Betts Books

[webstar1000]

hahhahahaha this is gold. lol

[burial]

Big item crossed off my want list! 1/100 FDNS. Can't wait to add it to my collection!

Wow... really nice

[jreitan47]

So far I've been able to snag three of the men's mags that are missing from my collection. Wish I could buy them all!!

[wizardsrainbow]

I have a problem... I cannot stop buying books...

And lucky for all of you....I have same problem. I keep buying and buying....but wait! Then you buy them from me....LOL

[HONKYTONKSMASH]

I have a problem... I cannot stop buying books...

And lucky for all of you....I have same problem. I keep buying and buying....but wait! Then you buy them from me....LOL

I have the same problem fellas. I'm real good at the buying part...it's the selling part that I struggle with

[Merlin1958]

I have a problem... I cannot stop buying books...

And lucky for all of you....I have same problem. I keep buying and buying....but wait! Then you buy them from me....LOL

And that's why you're a true cornerstone of this site!!! Whatever would we all do without you, my good man?

[Sir_Boomme]

I have a problem... I cannot stop buying books...

And lucky for all of you.....LOL

And that's why you're a true cornerstone of this site!!! Whatever would we all do without you, my good man?

Pay off the house a lot sooner.

[Merlin1958]

I have a problem... I cannot stop buying books...

And lucky for all of you.....LOL

And that's why you're a true cornerstone of this site!!! Whatever would we all do without you, my good man?

Pay off the house a lot sooner.

Good point. LOL

[wizardsrainbow]

ATTENTION COLLECTORS!....Big and Final Price cuts just taken on "W" consignment. Check it out!

[carlosdetweiller]

Regarding item W-139: There is a signed copy of Playboy that accompanies the red numbered TEOTD. Does anyone else have concerns about the validity of the signature on the Playboy article?

[Kingfan24]

To be honest that's what kept me away from that particular item.

[webstar1000]

Regarding item W-139: There is a signed copy of Playboy that accompanies the red numbered TEOTD. Does anyone else have concerns about the validity of the signature on the Playboy article?

I don't. David would not have it on his site if he were the least bit concerned.

[webstar1000]

To be honest that's what kept me away from that particular item.

You were going to buy this Nick? Come on dude. That kept you away?

[Br!an]

Regarding item W-139: There is a signed copy of Playboy that accompanies the red numbered TEOTD. Does anyone else have concerns about the validity of the signature on the Playboy article?

I wouldn't buy it.

[webstar1000]

Regarding item W-139: There is a signed copy of Playboy that accompanies the red numbered TEOTD. Does anyone else have concerns about the validity of the signature on the Playboy article?

I wouldn't buy it.

How did you see it?

[webstar1000]

Regarding item W-139: There is a signed copy of Playboy that accompanies the red numbered TEOTD. Does anyone else have concerns about the validity of the signature on the Playboy article?

I wouldn't buy it.

How did you see it?

I seen it... yeah its not a nice sig... but its a magazine. Could have caught King coming out of somewhere and a magazine (with no solid back to have somewhat a sturdier hand) which would make the signature more so fugly. Not 100% sure I would call that fake... in a book i would be more likely too yes...

[carlosdetweiller]

Regarding item W-139: There is a signed copy of Playboy that accompanies the red numbered TEOTD. Does anyone else have concerns about the validity of the signature on the Playboy article?

I don't. David would not have it on his site if he were the least bit concerned.

It is one of those that I would really like to see in person or at least have a larger image to evaluate. As it stands now I am pretty sure it is bogus, IMO.

[wizardsrainbow]

This collectible comes from a high-end collector here on this site. Not to say people don't get it wrong sometimes, but I believe it to be legit, otherwise I would have refused to list it. I agree it is not a pretty signature, but I've looked at it pretty closely with my own eyes. Each person must judge for themselves.

I remind myself that members from this site secured King's signature on 2 rare books I sent them to take to the last Rock Bottom Remainders concert in LA a couple summers ago. When I got the books back I though both ranked among the ugliest signatures I had seen. If someone had just showed me those 2 sigs out of the blue, I'd have said fake without missing a beat. Yet, I knew they were legit and it really opened my eyes to the fact that there are a LOT of variations to King's signature over the years. Bottom line is ALWAYS...you must be extremely careful and you must decide if it is a signature you can "live with". If you decide no, no problem, move on to the next collectible.

So, I take no offense with people's question on this one and I RESPECT your opinions, but I am ok with this one which is why I posted it.

Moreover, for a RED numbered EOTD, the book itself is easily worth the listing price, let alone the addition of the Playboy piece.

[carlosdetweiller]

We can agree to disagree on this one.

[sgc1999]

This collectible comes from a high-end collector here on this site. Not to say people don't get it wrong sometimes, but I believe it to be legit, otherwise I would have refused to list it. I agree it is not a pretty signature, but I've looked at it pretty closely with my own eyes. Each person must judge for themselves.

I remind myself that members from this site secured King's signature on 2 rare books I sent them to take to the last Rock Bottom Remainders concert in LA a couple summers ago. When I got the books back I though both ranked among the ugliest signatures I had seen. If someone had just showed me those 2 sigs out of the blue, I'd have said fake without missing a beat. Yet, I knew they were legit and it really opened my eyes to the fact that there are a LOT of variations to King's signature over the years. Bottom line is ALWAYS...you must be extremely careful and you must decide if it is a signature you can "live with". If you decide no, no problem, move on to the next collectible.

