Original TSR Box Sets w/ no box, what can be expected?
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Post Posted: Thu Oct 21, 2004 7:55 pm 
 

I liked Seraphim's methods of dealing with unruly competitors... unfortunately for me, it requires way more patience and work than I would be prepared to put into it. Plus, I have a very haphazard and erratic approach to collecting anyway, and as such I don't seem to generate any fierce rivalries.

I had given some thought to collector alliances though, as recently as a few days ago. I seem to encounter Harami more than any other acaeum member in my bids, and after he beat me (by less than an increment) on 9 early SpaceGamer magazines last week, when I saw another (much larger) lot of SG up for grabs I was considering a PM to Harami, asking his intentions. But I was wondering how it would work in practice? Seraphim's suggestion is a good one - 'let me have this, and you get a free bid on the next item of your choosing'. The risk is that they may not have been planning to bid on the item, or may even have not seen it at all, and you've either invited competition for it or given away a future item for no reason.

For the Spacegamers, I was considering PMing Harami and asking what his max planned bid was - if it was more than the max bid I had loaded in, I'd pull mine out and let him have them. If it was less, I'd tell him mine was bigger and could he please not bid. But in the end, I figured the best bet is to throw the dice and let them land where they will.

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Post Posted: Thu Oct 21, 2004 8:10 pm 
 

mdr003 wrote:For the Spacegamers, I was considering PMing Harami and asking what his max planned bid was - if it was more than the max bid I had loaded in, I'd pull mine out and let him have them. If it was less, I'd tell him mine was bigger and could he please not bid. But in the end, I figured the best bet is to throw the dice and let them land where they will.

Yeah, that was an awkward one. All the lots arrived in the wrong order; with the one I wanted most, last.

First up was 24 issues from #13-37 (minus #33), which I snuck from <invincibleoverlord> for $67.

Second was the 9 issues from #5-14 (minus #9). Too good a mesh with the previous lot to miss, just in case the biggie went for silly-high money. Ended up shading your bid by a few cents at $82 (*slight ouch*).

Third lot was 70 issues between #2 and #83. However, having just won the previous two lots, I felt obliged to reduce my maximum bid since I couldn't justify giving away quite so many "second best" copies. Glad you won that, Mike, after the earlier near-miss. The other competition was pretty tough, too, and it wasn't advertised at all...
$287 seemed a fairly decent price, IMHO. (Was going to flag it on the "fun finds" with a congrats message).

Yes, I received your earlier PM (thx :)), but obviously would've had fun deciding what to say had you probed regarding that third lot...

mdr003 wrote:I was considering PMing Harami and asking what his max planned bid was - if it was more than the max bid I had loaded in, I'd pull mine out and let him have them. If it was less, I'd tell him mine was bigger and could he please not bid.

(oh, and much appreciated for that vote of trust, even though you didn't follow through!).

d.

  

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Post Posted: Thu Oct 21, 2004 9:11 pm 
 

Thanks David... sorry I pushed you all the way on the lot from a few days ago though. I have pretty much all the SG issues from 15-80, so I would have been happy with either lot, but with the large lot also include 2, 3 & 4 it was the greater prize. You're right, there was a fair bit of interest in the lot so having an 'arrangement' with you wouldn't have saved me much cash anyway.

I thought $287 was a pretty reasonable price to pay as well, as I should be able to offload the duplicate issues above 15 for a couple of bucks each. Plus I'll have a couple of early issues to sell as well - including a #9 which you may be interested in. Maybe we'll be able to work out a trade when the lot arrives (I need 12 & 13, plus a couple in the 70's).

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Mike

  


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Post Posted: Fri Oct 22, 2004 12:44 pm 
 

darkseraphim wrote:If you want to be extremely nasty, carry this procedure over to their other interests that have nothing to do with D&D -- cigars, diaper coupons, videogames, music …:


:roll:  :roll:  :roll:  diaper coupons..... who could he be talking about?  Maybe Mr. Baby Factory our dear beloved CougerTard?

