then it would be easy to compare their prices and allow people to make their own judgements about what publications are "high-value" for the money.

I apologize for the thread-jacking.   :oops:


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Post Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2016 3:34 pm 
 

I think that this is definitely on-topic, Chris, so it's worth noodling through further.

I think that what you're suggestion are some alternative measures to those most-commonly used by this community, which goes back to Steve's question, too.  As I see it, the collector community usually measures a product based on something like this:

- scarcity:  how few of an item were produced; this directly drives $$$-value in terms of the buy-price to pay to acquire an item on the open market
- condition:  how good a shape is the item in; this is obviously independent of rarity, but it also equally impacts the $$$-value of an item
- shrink-wrapped:  is the item still factory-sealed (generally impacts condition, as well as scarcity, since many items were opened, leaving few in shrink---although this is not true across the board [a la the Temple of Andar from several years ago, when it was cheaper to buy a shrink copy than an open one ;) ])
- quality of production values:  how good is the physical product (boxed sets with big poster maps and other inserts make a better impression than a simple booklet), and the actual writing/editing, artwork, paper quality, printing quality, etc. (the tangible product qualities); I think that this is very secondary for most collectors (so long as an item is in fact complete), but this does play into the scarcity of an item---items with lots of pieces are more likely to be incomplete, items printed on low-quality paper are less-likely to survive intact in excellent or better condition, etc.
- limited edition (signed/numbered), signed in general, etc.:   speaks to scarcity vs. the standard/trade edition of an item

Alternative measures that may drive value:

- content:  some people will value different content more or less, based on their interest in that content, so this is basically an attempt to determine if an expensive item is "worth it" from a non-$$$ POV; for example:  I'm very interested in Greyhawk, so I'm willing to pay a lot for rare Greyhawk-related items, but I really dislike Dragonlance, so I'm not interested in spending anything on products for that setting, even if they're rare (and even if they were rare and relatively inexpensive, I still might not be interested in spending my $$$ vs. spending those $$$ on other content that interests me more [except perhaps as trade bait or a quick flip]); relatedly, given my non-interest in DragonLance, I'm less-likely to be interested in other products by main DL authors (Weis, the Hickmans, etc.) vs. GH-related authors (EGG, RJK, Lenard Lakofka, etc.); similarly, red_bus collects gaming mugs (or at least used to!), so he'll value mugs more highly than non-mug collectors would; etc.
- utility and/or quality of game play:  I think that this is what Steve's asking about above:  qualitatively, is the adventure a good one and/or does it play well at the table (or, for non-adventure matieral, is it useful in the game/at the table---is it a good character sheet, a better campaign tracker than the DM Log, etc.); often this goes hand-in-hand with content above, but not always

What other traditional and non-traditional drivers for value are relevant here?


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Post Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2016 4:25 pm 
 

grodog wrote in Interesting Non-TSR Items Currently on eBay:What other traditional and non-traditional drivers for value are relevant here?


You did a better job outlining value factors than I did.

Maybe this is implied in your list, but nostalgia plays a huge role in determining most of my collection.  I have Dragon magazines from issue #9 all the way to #200.  Dragon was extremely formative for me from issue to fifty to issue 120 or so, but even though the usefulness dropped off, the nostalgia kept me buying.  Same thing with Dungeon Magazine.  Issues #1 through 36 or so were read in their entirety the moment it showed in my mailbox, but I kept on buying for many years just because of my past experience.  The modules I prize the most were the ones I played or DM'ed whether they are well-constructed and well-written or not.

Going back to ZardokhasSpoken's question, it seems to me that it would be difficult for adventures to rated fairly purely on their content value by judges who have played/read these adventures when they were younger because of this nostalgia factor.  Let me clarify that some adventures are obviously inferior no matter when they were read or played (here's looking at A3).  Or, here's another example, even the almighty GDQ series includes D2, a module that just requires the party to walk to the front gate, flick a snail in the pool, and keep trucking.  You don't even have to fight the Deep Gnomes.  Nostalgia clouds objectivity.  That's why I don't recommend we try.  Just create a space where people can list their favorites however they want, and, over time, some adventures will appear more often and people can make up their own minds about what is value and what is hype.


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Post Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2016 11:09 am 
 

I have collected many things over the years and find I enjoy the ones that are good reads, playable, and/or are useful in game.  Many, though, just end up as historical curiosities on my shelf.  Things like Whalley's Wizard's Aide and the Necromicon at first piqued my interest until I researched them further, and read that other collectors found them simply interesting but hardly useful.  One of my favorite books to read, and the first one I got from Dragon Tree Press, was and still is Dragon Tree Book of Traps.  I then set out to get every other Dragon Tree book.  While not disappointed with them, the Book of Traps remains my favorite.  The Lair of Medusa looks cool, but the fact that the only copy I have seen for sale is in shrinkwrap is actually discouraging, because I want to read it and potentially use it.  As an additional point of relevance, my father has an award-winning, show-stopping, perfect condition '55 Thunderbird that he keeps in his garage and wipes down daily with a cloth diaper; I have a 1990 YJ Jeep Wrangler that I drive every day.  Though I wouldn't mind having the Thunderbird, I prefer my Jeep!

