Are special edition books worth the price? Have my Folio Society books actually gained any value?
2024 ж. 20 Мам.
3 221 Рет қаралды
I just fancied looking in to 'return on investment' figures for some of my more expensive and special edition books. These are from publishers like The Folio Society and Dunmanifestin. I'm not planning on selling these books, but I had a bit of a gut feeling that the Folio's probably don't gain much value as they are fairly common in the UK (but still beautiful books!).
Also included in this video is the unboxing of the brand new Folio Society limited edition of 'The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet' by Becky Chambers!
----
My storygraph: app.thestorygraph.com/profile...
Buy a cat treat for the boss: ko-fi.com/fatcatdetective
#booktube #specialedition #unboxing #foliosociety #dunmanifestin
Some Folio Society books are insane investments like Birds Drawn for John Gould
The resale value of Folio Society books depends on whether there's a 'fan base' for the particular author which you may have touched on, that tends to mean fantasy books keep or hold their value as people do become fans of these books in a way that they don't really for, say literary fiction, and will pay a lot for all kinds of memorabilia. Conversely I bought a four volume set of the complete Mapp & Lucia books for £8 in perfect condition (no slip case) which is what you'd pay for the cheapest new paperback so that was a bargain. I've sold two Folio Society special editions and got more or less what I paid for them so they seem to hold value at least.
I am a big book collector. I have way above 3.000 books in my library. Plenty of Folio in it. Do I buy as an investment? Hell no. Plenty of better investments in securities. Books as investment need to be rarities and those attract very high prices and are bought by a restrict buyers market. Folio are high quality books, and that is why they are pricier than a paperback. But unless you are buying a LE signed buy the author or illustrator, and even there, they are not investments. I buy them when I like a particular book and I want a more beautiful edition in my shelfs.
I collect for two reasons: 1) have a robust library in the same way one would have a robust art collection or music collection, and 2) for preservation. I just want quality hardcovers for my books so they have a lifetime beyond mine--my intention is to have my library established as a local collection for a university when I'm gone (assuming my family doesn't want it). I usually get Folio Society for books that don't have hardcover reprints readily available. So, I didn't buy _Jurassic Park_ because I already have a trade HC from the 90s in Very Good condition. But I did buy their _Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas_ because I don't have a first edition and the only hardcover I have is a Modern Library edition that's a twelvemo in size, so I wanted something larger and sturdier. I'm lucky because where I live somebody keeps dumping Franklin Library and Heritage Press editions at the local used bookstore so I've been able to get quality hardcovers from the 50s-80s for pocket money that most other patrons don't want. I'm also lucky in that Library of America, Modern Library and Everyman's Library titles also get dropped off regularly. I've probably saved thousands of $ on books getting them there (although I DID miss out on an EL Highsmith Ripley trilogy because I didn't get it when I had the chance). I don't usually go for collector's editions that are deliberately made for to scarcity chasers. FOMO is real, but it only has one hand on my shoulder.
Thanks for sharing. Great video. Folio type books are all too often the preserve of buyers with no particular interest in Frankenstein where their primary interest is all too often one of trying to flip books for a profit on eBay. So it’s easy to spot the amateurs who don’t know what they’re doing and don’t understand the needs of the real market. It’s actually easy to make money from Frankenstein if that’s what motivates people but that takes a huge amount of knowledge and experience which is well outside of the remit of opportunists with little to no interest in the genre which explains why so many traders on Ebay are stuck with stock they can’t shift. These being the same people operating side hustles who aren’t paying tax and have absolutely no scruples about charging silly prices for books available direct from publishers for a fraction of the cost where sellers think they can treat collectors like a bunch of mugs which is an incredibly naive business model. Many new books have lovely covers, but the days of publishing Frankenstein merely as Frankenstein with decorative illustrations has been flogged to death to the point where it misses the needs of the real market and has instead become so distorted as to have created a sub-market for opportunists with little to no interest in the genre. So now we have two different markets. - One that revolves around the needs of genuine collectors and the other around the needs of those just looking to make money with very little success in doing so where they have little to no interest in either Mary Shelley or Frankenstein
I don't necessarily collect for investment as such, however, like you I do love building my collection of books I love. If they retain value at the very least, I would be happy long term. For me it is purely the pleasure of owning something special. I collect 1st editions, signed 1st editions and 1st printings. All my Folio Society books are 1st printings or special editions. Having said that, I have become aware just in the last month that a number of my books have seen dramatic value increases. I have to now start considering how I am going to store them going forward.
