Watching this item on ebay and having been out of the "collecting" aspect of this for a very long time, what is the true range for this item on Ebay these days? This already seems a little crazy or I have am losing touch on the pricing of these items, and this still has many days left. Ive been wanting to pick up a copy (I believe this is the first edition printing - beta possibly?) but not sure what the rate is for an item in a similar condition as this. Can anyone out there give me your opinion?


** expired/removed eBay auction **


Thanks!

Thanks for the info...this was extremely helpful...

Its not mentioned what version this is. It looks to be a first print, can anyone check me on that and confirm? Beta?

StormGod wrote in D&D Original Wood Grain:Its not mentioned what version this is. It looks to be a first print, can anyone check me on that and confirm? Beta?

As a note of caution, I would be careful about taking the current Acaeum classification as set in stone. The often overlooked bullet point from the description of the 1st print here is:

"Allegedly, 1000 copies of this set were printed by Graphic Printing (and hand-assembled by Gygax and friends in his home).  Reportedly took eleven months to sell out.  As evidenced by the additional prints below, there is strong indication that the box, the cover stickers, and the booklets themselves were printed in differing amounts, which led to later "frankensteining" of the various parts"

Wise words. Ultimately this looks like a very nice 1st print. As to finer sub-categorisation I would take some of that with a pinch of salt.

[edit] .. I have some (probably incomplete) price records for Woodgrains over the years and this price looks to be (at the time of typing ) kind of on par. As I have noted before on other threads, if I was going to bid on this I would be wanting to see some other pics (box corners, staples etc...).  

Good luck!!

Is there really even a "market" when dealing with offerings this scarce?  I almost think each one is a case unto itself.

Absolutely.  I see collectibles at that level of rarity as being more akin to original art than other mass-produced commodities; prices are going to vary widely, simply because a serious collector cannot be assured of the chance of purchasing another in the same quality.

If those prices start hitting 10k, I would seriously have to consider selling mine I think.

I'm very surprised it went that high.

Phentari wrote in D&D Original Wood Grain:Absolutely.  I see collectibles at that level of rarity as being more akin to original art than other mass-produced commodities; prices are going to vary widely, simply because a serious collector cannot be assured of the chance of purchasing another in the same quality.

Indeed. The same seller sold a 1st print Alpha prior to this auction for about $600. Then again, that one didn't have a box or reference sheets and I believe the staples were removed. Other than that, the booklets of the Alpha print seemed to be in better condition, as this Beta print seems to have some damage caused by humidity near the edges as well as on the outer page of the reference sheets.