It takes a lot to shock me, but..................

The other day someone contacted me regarding my late brother who had been killed over Nuremberg whilst serving in Bomber Command.

The writer was the daughter of one of my late brother's crew and she had been delighted to see a previously unseen photo on the internet of her father, taken by me when I had attended a Squadron re-union.

I have since been able to give her lots of info and photos but she was eager to obtain a book that had been privately published in 1996 that contained many photos and documents relating to the Squadron..

The book is called " On Wings of War- A History of 166 Squadron by Jim Wright".

Before replying to her first letter I thought I'd look around on the internet to see if any copies of the book were available. I think I remember originally paying about £20 for my own copy.

To my amazement I found that there were a few second hand copies for sale.

The price....... wait for it ............... was £232 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As I said..... it takes a lot to shock me but £232............................ Blimey !

 

Sounds like you made a sound investment there Ron

 

Ron,

Obviously a very rare book to get hold of! Don't let go of your copy.

Regards
Tom

 

I also have a copy signed by the author delighted to find out it's value but would'nt part with it for the world. An excellent book.

 

Wow, that's some increase.

 

Ron, I'm a bit of a book expert.
Please send me your copy of 'On Wings of War- A History of 166 Squadron' and I will value it for you...
Trust me, I'm your friend.

:thankyousign:

 

Ron, I'm a bit of a book expert.
Please send me your copy of 'On Wings of War- A History of 166 Squadron' and I will value it for you...
Trust me, I'm your friend.



Jamie

Thanks for your kind offer but..................

a. Just like Izzy, above, I have no desire to sell my own signed copy, at any price.
b. I made my original posting only because I was shocked at the price someone else was asking
c. I have no wish to risk losing my book in the post
and finally
d. I get a little worried when someone says "Trust me, I'm your friend"

Sorry, I couldn't resist that last remark !

Regards

Ron

 

Ron i bought the book as i was researching a serviceman named on my local war memorial. His name is George Ashplant and he gets a few pages mention because he was awarded the C.G.M Flying.He was lost on the 1st day of the Hamburg firestorm raids.

 

I help run a small museum in memory of the members of 381st BG USAAF that flew from the airfield I live next to, and the base chaplain published his diary som years after the war. It went out of print many years ago, but is an invaluable tome for research purposes not to mention purely as a very interesting read. It's occasionally possible to find a copy between £75-£100 but not uncommon to see them go for upwards of £250 due to it's rarity.

 

Izzy

I was just about to ask you who you knew in 166 Sqdrn

Tmm
Thanks for the explanation.

I hadn't really appreciated the rarity aspect affecting the price of such books and their values as research tools.

In view of the "Wings of War" being out of print I will now be happy to scan any page that has relevance to forum members and post the image here.

 

I think that there is some serious profiteering by second hand book shops now that they have lost much of their 'bread and butter' business. They've realised that enthusiasts will pay silly money and it costs them nothing to put them on a website. It only takes one nutter and it doesn't matter if it takes months.

I have a number of 'valuable' books, some of which I've had from new and others from eBay for £20 or so that greedy booksellers are asking £200 plus for. They're all OK but nothing that I'd take out a mortgage for. Their value will also be instantly demolished if someone does a reprint as the value lies purely in information rather than their historical worth.

 

....or someone gets it scanned and up on the Net on one of the archive sites like scribd.com...!

 

....or someone gets it scanned and up on the Net on one of the archive sites like scribd.com...!

To be honest, that wouldn't always stop me buying a book that I wanted but a facsimile reprint generally would (I like books but I'm not a book collector unless you count period motorcycle parts books)

 

£232 is some increase from £20.

I am always bemused when looking at some of the prices asked on Amazon , anything from £6- £110 plus for the same book.

Some out of print books can indeed be expensive........£200 plus is a heck of price to pay !

 

It's me again.............

Seeing the amount of interest this little item caused I was suddenly struck with an awful thought, had I made a mistake about the price of this second hand, slightly used, soft cover book ?

I've just nipped back to the site where I originally saw it for sale and, I confess, much to my relief, the price was still £232.00

To repeat myself.........Blimey

 

It's me again.............

Seeing the amount of interest this little item caused I was suddenly struck with an awful thought, had I made a mistake about the price of this second hand, slightly used, soft cover book ?

I've just nipped back to the site where I originally saw it for sale and, I confess, much to my relief, the price was still £232.00

To repeat myself.........Blimey

I'd already checked Ron. Nothing I like better than catching out the Old 'uns - I live in hope

 

Kenworthy is selling the same copy through Amazon for 227.95 inc p&p!

Steve W.

 

Now on Amazon for £392.65

 

As with so many things the price of books on the net varies greatly - I use BookFinder.com: Search for New & Used Books, Textbooks, Out-of-Print and Rare Books and prices for the same title there can vary from £5 - £350 for the same title. I think a few unscrupulous sharks just try it on in the hope some sucker can be hooked.

 

I found 1 copy available from a US seller (Booksearch, Inc. in Minnesota) for USD $335.00.