Every now and again I see one of these, though most commonly in the military history area. A tidy, near-mint collection of books all on the same subject, all in their dust jackets. One must-needs fear the worst about their owner.
This one, which I didn't notice at first glance, hit me particularly hard:
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FGZQQvGs.jpg&hash=53d084ec00e9e074828ae10c968b97c6107aa587)
"Solo Wargaming" came home with me.
Roll Sixes...wherever you are...
Best,
Jim
"Cyrano"
:/7)
At the risk of being too somber, if you get a chance to go back and snag the other Featherstone book, please LMK what it cost you and I'll send you a check.
I never see books on wargaming at HPB. I find a few little games, but no books about it. :(
Well, at least you have a Half-Priced Books nearby. Some of us are not so lucky. :(
Hmmm. I've never thought of it that way but I see your point. I am usually so giddy at finding a score that it never occurs to me how the books got there.
I might have grabbed that whole row. :o
Thanks for sharing that Cyrano. I agree, it is always a somber moment when I find something like that.
Last year I picked up a 20-something volume copy of a Time-Life encyclopedia on World War II. The first volume had a small card in it indicating the recipient's address (a town some 50 miles away from the store) and that it was a gift subscription. By the way the books opened I could tell they'd never been cracked. True mint condition. I felt a bit like a thief for buying it. The cost was far too cheap. Here was, in all likelihood, a WWII vet's gift that had never been opened. It felt like it was his.
I also found a copy there once of Samurai Swords. For sale for $50. I told them they should be asking double the price, but then again, it is Half Price Books.
Up Front, new and unpunched. Time Tripper the same way. SPI's PTO, unpunched. Blood Bowl 3rd edition barely used were just some of my finds. I wonder if perhaps those were games in an aging gamers collection (like mine) that had passed and his family donated them to HPB not knowing what they were. Yeah, I've wondered the same. I prefer however to think that it was a gamer that realized that he'll never play those games (since he never had to this point) and without wanting to worry about advertising and shipping, just looked to dump them off at HPB.
What is really sad though is some of the books that my gf has unveiled. These are usually in the self-motivation, self-help section and you see the inscriptions on the inside cover "Laura, I pray that you find this book as wonderful and helpful to you as it was to me. The words that it contains are what helped me to put up with your father for the past 30 years and now that you've met Rob, I immediately thought of getting a copy for you. Love, mom".
Or worse: "My darling Lisa-Anne, you have made me the proudest father on the face of the Earth and it is with tears in my eyes that I present this treasured volume of 'xxxxxxxxx' from my private collection. Love, your father".
I think I'm going to treat myself to HPB today. We have 5 in the immediate area, one right next to my FLGS (where the wargames seem to collect). That will be a father's day treat to myself. :)
Are those two Star Fleet Battles SSD books? I'm trying to reach through the screen! :))
That Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay may be worth more than it retailed for, if in good condition. Since Fantasy Flight stopped printing that edition, the prices have shot up on the stuff, from what I've gathered.
Although that one is just a Toolkit - probably extras and not a core or sourcebook.
Quote from: bbmike on June 21, 2015, 09:47:47 AM
Are those two Star Fleet Battles SSD books? I'm trying to reach through the screen! :))
Dunno if they're full of SSDs. They look like scenario or campaign books.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FTII2clU.jpg&hash=1b9afadb149522ea74a27c9816a0b23cb2245a5f)
The SFB collection...had to make a return trip :).
Oh, and the WHFRPG is the Adventurer's Toolkit...
Best,
Jim
"Cyrano"
:/7)
Quote from: Cyrano on June 21, 2015, 01:02:29 PM
The SFB collection...had to make a return trip :).
Yep.. scenario books! O0
Quote
Oh, and the WHFRPG is the Adventurer's Toolkit...
RPG nerds must've already cleaned out any books that came with the lot. I think the toolkits are just some cardboard and a few skill/spell cards or something.
