So I've got a really nice 3rd+ printing woodgrain box set.  Not much interest in selling it at this point but I've been pondering, what's the long term investment potential in these?  

Think if I sold it today or twenty years from now there would be a big price difference?

Just trying to figure out what the future holds and would like your thoughts.
-Grimtale

JasonZavoda wrote:putting many of these in the hands of long term collectors and out of the marketplace.

Do you see the number of collectors increasing in this market?  I guess that's my big concern.  I don't see many new people getting into D&D.  Most of the younger crowd is chasing other stuff.  They might relate this stuff to being the birth of RPGs but they are more likely to collect MTG cards, Harry Potter and the like...

Maybe I've got a dim view of the world... that's what I get for growing up in a dungeon

-Grim

I agree completely Jason. I've only really been into collecting a short while, and I'm still in the very early stages of building a collection. I'm also still building up a budget, so that woodgrain will stay out of my hands for a few more years I would imagine.

bombadil wrote:You can't really go wrong with a nice woodgrain.

I see woodgrains as being one of the collectibles that will outpace others in value over the years simply because of - aside from their intrinsic value - the difficulty in reproducing/counterfeiting one compared to, say, an Inverness, Tamo, Tsojoconth, Fazzlewood, or even a Chainmail.

I would agree with the above.  Except one thing has always bugged me, the value of a Fazzlewood. Why?  I'll never own one unless I could get it for half or less the selling price.  A tournament module of a non-descript solo D&D module years later (O1).  Unlike Inverness (C2), Tamo (C1), or Tsoj (S4), it wasn't retconned into Greyhawk at a later period, isn't on anyone's top 10 list (Not even top 20 list), and isn't waxed about nostalgically by older players or DMs.   And, unlike the similarly reviled ST1 (whose readers all agree is a subpar module), it doesnt have the added cachet of a limited edition giveaway in the UK that was never reprinted.

Maybe I'm just being naive....if a cache or, say, tournament editions of Ed Greenwoods "Into the Forgotten Realms" or (just a random dungeon) X6's Quagmire were found, they would sell in the $1000+ range? Can someone explain this to me?

And on topic, nothing can go bad with putting aside a woodgrain. They'll always have some value, and should steadily increase in value.  Years ago, collector's scoffed that something like a Spiderman #1 would ever be worth more than a few grand. As Jason said its hard to predict a market more than 5 years up the road.

Mike B.

I'm a bit newer at this than most... my take on collecting as a hobby (vs. collecting as an investment) is:

first, collect what you like... for me, that means the games I played as a kid, or the games I remember but didn't play for some reason, or newer books that evoke simpler games/rules/times.  

then,  I think about the 'it' factor... items that are iconic, special, hisotrically important, and (least important to me) rare are what I want to collect... if there's a cool story behind the item, or a particular significance to the piece, so much the better.

and finally, having been actively collecting for about a year-and-a-half, I've realized the most special items are those that were mine bitd, the books and games I kept over the years... so, yes if I had a woodgrain that I gamed with, and somehow managed to hang on to it, I think that would be the cornerstone of my collection.

I think collecting as an investment is tricky and beyond me... for me, it's building and enjoying a collection that's its own reward... probably, the value of the most collectible items like woodies will increase, but if I worried about that, I would enjoy the pastime much less  

Badmike wrote:Except one thing has always bugged me, the value of a Fazzlewood. Why?  I'll never own one unless I could get it for half or less the selling price.  A tournament module of a non-descript solo D&D module years later (O1).  Unlike Inverness (C2), Tamo (C1), or Tsoj (S4), it wasn't retconned into Greyhawk at a later period, isn't on anyone's top 10 list (Not even top 20 list), and isn't waxed about nostalgically by older players or DMs.   And, unlike the similarly reviled ST1 (whose readers all agree is a subpar module), it doesnt have the added cachet of a limited edition giveaway in the UK that was never reprinted.

Fazzle is a big fizzle, and the tourney version is verbatim the same as O1 so you're missing nothing in substance if you already have O1.  IMO, it's the most overrated D&D collectible.

Blackmoor wrote:Considering the importance of the woodgrain boxset I imagne it will continue to be a sought after collectable for a long time.  It was the start of the Fantasy RPG genre.  While other more obsure items (ie fazzlwood) may wane over the years the woodgrain should stand above all.

Jeff makes a good point. Certain items have a historical background, such as a Woodgrain, Dragon #1, POTVQ, Orange B3, etc.  Items like a Fazzlewood or ST1 are collectible by their rarity alone, not by any effect they have had on the hobby.  I'd predict those types of items to stay the same or perhaps even fall in value as time goes on when compared to the more historically significant items.

Mike B.

I would very much like a Woodgrain as well as a Pharoah and Rahasia so include me in the lot of people who will try and get these things someday. Art takes priority though and I'll likely only be able to trade art for those items in the future...

Tharizdun wrote:I would very much like a Woodgrain as well as a Pharoah and Rahasia so include me in the lot of people who will try and get these things someday. Art takes priority though and I'll likely only be able to trade art for those items in the future...

So, one of the holy grails of your chosen field must be the original unseen artwork for Eye of the Dragon which TRH still has in his possession?