Dark Tower Same-Number Sets: Who owns them?

[Cook]

gsvec,
What a fantastic story !!
Ironically, your story gives me hope to complete my #79 collection.
Congratulations

And darn it, now you've made me want to go after that UK WIZARD & GLASS, but I'd never find a 158.

As far as the UK W&G, you never know when your number might show up.

How true how true! I had a full #64 set except Gunslinger and had decided I'd never find it - the only one in the world and the world's a big place. Lo and behold, a new member in the UK posted here in this very thread that he had it. Well, needless to say I got in touch! We emailed back and forth - made the deal and were trying to decide the best way to ship this one-of-a-kind without me having to mortage my house. About a year after his post, he was visiting the states and I took a day to fly from IL to FL and back just to meet up with he and his wife at the airport - oh, and to buy my #64 from him, of course! Very nice couple celebrating their anniversary. He doesn't post much, but I'll never forget him. This site rules!! So don't give up - you may come accross that W&G 158 when you least expect it!

[jhanic]

A great story, Gretchen! Congratulations on filling your set!

John

[jemaher]

Stephen King fans and collectors are very dedicated people who go to great lengths sometimes to find a particular book or item. The fun is sometimes in the quest and sometimes in the finding, but most of the time in both.

the quest is definitely part of the allure. I grew my Dt set #29 from the gunslinger up but somehow missed the legends sl with the original LSOE... years later I came across #29 and was outbid on ebay... much later I was able to buy it in a private sale....but i paid quite the premium... had i purchased it at the time it was published, I could have bought 5 copies for the same money

[Patrick]

Great story, Gretchen! Thanks for sharing.

[Ari_Racing]

Awesome story, Gretchen! Thanks for sharing!

[Cook]

I was wondering who I have to "Love" around here to get #79 updated ?
And trust me, I don't look like that picture to the left. LOL

[Mr. Rabbit Trick]

Complete set #259 on sale by granitebooks

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Stephen-Ki...item2a1887e651

[Dr. Dawg]

Complete set #259 on sale by granitebooks

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Stephen-Ki...item2a1887e651

It's unfortunate that it doesn't appear to include LSOE (and thus no TWTTK either)...

[biomieg]

Full set #259 is listed for sale again (£7,000).

[Mr. Rabbit Trick]

Full set #259 is listed for sale again (£7,000).

"again", is the clue that the price is not in line with the current market prices. Granitebooks was one of my favourite sellers a few years ago. They were they best in the UK for a while, but disappeared for the last few years.

[RIC #520]

I seen these sets on other sites for 20K-25K(US). So at 11K(US) if they don't sell, then what would they sell for? Anyone how when the last set was sold and for how much?

[AKC]

I seen these sets on other sites for 20K-25K(US). So at 11K(US) if they don't sell, then what would they sell for? Anyone how when the last set was sold and for how much?

Curent Market Value of a FULL SET (Including LSOE and TWTTK) is around $9,000 - $9,500.....

AKC

[RIC #520]

Ok... so that would put I-VII at around 8K... would that mean I at 5K and II-VII at 3K? Agree or not?

[AKC]

Ok... so that would put I-VII at around 8K... would that mean I at 5K and II-VII at 3K? Agree or not?

I: $4,000 - $4,500
II-VII + LSOE: $4,000
TWTTK: $500 - $1,000

Approximately.....

[RIC #520]

So with this said... there is no premium for having a match set? agree or disagree?

[divemaster]

I mentally pencil it out as such:

I: $4,500 - $5,000
II: $800 - $1,200
III: $400
IV: $600
V, VI, and VII: $400 each
LSOE (normal): $300
TWTTK: $350 retail

Add or subtract based on condition. Individual books with # less than 501 will likely add. A full number set together will add somewhat b/c of the actual number (<501) and also the premium of not having to search all over for various books--they are already together for you.

Getting out my calculator and I see that AKC is spot on with $9,000 - $9,500.

[RIC #520]

LSOE (normal): $300
TWTTK: $350 retail

Do you have any S/N for sell at this price? The actural number do not matter.. In fact for both, I will bump it up to $700

[divemaster]

LSOE was not selling for anywhere near $700 until TWTTK was announced. I assume once the "get the low number" frenzy is over, LSOE will drop back down.

I don't know what to say about TWTTK. The retail price was $350 and you can figure 800 sold at this price so for right now the average price will be right around $350. That's what I paid. How many of those 800 will try to flip for a profit and what will it go for? I have no idea. Have to see what the market will bear.

