Print Dragon Collectibility and Pricing?

crazy_monkey1956

First Post
Monkey is thinking about selling his print Dragon magazines but isn't sure what a reasonable asking price might be for #359 (final print issue and something of a collector's item). Any body out there got any suggestions?
 

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After about the first 6 issues, the going price for old Dragons seems to be about $3-4. Because the shipping cost for one issue is going to be more than the cost of the issue itself, you would probably have better luck selling them in lots. I wouldn't expect you to be able to ask more than cover price for #359.
 

Yeah, I think you'd need to hang on to it for a good few years before it becomes worth anything.
 

Sadly Dragon just doesn't seem to be terribly collectible right now. The first 10 or so issues you can get some good money for but there are very few issues after that that command even cover price. RPG books in general are rarely big dollar items in the collectible market.
 

Sadly Dragon just doesn't seem to be terribly collectible right now. The first 10 or so issues you can get some good money for but there are very few issues after that that command even cover price. RPG books in general are rarely big dollar items in the collectible market.

For Dragon magazine yes. For other rpg books it varies a lot. Try finding a cheap original copy of B3 with the orange cover.
 

For Dragon magazine yes. For other rpg books it varies a lot. Try finding a cheap original copy of B3 with the orange cover.

Which is why I said 'in general'. There are exceptions of course but the vast bulk of RPG books are easy to buy for less than cover price. The example you give is about as extreme a case as exists in RPG collectibles - most of the copies of it were destroyed.
 

Which is why I said 'in general'. There are exceptions of course but the vast bulk of RPG books are easy to buy for less than cover price. The example you give is about as extreme a case as exists in RPG collectibles - most of the copies of it were destroyed.

Also, the market for rpgs fluctuates over time. I don't doubt that some 3pp 3.x low print run item will be going for stupid money at some point in the future.

IIRC the 1e Deities and Demigods with Elric and Lovecraft stuff was going for $100+ a few years ago.
 

Also, the market for rpgs fluctuates over time. I don't doubt that some 3pp 3.x low print run item will be going for stupid money at some point in the future.

I would be quite surprised if something like this happened for a lot of the 3pp "d20 glut" stuff. I can't imagine anybody paying big bucks for something like a Mongoose Quintessential book from the 3E/3.5E era, or any of those generic d20 splatbooks published by Fast Forward or Fantasy Flight. Some FLGS I've checked out in recent times, still have bargain bins filled with tons of 3pp "d20 glut" stuff.

IIRC the 1e Deities and Demigods with Elric and Lovecraft stuff was going for $100+ a few years ago.

Over the years I've seen the original version of 1E AD&D Deities and Demigods, for as low as $10 or $15 at some second handed bookstores.
 

Over the years I've seen the original version of 1E AD&D Deities and Demigods, for as low as $10 or $15 at some second handed bookstores.

If you mean the version with the Cthulu mythos in it, the store probably doesn't realize what it's got on its hands...

I know that's how I got my copy at a bargain price! ;)
 

If you mean the version with the Cthulu mythos in it, the store probably doesn't realize what it's got on its hands...

I know that's how I got my copy at a bargain price! ;)

Good catch! If one ever shows up at my favorite used book store they'll just sticker price it at 50% of the original price.

ggroy may not know there were several versions of the 1e Deities and Demigods.

Another one that goes up and down in price is Leading Edge Games' Aliens boardgame. Not quite an RPG, but the combat system was a simplified version of their Aliens RPG's combat system.
 

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