jonjhargreaves wrote:I notice, there is much talk of when and where it was available. Well, I know that I bought this at Games Fair, Reading, UK in 86 (possibly 87 or 88 - I only went to 3). It was the last day, late on at the meet, I was 15 at the time, waiting for a lift home. I visited the TSR stand with the other items I had bought (LP for example!) and due to this had very little money left. I handed over only about a pound or so for my copy. The guy there had plenty left and didn't seem to think they had much chance of selling!
I'll see what I can do about the pictures.

My god, what a scene.  Time machine, anyone?  :D

jonjhargreaves wrote:ok, so I think I've managed to work out how to do pics! (forgive me, I'm new to all this!)
Generally, if I put this up for auction, will these do?
What else will be wanted?
If this has worked, you should have scans of front and back (I can't get it to do all edges! but it does show the main crease and spine creases), and 3 photos of cover (in & out) and the module cover
Any thoughts?
If it helps, you can just visit the site
jonjhargreaves's Library | Photobucket?[/url]

Jon. They look great to me. If I was going to be ultra-critical you could try and make the close-ups a bit sharper.
Try using the macro setting on your camera if you haven't tried that already.

In your listing I would include the details of where you bought it as this adds to the perceived authenticity.
But chances are someone from here will buy it.

I would recommend starting your listing either on Thursday night for 10 days or Sunday night for 7 days.
If it finishes late on Sunday then both UK and USA bidders can be there at the end.

Make sure that you've got a PayPal account.

Given its value I would recommend that you insist on sending it by Special Delivery in the UK

Royal Mail | Royal Mail Group Ltd

or overseas by Airsure

Royal Mail | Royal Mail Group Ltd

ST1 will be going on ebay in the next week or so.
I've taken a load more pics, some much sharper than before.
From what I've picked up so far, people need to know about
History - I bought this at Reading, UK Gamesfair in Easter 86, I was aged 15 and bought it from the TSR stand for about £1-£2 at the end of the 3 days event (it was the last of my money and I don't think they had sold many!!! - I was given a bit cheap- after all I'd already taken another turkey off their hands (First Quest Vinyl LP) at full price!!!!.  I'm told by John that I might of bought this at '87 event, but I'm fairly sure I didn't go to Games Fair that year.  I must admit, I found the module quite quirky, but never played it.  It got put in a cupboard shortly afterwards and was forgotten about for the next 18 years.  I dug it out after stumbling across The Acaeum site.
Storage - It sat in a cupboard with a whole load of other D&D stuff in a smoke free, pets free home.  It survived a major spring clean by my mother a year or so back where just about everything else except my rulebooks got chucked.  The cupboard was dry and clean.
Condition - I'm not going to be able to rate this properly, ask questions on all the little details you want to know.  The pictures speak for themselves (I hope).  There is a slight musty smell, but this has become less in the few days since its come out in the open.  The pages of the module are brilliant white and edges are generally crisp- bottom right and top right corners are very slightly damaged.  It is totally clean - no writing.  The pull out sheet hasn't been and the pages and spine are near perfect.  The cover has one crease in the top right corner, visible on scans - this crease has barely broken the surface of the card. There are a few spine creases visible on the scans. Otherwise damage includes a small crease bottom right hand corner, a few minor dints and scratches (only visible held to light) and evidence of handling from fingerprints.  I know how important this information is, so please, if there is anything else, please ask.
Reason for selling - I'm not going to appreciate this item, although I'd like to get myself a small D&D collection, the reason is simply with the aim of using it with my kids as they get older.  I've already let my heart rule my head with a couple of purchases already, but I must stop this as I'm planning a career change and could do with a bit of extra cash to tide me over.
My reputation - Obviously, this is a concern for me, can you trust me?  I'm 34, a father of 2, living in rural Devon, UK.  I'm very recently a trader on ebay, I have just reached 11 feedbacks at 100%, my user name is jonjhargreaves - please take a look.  What can I do to show this is a genuine sale?
Anyone got any thoughts on how I might grade this, my own thoughts are Near Mint for the inside and Very Fine for the outside, but I really don't know.
I expect that this will go on ebay soon, probably a 7 day sale starting either next or one after weekend.  This is here now so that you can get a first look, plus give me some idea of what else I need to let you know about....  Please ask away.  
Cheers, and once again, thanks for the warm welcome.