Also wish I had a Half-Price Book store nearby. Or any large used book store.
While there are some in this city, they're all on the other side. Which ends up being at least an hour and a half drive on a good day with no traffic jams/accidents (which is about 50/50 anymore). Don't want my road rage to fester any more than needed, on the long shot that I'll find anything good.
Heh. So I went to the local used book store that's about 1.5 miles from where I'm staying and I had a whole different outlook looking at all of the large collections.
However, any sadness I felt did not stop me from picking up vols. 1, 3, 4 of Battles and Leaders of the Civil War. ;)
Oh yeah, I forgot all about those "Captain's Log" scenarios. I used to get Task Force Game's Nexus magazine but never bought anything else outside of that.
I really should visit some local used books stores to see what's there.
Quote from: Toonces on June 21, 2015, 07:55:07 AM
Hmmm. I've never thought of it that way but I see your point. I am usually so giddy at finding a score that it never occurs to me how the books got there.
I just assume the poor bastard went and did something stupid like get married.
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on June 21, 2015, 03:33:25 PM
Quote from: Toonces on June 21, 2015, 07:55:07 AM
Hmmm. I've never thought of it that way but I see your point. I am usually so giddy at finding a score that it never occurs to me how the books got there.
I just assume the poor bastard went and did something stupid like get married.
Or
got evicted from moved out of his parents' basement?
Quote from: LongBlade on June 21, 2015, 08:55:15 AM
...I also found a copy there once of Samurai Swords. For sale for $50. I told them they should be asking double the price, but then again, it is Half Price Books.
Do you mean this Samurai Swords?
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pairofdiceparadise.com%2Fimg%2Farticles%2Fsamurai_swords_box.jpg&hash=cc3afaee0e809613b5cd89cc172e89afe9992878)
If so, I'm sitting on a gold mine as my copy is in mint condition. I only played it solo once.
Found at HPB today; almost as predicted:
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.garykrockover.com%2Fuploads%2FHPB_Book.jpg&hash=d9759c250a051bd056ccbef687d21296599710a9)
I couldn't return it to the shelf- had to rescue it for my library.
Quote from: W8taminute on June 21, 2015, 08:05:40 PM
Quote from: LongBlade on June 21, 2015, 08:55:15 AM
...I also found a copy there once of Samurai Swords. For sale for $50. I told them they should be asking double the price, but then again, it is Half Price Books.
Do you mean this Samurai Swords?
If so, I'm sitting on a gold mine as my copy is in mint condition. I only played it solo once.
The latest version (Ikusa) has been generally well received, so I don't think the older ones are selling at high prices anymore.
Except for people buying the individual plastic swords for drawing turns. Those aren't in the newest edition, some tokens being used instead. However, the reviews of the latest seem to praise the components and art as a bit improved over previous editions (Shogun, Samurai Swords).
Ummm, @GJK...damn...
Quite something.
Quote from: GJK on June 21, 2015, 09:50:55 PM
Found at HPB today; almost as predicted:
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.garykrockover.com%2Fuploads%2FHPB_Book.jpg&hash=d9759c250a051bd056ccbef687d21296599710a9)
I couldn't return it to the shelf- had to rescue it for my library.
Full of win.
Quote from: W8taminute on June 21, 2015, 08:05:40 PM
Quote from: LongBlade on June 21, 2015, 08:55:15 AM
...I also found a copy there once of Samurai Swords. For sale for $50. I told them they should be asking double the price, but then again, it is Half Price Books.
Do you mean this Samurai Swords?
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pairofdiceparadise.com%2Fimg%2Farticles%2Fsamurai_swords_box.jpg&hash=cc3afaee0e809613b5cd89cc172e89afe9992878)
If so, I'm sitting on a gold mine as my copy is in mint condition. I only played it solo once.
Potentially a gold mine. Depends on whether you can find the right buyer.
