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Old 01-19-2011, 12:40 PM   #1
mehrkat
 
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Default RPG books how much would you pay

I like roleplaying books a lot. A whole lot. I got honestly giddy when I got my precious copy of Primal Order at a used book store.

I browse Ebay and Amazon books for copies of books and software for a good price and looking at a used book store is a joy to me. However, I pay used book prices for then not antique prices.

I see copies of SJ games books that are out of print selling for $85 (for 3rd ed books admittedly rare) I see 4th ed books (all available for online purchase) selling for $50 plus for a used copy when the original brand new copy sold for $40.

I imagine if I suddenly had more disposable income I would buy new books and hope I could live without the old copies.

So how much would you pay for a rpg book?
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Old 01-19-2011, 02:06 PM   #2
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Default Re: RPG books how much would you pay

I once paid $100+ for an out-of-print "Complete Book of Necromancers" (or whatever it was called). The auctions on eBay had been getting progressively higher and higher.

(The NEXT auction of CBoN on eBay went for like $60. Guess I should have had a little more patience. :-)
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Old 01-19-2011, 02:12 PM   #3
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Default Re: RPG books how much would you pay

Moved to Roleplaying In General.
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Old 01-19-2011, 02:43 PM   #4
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Default Re: RPG books how much would you pay

Quote:
Originally Posted by mehrkat View Post
I see copies of SJ games books that are out of print selling for $85 (for 3rd ed books admittedly rare) I see 4th ed books (all available for online purchase) selling for $50 plus for a used copy when the original brand new copy sold for $40.
Online used books sellers often arbitrarily post ridiculous prices for books without researching any market values. I wouldn't take those prices as at all indicative of what the book would go for from your FLGS or a used book store. Besides, eventually nearly the entire GURPS catalog will be available on e23.
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Old 01-19-2011, 03:23 PM   #5
Pragmatic
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Default Re: RPG books how much would you pay

Minus the licensed stuff that's no longer under license. (*sigh* Oh well, I'll have to guard my GURPS Alpha Centauri and GURPS Uplift with my life...)
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Old 01-19-2011, 03:54 PM   #6
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Default Re: RPG books how much would you pay

It really depends on the book, but the bar is quite HIGH.

You get a TREMENDOUS amount of value out of an RPG book, far more than you do from any other entertainment medium.

$20 for a DVD? That's 90 minutes of movie that you'll watch, what... 4 times in your life? So 6 hours, total.

Versus $40 for a GURPS book that you'll use for 30 minutes a week, every week for years. That's 26 hours a year. More if it's a core book.

If it's a good book, and one I'll use, I'll pay a lot.
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Old 01-19-2011, 05:13 PM   #7
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Default Re: RPG books how much would you pay

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pragmatic View Post
I once paid $100+ for an out-of-print "Complete Book of Necromancers" (or whatever it was called). The auctions on eBay had been getting progressively higher and higher.

(The NEXT auction of CBoN on eBay went for like $60. Guess I should have had a little more patience. :-)
I think that's more to the point, people get caught up in auctions and pay way more for something than it's worth, but as long as they're having fun at it more power to them.

As an example, the "Complete Book of Necromancers" is available online through the Amazon.com, or abebooks.com starting at $20...

I also know that when eBay first started out my old FLGS would take a handful of used gaming books every month off the floor and sell them online, they said there was nothing like peeling off that $9.99 sticker and selling a book off for $50 plus shipping.
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Old 01-19-2011, 09:15 PM   #8
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Default Re: RPG books how much would you pay

Sorry for posting in the wrong section.

I guess I'm not being entirely fair because I spend quite a bit of time finding things for a price I'm willing to pay.

If I "pay" myself for the time spent then I probably spend as much. Before buying any product I decide how much I'm willing to pay for it. If it gets to be more than that I wait for the next one no matter how tempting it gets to "pay one more dollar". Ebay must hate purchasers like me.
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Old 01-19-2011, 09:24 PM   #9
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Default Re: RPG books how much would you pay

Most I've paid for an RPG book was $80. Typically, I won't pay more than $40 for a supplement, no matter how good, nor $60 for a much desired core ruleset.

I paid $50 for WFRP3E... at $80, it was't in the budget.

My general rule is $1 per person hour of use.

DVD's, I tend to buy seasons at a time... 20-40 hours of video... for $20 to $30... Watching it with the wife or kids is sufficient to "pay" for it... usually twice over. (Kids and I are rewatching Buffy... 3rd time through the series.)

A book of rules that won't see play is unlikely to get more than 10 hours of reading isn't worth more than $10 to me. But a PDF at $2 that is going to be a 2 hour read? Sure.
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Old 01-19-2011, 09:39 PM   #10
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Default Re: RPG books how much would you pay

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pragmatic View Post
I once paid $100+ for an out-of-print "Complete Book of Necromancers" (or whatever it was called). The auctions on eBay had been getting progressively higher and higher.

(The NEXT auction of CBoN on eBay went for like $60. Guess I should have had a little more patience. :-)
Man I remember that. Fortunately I never took the bait.
Later on, they had the whole OLD TSR line for $5 apiece
in PDF format, including that book.

I think I found a beatup copy of a Planescape boxed set
at a Barnes & Noble that I got for $20 that was selling
for $60 or $80 on ebay about 10 years ago. Wish I had
sold it then. :)

For space reasons, I prefer to buy everything I get in
PDF format now. I still sometimes snag a hot item when
I see it, when I used to go to comic/hobby stores that is.
Like Cthulhupunk & The 3rd Edition Book of Vile Darkness.
Those are absolute gems! Vile Darkness felt like it made
my collection of 1st & 2nd Edition D&D books a complete
set. They were novel ideas at the time, even if Vile isn't
worth as much as Cthulhupunk.

Right now, I've got my sites focused on GURPS PDFs,
but I'll ONLY buy them after I've finished reading each one
& it's a little slow going.

Nearly done with Basic: Characters & will be moving
to Campaigns. After that, probably Space, Spaceships,
& Psionics. But man, my heart is really being tugged
towards Banestorm and Infinity Worlds too. lol. My
eyes bigger than my stomach so to speak.

For non-GURPS stuff, I'm looking at Abandon All Hope
& more Darwin's World stuff, whenever I get the time.
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