mrmanowar wrote:

TheHistorian wrote:
Never underestimate the power of two bidders who have gone batshit crazy.

Sigh... this is the second nice shape one I have missed out on.  Like the one in June that ended at $300 (and this one higher) I don't have a problem paying higher prices for these IF they are in nice almost near mint condition.  Would any of you be willing to sell me a non true first print but still a first as the same condition as this auction or better condition for $135 like the Acaeum main page lists as a price for a NM Players Handbook 1st print?

yeah, many of those prices have not been updated in a while (it shows the date next to the last update).
One thing on the ebay stuff is that patience is key. Also, looking through various "lots" of books/modules on ebay I've found usually is a better place to score those hidden gems in what you're looking for rather than just the ones that are specifically mentioned as 1st print, etc. It took me a long while of scouring through ebay listings to find stuff. It may seem like all the good stuff is bought up, but it's really not so.

misterspock wrote:yeah, many of those prices have not been updated in a while (it shows the date next to the last update).

To the best of my knowledge, those dates are for the last time the info about the item was updated, not the values. I can't recall the last time those were dealt with, but it seems about 2 years give or take to me. Could be wrong there, though. Time flies.

** expired/removed eBay auction **


5th Printing OD&D set under $100
Ends Sunday 11/25 just short of midnight EST

I apologize - non-OCE?

Many thanks!

So I was searching around and ran across this first listing:


** expired/removed eBay auction **


I saw his reference to the other copy he has, and went and looked at it:


** expired/removed eBay auction **


My first thought was "LOL, obviously reshrunk, and had only 1 map, why would anyone bid?!".  Then I decided to go look at my stuff, and compare since I have multiple copies of this same module in shrink, and sure enough, from the top, some of my copies have maps visible from the top, and some do not.  The shrink all looks legit (usually perforations and overlaps) and I checked Tome of Treasures as well to see if there were any notes and nada.

Thoughts?  What do yours look like Smarmy?  While I dont rule out the thought of fake shrink, seems like a stretch that I'd end up with multiple reshrunk copies with no maps, all from independant sellers.

**In a massively ironic twist, I have no opened copies of this particular book.  Go figure.

I jumped to a conclusion.  I am paraniod (see last paragraph for why).  My immediate reaction was solely based on my interpretation that the copy with the map was "complete" and the one without was "incomplete".  About 5 minutes after I made that deduction, I went and looked at my collection to compare, and sure enough, I have copies in shrink that have a map and others that do not (visible from top down).  So, I think you can safely bid on these (or maybe my copies without a map are reshrunk as well).  Maybe, (which is why I decided to ask here) - why are there copies w/a map and w/out a map in shrink?  That seems like a pretty large difference that isnt alluded to anywhere I can find reference.

As far as your second question, I think no -- other than the scenarios you point out which are obvious, or some sellers putting that they reshrunk the item in the listing in small print, I don't know that it's possible to reliably spot fake shrink.  Even in some cases if you have the item in your hand.  While I'm sure my collection of shrink is nowhere near as big as say Pip's or Smarmy's, I do have a large number of modules in shrink with multiple copies per (I'd probably safely guess around 40 to 50 titles with 3 or more copies).  In some cases, even in the same printing, variations exist.  So I'm not sure that side by side comparison is even a valid tactic, unless you have a good sample size from a variety of unlinked sellers.  I think there was a pretty good thread here about this sometime ago.

I'd go one step further and say that given the way prices are trending, it's only a matter of time before reshrinking modules in exc+ condition becomes a real scam (if its not already).  This type of thing  already occurs in the trading card world.  Prior to collecting D&D I used to do MTG.  I'd buy boxes of unopened stuff on eBay and (gasp) open them, and with the older nicer stuff, send it off to PSA to be graded.  I bought a lot of Revised booster boxes from a guy and discovered that they had been opened, had the rare removed, and resealed -- flawlessly.  This would have never been discovered if I didn't open the boxes and the packs, as most collectors would NOT have done.  Needless to say, he was VERY unhappy when I filed a case and eBay agreed with me and returned my $1800 and he got back 3 opened boxes of booster packs with the wrappers damaged so they couldn't be re-re-sealed.  And at that point I decided to stop buying sealed MTG product off of eBay.

stylean wrote:I jumped to a conclusion.  I am paraniod (see last paragraph for why).  My immediate reaction was solely based on my interpretation that the copy with the map was "complete" and the one without was "incomplete".  About 5 minutes after I made that deduction, I went and looked at my collection to compare, and sure enough, I have copies in shrink that have a map and others that do not (visible from top down).  So, I think you can safely bid on these (or maybe my copies without a map are reshrunk as well).  Maybe, (which is why I decided to ask here) - why are there copies w/a map and w/out a map in shrink?  That seems like a pretty large difference that isnt alluded to anywhere I can find reference.

As far as your second question, I think no -- other than the scenarios you point out which are obvious, or some sellers putting that they reshrunk the item in the listing in small print, I don't know that it's possible to reliably spot fake shrink.  Even in some cases if you have the item in your hand.  While I'm sure my collection of shrink is nowhere near as big as say Pip's or Smarmy's, I do have a large number of modules in shrink with multiple copies per (I'd probably safely guess around 40 to 50 titles with 3 or more copies).  In some cases, even in the same printing, variations exist.  So I'm not sure that side by side comparison is even a valid tactic, unless you have a good sample size from a variety of unlinked sellers.  I think there was a pretty good thread here about this sometime ago.

I'd go one step further and say that given the way prices are trending, it's only a matter of time before reshrinking modules in exc+ condition becomes a real scam (if its not already).  This type of thing  already occurs in the trading card world.  Prior to collecting D&D I used to do MTG.  I'd buy boxes of unopened stuff on eBay and (gasp) open them, and with the older nicer stuff, send it off to PSA to be graded.  I bought a lot of Revised booster boxes from a guy and discovered that they had been opened, had the rare removed, and resealed -- flawlessly.  This would have never been discovered if I didn't open the boxes and the packs, as most collectors would NOT have done.  Needless to say, he was VERY unhappy when I filed a case and eBay agreed with me and returned my $1800 and he got back 3 opened boxes of booster packs with the wrappers damaged so they couldn't be re-re-sealed.  And at that point I decided to stop buying sealed MTG product off of eBay.

It does happen and has been happening for awhile. Back before Ebay I had a source for SW merchandise.  I bought plenty of D&D items from him in the SW and resold them for profit.  Then, after selling a customer a SW Battlesystem box, he opened it and there was no miniature inside, and insisted the contents look used. I contacted my source and he confessed he had been reshrinking stuff for awhile, he had a SW machine....most people never unwrapped their items and so the deception was (up until then) never uncovered.  I ended up refunding the customer and never doing business with the first guy ever again.  For most newer members in the hobby I'm sure that it never crosses their minds the items might have been reshrinked.  One of the reasons I will never pay premiums for SW items.

Mike B.

Hey all, first time i spot this one in german:


** expired/removed eBay auction **