# How much should I ask for this book? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 30, 2003, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-should-i-ask-for-this-book/165251 "2003-03-30T19:02:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Francesca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@Francesca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francesca)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-should-i-ask-for-this-book/165251/1 "2003-03-30T19:02:13Z")
I’m trying to raise a bit of money on ebay and while piling together a bunch of books to sell in bulk, I found one that may be worth selling on its own. Only I don’t know anything about the value of the book and I’m not sure how to go about finding out. It’s **Fallen Dragon** by Peter F Hamilton, the author of the “Night’s Dawn” trilogy. It’s signed by the author and it’s a limited edition proof, number 123 of 800. Published by Macmillan in the UK. BUT it’s damaged at the back - the 200 or so pages towards the back (it’s a 600 page book) are stained along the bottom - it looks like a dark transparent liquid has been spilled on them. Does the damage render it worthless? Is it worth me selling this individually? Thanks in advance for any help. ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-should-i-ask-for-this-book/165251/2 "2003-03-30T19:11:07Z")
**Francesca** - I cannot be of any help in specifically determining the value of your book, but you might want to compare prices on the same book at [Half.com](http://Half.com). You may find other editions of the same book and be able to narrow down your price range accordingly. A friend of mine did that with her copy of a book by that groupie girl. I think it’s called I’m With the Band - and she found out that the going rate was more than ten times what she’d originially planned to ask. So good luck! ---
**Author:** ![Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ebca7d/32.png) [@Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Violet)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-should-i-ask-for-this-book/165251/3 "2003-03-30T19:46:36Z")
You can also compare the rate at [bookfinder.com](http://bookfinder.com) ---
**Author:** ![Francesca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@Francesca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francesca)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-should-i-ask-for-this-book/165251/4 "2003-04-04T15:31:35Z")
[sub]little bump[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-should-i-ask-for-this-book/165251/5 "2003-04-04T16:56:13Z")
[ebay.com](http://ebay.com) too or [ebay.co.uk](http://ebay.co.uk) I only see on at [ebay.com](http://ebay.com) for $2, no bids. But then it might not be the same as yours. Stains take away part of the price & should be mentioned as part of the condition. ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-should-i-ask-for-this-book/165251/6 "2003-04-04T17:09:49Z")
I’d say the author’s signature and the stains sort of balance out. Contrary to popular impression, the author’s signature does not increase a book’s value nearly so much as one would think. General condition, presence of a dust jacket and other physical factors are far more important. ---
**Author:** ![peepthis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9d8465/32.png) [@peepthis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peepthis)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-should-i-ask-for-this-book/165251/7 "2003-04-04T19:07:35Z")
Is the book signed with anything other than the author’s signature? Anything personalized will lower the value. But since it’s a limited edition print, this is probably not the case. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-should-i-ask-for-this-book/165251/8 "2003-04-04T19:24:50Z")
**Fran** - unfortunately, if there is damage to the pages, no matter how slight it makes it uncollectable to the serious collector. I have been collecting first editions with my wife for well over 15 years. The book needs to be Pristine for me to buy it for a good price. Is it Price clipped? What that means is, is the price cut nicely off the inner cover? How is the spine? Is it musty? any mold? What edition is it? Located near the copywrite date. Limited edition does not necessarily mean worth a lot… When you sell it on e-bay, make sure you tell the buyer everything that is wrong with it. Otherwise, you could be selling something for mich more than it is worth… ---
**Author:** ![Tommyturtle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8491ac/32.png) [@Tommyturtle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tommyturtle)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-should-i-ask-for-this-book/165251/9 "2003-04-04T19:51:25Z")
I sell books online too and these are my favorite places to check prices…depending on what kind of book I am selling [alibris](http://www.alibris.com/) [isbn](http://isbn.nu/) [addall](http://www.addall.com/used/) [antigbook](http://www.antiqbook.com/) You may want to take a pic of whatever damage your book has so the potential buyer can assess how much they are willing to pay and doesn’t feel cheated later…saves an enormous amount of aggravation later AND creates goodwill towards you as a seller. In my opinion the goodwill you generate is worth far more than whatever amount you might get for this one sale.