  


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Post Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2004 12:45 pm 
 

OK, no in-depth explanations/commentary as to my reasoning for now- should be easy enough to work out how to apply these "guesstimate" figures... ;)

(first cut; 02 cents only)

--P----G---VG--EX---M  
200  300  450  600  750  Box (1st, 2nd) (vertical woodgrain, small label)
200  280  360  450  600  Books (1st print)
-------------------(up to +50% for Well-Matched Set)
100  140  180  230  300  Books (2nd print)
-------------------(up to +30% for Well-Matched Set)

100  175  250  325  400  Box (3rd) (horizontal woodgrain, large label)
080  110  140  170  200  Books (3rd print)
-------------------(up to +25% for Well-Matched Set)

020  030  050  065  080  Box (4-th, 4th, 5th) (white, non-OCE)
045  060  080  095  110  Books (4-th print)
040  055  065  080  095  Books (4th print)
035  050  060  070  085  Books (5th)

-------------------(up to +15% for Well-Matched Set)

010  015  025  030  040  Box (6th) (OCE)
025  035  040  050  060  Books (6th)
-------------------(No Premium for Well-Matched Set)


I can see various debateable points... comments welcome! :)

  


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Post Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2005 3:05 pm 
 

*bumped* in context.

(and since I hadn't quite expected to kill the thread dead, last time!) :roll:

  


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Post Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2005 11:26 pm 
 

Greetings!

I'm a newbie here and it looks like I immediately am going to get my question answered.

I was into the fantasy gaming when I was in High School in the 70s (you know, D&D, Chainmail, Petal Throne, etc).

I have a Second Printing, woodgrain box (bought new in '75).  The books are in very fine (near mint, if I hadn't rubber-stamped my name on the covers), but the box is poor to good (it's at least still a box).  Am I looking at a 50% hit for a bad box?

I also have a very fine (IMHO) true first edition Greyhawk.

  


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Post Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2005 11:36 pm 
 

DanZ wrote:Greetings!

I'm a newbie here and it looks like I immediately am going to get my question answered.

I was into the fantasy gaming when I was in High School in the 70s (you know, D&D, Chainmail, Petal Throne, etc).

I have a Second Printing, woodgrain box (bought new in '75). The books are in very fine (near mint, if I hadn't rubber-stamped my name on the covers), but the box is poor to good (it's at least still a box). Am I looking at a 50% hit for a bad box?

I also have a very fine (IMHO) true first edition Greyhawk.




Ill give you $20 for both :wink:



But seriously, IMO I would say for the Woody you could probably expect $600 to $800 assuming the pictures you would provide would bear out to the description provided.



As far as the T1st Greyhawk, once again assuming the condition you describe bears out, I would say probably $125 to $200. Here is a T1st in about said condition that just went on EBay a couple of weeks ago:

cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem& ... 0&rd=1



Now this is probably a little bit high because the seller(burnie) is a very well known, very reputable and well respected seller, so folks are willing to spend a little more because of the trust factor. Hope that helps.


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Post Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2005 1:35 am 
 

mdr003 wrote:I had given some thought to collector alliances though, as recently as a few days ago.




I have been pushing for this for a LONG time. I think the last time I brought it up was last year, and I got little response. It would cost everyone MUCH less overall, but there would have to be a system.

METHOD 1:

I suggest everyone who wanted in could "draw straws". Let's say there are 4 people. If an item comes up, #1 has the right to say "I want this", and 2,3 and 4 do not bid. Then the token passes to #2. And so on.

Now here is the rub. Let's say 1 doesn't want it, but 2 and 3 do. 2 gets it, and is out of the running until the next round. So when 1 gets his item, 3 is next.

Now, you might say "Well, #1 can just wait forever until ST1 comes up". Nope. 1 has a preset time limit, say 2 weeks. If nothing has come up, 2 takes the token, so if ST1 comes up during week 3, 2 has first shot. If 2 doesn't want it, 3 goes, then 4. This way, no one can complain.

When the 8 weeks are over, they all draw again, creating a new order (or possibly the same). This leaves a few random elements in.



METHOD 2



Everyone creates a list of desired items, in desired order. Draw straws. When an item comes up, the lists are polled. Whoever has it highest on their list gets it.