[RIC #520]

The flippers will try to double the money.. so they will be start at $700 and above. Back to original question, I still don't see a (sale) premium for having a matching number set. I am saying that I believe the books are worth as much (maybe more) individually than they are in a matching set. A match set is nice to have, but it does not add any addition value…

[divemaster]

Value can be measured in two ways.

1. What does the market say? For that, look at overall recent sales and come up with a ballpark figure or average.

2. What does an individual collector say? This could be all over the map. For example, I, personally, would pay more for a same-number Dark Tower set than for an assortment of random numbers in individual books. Maybe a 10% premium. You obviously would not. I would buy a book with a (slightly) damaged slipcase b/c I don't give a rat's ass about the slipcase. Some collectors wouldn't touch a book with a nicked slipcase. Etc.

[Randall Flagg]

The flippers will try to double the money.. so they will be start at $700 and above. Back to original question, I still don't see a (sale) premium for having a matching number set. I am saying that I believe the books are worth as much (maybe more) individually than they are in a matching set. A match set is nice to have, but it does not add any addition value…

You started out by asking a question, now you have rendered an opinion. Perhaps you answered your own question-or you just wish for a healthy debate.

[RIC #520]

No .. I am not rendering an opinion, more of an observation from the previous posts. I just trying to make sense out of the price estimates offer in previous posts ... The estimate that was made in this thread was that the matching set value is $9,000 - $9,500, not the $ 11K minimum bid being asked by the UK seller. It appears to me when the values were broken down by divemaster. He describe as “shot on” the match set price by AKC. If the UK seller can get 11K, then he would be getting a premium ($1500- $2000). If he has to drop his price to $9,000 - $9,500 to sell, then the match set is nice to have, but it does not add any addition value. I too put a lot more personal value on match set than random numbers in individual books. The value I am discussing is “sell value”, in reference to the UK posting the comment about being listed "again". I am interested in your opinion Randall and others.

[divemaster]

OK, let's look at my math. In my above post I penciled out a range of $8,150 to $9,050 for the complete set individually. There will be a range depending on condition and of course room for dickering. Most of the value will be in book I so the condition of that book would strongly influence the overall set price.

I mentioned a premium for a "full number set together" (in a later post I said to me it would be worth about 10%). That increases my estimated range to $8,965 to $9,955, which is very close ("spot on") to what AKC estimated for a complete set.

As for the UK seller asking $11,000? Did he get that? People can ask whatever they want and the books might never sell. There's an eBay auction that has been reposted for years asking $20,000 for a full number set. So it doesn't sell either.

Will the UK seller get $11,000 in today's market? Doubtful, but you never know. Like I said, there may be an individual collector that has a lot of money and just says, "fuck it, I'll pay $11,000 to grab this and not have to worry about it anymore or have to chase down a set volume by volume." But truthfully, if you want to talk "sell value" I think about $9,000-$9,500 for a full number set is a very good ballpark. If you want to track down individual books separately, if you are diligent and patient you could probably complete a set like that for less than that. Like maybe 10% less. Of course, your numbers would not all match.

[AKC]

$9,000 - $9,500......

FYI, that does reflect a bit of "premium" for a matching set.

I've bought TWO sets of Matching DT III - DTVII + LSOE + TWTTK for $4,000 in the last two months. I've also bought a #'d Gunslinger for $4,000. Throw in a matching DT II for a $1,000 when I find it and that'll get you ONLY to $9,000.

Pay a $500.00 premium for a matching set? OK, then you are at $9,500.

$9,000 - $9,500 CURRENT MARKET VALUE any way you look at it. Wouldn't pay a dime more......

[divemaster]

RIC #520, here's another consideration and a follow-up to what I was saying earlier. "Market value" is not an exact fixed point. It fluctuates and different people will have different opinions. The differences might be slight ($50 for this book; $70 for that book, etc.) but they are there.

Buyer 1 may have a targeted price point based on his intention to re-sell at some point. This person would like to make some sort of profit. So Buyer 1 may only buy at the lowest end of the range, and not a penny more. They want to make money on an investment.

Buyer 2 has no intention to re-sell. He just wants the books. He might grab an eBay auction or such and be willing to pay a higher price than Buyer 1.

So what is "market value"? What Buyer 1 is willing to pay or what Buyer 2 is willing to pay?

I, personally, am a Buyer 2. My main goal is filling the holes in my collection. If there's something I really want and doesn't come up for sale very often, I migh overpay a bit (like, say, a 10% premium) just to have it. If I just get a tax refund and am feeling flush I might jump at a sale I wouldn't have when feeling the pinch. In fact, I just bought a S/L Danse Macabre this week becasue I've always wanted it and I don't see them come up for sale all that often. It was offered and I jumped.