I received a Kindle as a gift a couple of weeks ago.
I gave it away.
sk
I received a Kindle as a gift a couple of weeks ago.
I gave it away.
sk
Shame. I adore my Kindle. I have the entire Clive Barker catalog on there, 25 King books as well as over 100 other books and 100+ issues of The New Yorker. All in the space of one paperback. Doesn't mean I do not still purchase paper books, but the Kindle is invaluable to me, I love it.Originally Posted by frik
I have a Nook and what I usually do is using to read while I'm travelling (my bag is already heavy with the notebook) and, when I get home, read in the paper version (yes...the book in both formats).
Wanted list:
Ubris
Proliferation of EBooks vs Value of "physical" rare books in the future discussion...
What does everyone think the Ebook revolution will do to the value of King (or other authors, but King specifically) works?
Reduce overall value? Increase it?
Reduce/increase 1st/1st's vs Limited? Any differences between authors or will all authors be affected positively or negatively?
Can the writings of Stephen King set the standard for holding value?
I think I remember somebody said they keep track of values over time. I saw some of them on TheCollector which seems to show values holding relatively steady.
What about 5 years out? 10 years? If digital books account for 16% now and will account for 50% in the next 5 years or so, what does that mean for rare book values?
If children rarely use books in the future, how does that affect a collection of King "gems"?
Thanks for any and all opinions!!! If you have links to articles, stats or anything based on future theories for rare book values, then by all means include them.
Curt
I don't think they'll have any impact for quite a few years.
As for SK, only the first editions of Carrie through the Dead Zone are worth any 'real' money, and that will continue. A first edition of 'Cell' will never be worth a significant amount - there are millions of them, and too many people will keep and store them in mint condition. What makes 'Carrie' worth so much is that not only were there not that many, but people didn't bother saving them, since it was just a silly genre book. It took several books before collectors took notice, and by then a lot of first editons were presumably pulped and destroyed.
With limited exception, if you buy a book thinking it WILL be a collectible, then it will NOT be a collectible - because you won't be the only one with that idea.
E-Books might eventually impact the number of printed first editions, so if Author X printed a book that at first nobody cared about, then five years go by and people are suddently impressed, than the first edition might be worth something, because presumably a lot of the physical editions will have been destroyed, etc.
But if everybody jumps on the bandwagon, then there'll never be a true shortage. Maybe a book like "Tinkers" by Paul Harding will be a legit collectible...it was printed in a tiny hardcover run, generally ignorned, then won the Pulitzer. But even then....yes, it won the award, but does it have enough mainstream collector's attention to create an active buy-sell market? Dunno. People are asking $350 on Ebay for a 1st, but none have sold in the last 30 days.
If a similar future book got good word of mouth through E-Books, that might generate more interest in owning the printed edition, so that could help increase its value over time.
As for King, a first of Carrie will always be worth money, as would the s/ls up through DT IV, but after that I think too many collectors were paying attention, and there's no real scarcity anymore. Somebody's always got a copy who's willing to sell.
Question 1: I think overall it would decrease the value. New King books that are not yet very popular, just new trade releases, will just go into Ebook form.
Question 2: I think it would increase the 1st/1st's vs limited. As these books become more rare, people will be willing to pay more for these editions.
Question 3: I really don't know, only time will tell.
Question 4: I think rare books values will increase. since "physical" books in general will become rare, People will want to pay more for limited editions, 1st editions etc.
Question 5: I think that children will use books in the future. I can't imagine very young children ever wanting a bedtime story read from a Kindle or a Nook! I am teaching my children that books are something to be valued and treasured. Hopefully other parents will teach their children the same thing.
I think that as time goes on, book collecting will be become more popular. "Physical books" will become almost exotic as ebooks become more popular. Collecting rare books will become as big as a hobby as stamp collecting or collecting vinyl records. I think that in the future when most new release books will be in ebook form, instead of being released in paperback form that you could buy from any bookstore or Walmart , the idea of a "physical" book will become more interesting and people respect the "physical" book as they become more rare.
Thanks Jerome and great comments everyone!!
I still buy each new book but I guess it is just the "completist" in me. I need my collection to increase in value 100x so I can retire on it in 25 years or so. Realistically, I wonder what a Carrie will be in 25 years. Assume $700 right now...$1,400 in 25 years? $1 million? Please say $1 million. lol!
I think more depends on the rate of inflation than the value of the book in that time frame.
John
There will be the usual market fluctuations over time and like John says, inflation needs to be taken into account. But the only reason for a significant and permanent increase in market value will probably be when King passes away (IMO).
I don't expect the increase in eBook publications to affect the value of 1st editions and S/L editions at all. The two markets exist completely separate from each other - no one is ever going to collect eBooks like we collect physical books. Like it or not, the whole concept of market values for collectible books only exists by the grace of collectors who are willing to pay premium prices, no casual reader is every going to pay hundreds of dollars for a book only because it's a mint first edition or a signed/limited edition.
I can certainly see how casual readers will gravitate more and more towards eBooks but these people wouldn't have bought a collectible book anyway so there will be no net influence on the market value of collectible books.
I have read Stephen King since I was in Elementary School but never collected a single book until 2 years ago (I had a couple of 1st/1st King books just b/c I kept them since I was a kid with other books).
IF I had not grown up reading "physical" books, I doubt I would be collecting King books now I guess is what I'm saying....for me at least.
The "spark" to decide to collect may be missing. That catalyst for someone to go "hey, I should get a collection of all of these books I like by Stephen King!" might not surface as early or often if they just have a Kindle full of ebooks.
Not necessarily books, but fascinating info on printing:
Letterpress thriving in the age of the iPad
LINK:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...BUA11NVL44.DTL
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