Greetings,

I recently won eBay auctions for the AD&D DMG (efreet cover), Fiend Folio, PHB (wizard cover) and Monster Manual (pegasus cover).

Price was 9.99 each, which I thought was pretty good.

The DMG is in excellent condition, very pleased with that book, but the other books are in disappointing condition.

The PHB looks pretty good, but it *stinks*. It smells like the tomb. Just holding the book open at chest level, the smell is quite noticeable. What the heck is this, and is there anything I can do to get rid of it?

The Monster Manual looks grubbier, but doesn't have the same odor. It's playable I guess.

The Fiend Folio smells almost as bad as the PHB, and was clearly wet at some point. The pages are all crinkly. The seller didn't mention this in the description and didn't have any pictures of the interior. The description said it was in Good/Very Good condition. Should I file a complaint with eBay do you think?

The DMG and MM alone are worth more than the price you paid.

In any case, I would write the seller to complain, smelly books and water damage are issues that SHOULD always be posted in listings.
I would probably toss the smelly books.

FormCritic wrote:The awful smell from a book might be from a smoker's house (why do people still do that?) or it might have been flooded out by toilet water at one point...or pee'd on by a cat.

Ewww...No, it's definitely more of a musty smell.

Looking up and down the spine on the inside covers of the PHB I see little dark splotches, which I guess could be mold. They're not fuzzy though...

Does anyone have any experience with book mold?

I don't own any old books...is it normal for old books to have a musty smell? Or is it always a mold problem? That's kind of a silly question I'm sure, but I really don't know.

I'm not much of a collector, not yet anyway, I'm just trying to get an AD&D set so I can play it. The acaeum site has been very helpful to me sorting out the early editions and what they look like.

I should probably just throw it out, but 9.99 is the best price I've found in weeks of ebay searching. Unfortunately prices seem to have taken a big jump lately. I see plenty of PHBs go for over $20. Wish I could go to a Half Price Books but there isn't one in my city.

I initially thought that the prices of WOTC's AD&D reprints were highway robbery but after my experience I'm not so sure anymore.

here's my Ebay listings in case anyone is curious:


** expired/removed eBay auction **


** expired/removed eBay auction **


** expired/removed eBay auction **


** expired/removed eBay auction **

Morrow wrote:

FormCritic wrote:The awful smell from a book might be from a smoker's house (why do people still do that?) or it might have been flooded out by toilet water at one point...or pee'd on by a cat.

Ewww...No, it's definitely more of a musty smell.

Looking up and down the spine on the inside covers of the PHB I see little dark splotches, which I guess could be mold. They're not fuzzy though...

Does anyone have any experience with book mold?

I don't own any old books...is it normal for old books to have a musty smell? Or is it always a mold problem? That's kind of a silly question I'm sure, but I really don't know.

I'm not much of a collector, not yet anyway, I'm just trying to get an AD&D set so I can play it. The acaeum site has been very helpful to me sorting out the early editions and what they look like.

I should probably just throw it out, but 9.99 is the best price I've found in weeks of ebay searching. Unfortunately prices seem to have taken a big jump lately. I see plenty of PHBs go for over $20. Wish I could go to a Half Price Books but there isn't one in my city.

I initially thought that the prices of WOTC's AD&D reprints were highway robbery but after my experience I'm not so sure anymore.

here's my Ebay listings in case anyone is curious:


** expired/removed eBay auction **


** expired/removed eBay auction **


** expired/removed eBay auction **


** expired/removed eBay auction **

I took a look at your Players Handbook win, and the mold and water damage are visible in the picture. Yes, that musty smell always means mold. I'm no expert on how they activate and spread/reproduce, but my suggestion with a book with such an extensive infection would be to chuck it immediately. Maybe the mold spores or dead (more likely they're not), but why take the chance?

Find yourself a nice clean copy of each book for $20 or so. It's still little more than half of what the reprints are retailing for, and probably less than half of what they'll be selling for on eBay a month after they're released (if that happens at all).

Morrow wrote:

FormCritic wrote:The awful smell from a book might be from a smoker's house (why do people still do that?) or it might have been flooded out by toilet water at one point...or pee'd on by a cat.

Ewww...No, it's definitely more of a musty smell.

Looking up and down the spine on the inside covers of the PHB I see little dark splotches, which I guess could be mold. They're not fuzzy though...

Does anyone have any experience with book mold?

Yes. Get rid of them. At least separate them from the rest of your collection.  Mold can spread. I'd destroy them but barring that definitely see if you can return them.

Mike B.