A book that looks like nothing.

[satnrose]

There are quite a few books that don't look like anything special. Here's one: Security Analysis

[gargoyle-books]

DUH: sorry, I looked at the time as the date! Still, why these 2, when others have not even reached the $50 mark. Anybody know any more details about this particular book? Thanks!

[ksmrkt]

Thanks for the "heads-up"  kbnode!

I had some similar stuff recently.  I thought the books might be worth selling.  Alas, they were not.  Seems I often have the "similar" stuff that's not worth a plug nickle. 

I'll keep these Junior League cookbooks in mind.

[kbnode]

i do not know why they went for so much. . One is a  2nd edition. The descriptions do not mention anything special.  I occasionally browse this category  and do not recall seeing them  in the top 50-100  in terms of price  till just recently.

Yep..i have a few books myself that are close but just don't have the right stuff. lol I just picked up a few kids's book that fit in that category. oh well. live and learn!

[lyceumdreams]

We never made anyone any money anyway...

[rockmaple]

Add your "thumbs up" if you agree that this thread is important. It's probably best to give kudos to the post that started the thread-- We miss you Satnrose!

[ptdreamers]

a marvelous thread

[paramind]

This is a great thread and grateful that it's here.  Like probably many people who have kept up with this thread,

I lament that the list that seems last updated in October 2009 is only maybe about 75% accurate today.  If you

put a price of $20 for a used book that is beyond average today, many on that list no longer measure up.   

I will add that books on gems or mining often are good sellers.  Once in a while, doctoral level psychoanalytic

books can be good sellers, but you have to know the authors.  I would mention some but not sure if they

those particular ones still are, as things have changed so much since I got into bookselling, around 1998.  

[bill11223]

BUMP

[rockmaple]

[lauramay83]

I just found Cecil Aldin's Painting book no 7 - The Pied Piper book in a charity shop, it's rather lovely. Half the have been done though.. I'll probablg keep the book but was interested in finding out its worth..

[lauramay83]

Oops typing on a phone is tricky! Meant to say half the paintings have been done therefore the conditions not spectacular!

[jeanpaulbooks]

Number 4, The Doggy Book, sold for $38 on eBay.

[oldbookshopnj]

I don't know if this has been mentioned here, but in July the Wall Street Journal ran a half-page essay by Bill Gates about his favorite business book, John Brooks' Business Adventures,  and he said he read it because Warren Buffet had told him it was his favorite business book.  There was a big picture of Gates holding the book.

A few days afterwards, what had probably been a $5 book was sellling for $1500 on ebay. A reprint of the 1969 edition appeared in September, and the price of the 1969 edition has eased off, but it still looks as if a first is a high three-figure book.

[imagine.ink]

Wow, Virginia, that's really interesting!   I hadn't heard of the Wall Street Journal article before. 

I see that a third printing of the 1969 edition sold for $995 on Ebay as recently as December 8:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Business-Adventures-by-John-Brooks-1969-Scarce-Bill-Gates-Favorite-Book-/361...

[emmbook]

Don't know if this has been mentioned, but another value investing book to look out for:

Margin of Safety by Seth Klarman.

Published in 1991 and truly a book that looks like nothing. It's reliably a four-figure book on eBay. Highest recent result was $2,200.

I've found it exactly once in the wild, when I wasn't even looking for it. On the business/computer table, two hours into an FOL sale that had been scanned to death. Pure luck. (I don't scan, but I knew the book and it was nice to bag the big one that got away from the pod-people.)