Example:



1- Brown box, Tamoachan, Fazzlewood

2- Prepub, ST1, Tamoachan

3- Fazzle, brown box, B2 (hehe)

4- Prepub, B3, B3



If a Fazzle comes up, 3 gets it. It is then scratched from his list. HOWEVER, his brownie choice is still at #2 slot, so if one came up, 1 gets it. If a prepub comes up, 2 gets it, since he is a higher seed.

You might question the double B3, but it would be an option, since some people might want more than one.



So, next issue is what if someone says "fuck the rotation, I'm bidding". There are several ways to handle that.



1. Turn our Acaeum backs on the individual.

2. A neutral party holds an "ante", say $20 per person. If someone goes out of turn, his ante goes to the token holder.

3. Bid the shit out of any item the person bids on in the future. Obviously, shill accounts would be used.



Anyone would be free to drop out, but not during a round. It would have to be after the round is over. Their ante is returned, and they are free to do whatever they please, and bid on whatever they please.



If Method 1 is used, the highest seeded person would have to alert members that he wanted an item. No one has to tell him about the orange B3 buried in a pile of crap mods. But, the minute he claims an item, no one touches it.

If Method 2, everyone would be honor-bound to report any item on someone's list to the members. Buy it Nows would be excluded, since they can be snapped up by anyone at any time. Anyone caught winning an item that they didn't report that was on a list, loses their ante and is booted from the group. Anyone caught asking for a Buy it Now, excluding the person with the token, gets booted and loses their ante.



Obviously, the person holding the ante should not be part of the group. Foul would be an obvious choice, even if he was part of the group, since everyone knows him, and he really can't "take the money and run". Hell, even if he did, just consider it Acaeum usage fees and don't come back. He is, after all, paying to host this site.



So what is the gain, and what is the loss? The gain is that you can get the items you need for less overall than you would normally pay, and there would be many eyes watching for those items. The loss is that you must wait your turn and allow others to have theirs.

Fingers are tired, no more typing.


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Post Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2005 4:15 am 
 

Hiya & welcome to the board!



Good introduction by means of a woodgrain box. ;)



DanZ wrote:

I have a Second Printing, woodgrain box (bought new in '75). The books are in very fine (near mint, if I hadn't rubber-stamped my name on the covers), but the box is poor to good (it's at least still a box). Am I looking at a 50% hit for a bad box?


Between that and the rubber stamping on the covers of the books, yes, probably. But you might pick a good day.



This one was a third print with a rather poor box.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 5927928868



$400-500 sounds closer the mark, perhaps; hopefully not too much less.

Photo-appeal is probably going to be key to squeezing out much more than that, even if there are a queue of collectors waiting to buy woodgrains. (Ditto, resellers might give a miss, too).



DanZ wrote:I also have a very fine (IMHO) true first edition Greyhawk.


Well, I gave other reasons for having bid up Burnie's copy, as well, even if the trust factor did help with the confidence to bid strongly in the first place.



If another very nice T1st Greyhawk comes up, would have expected at least three people to be bidding $150+.



That's an early date to have started, btw!

Do you have a stapled rather than spiral-bound Chainmail as well, in that case? Those early third editions tend to be worth rather more than the "average" figure quoted.

  


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Post Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2005 8:18 am 
 

harami2000 wrote:Between that and the rubber stamping on the covers of the books, yes, probably. But you might pick a good day.


We all put our names on our books so we got them back after playing.



This one was a third print with a rather poor box.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 5927928868


Shame there's no photo.  Perhaps I should post one of mine and get some opinions.



If another very nice T1st Greyhawk comes up, would have expected at least three people to be bidding $150+.




There's one up now.  I emailed him and that's how I found this board.



That's an early date to have started, btw!


Are you talking my age at the time or the year I started?



Do you have a stapled rather than spiral-bound Chainmail as well, in that case? Those early third editions tend to be worth rather more than the "average" figure quoted.


Yes, I have a third edition (how'd you know?) with staples, complete with a hand-written price change inside the back cover.

  

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Post Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2005 9:14 am 
 

Hi and glad you found the place. Welcome to the Forum.



I would suggest that you simply Post some pics of your items on this forum, possibly under your own thread. You will most likely get offers from folks right here even before you decide whether or not to list any of them on E-Bay.