A few years ago copies used to run a couple hundred. The economy these days seems to have diminished the price. Ebay has a mint, sealed copy for $120: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Samurai-Swords-1995-Combat-Simulation-Game-UNUSED-SEALED-/400926921255?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_2&hash=item5d591b5227
But hang on to it. It'll be worth more when things pick up.
Quote from: LongBlade on June 21, 2015, 08:55:15 AM
Thanks for sharing that Cyrano. I agree, it is always a somber moment when I find something like that.
Last year I picked up a 20-something volume copy of a Time-Life encyclopedia on World War II. The first volume had a small card in it indicating the recipient's address (a town some 50 miles away from the store) and that it was a gift subscription. By the way the books opened I could tell they'd never been cracked. True mint condition. I felt a bit like a thief for buying it. The cost was far too cheap. Here was, in all likelihood, a WWII vet's gift that had never been opened. It felt like it was his.
I also found a copy there once of Samurai Swords. For sale for $50. I told them they should be asking double the price, but then again, it is Half Price Books.
I own this complete collection, and have read them all many times. One of my most treasured book sets.
Some phat loot from HPB.
Paid $60 for it. The box has seen better days. The minis all have a base coat of some kind of flat paint. I'm guessing the guy started to paint them and then realized he was in over his head.
Still, for $60 I don't think I did too bad.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1081.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj349%2Flongblade%2FSmilies%2FSpace%2520Hulk%25201st%2520Edition_zpsuddoqe6z.jpg&hash=627cb664e6a5fd5b185deb7d9bdae764903254b8)
NICE!
One of my classmates started half price computer books. He had a good run for a few years, then it crumbled as people saw the IT bubble burst.
On the positive side, at least these things are making it back into the community.
There was a fellow in the Netherlands a few years back (the name escapes me at the moment) who spent years studying the battle of Verdun. I saw one of his information sheets on the internet, and it had information I'd never seen before--I asked the guy who posted it about its origin. He told me the story of this gentleman who had spent decades studying the battle, and when he died his family tipped all of his materials and books into the rubbish bin. Now that's sad.
Quote from: Mr. Bigglesworth on July 26, 2015, 10:43:19 PM
One of my classmates started half price computer books. He had a good run for a few years, then it crumbled as people saw the IT bubble burst.
I used to buy a lot of stuff on ebay. One type of item I always wondered about was the carefully preserved game, unpunched with all the rule revisions photocopied and all the C3i inserts included. It's like such games are maintained, but never played. Seemed very odd to me.
"Samurai Swords" - LOL. Should be "Shogun."
Yeah yeah I know. I still have a copy of the game, but it's the original from when they called it Shogun.
Also HPB is great for those kinds of finds. My 'best' find with autograph wasn't all that big a deal though - it was a copy of the book Dixieland Delight, where the writer went through a season of SEC football, travelling to each stadium to see one game, each week, for the full season, and wrote about his experiences. I liked the book enough to send him an email, telling him how I found his book, and he actually replied to me. I recommend the book if you're into SEC football. I'm not...it just looked interesting.
Quote from: MengJiao on July 30, 2015, 09:44:25 AM
Quote from: Mr. Bigglesworth on July 26, 2015, 10:43:19 PM
One of my classmates started half price computer books. He had a good run for a few years, then it crumbled as people saw the IT bubble burst.
I used to buy a lot of stuff on ebay. One type of item I always wondered about was the carefully preserved game, unpunched with all the rule revisions photocopied and all the C3i inserts included. It's like such games are maintained, but never played. Seemed very odd to me.
You would not believe the number of games I have that are still in the shrink.
Quote from: LongBlade on July 30, 2015, 08:35:45 PM
You would not believe the number of games I have that are still in the shrink.
I don't get the completely unopened part, 'cause I just
have to open them up and take a look when they arrive.
But un-punched and pristine? Yeah, got numbers of those.
Quote from: Nefaro on July 30, 2015, 11:34:03 PM
Quote from: LongBlade on July 30, 2015, 08:35:45 PM
You would not believe the number of games I have that are still in the shrink.
