10 replies to this topic

[cipher]

Other than just looking through eBay, does anyone know of a decent site of method of appraising the value of OOP books? For example, I have the old BT Black Widow and Comstar books, along with the Battletech Manual, Compendiums, TROs, etc. I'm not interested in selling them, but I'd like to know because it would be nice to go through them and try to buy online the ones I was missing to the complete the collection.

Thanks!

[Sychodemus]

Unfortunately, places like eBay and Amazon are the easiest indicators of the rarity of books and they can actually lead you to places to find more products.
However, value is subjective especially regarding Battletech and changes with the passage of time. Generally, novels will run from $1-$20 USD and most sourcebooks $5-$50 USD depending on rarity with very few worth more than that (though some sellers will ask for far more.) Obviously, the earliest unopened boxed sets tend to be the hardest things to find as are some of the miniatures (the prices for those fluctuate a lot.)

As far as I know, there isn't a uniform or reliable trade list in regards to BT, so you pretty much have to use your own judgment. A good guideline is to use the cover price as a soft cap for most of them.

Edited by Sychodemus, 03 July 2012 - 03:52 PM.

[cipher]

Thanks! It's a shame there's no reliable way to value such items, but at least good to hear that they shouldn't be too inflated.

[IMPERIUS ERADICUS]

I just paid $25 for the paperback "Decision of Thunder Rift"....new , but pages are yellowish.

[cipher]

IMPERIUS ERADICUS, on 05 July 2012 - 12:49 PM, said:

I just paid $25 for the paperback "Decision of Thunder Rift"....new , but pages are yellowish.

After looking around I've seen many of the books sell for anywhere original retail value to an inflated $80. I guess it's just getting lucky to find ones at a decent price. At least $25 isn't too bad.

[JackCrow]

cipher, on 03 July 2012 - 02:47 PM, said:

Other than just looking through eBay, does anyone know of a decent site of method of appraising the value of OOP books? For example, I have the old BT Black Widow and Comstar books, along with the Battletech Manual, Compendiums, TROs, etc. I'm not interested in selling them, but I'd like to know because it would be nice to go through them and try to buy online the ones I was missing to the complete the collection.

Thanks!

Try Wayne. I have found literally everything through him. And if he doesn't have it, I bet he might find it.

http://www.waynesbooks.com/

He has a link and a description for each book, if he doesn't have it in stock there is a direct link to Amazon that will search. Good luck.

cipher, on 05 July 2012 - 12:51 PM, said:

After looking around I've seen many of the books sell for anywhere original retail value to an inflated $80. I guess it's just getting lucky to find ones at a decent price. At least $25 isn't too bad.

I was looking for a new copy of Bred For War the other day. A "new" copy starts at 187 bucks on Amazon. Whoever publishes these books is missing the boat, because there is still a market for them.

[Pht]

Cipher:

http://www.bookfinder.com/

Put in the ISBN numbers from here:

http://www.sarna.net...leTech_products


The prices on the blueprints posters were mind blowing last time I looked.

Dear lord.

The blueprints are now from 404$ to almost 2,000$ ... star league source book is now from 87 to 200 bucks... a box set for battledroids (they very first box set ever) will set you back from 24 to 120 bucks...

Edited by Pht, 06 July 2012 - 03:24 PM.

[cipher]

Yeah, some prices are silly. I guess I could take my old blueprints out of storage and sell them for $2k? ROFLOL

[Pht]

Apparently the plastech and later minis box sets are beyond rare. Had to google those...

[StoneRhino]

Some of the mini boxed sets, those that are the 3050 clan mechs and earlier sets can range from $25-$50 if they are sealed and in good condition. Some people are willing to pay more based upon how badly they want them.

As for the books, someone looking to get into Battletech should hit ebay as some people tend to sell of a batch of TROs for cheap. You won't find the latest TROs in those batches, but it is possible to take $50 and get a great deal of the older TROs that will set up a noob for some time.

Be careful when on Amazon and such as there are people that have tried selling novels, used, for upwards of $500. Even if it was new there is no way they are worth that much. As someone said earlier, $20 is a likely highpoint, if the book is new or very rare.

If you do not mind digital versions of some books you can hit up battlecorp off of the catalyst website and compare the prices of the paper copy you are interested in and the digital version. Some of the older books are on PDF for $10-15, which is cool if you don't care what medium you get the information in.

[cipher]

^--- Awesome advice and insight, thanks!