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Outrageous prices for second-hand street maps
Hello,
I was wondering why many street atlases and folded maps are listed on eBay for very high prices, for instance this 2009 Thomas Guide of the Bay Area - eBay item number: 187840465520. (This book, which I have as well, originally costed 39,95 and this is even a second-hand book.)
I know these books are no longer published new, but the main reason behind that is the fact that people no longer buy paper maps these days. So who is going to spend that much money for a book like this? I cannot ask the sellers themselves as they don't accept messages on eBay.
Thank you somebody out there for your reply, I'm very curious!
Kind regards,
Arjen Schouten
4 comments
eburtonlab
Mentor9 months ago@sadr1975
The seller appears to be a high volume book seller, which might explain why the seller does not want to answer questions.
Looking at eBay's Research tool, similar versions of that book have sold in the last three years from $6.60 to $110.75. So there is at least some demand for such books. Though the average selling price seems to be toward the low end of the range, perhaps there are specific editions that can command a higher price for one reason or another.
If a seller is not interested in a quick sale, the seller may look at what other similar editions have sold for in the past when deciding to set a price. Some sellers use an automatic system that can adjust prices based on certain criteria, such as a competitor's price. This can sometimes be a problem when two sellers of an obscure book each set their own price based on the other's price with a built-in increase. This can lead to a price spiral:
https://www.techdirt.com/2011/04/25/infinite-loop-algorithmic-pricing-amazon-how-book-flies-cost-2369865593/
sadr1975
OP9 months agoThanks for your message!
Yes, I was assuming an algorithm to be at work here. I am a cartographer and map collector and I have a large collection of such atlases and maps (Rand McNally / Thomas Guide etc). It’s a shame that those sellers don’t take the time to come up with reasonable prices for their books, it seems like profit is more important. This way it becomes very difficult to find the volumes still missing in my collection without spending ridiculous amounts of money on it.
Thank God I have bought most of them new from Amazon back in the day!
Cheers,
Arjen
eburtonlab
Mentor9 months agoIt’s a shame that those sellers don’t take the time to come up with reasonable prices for their books, it seems like profit is more important.
It is the hope of profiting later by reselling that keeps a lot of similar books from winding up in a landfill or a recycling bin, so do not discount the profit motive -- it is essential to many aspects of collecting.
This way it becomes very difficult to find the volumes still missing in my collection without spending ridiculous amounts of money on it.
If you are competing with other collectors for a scarce edition, that will affect the price you pay. The "reasonableness" of any one particular seller has very little to do with it.
lady_madonna
Mentor9 months agoThey are now considered "Collectibles".