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Selling books
Paul Bryant-Quinn


Joined: 14 Oct 2007
Posts: 551
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I'm thinking about putting some of my books up for sale on E-bay or somewhere. What should I ask for copies of the following?

Sonia Clarke, Invasion of Zululand 1879[:] Anglo-Zulu War Experiences of Arthur Harness, John Jervis, 4th Viscount St. Vincent and Sir Henry Bulwer.

________, Zululand at War 1879[:] The Conduct of the Anglo-Zulu War.
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peterw


Joined: 30 Aug 2005
Posts: 865
Location: UK
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Have a look at Abebooks and Alibris for second-hand prices. Be realistic about what you are prepared to accept as there is often a gulf between what a seller thinks something is worth and what a buyer is prepared to pay. Some of the prices on American book sites defy comprehension. Hope that helps.

Peter
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Peter Ewart


Joined: 31 Aug 2005
Posts: 1797
Location: Near Canterbury, Kent, England.
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Paul

Sonia Clarke's works still command premium prices, as you probably know. Prices generally have been coming down for at least three years now, however. I subscribe to two South African online book auction websites & receive a detailed quarterly catalogue from a UK based Africana dealer (usually full to bursting) and it is clear they are not attracting the same prices - or bids - that they were about five years or so ago. I'm referring to works on Zululand, Natal & southern African history generally. Of course, with an economic upturn this may change, although the reprint market and online versions may have a depressing effect on some older titles - but not Sonia Clarke's works.

I acquired my copy of Invasion of Zululand only five years ago and paid �100, plus postage from RSA. Knowing the prices it had attracted in recent years I was delighted with that, and the late Huw Jones, with whom I discussed S African book prices on an almost weekly basis, reckoned I'd snaffled a bargain. Whether prices for this work have diminished since then I don't know, as not many copies come onto the market. As a limited edition, however, and being held in such high regard, it should certainly hold its value.

Regarding Zululand at War, by coincidence Denis Slotow in Durban is offering a copy of this work this very week, with a reserve of R900 (about �67) plus, of course, p&p from RSA. I had been on the point of jumping in with an offer to Denis but if you want to get in touch with me before I bid, with details of your own copy - please do! Try email or PM as c.....t will keep me away from the phone for a day or so!

Don't forget Amazon as a selling vehicle for your books. Provided you can find they have a template for the edition you're selling, it is quite easy but they do have strict rules. On eBay you'll need to consider whether there is a big enough market to attract a bidding procedure - in which case you may be able to afford to start a little lower - or you may want to offer it from the start at a price you're happy to take, in case only one prospective purchaser emerges. A lot of people have email alerts with "Zulu" or "Zulu War" as a prompt, so you may well reach someone looking for the work immediately.

It looks as if Invasion of Zululand commands the higher price of the two but what do others think? Peter's comments are very true - some of the material on offer never reaches anywhere near the values suggested. Abebooks is now owned and run by Amazon but it is still worth looking at it separately.

Now - exactly what else are you releasing from your library? !!!

Peter
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Keith Smith


Joined: 30 Aug 2005
Posts: 540
Location: Northern NSW, Australia
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Paul

Zululand at War sold some months ago on Antiquarian Auctions for US$105.00 plus p & p. Last week they sold Invasion of Zululand for US$200.00 plus p & p. Peter is right, as usual: prices have come down, even for these superb works. They both used to sell at about US$400.00 and I bought both at high prices some years ago.

Recommend against selling on eBay. You might try to sell through Ian Halford at Quathlamba Winds Books at www.qwbooks.co.uk.

KIS
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Mel


Joined: 31 Aug 2005
Posts: 345
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I haven't read any book by Sonia Clarke. Why do they command relatively high prices?

PeterE
I believe that you can now mention the "cricket" word?

Smile


Last edited by Mel on Mon Jul 29, 2013 3:44 pm; edited 1 time in total

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Paul Bryant-Quinn


Joined: 14 Oct 2007
Posts: 551
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Gentlemen,

Thanks for your comments. I'll probably be getting rid of all my AZW books at some point soon. Plus I have several 19th-century amaKlwa to offload, which I'll probably sell on Ebay.

Paul
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Alan
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Joined: 30 Aug 2005
Posts: 1530
Location: Wales
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Giving up on us Paul?

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Peter Ewart


Joined: 31 Aug 2005
Posts: 1797
Location: Near Canterbury, Kent, England.
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Mel

It's not difficult to explain why the volumes are in demand. Invasion of Zululand, for example, is well produced in excellent quality by the Brenthurst Press; it has a number of coloured plates (although most of the illustrations throughout do also appear in other well known publications); the footnotes/endnotes throughout are excellent & very useful indeed; the author writes well & explains both the provenance and the value of the material she chose for publication; much of it doesn't appear elsewhere; and the correspondence of each of the three (Harness, Jervis & Bulwer) is certainly fascinating - and, in places, enlightening.

So I can see why people want to get hold of it (I'm much less familiar with her other work & haven't yet acquired it). But I can't really explain why the prices have always been so very high! After all, there are other AZW works which would seem as desirable for both general reader and scholar, yet move around for much less - anything between, say, �40 & �75 over the years, and today for less. Yet Clarke's works - or one of them - have definitely commanded prices of around �150 at times. Presumably it all comes down to the scarcity value. A limited edition of 1,000, of which only 850 are of normal (but very good) binding, the remaining 150 being of half or full leather binding. I seem to recall Brenthurst Press confirming there would be no subsequent or later printing, although whether they are bound by the statement in the book itself , which says only that "this printing [my italics] is limited to 1,000 copies" I don't know.

Peter
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Dawn


Joined: 31 Aug 2005
Posts: 610
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
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Jumping in a bit late here but I have a copy of Clarke's book which found its way to the Antipodes and I paid NZD225 for it which must be about GBP100.
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Paul Bryant-Quinn


Joined: 14 Oct 2007
Posts: 551
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Thanks for the information, Dawn.

Good to see you posting here again, BTW.
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