Ridiculous eBay Prices

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It's kind of like 'bookjackers' on Amazon, though their markup is generally much less--and they don't actually hold the items that they are selling you.
 
Go check out Thieves Guild books and them go to the Different Worlds website. You could do a reasonable trade in buying their shrink-wrapped Haven boxed set and reselling it.
 
The 500 range is harsh, but concievable at least, for a game that was rare even when it first came out. 10K pounds though? I could put a downpayment on a mcmansion with that
You'd struggle to get anything for a 10K deposit anywhere in the Southeast here.
 
I was window shopping on ebay when I came across a seller who was selling a DTRPG reprint book for about twice what DTRPG sells it for. To be fair, they do say that it's a reprint, but they don't say where the got it. I see this kind of thing a lot when browsing for RPGs, so I continued on.

Then I saw another listing. It was another reprint book. It was also about double the DTRPG price. The listing did describe it as a reprint, but no information on where it originally came from.

Then another, and another, and another. All were by the same seller. So I looked at their store.

They seem to do pretty brisk business reselling DTRPG POD books. It seems they price them about 150% to 200%, charge a bit of shipping, and list LOTS of titles. The images all seem to be of items in hand by the seller, and there don't seem to be any provisions in the listing for large shipping delays. So, I guess they just order tons of books from DTRPG and resell them.

Most of their feedback is positive, except for one where the buyer seems to have realized that they were paying collector's prices for a POD version.

Obviously, I'm not harmed by this. I haven't bought from them, and don't have any immediate intentions of doing so. So, I have no dog in this fight. But is their practice a good or a bad thing? Are they providing a reasonable service in some way I don't see? Or are they just profiting on gamers who don't know the place they could buy this stuff for cheaper?
I think they are mostly profiting from gamers who don't know better. That said, perhaps they are offering a service that you can order and get your book quicker than POD. Perhaps they also offer a service as being more trustworthy in some minds for being an eBay seller rather than DTRPG, though my feeling is DTRPG is probably actually lower risk than eBay sellers, but maybe the guarantees eBay makes tip the risk scale.

The truth is that our modern world makes arbitrage (re-selling) very easy. In my other hobby, Lego, there's a huge business in buying clearance Lego and reselling the now discontinued sets at a markup. Others buy newly released sets and sell them at a markup because they are out of stock in part due to the resellers...

The only way reselling will stop being price gouging is when people wake up and either have patience (wait until the excitement has died down and the new release is available in good quantity and maybe even on sale, be willing to wait for POD delivery time) or foresight (buy the Lego set before it's discontinued, wait for a sale if you want), and for folks to become better educated about where they can purchase things.
 
I think they are mostly profiting from gamers who don't know better. That said, perhaps they are offering a service that you can order and get your book quicker than POD. Perhaps they also offer a service as being more trustworthy in some minds for being an eBay seller rather than DTRPG, though my feeling is DTRPG is probably actually lower risk than eBay sellers, but maybe the guarantees eBay makes tip the risk scale.

The truth is that our modern world makes arbitrage (re-selling) very easy. In my other hobby, Lego, there's a huge business in buying clearance Lego and reselling the now discontinued sets at a markup. Others buy newly released sets and sell them at a markup because they are out of stock in part due to the resellers...

The only way reselling will stop being price gouging is when people wake up and either have patience (wait until the excitement has died down and the new release is available in good quantity and maybe even on sale, be willing to wait for POD delivery time) or foresight (buy the Lego set before it's discontinued, wait for a sale if you want), and for folks to become better educated about where they can purchase things.
Foresight only works if you are alive and interested when said item is released.

Education and infinite supply are probably the only way to avoid it.
 
Foresight only works if you are alive and interested when said item is released.

Education and infinite supply are probably the only way to avoid it.
But if you weren't alive when the item was released (or otherwise in a position to purchase), then you aren't getting screwed by resellers. In that case, the reseller is giving you access to something that otherwise would just be gone, at that point, natural supply and demand is in play.