  

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Post Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2016 4:29 pm 
 

I bought a copy of Lair Of Medusa, also via Mars, a while ago. (I think he had a low grade copy at one point too - highlighter, writing, etc. - if you just want a play copy you should inquire.)

I do collect some non-TSR items, because there are some gems to be found. Generally I focus on those gems (Starstone, Islandia, Tortured Souls, etc.).

In this case, the main draw for me was Eric Hotz's artwork. The adventure itself? A slightly above average monster hotel.


Areas of interest/knowledge: Harn, WFRP, Ars Magica, anything BRP based such as CoC, Runequest, Pendragon and all their related games

  

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Post Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2016 9:04 pm 
 

Historian, thanks for the info. I a actually waiting to hear back from Mars about that very thing. BTW I also have all the items you mentioned and prize them highly. Have a great day!

  

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Post Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2016 6:56 am 
 


** expired/removed eBay auction **


I don't think I have ever heard of this product from Wee Warriors.  Can anyone offer more info on it?  Thanks!

  


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Post Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2016 10:25 am 
 

ZardokhasSpoken wrote in Interesting Non-TSR Items Currently on eBay:
** expired/removed eBay auction **


I don't think I have ever heard of this product from Wee Warriors.  Can anyone offer more info on it?  Thanks!


Some more info @ Tome of Treasures :: View topic - The Endless Dungeon (1975)


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Post Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2016 11:03 pm 
 

ZardokhasSpoken wrote in Interesting Non-TSR Items Currently on eBay:
** expired/removed eBay auction **


I don't think I have ever heard of this product from Wee Warriors.  Can anyone offer more info on it?  Thanks!


Its a build your own dungeon thing, comes with geomorphs and other aids.  It is very very rare!!


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Post Posted: Thu Dec 08, 2016 7:56 am 
 

Not necessarily a steal, but if you are looking for some 1st / early printings of RuneQuest items, in good shape, you can pick them up here:

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** expired/removed eBay auction **

  


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Post Posted: Thu Dec 08, 2016 7:02 pm 
 

dbartman wrote in Interesting Non-TSR Items Currently on eBay:Not necessarily a steal


Good question. RQ has weird price fluctuations, as it can be hard to find, while the demand is low (but with some dedicated fans). So Buy-It-Nows are often exorbitant because there are no competitors, while auctions may go low because they didn't happen to catch the right fans at the right time. Ex: the last couple of of Wyrms Footnotes #1 sold on eBay (that I saw over the last decade) went for $100 each, but you can always find later 1980s issues for that price as Buy-It-Nows.

The RQ items from the seller above would be about average if they were final auction prices, but are excellent Buy-It-Nows.

  


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Post Posted: Thu Dec 08, 2016 8:41 pm 
 

IIRC all of the Gloranthan info (like Balastor's Barracks) was included in the Moon Design reprints several years ago.  I don't know whether the other lists books (Book of Plunder) were compiled at some point, though??


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Post Posted: Thu Dec 08, 2016 10:45 pm 
 

Chaosium just completed a Kickstarter, RQ and many of the earlier supplements were reprinted

The optimistic collector and RQ fan and gamer in me says, great!  Renewed interest in a terrific product :)

The downside might be reduced demand supporting prices for vintage material.

Thanks for the links Dbartman, I picked up a couple WF from the seller  :cheers:  :cheers:


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Post Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2016 12:23 am 
 

Son of Cities @  
** expired/removed eBay auction **


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Post Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2016 6:03 am 
 

Thunderdave wrote in Interesting Non-TSR Items Currently on eBay:Chaosium just completed a Kickstarter, RQ and many of the earlier supplements were reprinted

The optimistic collector and RQ fan and gamer in me says, great!  Renewed interest in a terrific product :)

The downside might be reduced demand supporting prices for vintage material.


I expect prices for all the original RQ2 era material they have reprinted / will reprint to take a beating. As far as I have seen, most RQ folks care about the content, not having vintage originals.


Areas of interest/knowledge: Harn, WFRP, Ars Magica, anything BRP based such as CoC, Runequest, Pendragon and all their related games


Last edited by TheHistorian on Wed Dec 21, 2016 4:56 am, edited 1 time in total.
  


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Post Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2016 12:00 pm 
 

Now here is a big setting...

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Post Posted: Mon Jan 02, 2017 11:22 am 
 

Someone got a nice price on this Blue Camel:  
** expired/removed eBay auction **


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Post Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2017 7:50 pm 
 

Here's a useful game aid and interesting read... I'm not 100% sure it's playable as intended, but it would be a helpful setting for a Cthulhu or historical RPG.

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