Peeta, I highly doubt standard 1977 editions of The Silmarillion are selling for $200+. Listings, going for those kind of figures, probably aren't legitimate.

BH

Peeta wrote:
...The price on the CoH is the price of what it's worth to me but giving some come down room if someone wants to make an offer. Meaning if I sold it for less than 1000 I would miss the book more than the money I had in my pocket. This is the situation with most of the books, but I do not want to be unfair which is why I have posted them with a best offer attached....

I honestly don't really know how to feel about this. To me, it feels a lot like hoping to find a schmuck who doesn't know any better. If the book was not available new from the publisher, that would be an entirely different matter, but I personally would feel uncomfortable taking above RRP for one of these (and I have three of the damn things). That is - of course - just my personal opinion.

Peeta wrote:
This is the situation with most of the books, but I do not want to be unfair which is why I have posted them with a best offer attached.

I read this as "I DO want to be unfair if I can find someone who doesn't know any better and is daft enough".

I don't want to offend, I'm just telling you how it looks.

Is it only the CoH super deluxe that rubs you so wrong stu?

Peeta wrote:
Is it only the CoH super deluxe that rubs you so wrong stu?

Pretty much (although I think the majority of your prices are totally unrealistic). However - and this is key for me - the other books, where available new aren't available for individual sale (and can't necessarily be exported from the US direct from the publisher), so one could be justified in charging a premium (in the EP Books case, a little over double RRP) for the privilege of purchasing individually/internationally.

The SD CoH is available new and for international sale at a third of the price you are asking, so yep, it rubs me up the wrong way, because it is deliberately trying to take advantage of the uninformed. If you can think of a different way of describing it, I'm all ears!

Everyone has their own ethical standards of course, and I'm not saying yours should be the same as mine -- I'm simply highlighting something that doesn't fit with mine (and this is a discussion forum!). It is clear from your initial post that you knew your pricing would be controversial!

Fundamentally, of course, caveat emptor applies, and if people can't be bothered to do their homework, they do deserve the consequences, I suppose.

[Edit: My opinions are purely my own and don't represent anyone else!]

Like Stu,

I have three copies of this book, two of which are unopened, sealed and in the original packaging.

I intend to sell them when HarperCollins has sold all of these editions, which could be up to 10-15 years time, hopefully a lot sooner.

I have no expectations or would want to try and sell them for more than the price that HarperCollins are selling them for, which is £350, or just over $500USD.

I do not like taking advantage of buyers who have no knowledge of the current market and pay a lot more than they could get the item for, however very happy to do so with sellers

I'm not sure judging one's intentions or personal ethics is a proper thing to do. But being judgmental is part of the human condition. So, feeling the need to explain my prices...I have researched ebay and Abe and priced my books slightly over what I found. For example, a decent number of the super deluxe CoH that I see on ebay are priced right around $1000 so at my price I have the ability to negotiate substantially. And this is the approach I took with all of my postings. For what it's worth, I had no idea that the signed CoH or the super deluxe were still available from the publisher. This will affect future postings of said items. And to touch on what trotter said, I wouldn't think someone was unethical or a cheat if they offered me $300 for the super deluxe CoH. Most people want a deal. The thing is I can say no or counter offer, which is also the luxury of the buyer.

To be honest, and I haven't looked at all your listings Peeta, if you have a Best Offer option on all these listings then I don't really think there's an issue here. I see plenty of Buy-It-Now listings with Best Offer options --& I see this as an open invitation to offer well below the top Buy-It-Now price. But be aware that some buyers might not be experienced enough to view listings like this; and this makes some people here a little uncomfortable.

BH

Peeta wrote:
I'm not sure judging one's intentions or personal ethics is a proper thing to do. But being judgmental is part of the human condition. So, feeling the need to explain my prices...I have researched ebay and Abe and priced my books slightly over what I found. For example, a decent number of the super deluxe CoH that I see on ebay are priced right around $1000 so at my price I have the ability to negotiate substantially. And this is the approach I took with all of my postings. For what it's worth, I had no idea that the signed CoH or the super deluxe were still available from the publisher. This will affect future postings of said items. And to touch on what trotter said, I wouldn't think someone was unethical or a cheat if they offered me $300 for the super deluxe CoH. Most people want a deal. The thing is I can say no or counter offer, which is also the luxury of the buyer.

I am heartened to hear your claim that you were not aware that the CoH is still available new, but I think we will all need to disagree on this issue. I judge the other sellers trying to make $1000+ for these books equally harshly, if it helps. Some are professional book dealers that surely DO know the book is still available new.

Anyway, I'll say no more! Good luck with your sales, and I hope you have success getting prices that are fair for seller and buyer.

Thanks. And I definitely didn't mean to start anything. Everyone on this site has been helpful and kind to me for years and I truly appreciate it. Also, I have not been able to find this, but what is the Alan Lee signed CoH going for from Harper Collins?

I posted it earlier in this thread.

HarperCollins

http://www.tolkien.co.uk/product/9780 ... e+Children+of+H%c3%barin+

USD $506