I don't get the completely unopened part, 'cause I just have to open them up and take a look when they arrive.
But un-punched and pristine? Yeah, got numbers of those.
What puzzles me is all the work of including all the rules changes and c3i inserts and never playing the game. Of course maybe it was an extra or back-up copy -- but then why open it and put in lots of stuff?
Quote from: Nefaro on July 30, 2015, 11:34:03 PM
Quote from: LongBlade on July 30, 2015, 08:35:45 PM
You would not believe the number of games I have that are still in the shrink.
I don't get the completely unopened part, 'cause I just have to open them up and take a look when they arrive.
I used to read and edit a lot of game reviews and comments about them. I also used to attend both Origins and GenCon regularly. As a result I collected a lot of buzz about a lot of games. I still do, but to a lesser extent.
As a result, in many cases I already knew a fair amount about a game. I might have played it or at least been through a demo of it. So opening many games wouldn't do much good until me and a buddy decided to play it.
I'll admit there are exceptions. I bought a couple of the huge Star Wars X-Wing ships to play with a buddy. Then he sold X-Wing off and bought Armada. My two ships are still in the shrink.
Hopefully that explains a little :)
Quote from: GJK on June 21, 2015, 09:50:55 PM
Found at HPB today; almost as predicted:
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.garykrockover.com%2Fuploads%2FHPB_Book.jpg&hash=d9759c250a051bd056ccbef687d21296599710a9)
I couldn't return it to the shelf- had to rescue it for my library.
I have seen a pretty good inscription or two in used books as well. The most interesting is from a WWII USMC vet, who wrote inside my copy of "Operation Drumbeat", about his experience as a high school student, seeing the effects of the 1942 German U-boat assault from his Long Beach sea side home. He later joined the USMC and fought at Okinawa. A few keystrokes with Google, and I found some info on his military record. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/bib/loc.natlib.afc2001001.70032
I am looking for the guy and / or his family to get it back to them. A stranger recently gave me a 100 year old piece of my family's military history, so the rules of karma dictate that I look.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi29.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fc255%2Flarizona55%2FOpDrumbeatBookInscription_zpsqcghubmq.jpg&hash=638bc0afa7fbd99b1087235142c4fb1f4d2aa65c) (http://s29.photobucket.com/user/larizona55/media/OpDrumbeatBookInscription_zpsqcghubmq.jpg.html)
what are sombrero moments at half price?
Quote from: Keunert on August 04, 2015, 02:05:22 PM
what are sombrero moments at half price?
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1081.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj349%2Flongblade%2FGrogHeads%2Fsombrero-420x288.jpg&hash=4439b957c834f7afc83c99a5c0d5c10cb7ccd5f3)
I just scored an unpunched copy of AH's "Gladiator" for $30 at a local HPB. The box top has some slight bowing but otherwise it's in good shape for a game made in 1981. I'll probably wind up scanning the contents and then recreating the charts and map and perhaps look for some gladiator mini's to play it with and then putting this one on the shelf.
Quote from: GJK on August 18, 2015, 12:03:08 PM
I just scored an unpunched copy of AH's "Gladiator" for $30 at a local HPB. The box top has some slight bowing but otherwise it's in good shape for a game made in 1981. I'll probably wind up scanning the contents and then recreating the charts and map and perhaps look for some gladiator mini's to play it with and then putting this one on the shelf.
Ok, now yer just showing off.... :P
I'll have to tell you about the deal that I got on my 50" HD Smart TV over the weekend.... :)
Quote from: GJK on August 18, 2015, 01:10:56 PM
I'll have to tell you about the deal that I got on my 50" HD Smart TV over the weekend.... :)
Was the rear door on a delivery truck left open? :P
Yeah, and it fell off...see? (https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sherv.net%2Fcm%2Femoticons%2Fbad%2Fgangster-smiley-emoticon.gif&hash=cb623a91f8cdb9dbc64cc6014fcdee37c32726b0)