Selling signed books/special editions

kiss_me_now9

Does anyone know where I can get an accurate/realistic price for some signed books and where is best to subsequently sell them?

I've been lucky in the charity shops recently and have got two hardback and one paperback books that are signed. One is a special print run, still in it's protective shrink wrap. They just sit on my bookshelf and I don't really need them anymore, so I would like to sell them on to someone who will appreciate them. 

Green_hopeful

I normally look on Abe Books to see what is on the market and then look at eBay for sold prices if any. I don’t sell through Abe because they are expensive but with eBay’s new buyers fees I might have to reconsider. 

lincroft1710

Depends on if its a popular author or not and how old the book is. A book signed by a little known author probably won't be worth much (if any) more than an unsigned copy. Also are the signatures genuine?

Green_hopeful

I sold a signed first edition paperback for £45. I could see others were selling for £75 but my copy was a bit shabby. I just list on eBay and see what happens. A book dealer bought it. I put really detailed photos of any damage etc on so people know what they are getting. 

kiss_me_now9

lincroft1710 said:

Depends on if its a popular author or not and how old the book is. A book signed by a little known author probably won't be worth much (if any) more than an unsigned copy. Also are the signatures genuine?

One of them is an edition of the first book on this page  - https://blakefriedmann.co.uk/news/8/3/2017-2 it's completely shrink wrapped but has a number (under 1000, though high) on the spine on a black circular sticker, which is why I believe it's signed inside - I can't verify that though (and I think actually now looking at it again, I have made some big assumptions that this one even might be signed!) 

The second is a hardback copy of Jilly Cooper's Jump! book. It's signed and dedicated and on comparison to a lot of photos on google, the handwriting seems identical to Jilly Coopers. Though truth be told, I can't say if any of them really are, as I am just a lover of reading not authenticator  

The third book is a childrens story, which I will probably hold onto unless it commands a high price, as it's one of my favourites from childhood so that one is a bit of a moot point I guess.

A very good point! So a secondary question I guess is - how do I find out if they are?!

ETA - I live in an area that has several very large literary festivals with book signings regularly happening so signed books turning up in charity shops is not completely weird, if that helps. 

droopsnoot

My cynical nature wonders whether the person who donated them to the charity shop had a look at their value, added in the complexity of selling them, and decided it was easier to just donate them for what they'd get out of it, though your last sentence may negate that. Waterstones have a lot of new books where they're signed by the author for the first few hundred, then you add in book signing / reading tours that seem to have become more popular again recently. I picked up a couple of John Francome signed books, one a first edition, from my local library sale, but I don't think I'd get much for them. I have a local second-hand book dealer who wasn't interested. 

lincroft1710

droopsnoot said:

 I picked up a couple of John Francome signed books, one a first edition, from my local library sale, but I don't think I'd get much for them. I have a local second-hand book dealer who wasn't interested. 

Probably because they are ex library

lincroft1710

kiss_me_now9 said:

lincroft1710 said:

Depends on if its a popular author or not and how old the book is. A book signed by a little known author probably won't be worth much (if any) more than an unsigned copy. Also are the signatures genuine?

One of them is an edition of the first book on this page  - https://blakefriedmann.co.uk/news/8/3/2017-2 it's completely shrink wrapped but has a number (under 1000, though high) on the spine on a black circular sticker, which is why I believe it's signed inside - I can't verify that though (and I think actually now looking at it again, I have made some big assumptions that this one even might be signed!) 

The second is a hardback copy of Jilly Cooper's Jump! book. It's signed and dedicated and on comparison to a lot of photos on google, the handwriting seems identical to Jilly Coopers. Though truth be told, I can't say if any of them really are, as I am just a lover of reading not authenticator  

The third book is a childrens story, which I will probably hold onto unless it commands a high price, as it's one of my favourites from childhood so that one is a bit of a moot point I guess.

A very good point! So a secondary question I guess is - how do I find out if they are?!

ETA - I live in an area that has several very large literary festivals with book signings regularly happening so signed books turning up in charity shops is not completely weird, if that helps. 

Jilly Cooper signature is probably genuine. Possibly only a handwriting expert could tell if a signature was genuine or not. Authors whose signed editions fetch really good money are the ones most likely to have their signatures faked 

soolin

Always worth a quick look on eBay at completed sales , don't bother with those for sale as people can ask what they want for an item, concentrate on sold prices. Just looking at Jilly Cooper, signed books don’t seem to attract much value at all, some were sold for just a couple of pounds. 

lincroft1710

soolin said:

Always worth a quick look on eBay at completed sales , don't bother with those for sale as people can ask what they want for an item, concentrate on sold prices. Just looking at Jilly Cooper, signed books don’t seem to attract much value at all, some were sold for just a couple of pounds. 

I had an idea a signed JC, wouldn't be worth much. 

DullGreyGuy

Is the signature printed or written? If written was it done by the author or a secretary?  

The book you provided a link to is still available to buy brand new for £30 here so as secondhand probably £20 if in perfect condition but they've not been able to sell 1,000 copies in 8 years so it may be slow to achieve it. There is a very good copy on sale on eBay for £16 at the moment.