Out of print books

[QT Luong]

I am wondering what causes some out of print art books to fetch such high prices on the second-hand market, while others end up in the bargain bin ?

For instance, Roman Loranc's Two hearted Oaks sells on the internet now for 4 - 10 times the original price, while Lois Conner's China (which I thought was a well-respected work, shot entirely on ULF) sells for 0.3 - 1 times the original price.

[Ralph Barker]

Perhaps those selling Loranc's book hired a certain eBay lens seller to do their write-ups? ;)

Considering Loranc's popularity, the fact that the book went out of print is even more strange than the buying habits on the Internet.

[IanG]

It also often has something to do with the size of the original print run, and fewer copies available on the second hand market.

Ian

[John Powers]

It also often has something to do with the size of the original print run, and fewer copies available on the second hand market.

Ian

The basic tenet of price, supply and demand.

John

[claudiocambon]

On the whole, though, the price of many used photo books is surprising; even the plainest of books, unsigned and such, can fetch a mint on Photoeye's auctions, for example. It makes me wish that over the years I hadn't periodically taken some of these same books, ones I no longer liked, to used bookstores, where I would get a buck or two for each one, maybe five! Who knew.... It seems slightly over inflated to me.

[PViapiano]

You have to be patient to snap up the ones you want. Make a list and then scour your favorite used stores, eBay and craigslist. I just picked up Linda Butler's Italy book for about $20; it usually goes for $80-100 and I waited a year to find it at that price.

Also, if there's something you really like, just buy one or two brand new. Save the extra copy for when it goes out of print and use the money to fund camera/film purchases. The gains can be quite substantial.

[mccormickstudio]

A good place to establish prices and find lower-cost copies of rarities is abebooks.com. They are the online outlet for many used booksellers, which keeps the prices competitive. I often find out-of-prints there for much less than they get on ebay and half or less than what they retail for. And most of the stores are small, independent booksellers which I prefer to support rather than the big franchises.

[mdd99]

In situations like this, I like to think of Gordon Gekko's line from "Wall Street": "The illusion has become real."

[QT Luong]

Henri Cartier Bresson's "The Decisive Moment", although never reprinted since first edition of 1952, can be had for a few hundred dollars.

Hedi Slimane's Berlin, retailed in 2003 for $30, is now $2000+.

[Jim collum]

Perhaps those selling Loranc's book hired a certain eBay lens seller to do their write-ups? ;)

Considering Loranc's popularity, the fact that the book went out of print is even more strange than the buying habits on the Internet.

It's still a rare thing to make a good living on print sales. I've been to a couple of his receptions, and the prints just fly out the door.

[BradS]

how many copies of each were produced? How many survive?

Maybe, the fact that one is recently out-of-print has some bearing on the matter in this specific example too? (although the relation between current price and time since out of print seems backwards to me in this case). I'm not sure there is a rational explanation but, I'm willing to bet that supply and demand are at work here too....