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This all depends on where you live. I know for a fact that is next to impossible to find a copy of the D&D Player's Handbook v.3.5 here in Edmonton. The FLGSs don't have any PHBs in stock and, of course, cannot get them anymore. And not even the used books stores have any or if they get them their gone faster than the Road Runner can run.
The demand is insanely high! The owner of Whyte Knight (the best place in Edmonton to buy used game books) cannot find any v.3.5 PHBs and he has tons of demand from players who desperately want/need a copy. (A lot of them aren't even aware of the v.3.5 SRD and would have no interest in using it even if someone told them about it.)
Interest in v.3.5 has spiked considerably... there are a lot of people unhappy with 4e. (Not all, but many.)
I have a feeling that when the Pathfinder RPG comes out it is going to sell like gangbusters here. For if v.3.5 fans cannot get a v.3.5 PHB, they'll have to turn to Pathfinder for a v.3.5 compatible game.
I know I won't give up my v.3.5 books.
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I suspect that WoTC may have a better intuitive handle on what West Coast US gamers like than they do on gamers worldwide, or in the US heartlands. So I'm not surprised if 4e is doing well in California or Seattle.
I'm in the US heartlands. And around here 4e is booming.
This all depends on where you live. I know for a fact that is next to impossible to find a copy of the D&D Player's Handbook v.3.5 here in Edmonton. The FLGSs don't have any PHBs in stock and, of course, cannot get them anymore. And not even the used books stores have any or if they get them their gone faster than the Road Runner can run.
The demand is insanely high! The owner of Whyte Knight (the best place in Edmonton to buy used game books) cannot find any v.3.5 PHBs and he has tons of demand from players who desperately want/need a copy. (A lot of them aren't even aware of the v.3.5 SRD and would have no interest in using it even if someone told them about it.)
Interest in v.3.5 has spiked considerably... there are a lot of people unhappy with 4e. (Not all, but many.)
I have a feeling that when the Pathfinder RPG comes out it is going to sell like gangbusters here. For if v.3.5 fans cannot get a v.3.5 PHB, they'll have to turn to Pathfinder for a v.3.5 compatible game.
I know I won't give up my v.3.5 books.
This doesn't make a lot of sense to me. If people were playing 3.5 before, they already own PHBs. If people were not playing 3.5 before, either 4th Edition would bring them to the game table, or they wouldn't be playing D&D. Demand for the old edition wouldn't simply spike, because those new gamers would have to be coming from somewhere (and coming to something). There are probably a handful of exceptions to this (people who sold their 3.5 books and now want them back), but for the most part I find it difficult to believe that scores of new people would be coming to the hobby to play D&D 3.5. If anything, that sounds much more like what we've seen for 4th Edition.
I'll bet a lot of groups have one or two players who never bought their own 3.5 PH and now that the books might not always be available the players are picking the books up for their own, if they are continuing to play 3.5, of course. I would also think that if a lot of people were dropping 3.5 for something else, 4E or some other game, there would be a lot more 3.5 PHs on the secondary market, and for cheap. It's interesting to see which 3.5 books are going for the lowest prices.
The people that are confused about the OP's problem should notice that a bit after his first post, he mentioned he's in Australia. I realize this might come as a surprise to some people, but books over here in the Southern Hemisphere cost a _lot_ more.
That $7 cheesy sci-fi book that you picked up in Barnes and Noble on a lark to kill a few hours? Here in New Zealand, it's going to be $20 or more.
Between the crappy exchange rate and the cost of shipping, books in general are just expensive.
Australians have it a bit easier... right now their dollar is worth .63 U.S. Over here, the New Zealand dollar is only worth .50 U.S.
Also, Australia winds up being the larger market compared to NZ. NZ is the Canada to Australia's United States.
I just bought the Pre-Order for a game called SPITE: THE SECOND BOOK OF PANDEMONIUM. I went with the soft cover option. In the U.S. you can get it for $38, including shipping. Cost me $90.
I am _so_ glad I paid the extra money to have my rpg books shipped over from the U.S. with the rest of my stuff, instead of trying to replace the more "common" ones once I got here.
As for the whole "scarcity" thing... I personally didn't really see a sudden surge in people dumping their books when 4E came out. I got the impression a fair number of people decided to A) Hold onto their 3E books just in case, and/or B) Decided to hold onto their books and sell them later so they didn't take such a money loss due to the market being flooded.
As for how popular 3e/4e is... for pete's sake, can't we just ing leave it alone? 4E is the game that's out now. Even if 4E is a complete and utter failure, it's not like WotC is going to go, "Whoops! Our bad dudes. Look, we're just going to go ahead and roll things back to 3.5 and spiff it up a bit like ya'll suggested."
There's no need for head-scratching as to how it is that 3E books aren't $2 now. Quite a few older D&D books are still close to cover if not more, there's a crappy economy happening right now (which is one of the things that might help prompt people to stop hoarding books they don't plan on using), and where you happen to live can have a huge affect on how much you're going to pay.
The reason the crappy economy might work _against_ folks hoping to pick up books cheap, is because people will think, "Damn, I paid a lot of money for these things, and I need the money. They're still popular enough, so I'll just try marking them down about 25% and see if I can avoid losing too much money."
Also, Ebay isn't exactly a great option over here because again, A) Shipping is astronomical. This is because it's done by air which is charged based on weight. My stuff being shipped over from the U.S. is in a cargo container, which is charged based on space (cubic centimeters or whatever). Cargo shipping is cheaper (not cheap) but not the sort of thing you can get something like an Ebay purchase to use.
