skars
Level 6 Magician
Posts: 407
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Post by skars on Apr 30, 2015 11:45:36 GMT -6
...but the hopeless hoarder in me wants a set of original LBBs of my own. So, before I go spending top dollar on musty stained books older than I am do any of you have tips on which printing I should seek and/or buyer beware stories?
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Post by chicagowiz on May 1, 2015 6:48:02 GMT -6
Craigslist. I bought mine for $25, 6th printing. Only issue was Vol II, a child made the dragon into a yellow (crayon) dragon. Didn't matter to me, the books themselves were in great shape and playable.
I always like to have pictures of what I'm buying.
I have found the neatest things by being patient, going through some of the lesser known classifieds, using Google and searches.
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Post by Vile Traveller on May 1, 2015 8:49:47 GMT -6
I guess you've also asked this question on the Acaeum?
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Post by jmccann on May 1, 2015 22:30:30 GMT -6
My advice is buy singles. I had the U&WA only from my actual OD&D set and realized while searching for replacements for M&M and M&T that a set put together from singles is much cheaper than buying a set. Of course if you want a box and ref sheets, you'll be out of luck.
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Post by Finarvyn on May 2, 2015 5:57:09 GMT -6
I'd say you have a couple of options. (1) Noble Knight -- a little expensive but they have good buyers who are also good at grading the product's condition. That way you tend to avoid yellow crayon dragons. (2) E-bay -- be patient. Pick a top value that you want to spend and keep bidding when you see another auction. Eventually you should find one at a decent price. (Depending upon your definition of decent. I think you'll find that the originals will probably run you somewhere around the cost of the boxed reprints.) (3) Buy the boxed reprints -- if content is what you want, these are good quality books in a solid box. As to printing ... if you are a fanatic look for a woodgrain set. If you really want Tolkien stuff go for a 1st - 4th printing. My advice would be to look for a copy of 5th or later. Same basic content, lower cost. I have my 4th printing from the 1970's and I never use it because I don't want anything to happen to it, but instead I bought a later printing for my "reader copy" and find that it's just as good as the older one except that it doesn't have the word "balrog" in it and "ents" are called "trents" or some such. To me any White Box is a good thing, no matter which printing.
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Post by Falconer on May 2, 2015 7:01:08 GMT -6
5th Printing still has the Tolkien stuff. It’s only the 6th Printing (with the “OCE” starburst) that changed them.
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Chainsaw
Level 5 Thaumaturgist
Posts: 303
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Post by Chainsaw on May 2, 2015 16:23:53 GMT -6
5th Printing still has the Tolkien stuff. It’s only the 6th Printing (with the “OCE” starburst) that changed them. Yep. I bought a good one for ~$200 three years ago. I checked ebay every day for months before finding it. Now that the reprints have raised the game's profile, you're probably easily paying $350+for a good quality 5th print. I see shirtty OCEs going for what I paid for my good-quality 5th print.
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Post by Falconer on May 2, 2015 17:56:02 GMT -6
Yeah, I got a beautiful 5th printing plus a complete set of pristine AD&D 1.0 hardbacks (incl. DDG w/ Cthulhu), a Holmes set (with Geomorphs, cut), a Moldvay set, and some other stuff for ~$103.50 on eBay. This was in 2002 (before Gary died).
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Post by grodog on May 2, 2015 21:33:10 GMT -6
...but the hopeless hoarder in me wants a set of original LBBs of my own. So, before I go spending top dollar on musty stained books older than I am do any of you have tips on which printing I should seek and/or buyer beware stories? When bidding on eBay or buying used books online, I always ask whether the books are complete, have any writing/highlighting, musty/moldy/smoky odors, and any bent/dogeared pages, etc. If you're looking for a white box edition, I have some spare sets in varying condition, ranging from beaters to pretty nice ones. Shoot me an email if you're interested in trading/buying.
