As I have mentioned in previous blogs, I am have become an avid Ebayer. Well, I
decided to try my hand at selling a few months ago, and I must
add that I am enjoying myself immensely. The book pictured here is 'The
Little Prince' by Antoine de Saint-Exupery and was my first 'big' sale on Ebay! I
have been lucky and purchased books from garage sales and second hand book dealers for a few dollars, which have
sold for $10-$20 or even $80. My philosophy is that any sale is better than no sale, but this sale was so much more than even I anticipated.
One sunny afternoon I stumbled into one of my favorite book haunts (I cannot divulge the name of this book dealer as I would be giving away trade secrets) and I stumbled across this copy of 'The Little Prince'. I must plead ignorance as I have never read the book, but I have done my research and knew that a first edition is quite a collectible; a signed first edition much more so. Well, this copy wasn't signed but it was a first edition noted by the publisher Reynal & Hitchcock. Of course, just knowing the first edition publisher doesn't necessarily mean that this book was a first edition and first printing, as there are other points of issue that need to be present, which makes hunting for rare books quite a daunting task. But I thought, that for $5 I can't really go wrong, if nothing else, I will end up with a lovely copy of a classic for my collection.
After checking Ebay, as well as antiquarian book dealer websites, it appears
that this actually is a first edition/first printing of the 'The Little Prince' by
Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Well, aren't I lucky. Alas, I proceeded to
list the book on Ebay, at a starting bid of only $149.00. So to cut a long story short, I managed to sell the book for $500!! Not too bad for a beginner.
I could go on too tell you that I packed the book into a box, shipped it via UPS, and everyone was happy, but the story takes an unexpected turn for the worse. Hey, but lets just leave it at that, lets just have a happy ending this once. Leave the 'unexpected turn of events' for another time, another blog. I managed to spend $5 and make $500. Let me take a moment to pat myself on the back! Good going Faith (oops! I mean Raven; now you all know who I am). Oh well, till next time.
There’s always a lot of different challenges everyday. You’ll just have to figure your way out. thanks for sharing.
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