And B) there's an awful lot of people that are U.S. only. Hell, even Paypal is difficult that way. I've got a Paypal account that I maintain for a number of reasons, and I can't use it to purchase stuff that's going to be sent to me here in NZ. Why? Because Paypal only allows you to have one home address.
Edit: Sorry about that JoeGKushner. It was uncool of me to do that.
There's no need for head-scratching as to how it is that 3E books aren't $2 now.
3.0E books (even the 3.0E PH) are pretty cheap, online and in discount bins at local stores, but it's the 3.5E PHs that seem to be retaining or, in some cases, gaining in value. Obviously in this economy, when people need money and the used 3.5 PHs seem to be retaining value, you would think there would be a lot more of them available from people giving up the game. If that isn't a head-scratcher, I'm not sure what is.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ktulu
I've got plenty of 3.5 books I'd be willing to part with for a reasonable price (including 4-5 PHb's.).
You could probably put five of them up together on ebay right now with a $100 asking price and have it in your pocket in three days.
This is very encouraging news. I was thinking of putting many of my 3.5e books up for sale. It sounds like there's a pretty eager group of people wanting to buy. If people are having fun playing an RPG, it's all good.
This doesn't make a lot of sense to me. If people were playing 3.5 before, they already own PHBs. If people were not playing 3.5 before, either 4th Edition would bring them to the game table, or they wouldn't be playing D&D. Demand for the old edition wouldn't simply spike, because those new gamers would have to be coming from somewhere (and coming to something). There are probably a handful of exceptions to this (people who sold their 3.5 books and now want them back), but for the most part I find it difficult to believe that scores of new people would be coming to the hobby to play D&D 3.5. If anything, that sounds much more like what we've seen for 4th Edition.
Don't forget that there are also resellers and speculators who want to take advantage of this sudden "spike" of demand.
And, also, scarcity tend to increase an item's value, and many people are drawn to that, even if they didn't have any interest in the item in question before (see previous point). Take a look at Planescape items over the internet. Most 2e products usually sell for modest or (at best) close to original prices. Planescape books at worst (with the occasional exception) sell at their original MSRP.
Oh dead, if only I had seen this post 1 week ago. Our librarian at the school where I work gave our 3 copies to kids of my choosing just last week. I could have gotten you one for the cost of postage.
I know that is of no help now, BUT I have other 3.0 & 3.5 books I am willing to part with. (Unfortunately none of the core other than a very badly beaten 3.0 PHB).
If interested just reply here. I can send a list, but would be willing to deal direct, rather than have you bid. Will match prices where possible. Hope that helps, cheers, C.
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I'm from Australia. Half-Price Books look like they're only US-based. Is that correct?
AFAIK, yes.
But I'd imagine that there is some kind of used book reseller Down Under that has reasonable prices.
Quote:
If people were playing 3.5 before, they already own PHBs.
But the PHB is the book that is going to get the most wear and tear- checking out class benefits, details on spells, combat maneuver clarifications, etc. all require a PHB. That, and its the one book that every player- the DM included- needs to have access to.
And as someone else pointed out, there could also be a surge in demand by those players who have been holding off on buying their own 3.5 PHB (for whatever reason).
This all depends on where you live. I know for a fact that is next to impossible to find a copy of the D&D Player's Handbook v.3.5 here in Edmonton. The FLGSs don't have any PHBs in stock and, of course, cannot get them anymore. And not even the used books stores have any or if they get them their gone faster than the Road Runner can run.
The demand is insanely high! The owner of Whyte Knight (the best place in Edmonton to buy used game books) cannot find any v.3.5 PHBs and he has tons of demand from players who desperately want/need a copy. (A lot of them aren't even aware of the v.3.5 SRD and would have no interest in using it even if someone told them about it.)
Interest in v.3.5 has spiked considerably... there are a lot of people unhappy with 4e. (Not all, but many.)
I have a feeling that when the Pathfinder RPG comes out it is going to sell like gangbusters here. For if v.3.5 fans cannot get a v.3.5 PHB, they'll have to turn to Pathfinder for a v.3.5 compatible game.
I know I won't give up my v.3.5 books.
Weird, a little to the south here, I can't even give my books away. My bro went up there for the weekend, I should have sent them up there with him to take to Whyte Knight.
The people that are confused about the OP's problem (or seem to think he's lying like Kushner apparently does) should notice that a bit after his first post, he mentioned he's in Australia. I realize this might come as a surprise to some people, but books over here in the Southern Hemisphere cost a _lot_ more.
No. I'm quoting the USD value only. Nor am I including postage. The book originally cost $29.95 brand new. Used copies now sell for $45 to $60 USD.
Yeah, let's not talk about how much I shelled out for a mint copy of the Hellbound box set.
That's a different situation. Hellbound is a rare boxed set that was published at the tail-end of the Planescape line. Even I forked out a lot to pick it up but I was prepared to do so. I'm not keen to fork out a lot of money for the 3.5 PHB though (well . . . until I get desperate
I'll bet a lot of groups have one or two players who never bought their own 3.5 PH and now that the books might not always be available the players are picking the books up for their own, if they are continuing to play 3.5, of course.
That's kind of like my situation. Even though I bought a lot of 3.5 books, our group never updated our core books. (Indeed, at the time, we kind of resented doing so.)
Nevertheless, our group wants to update to 3.5 now. I've bought the DMG and MM for reasonable prices but the PHB is hard to find cheap. And it doesn't help the situation that I need to buy multiple copies!
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