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Vintage Paperback sales discussion thread
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25 posts in this topic

So we've been sharing a lot of cool pb's on the main thread for years. I am scouring the interwebs frequently for mo or mo better copies of cool pbs and have seen many come and go, both bargains and cray cray prices lately. I could hoard my info but that would be no fun, and, honestly, I can't buy them all lol I want y'all to grab some beauties! Hope this can be a thread to share some pricing, both high and low, odd or expected...

Inspired by this listing today... I saw it and could have hit BIN but held back because I have some serious bids out on bigger ticket in auction format. It was gone real fast. It seems like high grade classics that get listed at the old guide prices all get snapped up fast. 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/OVERBOARD-BY-GEORGE-F-WORTS-1950s-FEMALE-BONDAGE-GGA-HEADLIGHT-COVER-PAPERBACK-/175183617217?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0

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Here's one of rare paperbacks that will be auctioned in the Friday night auction (May 6, 2022) at this year's Windy City Pulp and Paper Convention (May 6-8, 2022 at the Westin Lombard Yorktown Center in Lombard, Illinois). This one is exceedingly scarce -- "The Human Bat v The Robot Gangster" by Edward R. Home-Gall, published in London by Mark Goulden Ltd. in 1950. As the blurb on the back cover says, "...it provides hours of exciting reading as only Edward Home-Gall can write." Who am I to argue? 🙂
Besides our auctions, the dealer room will feature 180 tables filled with pulps, paperbacks, vintage comics, original illustration art and much more, from dealers across the U.S., Canada and the U.K. We hope to see you there!

Home-Gall Human Bat vs Robot Gangster 1950.jpg

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So, this is one of the more remarkable sales I've seen lately. I think when I did the "back end" search, the accepted offer was $600. It is a gorgeous copy, and I was sorely tempted to make an offer because it is the nicest copy I've ever seen. But I do have a pretty nice copy already, and I had just spent a lot of money on books :cry: Whoever bought it, I'm quite jealous! It's such a classic Rudy Nappi cover - so moody and period perfect - and usually only shows up on ebay on posters, mugs and fridge magnets, which is a sure sign of iconic status lol

309828744_ReeferClubSale.thumb.jpg.47d69ae94b792fd7d86a6b1cee5d4098.jpg

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On 3/13/2022 at 3:46 PM, Surfing Alien said:

I never would have guessed that this genre of books would have so many entries.

I just checked for the Avon edition of "Tomcat in Tights" (featured in Warrens PB price guide with a picture of the cover). No luck on the Abe site, nor on Ebay. Amazon has 3 issues of the book available in hard cover, but no Avon editions.

https://www.amazon.com/Tomcat-Tights-Jack-Hanley/dp/B000LRGKTW/ref=sr_1_1?crid=MN2Y8SF3WYHO&keywords=tomcat+in+tights&qid=1647396611&s=books&sprefix=tomcat+in+tights%2Cstripbooks%2C189&sr=1-1

 

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On 3/15/2022 at 10:33 PM, frozentundraguy said:

I never would have guessed that this genre of books would have so many entries.

I just checked for the Avon edition of "Tomcat in Tights" (featured in Warrens PB price guide with a picture of the cover). No luck on the Abe site, nor on Ebay. Amazon has 3 issues of the book available in hard cover, but no Avon editions.

https://www.amazon.com/Tomcat-Tights-Jack-Hanley/dp/B000LRGKTW/ref=sr_1_1?crid=MN2Y8SF3WYHO&keywords=tomcat+in+tights&qid=1647396611&s=books&sprefix=tomcat+in+tights%2Cstripbooks%2C189&sr=1-1

 

JD/Drug books (and "B" movies) were incredibly popular from the 50's through the 60's and even the early 70's. That sale carried a TON of lower to middle priced ones but very few of the high end ones and none of the digests. I have several boxes of them. They're a super fun genre to collect because of the sensationalism!

I've been looking for a copy of Tomcat in Tights for years with no luck :frown:

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On 3/20/2022 at 7:37 PM, Robot Man said:

Fun scores at the LA paperback show today…

EE260F87-45B5-4173-9DDA-14B6B0DE3356.jpeg

8402FB17-4038-4FFA-85C9-9581B3D0E274.jpeg

Nice haul (thumbsu Faithfully Yours is one of the rarest digests there is. Couple that with the LB Cole cover and you had a fine day Sir :yeehaw:   

Pushover is a great title too. Cover art looks like Tony Varady

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Greetings all, just the thread I was looking for,

Bunky have blundered into a large warehouse with over 400 short boxes of vintage paperbacks, looking for help with anybody that knows, buys, or collects paperbacks, 

We are located in the Bay Area, and anybody that might know of or be a collector, dealer, flipper, or have any ability to help move this along to the end user, we would be grateful, thanks Brian 650 888 8472 

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On 6/19/2022 at 12:08 AM, Bunky Brian said:

Greetings all, just the thread I was looking for,

Bunky have blundered into a large warehouse with over 400 short boxes of vintage paperbacks, looking for help with anybody that knows, buys, or collects paperbacks, 

We are located in the Bay Area, and anybody that might know of or be a collector, dealer, flipper, or have any ability to help move this along to the end user, we would be grateful, thanks Brian 650 888 8472 

I understand that Dave Anderson (Florida Dave) had been actively buying, particularly in grade.... GOD BLESS... 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)(thumbsu

My friend Lewis @the_Leader_knows also has some expertise, but he is a bit genre specific.  

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On 6/18/2022 at 9:08 PM, Bunky Brian said:

Greetings all, just the thread I was looking for,

Bunky have blundered into a large warehouse with over 400 short boxes of vintage paperbacks, looking for help with anybody that knows, buys, or collects paperbacks, 

We are located in the Bay Area, and anybody that might know of or be a collector, dealer, flipper, or have any ability to help move this along to the end user, we would be grateful, thanks Brian 650 888 8472 

You might try to contact Kayo Books; they're on Post Street in SF.  They're only open by appointment, though.

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On 7/3/2022 at 8:43 PM, Surfing Alien said:

I consider this set to be a bell-weather in vintage paperbacks. For popularity and frequency of sales it's a decent sales pointer for the market. This price shows it is still strong. I bid but only would have bumped this up a notch if my set wasn't equally nice.

It is very difficult to assemble a stack of paper that high so straight and clean! Still ridiculously cheap compared to garbage non key comic books :sumo:

20220703_234123.thumb.jpg.a01c566a95a4c70a12b2ef2eca03d76c.jpg

I really need to find my second set of these...

So what do people figure the actual value for the books sold individually would be?  $20 for Fellowship, $30 for Two Towers, $412 for ROTK?

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On 7/4/2022 at 12:17 AM, OtherEric said:

I really need to find my second set of these...

So what do people figure the actual value for the books sold individually would be?  $20 for Fellowship, $30 for Two Towers, $412 for ROTK?

??? Not that big a difference between the three. Return is definitely tougher, especially in high grade but average copies go for $30-75 and high grade twice that. YMMV

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