So, I take no offense with people's question on this one and I RESPECT your opinions, but I am ok with this one which is why I posted it.

Moreover, for a RED numbered EOTD, the book itself is easily worth the listing price, let alone the addition of the Playboy piece.

Very True!

[idlewarnings]

Buy it for the red EOTD. Toss the Playboy. It's no good.

[Johnny Alien]

Buy it for the red EOTD. Toss the Playboy. It's no good.

Don't be too quick there!! There might be some good articles to read in that Playboy!

[Johnny007]

TDT.org members and lurkers:

First and foremost, my thanks to David Williamson at Betts Books for the fantastic job he did liquidating a small piece of my collection recently. There were more than 250 books (including the Baker’s Dozen lots) and that meant a lot of work on his end. David and I had a couple of minor speed bumps locating all of the books but in the end we accounted for everything. And everything, save one lot, sold…and sold fairly quickly. Please accept my thanks to those who bought my wares. Many of the items had not been available via ebay, abe, or any other SK outlet in more than 10 years. So I was happy to bring some of the rarer items to the market.

While I sold most of my proof collection, I still have some gems that I didn’t want to part with. Some people asked me why I was selling the proofs. The easy answer was that they are just too difficult to price when you have no clue about the quantities made and/or the numbers issued. A member here stated that he stayed away from Betts when it comes to proofs. The implication was that the prices weren’t that accurate. I think that’s unfair because there is no “real market price” for a significant portion of SK proof market and they’re just difficult to price. The Cell proof would have sold for $3K had it not been an all-of-a-sudden anomaly in supply. Who among us knew there were that many Cell proofs? Or that 3-4 would appear at the same time? It just became more of a hassle than a pursuit that brought happiness.

I was also tired of seeing people, myself included, buying a new proof for a supposedly “market price” only to have some dude appear from nowhere selling copy after copy, week after week. And the proofs of reprinted books gave me the same taste that I have for PC copies say post-1997 (Salem’s Lot and perhaps one or two exceptions).

Finally, for this section, all the numbers listed on the sale initially came from me. I asked David to run my list by another well-known proof collector to see if the prices I developed were reasonable. The word that came back was that all but 8-10 items were reasonable. The other 8-10 were too low so I adjusted them up. I also asked David to flag anything that was way out of line (too high). He did that and I appreciated it very much. The last thing I wanted to do was screw anyone over. And that brings me to my last issue.

The EOTD package was called out recently. While I would have gone straight to the source to inquire the signature’s validity before raising the issue, I’m glad that Bob did say something about the Playboy signature. It could have saved someone’s money and people’s reputations; it avoided potential hard feelings, and probably more. I did not seek out to screw anyone with this package so I want to provide the background and provenance of said items. Hopefully this will illustrate that, as good as many here are at identifying bad (forged) signatures, no one is infallible.

I purchased the red numbered EOTD, along with 2 numbered Stands and a numbered Skeleton Crew from Stu Tinker back in 2006. Obviously there weren’t any issues with the signed numbered books. In 2007 I saw a signed Playboy in the Super Collection that was associated with the EOTD I already owned. I thought it would be a cool association package so I bought it. I think it was item 1560 or something around there (Mr. Rabbit Trick can confirm the number of the lot because he has a copy of the sale). There aren’t many SK-signed men’s magazines so I thought I had a gem for a couple of reasons.

When I saw the signature for the first time, I thought it was a little odd. But my expertise in this area at the time was not very good and I accepted it as legitimate. After all, Stu saw it and was willing to sell it. It was also part of the Super Collection so one of the original super-collectors owned it…so who was I to question it? I “parked” it and inventoried it until now. I did not look at the signature again…and that means I didn’t look at it before it went to David for sale. I take full responsibility for including it as part of the EOTD. A fair share of people would say the Playboy signature is OK but after looking at it again, seeing Bob’s comments, and consulting with another super-collector/signature expert, I’m positive that it is not legitimate or, at least, not a signature worth trying to defend as legitimate. I’ve asked David to pull the EOTD package from his site and return the book to me. He will keep the Playboy to destroy it or return it to me where I will destroy it. My sincere apologies to anyone for the confusion.

Again, thanks for buying my books. I can pay some medical bills and maybe buy a few more SK books (legitimate, though).

[jsteltor]

Someone asked and I just wanted to clarify, the items below are not proofs.
--
I was able to get Bakers Dozen IV. Blockade Billy 1st x2; 2nd x2, N&D UK Gift edition, Talisman x2, BoB, HiA, Dark Half x2

Let me know if you're interested.

Thanks,
Jonathan

[Mr. Rabbit Trick]

In 2007 I saw a signed Playboy in the Super Collection that was associated with the EOTD I already owned. I thought it would be a cool association package so I bought it. I think it was item 1560 or something around there (Mr. Rabbit Trick can confirm the number of the lot because he has a copy of the sale). There aren’t many SK-signed men’s magazines so I thought I had a gem for a couple of reasons.

cc1568 - Playboy January 1982 Non-fiction article "Between A Rock and a Hard Place" by King Signed - $200