Greetings!
I have some copies of Castle Zagyg: The Upper Works in storage that I am contemplating selling.
One copy is absolutely mint, box only opened once to check that the contents were all there. Box is slightly worn on one or two of the corners, but that is how the product came at the time of purchase during the final days that the product was still in print.
Two other copies are basically the same pristine condition, except that both of them each came shipped to me with one corner of the box pulled apart as well as a bit of minor wear on one or two corners from shipping. One of these copies was going to be my "reading" copy. This one "reading" copy has a very minor bit of rust on the staples, as it was not stored right away, sitting upon a bookshelf. The box on this "reading" copy is also slightly warped on one side, having arrived that way when it was shipped to me (and the reason at that time I made it a "reading copy.") Otherwise, it is in the same near-pristine condition as the other one with the blown corner.
I believe blown corners and slight wear on the boxes was basically default on these box sets, given the Trolls sloppy packing and shipping methods at the time. Although to be fair, it was probably likely they figured this was going to a big seller they could mass produce for years, and not necessarily a collector's item before Gary death.
There is a thread here from 2018 and another from a few years prior to that (2013
IIRC) where copies of this product were going in the $250-300 range. However, I have not been able to find a single copy for sale recently, nor any older auctions or records of sale.
I actually have a small collection of some other A/D&D products (plus 3rd party products for D&D, like the original Khalibrun modules by Kuntz in shrink wrap), and am considering offering the whole thing as a lot for sale. However, I would have to catalog everything, check it for quality, etc. before I got that far.
If anyone has input on the current/theorized value of these Castle Zagyg: The Upper Works items, I would be much obliged.
ETA: Well I did find a listing for this one Ebay that I wasn't seeing earlier when I searched. Its going for $277 +$38 shipping. Has a really badly blown box cover though.
** expired/removed eBay auction **Still curious what others think of the value of this item, both short term and long term. Its really about the only thing
IMO in the CZ line that is really worth it for the "EGG" factor/nostalgia, but other opinions problably vary on that.
Also wondering about the print run from the Trolls. I seem to remember it was something like 3,000 copies, but when the license got yanked I think there was a rumor that the Trolls were forced to pulp some copies. I have no idea if that is true, as I've been out of the
RPG loop for a number of years since about that time.
