dbartman wrote in Interesting Items Currently on eBay:This should be an interesting auction:


** expired/removed eBay auction **


Not many have come up in recent times.  Might not post outside the UK, but they would be silly not to do so.  This could require asking a UK friend for some help.

I asked the seller, he said he will ship to the US.

--Thor

** expired/removed eBay auction **

aia wrote in Interesting Items Currently on eBay:

muaddib5 wrote in Interesting Items Currently on eBay:
** expired/removed eBay auction **

Has anyone info on the printing? That set is beatiful but i doubt we have here a 3rd print given the first 3 bids...

What I have from the seller so far; "Hello and thank you for your interest. My client told me he purchased the item at least 35 years ago from a war games shop in Minneapolis."  I asked about print information in the books.  If/when I get a reply I'll post it.  

grodog wrote in Interesting Items Currently on eBay:

muaddib5 wrote in Interesting Items Currently on eBay:
What I have from the seller so far; "Hello and thank you for your interest. My client told me he purchased the item at least 35 years ago from a war games shop in Minneapolis."  I asked about print information in the books.  If/when I get a reply I'll post it.  :D

This is what I heard back this morning:

Thank you for your interest.

The inside left cover of book one says:
Inquiries regarding rules should be accompanied by a stamped return envelope and sent to Tactical Studies Rules, 542 Sage Street, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin 53147

Right hand side pages has a short dedication and below that says: Illustrations by Keenan Powell, Greg Bell, C. Corey, D. Arneson and T. Keogh

Book Two on the inside left cover says the same as book one.

Inside cover of back of book one- says nothing

Inside cover; back of books 2 and 3: says Graphic Printing Company; Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

There is no date printed.

Basically the same response I also received this morning.

For the SWetist...


** expired/removed eBay auction **

cheesepaws wrote in Interesting Items Currently on eBay:
** expired/removed eBay auction **

Without any "real provenance" these are just garbage copies  

I have "many" (25+?) editing copies of TSR products. They actually show "editing" i.e. notations showing the changes between editions. Some of them are in very different stages of layout. The Gamma World 2nd ed box  shows copyright info and text moving all around the title page and redline corrections abound. Other ones are "pre-publication" editing versions that show changes prior to publication.

If the copies up for sale show any editorial changes, it would seem to me they have some value. If they are identical to existing modules with a sticker slapped on the cover, and then ravaged by 35 years of ill use, it would seem to me their value is....that of a reading copy of the modules. So yes, I would say their price is optimistic. By about $4700.

On a related note the "rares" listing for a pre-publication copy of R4 is rather misleading. That is a "pre-publication" editing version, which bears no resemblance to the R1-R3 "pre-publication" printings that were commercially available (albeit in very limited quantities).

Regarding the wood grain set mentioned earlier... Am I wrong in suspecting that this is indeed a first print alpha?  Because all signs point to it being just that, and in mighty fine shape, to boot. I'm wondering why it's not garnering more attention. Are bidders saving their energy until the last hours of the auction? Is it the seller's lack of a reputation? Or perhaps everyone's laying low, hoping that no one sees this gem and that a lucky someone steals this for a song?

From what the seller has stated, it's a First print alpha.  I think the problems are that A) no picture of the inside cover has been provided, so we're just going off the seller's word, B) low feedback seller, C) the seller took plenty of pictures, but seemingly intentionally omitted taking pictures of the inside cover (and indeed, even avoided mentioning anything that could identify the print in the auction text).  The seller can't even claim ignorance, since they cribbed portions of the description from here.

I have a bit of an uneasy feeling.  I imagine other big bidders feel the same.

Foul