Yeah storage is a tricky one. I've only gone as far as keeping them off the bookcase that is nearest the kitchen (due to smells and humidity). When my Count of Monte Cristo was damaged it was supposed to be safe in a plastic storage box, and no other books in that box were affected. There was just a very determined teeny tiny bug snuck in that had a very specific appetite for burgundy cardboard I guess!
@@fatcatdetectiveagency It could be that the bugs were in the book before storage. However, from what I could see in your video, it didn’t look like bugs to me. Rather a humidity problem affecting the paper stock and glue. A professional bookbinder would be able to fix or replace that for you. I live in Australia and am in the process of building a dedicated library/music room. I have extreme heat, harsh light and humidity to deal with. When finished the room will be fully climate controlled. I decided that the preservation of art, books and music for my two girls is paramount.
Well, from Folio Society my Ulysses (2022) has gone up by at least $250 or so, from it's original $750, my Lord of the Rings 2022 edition, has doubled to $3000, some listed for $4K or more. My Moby Dick from 2009 has gone up 10 fold... $300 to $3000.. and even my Easton Press Don Quixote 2015 Limited went from $250 to $1000... so I'd say if you're buying the correct book.. it's a big YES..
Some good titles there! I'm assuming they are limited editions? Any theories as to why something like the Ulysses has gone up 30% even though it only came out a few years ago?
How has the LOTR gone up by that much? It's still in print on their website for $225.
@@Theomite no it's not.. you're not looking at the Limited Edition one which sold out 1500 copies in 3 days... that's been sold to for over 2 years now..
@@Sams911 Well then say "limited edition" then! Or even abbreviate it with "Ltd" or something.
I doubt the majority of Folio books would be worth much in our lifetimes. It's our children and grand children that might benefit. There will be some that will likely have instant value, or within a few years. Maybe 2-3% of books. If you could live for a thousand years, then probably all of them. Assuming they survive in reasonable condition.
Oh yes quite, there's no point buying them nowadays hoping for a good return in the short term. Except for the titles I like: those always become very expensive as soon as second-hand/resellers are the only way to buy a copy! 😂🥲
I personally don't spend the money on SE books, but I think it's worth it because of investing. The prices will go up double or triple in a few years. I prefer to invest in guns so that's where my money goes, but if it wasn't guns, it'd be LE and SE books!
Not a fan of Folio editions at all.
what is a good substitute in your view then? I mean besides Easton Press, there is nothing else out there... most of it is mass production printed in China.
@@Sams911 Amaranthine or Suntup, but their catalogs are way more restricted. That is in part due to the attention paid to each book. Folio is good but it's still mass produced, and they lack a lot of details. If you produce 2500 books of 20 new titles per year you're not paying attention to any of them. Not to mention that they're getting pricey for what they deliver.
I'd not heard of Easton Press, I'll have to look them up :)
@@jomolhari Suntup's prices are insane and that's because they deliberately overproduce their stuff. They go out of their way to make them expensive to fabricate. I prefer a majority of their designs to Folio but Folio at least has sales and more reasonable pricing.
Folio definitely has some questionable aesthetics in the last few years. Their _Jurassic Park_ edition for example is hideous. They've kind of done what Criterion Collection did in the late '10s by going for a more bombastic illustrative look which rarely matches the tone of the films in question and almost makes them look like childrens books or YA graphic novels. Their edition of _Dracula_ works, but their editions of _No Country for Old Men_ and _The Road_ have very questionable cover art.