Good deals on a couple of Limited Editions Club books

I found a couple of very low-priced Limited Editions Club books on amazon marketplace. I have no relation to seller, but I have bought from them before. I already own all books listed below, so I thought someone on this forum might be interested.
All LECs listed by this seller have the same limitation number and thus appear to be from an original subscriber. Seller has listed a lot of other LECs, but not all prices are competitive. The best deals are the following:

The Sea-Wolf ($7.63):
https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B0007E8AJC/ref=tmm_hrd_used_olp_sr?ie=UT...

Nostromo ($10.00):
https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B0006AWWT6/ref=dp_olp_used?ie=UTF8&c...

Little Women ($5.01):
https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B0006BT4JQ/ref=dp_olp_all_mbc?ie=UTF8&am...

I don't know how to directly link to books in Amazon Marketplace, the links lead to a list of books. Look for Seller "OutFront". Some are listed together with Heritage Press books, but as the description contains the limitation number and mentions a signature, I am almost certain they are actually LECs.

All these books were rated “as new” in the amazon system, I would have rated the book I received as “near fine”. Seller notes scratches and discoloration on the slipcases. My previous order was shipped in a padded envelope, so I guess there is some risk of damage during shipping. However, the low prices should make up for some flaws.

There is one other listing with an extremely low price, but there is major fading to the spine – Seller attached a photo for that one:

John Brown’s Body ($1.80)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B0036UM6MQ/ref=tmm_hrd_used_olp_sr?ie=UT...

Please let me know if this post is not considered appropriate on this forum (particularly from someone with no posting history) - I am happy to remove it.

>1 teppi2: Thanks! I took a chance on one of these. I don't usually buy books off of the Amazon Marketplace. I've been burned a couple of times and generally feel you get what you pay for but every once in a while....... What I received today was a Near Fine copy of Little Women in a VG+ slipcase complete with a Monthly Letter and the Announcement. No fading to the spine, a little dust on the top of the book easily brushed away, and disintegrating glassine which I discarded. My cheapest LEC purchase by far and in great condition. Quelle suprise!

I hope this link will work, here’s a Fine Seven Gables for a much better price than I paid recently, perhaps someone here is looking for it!:

https://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=30956969069&cm_sp=snippe...

No affiliation, of course.

Edit: Sold.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/124993182166

The Great Gatsby in what appears to be "as new" condition. Someone could get a phenomenal deal here with the starting bid being only $20 USD. This is one of the better 80s-era Shiff volumes IMO.

No affiliation with seller.

>4 PatsChoice: yes, looks good. Last year I paid $200 for a copy in similar condition (albeit with glassine) and called it a good deal. I agree it's a lovely book; probably the favourite LEC in my (admittedly modest) collection.

>4 PatsChoice:
I followed it keenly all the way to 200 USD or so… with particular sorrow since I would have reunited it with a ML!

A Fine copy of Livy’s Discourses in NF slipcase with the ML for 45 USD on Biblio (with club discount) or 50 on Abebooks was listed yesterday and strikes me as a good deal. Mardersteig and all that, though rarely described as one of the greatest OB/SV-LECs. No affiliation.

>7 GusLogan: I think I got it! It's actually Livy's The History of Early Rome. It costed 80$, shipping to Lithuania and VAT included. It's rare to see a fine copy for that price. I hope the description is accurate. It wasn't on my top 5 list, but it's about my favorite subject and printed by Mardersteig :D I'm glad my wife can't see this.

>8 Lukas1990:
Ah yes, mixed it up with Machiavelli!

Edit: Rare, but not in this thread…

>8 Lukas1990: Ha, I actually looked at that, too! You and I could have been in competition there.

Congratulations!

>10 maisiedotes: Thank you! Such purchases are not good for my wallet but they make me very happy so they are worth it. I am very thankful to George Macy for making it possible for me to own Officina Bodoni/Stamperia Valdonega books printed by Mr. Mardersteig. I highly recommend his books, you'll love the paper. The Georgics or The Little Flowers of St. Francis of Assisi are perfect examples. I hope Livy won't dissapoint me :)

I wish there were more affordable books printed by Jan van Krimpen, another favorite printer/designer of mine.

>11 Lukas1990: Does Georgics have the same beautiful wavy paper as Little Flowers?

>12 maisiedotes: Yes!

Unfortunately I won't get The History of Early Rome. The seller increased shipping charges by 65$ making it a total of 88$ for shipping. That's too much for me. I'm used to these charges, though this time I thought the book doesn't weigh that much. Oh, well...

>13 Lukas1990:
I don’t suppose you know anyone who goes to Stockholm with any regularity? Using aggregated forward shipping I reckon I could get it here for 40 USD, but charges for shipping to other EU countries are pretty high here, so it would only help if the last leg were free…

>14 GusLogan: I'll just wait for a decent copy on Ebay. Their global shipping program cuts the shipping price to 35$ and they can ship heavier books. My wallet is save for now!