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skars
Level 6 Magician
Posts: 407
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Post by skars on May 6, 2015 15:15:49 GMT -6
Thanks for all the replies guys, much appreciated. I will hit you up grodog. I do have the reprints, and they are great but I just want to have a piece of the originals for my hoard.
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skars
Level 6 Magician
Posts: 407
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Post by skars on May 6, 2015 15:17:22 GMT -6
Craigslist. I bought mine for $25, 6th printing. Only issue was Vol II, a child made the dragon into a yellow (crayon) dragon. Didn't matter to me, the books themselves were in great shape and playable. I always like to have pictures of what I'm buying. I have found the neatest things by being patient, going through some of the lesser known classifieds, using Google and searches. hah you better believe I have been watching. I have had so many scores from craiglist, they are too many to count (and Im not just referring to the casual encounters section!).
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Post by chicagowiz on May 7, 2015 8:52:48 GMT -6
hah you better believe I have been watching. I have had so many scores from craiglist, they are too many to count (and Im not just referring to the casual encounters section!). Yea, that's just TMI there, buddy. LOL. My latest and best - I've gotten a 2nd printing Empire of the Petal Throne, still sealed in original plastic, for far less than what they go for on Ebay. Now I'm trolling for Battletech miniatures...
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Post by rastusburne on Nov 24, 2015 15:55:25 GMT -6
Yeah, I got a beautiful 5th printing plus a complete set of pristine AD&D 1.0 hardbacks (incl. DDG w/ Cthulhu), a Holmes set (with Geomorphs, cut), a Moldvay set, and some other stuff for ~$103.50 on eBay. This was in 2002 (before Gary died). That is an unbelievable deal!
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Post by thegreyelf on Nov 26, 2015 20:32:51 GMT -6
I'd never buy a box newer than 5th print, because I want my OD&D to have Hobbits, Nazgul and Ents rather than Halflings, Spectres and Treants.
I've got two sets. One is VF+ booklets in a VG box, and has all five supplements plus a saddle-stitched early edition of Chainmail (first print with the silver cover). The other is a beater set with the booklets in VG and the box in Fair.
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Post by rastusburne on Nov 26, 2015 22:24:30 GMT -6
I'd never buy a box newer than 5th print, because I want my OD&D to have Hobbits, Nazgul and Ents rather than Halflings, Spectres and Treants. I've got two sets. One is VF+ booklets in a VG box, and has all five supplements plus a saddle-stitched early edition of Chainmail (first print with the silver cover). The other is a beater set with the booklets in VG and the box in Fair. Mine's a NM 7th printing OCE, but I love it just the same I also have the Wizards reprint. Blasphemy I know.
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Post by thegreyelf on Nov 28, 2015 7:31:20 GMT -6
Mine's a NM 7th printing OCE, but I love it just the same I also have the Wizards reprint. Blasphemy I know. Not remotely. I have the WotC reprint. I love it. It's the treatment OD&D always deserved. Sure, I was a bit bummed they didn't work out a deal to keep the Conan stuff in Supplement IV, but I printed it off from PDFs and stuck it in there.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Nov 28, 2015 16:38:00 GMT -6
I got a brown-box set, first edition, first printing, for $10.
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Post by thegreyelf on Nov 28, 2015 16:54:59 GMT -6
I got a brown-box set, first edition, first printing, for $10. Showoff. Braggart. Next you're going to say, "I also played with both Gary and Dave and am one of the few who can say that."
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Nov 28, 2015 17:18:39 GMT -6
... and Phil Barker ("Empire of the Petal Throne").
Neener.
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Post by jmccann on Dec 15, 2015 21:16:37 GMT -6
I'd say you have a couple of options. (1) Noble Knight -- a little expensive but they have good buyers who are also good at grading the product's condition. That way you tend to avoid yellow crayon dragons. I will second the NK recommendation. They will fix any issues with their items in my experience in addition to being knowledgeable about their items.
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