Now there is a problem with the way stuff is priced that jacks the price beyond what demand would actually pay, but eventually someone will realize product is sitting and not selling at the price that has been set. And if the only item available is from the one (or a few) collectors willing to part with the item if someone makes an absurd offer, well, the supply is actually effectively 0.

Now in this day and age of digital content and print on demand, there are very few excuses left for product not being available, though it DOES cost to have a listing so it's not an absolute given that something SHOULD be available, but we could do a LOT better.
 
Go check out Thieves Guild books and them go to the Different Worlds website. You could do a reasonable trade in buying their shrink-wrapped Haven boxed set and reselling it.
I see a fair bit of that with older wargame miniatures, where I know the figure is still being made but the Seller advertises it as OOP for an exorbitant price. Maybe they aren't aware... but I'm pretty sure some of them are sourcing from the current castings.
I kind of wonder where the market for 'old' miniatures will be at in a decade or two, with a lot of newer ones being made out of plastics that seem far less durable.
 
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They seem to do pretty brisk business reselling DTRPG POD books. It seems they price them about 150% to 200%, charge a bit of shipping, and list LOTS of titles. The images all seem to be of items in hand by the seller, and there don't seem to be any provisions in the listing for large shipping delays. So, I guess they just order tons of books from DTRPG and resell them.
Can you share a link to them?
 
Even if these eBay sellers advertise the product as a reprint, some buyers assume it was a reprint done by the original publisher, such as the Wizards 3.5E reprints a few years back. They might not assume they are POD.
 
Even if these eBay sellers advertise the product as a reprint, some buyers assume it was a reprint done by the original publisher, such as the Wizards 3.5E reprints a few years back. They might not assume they are POD.
I suppose but these are now official WotC reprints. They've outsourced it to DTRPG to manage and fulfill but that's WotC's official rep now.
 
Pretty goofy to see the 1e MM or DMG, still relatively easy to find in thrift shops, routinely listed by Amazon secondary sellers for over $200.
 
Uhm.... Well...

Just take a look at this UNPUNCHED copy of FASA's Star Trek 2nd Edition Deluxe Set


Only $59.99 with free shipping if you want it. I guess the other contents could be under the box in the first photo?
 
How about a xeroxed copy of Street Fighter with page protectors in a binder?


"Every page is sleeved and in perfect condition".

nevermind_nathan_fillion.gif
 
How about a xeroxed copy of Street Fighter with page protectors in a binder?

That's not even Street Fighter. It's the fan created "20th Anniversary Edition" I made about 6 years ago! Holy shit! Never did I imagine copies of my fan compilation getting bootlegged on eBay. It's amazing. Hehehe.
 
I just payed $153 plus shipping for a good condition, complete copy of the original 1983 Greyhawk Boxed set. So I guess I can't say anything but here goes.

It's sad to see prices spiking, but it's the inevitable consequence of an ever increasing pool of buyer chasing a fixed supply of product already suffering from 30+ years of natural wastage. Just be very, very careful of POD scams. If you want original stuff, be prepared to pay for it.
 
I just payed $153 plus shipping for a good condition, complete copy of the original 1983 Greyhawk Boxed set. So I guess I can't say anything but here goes.

It's sad to see prices spiking, but it's the inevitable consequence of an ever increasing pool of buyer chasing a fixed supply of product already suffering from 30+ years of natural wastage. Just be very, very careful of POD scams. If you want original stuff, be prepared to pay for it.
I had that set when I was younger. I hope you enjoy reading about trees. :clown:

Kidding aside, I did like the poster maps. I was a huge sucker for poster maps back in those days.

I think I saw that listing. It has gone for cheaper, but it has also gone for a lot more. You got about a middle of the road deal. It's been in about that price range for a long time.
 
I had that set when I was younger. I hope you enjoy reading about trees. :clown:

Kidding aside, I did like the poster maps. I was a huge sucker for poster maps back in those days.

