Sell me your "reading copy" of People's of Middle Earth 1st UK hardcover

If you want a reading copy, why not buy the softcover edition?

If you want the first edition for collecting purposes, just be patient. They've been coming up fairly regularly this past year for prices that are fair enough.

Overpriced by not too much I guess: https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=30749069942

Don't be too stressed using it as a reading copy. Their value has decreased steadily and even in the (imho unlikely) event that the Amazon show (and whatever other factors) bring them back up again, it won't be for too long. Though no one (cept Malbeth) has much luck predicting the future so don't put too much trust in my half-baked advice pls.

My priorities as a collector are admittedly pretty warped. I want the original article, but I don't care if they're a little beat up-all the better to read with. And for some reason, I'll pay medium-top dollar for the privilege of living this way. I don't get it either.

I've been stalking PoME for about 6 months now. I've noticed fewer copies hitting fleabay these days, and secondhand sellers tend to price them right at $200 in less than impressive shape (guess I do care about condition a little, so long as it's proportionate to the price), as opposed to $150-ish when I first took an interest. So, I am getting the sense that they're slowly getting bought up and sellers are responding by jacking up the prices. But then again, many of you have been keeping an eye on the market on the order of years, and if you say it's going down and to wait, then I'm inclined to listen.

And hey, I've bought books from TCGers before, so I thought I'd leave a note on the off-chance someone might have a spare.

Caudimordax wrote:

My priorities as a collector are admittedly pretty warped. I want the original article, but I don't care if they're a little beat up-all the better to read with. And for some reason, I'll pay medium-top dollar for the privilege of living this way. I don't get it either.

I've been stalking PoME for about 6 months now. I've noticed fewer copies hitting fleabay these days, and secondhand sellers tend to price them right at $200 in less than impressive shape (guess I do care about condition a little, so long as it's proportionate to the price), as opposed to $150-ish when I first took an interest. So, I am getting the sense that they're slowly getting bought up and sellers are responding by jacking up the prices. But then again, many of you have been keeping an eye on the market on the order of years, and if you say it's going down and to wait, then I'm inclined to listen.

And hey, I've bought books from TCGers before, so I thought I'd leave a note on the off-chance someone might have a spare.

That's a good idea. But I think we've all seen that these have dropped in price in the last year or two rather dramatically. Plenty of chances to buy nice copies for far less than they went for 10+ years ago. Also, I know a lot of collectors start off just wanting to get their hands on any rare book regardless of if it's ex-lib or beat up.... it's hard to be patient and skip through that phase, but I know, after having done that myself plenty of times, it's really not worth it. Not sure if that's helpful or not, but I hope it is.

My journey collecting Tolkien was born of the pandemic, so I am fully willing to take an experienced perspective on board. The plan has been to initially fill out the shelf more or less as cheaply as possible with the "correct" volumes–just to scratch the initial itch–then slowly replace them as I come across deals on copies in better condition. I do believe "buy nice or buy twice" is a valuable nugget of wisdom, though, and you're probably right this strategy will lead to greater expense in the long-term.

I will say my goals are likely to be fairly different to those of serious collectors. The aim is to own a single copy of every primary Middle Earth work, a small selection of biographical and scholarly books, plus a few "utilities" like Fonstad's Atlas and Foster's Guide. Every volume will be at once a reading copy AND a display piece fit for my humble shelves. I'm almost at a point where I can say "yeah, this project's complete" and move onto the phase of just passively keeping an eye out for deals that upgrade existing volumes in my library.

I'm also an amateur astronomer. I recently bought a beat-up Nagler eyepiece with excellent optics. Is it ugly? Was it still expensive in the grand scheme of eyepieces? Yep. But I get to enjoy the experience of using top-class glass without paying anywhere near full price for a mint condition. I view my Tolkien collection the same way. It's an emotional impulse tempered by a frugality one can only deem ironic in the context of my casual interest in luxury goods.

But talk to me in 10 years, and you may well find I've grown a highly-intentional Hobbit collection to rival Trotter's. Who knows?

Caudimordax wrote:

But talk to me in 10 years, and you may well find I've grown a highly-intentional Hobbit collection to rival Trotter's. Who knows?

Oh, you didn't know? Trotter photoshops most of his Hobbit collection so that it looks way more extensive than it is.

Berelach wrote:

Caudimordax wrote:

But talk to me in 10 years, and you may well find I've grown a highly-intentional Hobbit collection to rival Trotter's. Who knows?

Oh, you didn't know? Trotter photoshops most of his Hobbit collection so that it looks way more extensive than it is.

Shush, that is a secret

Don't let your insurance broker find out!

Caudimordax wrote:

Don't let your insurance broker find out!

They will never know. That ultra rare Bicentennial Signed Hobbit, there will only be one copy ever produced and Trotter has all three copies.

Peoples has never been selling cheaper than this last year. Maybe a little bit of a bounce the last few months, but plenty of sub-£100 sales going on eBay, as far as I've seen.