After all, many of those who collect older D&D items lurk in these same dungeon cooridors..... 8)


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Post Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2005 9:22 am 
 

Aneoth wrote:Hi and glad you found the place. Welcome to the Forum.



I would suggest that you simply Post some pics of your items on this forum, possibly under your own thread. You will most likely get offers from folks right here even before you decide whether or not to list any of them on E-Bay.



After all, many of those who collect older D&D items lurk in these same dungeon cooridors..... 8)




says Aneoth with his bookcase devoted to OD&D items :)



and are the other lurkers "wandering monsters" then? whats the chance of an encounter :D


Are we nearly there yet?

  


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Post Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2005 10:23 am 
 

whats the chance of an encounter




My table says 35% chance of random monster . . . 8)

  

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Post Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2005 10:25 am 
 

DanZ wrote:
whats the chance of an encounter




My table says 35% chance of random monster . . . 8)




LOL! scary stuff  :D


Are we nearly there yet?

  


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Post Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2005 11:18 am 
 

harami2000 wrote:

This one was a third print with a rather poor box.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 5927928868


:cry:



I'll certainly be in the running for a better set.  If I'm lucky I might be there at the end.  But I doubt if I'll complete the race.  :(

  


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Post Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2005 11:57 am 
 

bclarkie wrote:
DanZ wrote:

I also have a very fine (IMHO) true first edition Greyhawk.




As far as the T1st Greyhawk, once again assuming the condition you describe bears out, I would say probably $125 to $200. Here is a T1st in about said condition that just went on EBay a couple of weeks ago:

cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem& ... 0&rd=1



Now this is probably a little bit high because the seller(burnie) is a very well known, very reputable and well respected seller, so folks are willing to spend a little more because of the trust factor. Hope that helps.




Yeah, the price might have been a little on the high side, but I can tell you it looks much better than it did in the photo.  It's a great copy.  I'm VERY happy to own this one. :D



I'm definitely going to watch for burnie's future auctions, as I'm sure many here already do.

  

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Post Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2005 12:11 pm 
 

killjoy32 wrote:says Aneoth with his bookcase devoted to OD&D items :)



and are the other lurkers "wandering monsters" then? what's the chance of an encounter :D




More true than you would likely suspect....  8)

it is actually



For D&D Only:



A) Two full bookcases, and half of another.



B) Two drawers of a metal file cabinet in my home office are used to store exceedingly rare and fragile D&D items so they are kept away from direct light. The other three drawers serve the same purpose for other types of collectables.



C) One large lighted glass display case (6-' tall x 4' wide x 2' deep).



The display case actually holds all sorts of collectables.



Examples: Star-Wars stuff, Star Trek stuff, Football Cards and memorabilia (signed Mini Helmets, Mini footballs, etc.) and one shelf for D&D Items only.



That shelf holds: a Second Print Woodgrain Box in Near Mint Condition (My favorite item by far), a SW B-3, a Pristine True First Print Greyhawk, and a NM Second Edition Chainmail, and other various items, along with a few minis and some polyhedron dice spread about on the shelf, just to ease a viewer into the D&D theme.



(As I have stated on this forum before, I do not normally collect minis, or dice; I just have a whole bunch of them on hand through listings/auctions of large lots I have obtained over the years.)



D) E) etc...

I have other places where other items are stored. One Closet is full with old Comics and football cards, etc. Another bookcase is filled with football cards, etc. My home office is OVER-filled with gobs of boxes of D&D Books, Box Sets, RPG Games, etc. waiting for placement in my collection, eventual re-sale, or more permanent storage someplace.... :roll:





Still that is nothing compared to many others here....



I know of another collector/player that dwells here and has a complete house dedicated to nothing but RPG stuff.  8O

And it is no even where he lives!! 8O

You can see pictures of that setup on this forum..... very nicely done....



Yet another who has a freeking WAREHOUSE, filled with just some of his stuff  8O

still another who bought a shipping container just to hold SOME of his stuff.  8O



(those last two are admittedly re-sellers though)  



Not to mention maxwell of course...  :wink: :lol:


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