It appears as you said, VF+ for the cover, NM for the book.
My advice: Don't bother starting it out at more than 99 cents US. It will shave a little bit off the listing cost, and whether you start it at 50 cents or $500 means nothing, since it will go way over that.
Make sure you can accept Paypal. Most collectors use it exclusively for major purchases, since it supposedly covers the buyer from fraud.
Charge actual shipping. Insist that it be insured, and do not ship to countries like Sri Lanka or somewhere that it cannot be insured and traced.
And buy a towel. You will use it off and on for a few years to soak up the tears when you think of how you sold it.

I bid $400 do i win? lol

Deadlord36 wrote:It appears as you said, VF+ for the cover, NM for the book.
My advice: Don't bother starting it out at more than 99 cents US. It will shave a little bit off the listing cost, and whether you start it at 50 cents or $500 means nothing, since it will go way over that.
Make sure you can accept Paypal. Most collectors use it exclusively for major purchases, since it supposedly covers the buyer from fraud.
Charge actual shipping. Insist that it be insured, and do not ship to countries like Sri Lanka or somewhere that it cannot be insured and traced.
And buy a towel. You will use it off and on for a few years to soak up the tears when you think of how you sold it.

*nods*. Good points throughout, Frank.

I've less idea than ever what the grading terms mean to various people, nowadays, but VF/NM seems as good as any. Think I've seen sufficient scans, anyhow: even if those of the creases weren't totally clear, they're fairly indicative.
Pick a few of the untrimmed pics to go with that (save where the trimmed ones show the flaws) and/or just point to this thread should anyone ask for more

Reserve is pointless unless you're overly worried about ensuring you get no less than, say, $1,500 for a sale. It will fly over $5-600 pdq and possibly settle around the $900 mark before the final push.
(If you wanted to save yourself a large chunk of eBay fee$ and nervous tension, you could still try a private sale here, first (looking for $1,900 but taking best over $1,700 or thereabouts, perhaps)).

Yes; ship insured by default, but there should be no concerns about import taxes for many/most "interested" countries where "used books" are exempt. (If they're not and the buyer posts here that they're willing to accept all risks for uninsured/lower insured value that might be worth considering, but only for known buyers).

=

(Easter '86 still doesn't tally in the context of the White Dwarf comments, or even had it been available from the start of the Garden Festival, alas.
Pity, since it *would* have been useful to pin down that they still had spare stock left had you been certain the purchase was Easter '87).

Personally, I prefer to sell/trade rare items directly, and skip eBay. Not only do they violate most of my orifices when I sell thru them, but they are impossible to deal with if there is an issue. The biggest part, however, is that I know who the item is going to. This serves two purposes. It keeps a pedigree established for the item, and it ensures that an unscrupulous reseller doesn't take it out of the collecting arena and ask a ridiculous price for it. There are several collectors here who would be willing to buy it from you. $1,700 is a reasonable starting figure to me, given recent prices.
As long as the payment source is returnable to the buyer, I'm sure no one who would be in the market for it would care about your lack of feedback. Besides, for the amount of money someone will be paying for it, if it didn't show up on their doorstep, rest assured they would show up on yours!

Royal Mail Airsure has the option to increase the insurance to £2500, in increments payable at the counter. For £1000 of insurance postage to the USA with Royal Mail Airsure is abour £15. That's trackable and express delivery (3-5 days).

I don't see any of the UK bidders having a problem with your newness to eBay.

Personally, I'd suggest listing in pounds. No chance of anyone thinking the module is in the US. But I'd also suggest you consider David's suggestion of taking private offers. Both PayPal and eBay will be looking at taking a hefty chunk of money for the listing, and if you can come to a private agreement you can avoid those fees.

bclarkie wrote:As far as your relative "newness", I don't think you realize the favor you have done yourself by posting here.

And that's aside from having listed it on eBay unaware of its "value" and taking the first offer of £50 from here to close the sale!

*ducks thrown shoes*

bclarkie wrote:Just wait until IO and a2jeff see your auction up for sale. Then you throw in Harami and Mbassoc, well lets just say I don't think you will get your 1000 GBP, you might get close.

*chuckles*. Ya know my thoughts on ST1, I'm sure.
Will happily throw in my final bid early to help things along, though, should it end up on eBay.