I think I saw that listing. It has gone for cheaper, but it has also gone for a lot more. You got about a middle of the road deal. It's been in about that price range for a long time.
On whole, I found that set really disappointing as a kid, but I really wish I still had the map.
 
I love the 1983 Greyhawk Box Set. I consider it one of the exemplary setting books out there alongside Vimary and Scavenger Sons. It’s got enough detail to get the idea of the setting off and spark the imagination but it also leaves plenty of gaps. Though I still had the book, I re-bought a complete copy of the box set about 10 years ago locally and it was decently priced. But that was before the growth of 5e so the demand wasn’t high.
 
I recently bought a copy of Star Frontiers for CDN40. It was missing the poster map but I still have that from my original set. A complete copy seems to go for around x3 or 4 that price.

I also bought a copy of Temple of Elemental Evil for around USD25. The cover shows wear but the book is intact and interior was in great shape.

One thing I find interesting with older RPGs that come in boxes is that though the boxes often take heavy wear, the books in these sets are often in pristine condition. I guess that one reason for more box sets.
 
Holy crap. That's a lot of money for WFRP2e all in.


And again for Star Wars Saga all in:

 
I thought this Gamma World D&D 4e set was was priced ridiculously at $600. And then I saw the shipping at $1,500 XD.

 
I just payed $153 plus shipping for a good condition, complete copy of the original 1983 Greyhawk Boxed set. So I guess I can't say anything but here goes.

It's sad to see prices spiking, but it's the inevitable consequence of an ever increasing pool of buyer chasing a fixed supply of product already suffering from 30+ years of natural wastage. Just be very, very careful of POD scams. If you want original stuff, be prepared to pay for it.

Bizarre as I when I was a kid it was a dime a dozen and I gave my mint copy away to a thrift store.
 
I had that set when I was younger. I hope you enjoy reading about trees. :clown:

Kidding aside, I did like the poster maps. I was a huge sucker for poster maps back in those days.

I think I saw that listing. It has gone for cheaper, but it has also gone for a lot more. You got about a middle of the road deal. It's been in about that price range for a long time.
I have the PDF and I've noticed the tree fixation. :shade:

This copy appeared to be in very good condition with minimal self wear so I was willing to pay a bit more for it.

Eyeing a Moldvay Basic and Expert set next. I already have the AD&D core books.
 
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Star Wars SAGA is overpriced when you can just get all the RCR books for usually less than half the price and they aren’t the annoying size of the SAGA books. The two systems are not that different.
 
Bizarre as I when I was a kid it was a dime a dozen and I gave my mint copy away to a thrift store.
I bought a used, but good condition copy a few years back for somewhere in the neighborhood of $20-$50. Can't remember exactly, but I know I didn't pay a whole lot for it like 5 years ago. The Greyhawk boxed set shot up in price recently and I'm not sure why.
 
Star Wars SAGA is overpriced when you can just get all the RCR books for usually less than half the price and they aren’t the annoying size of the SAGA books. The two systems are not that different.
As someone who liked SAGA and hated RCR... they are significantly different.

That said, buying them second hand is stupidly expensive. There is a reason I sold off mine even though I like the game, I made good money selling them.
 
As someone who liked SAGA and hated RCR... they are significantly different.

That said, buying them second hand is stupidly expensive. There is a reason I sold off mine even though I like the game, I made good money selling them.

I never knew that SAGA was that in demand in the aftermarket.
 
The Core book, the starship book, and the KotOR book are all really expensive from my experience, the others less so, though not cheap. In fact looking at prices now, it looks like they have actually dropped a bit. There was a time you couldn't get the KotOR book for less than $300 unless you lucked upon it in a retail store.
 
I made good money selling off my Saga Edition books. I don’t regret it, same as I don't miss my D&D3 books.

That said, I feel Saga was the best Star Wars game. Sue me.
 
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