>13 Lukas1990: You keep dangling those recommendations in front of me and I'll turn into an LEC collector yet. I just ordered a copy of Georgics!

Sorry your Livy didn't work out.

Someone just listed the LEC Waverley for $8.75 on eBay. The binding isn’t perfect but the book is described as in mint condition, presumably that’s the interior, then!

>17 GusLogan: It is also worthwhile to check out the other listings by the same seller.

I am almost certain their Master of Ballantrae for $15 marked as Heritage Press is mislabeled… even includes Limited Editions Club monthly letter and announcement. Obviously not one of the highly sought after books, but for that price I would consider it a steal. The listing only contains three pictures and I have looked at it from my mobile phone, so can’t perfectly judge the condition.

Also, they have Uncle Remus for $12, but it is extremely hard to judge the condition based on the two photos provided... some cracking to the paper at the edge of the slipcase is visible... still, not much risk at that price.

>18 teppi2: Took a chance and ordered the Master of Ballantrae. We'll see what I get.

>19 Glacierman:

Book arrived today. It is indeed an LEC volume and in essentially new condition, with tight hinges. The thing that probably caused the dealer to sell it so cheaply is that while the announcement and the ML are present, the announcement has been pasted to the front pastedown and the ML has been tipped onto the front free endpaper, a practice I would not recommend, but in this case, I am content as the price was right. At least these two documents will not become separated from the book, which, I am sure, was the intent of the original owner. The laid paper is quite nice and the reproduction of the illustrations superb. Nice book. I can dispose of my HP copy, although it is a nice production, but I do prefer the Black Watch tartan binding on the LEC.

>20 Glacierman: Glad to hear the happy outcome, especially at a deal of a price! I have the HP version and like the color and paper.

I started collecting HPs a year ago and purchased two that I wanted to get off my shelves quickly. I took them to Moe's and was told "they take up too much space and don't sell well."

How do readers here generally dispose of their HPs other than giving them to the library?

>21 maisiedotes: I would suggest e-bay for starters.

>22 Glacierman: Thanks, but I find the idea daunting. I've never even bought from eBay, so it will be a while before I learn enough to sell on it. I did recently read a thread on a different forum about selling on eBay.

I guess I'll donate my books to the library, although that's a shame, because I doubt they'll be appreciated. My local library bookstore says that since the pandemic began, they've received far more than they can sell.

>20 Glacierman: >21 maisiedotes:
I just finished reading my (Norwalk-era) copy of the Heritage Kidnapped. It appeared to be a well-made book with nice paper. The disappointment was the illustration reproductions of Mueller's colored woodcuts (highly praised in the Sandglass). I saw some pictures on eBay of the LEC counterparts in listings.
Even though I've read the book, I now want to acquire the LEC for those illustrations.
If the HP is a Connecticut version, I've often seen (and occasionally bought) copies for $7.50 which means the bookseller isn't going to pay anywhere near that to take it off your hands.
What I've done is given HPs I've replaced with their big brothers to members of my scotch-tasting group; the local library for book-sales is another possibility.

For anyone in the UK, a copy of The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides With Samuel Johnson Ll.D. turned up for £29.50 including delivery: https://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=31095114769

This has to be one of the most handsome LEC editions at a good price for someone where LECs can be hard to get hold of without paying trans-Atlantic shipping. For the curious, I reviewed the edition here: https://ubiquitousbooks.wordpress.com/2020/09/02/the-journal-of-a-tour-to-the-he...

>25 ubiquitousuk: funnily, I was just looking at this volume yesterday night when I was going through all my bookshelves with my niece. She remarked on how beautiful the Hebrides book was.

>25 ubiquitousuk: "This has to be one of the most handsome LEC editions... ."

I have to agree. I was struck by its lovely appearance when I first encountered the copy I purchased. I was already interested in the text, and upon seeing this lovely volume, I quickly pulled the trigger. It now resides on my shelf in all its glory.

>25 ubiquitousuk: Snatched one up after seeing your review having almost no knowledge of who these characters were. My primary interest was the travel log aspect. It opened a literary world to me after I fell in love with the Boswell and Johnson through this book. Thanks!

>28 L.Bloom: Always glad to be an enabler!

An inexpensive - but faded - 1933 Don Q:

https://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=31111510291&cm_sp=snippe...

A perfect copy for a rebind, I'd say! Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

Edit: Seems like I was too slow:/

>31 SebRinelli:
Sorry to hear it - I think once it went on eBay the odds worsened rapidly…

>32 GusLogan: what do you mean went on eBay? I think someone just bought the copy on Abe. (If so, I'm glad they did because it was such a good deal that I was quite tempted to buy a second copy for rebinding, despite already having a copy in the original binding in pretty good shape with which I am completely satisfied.)

>33 abysswalker:
Yeah, could be. But it was listed on eBay before being delisted on Abe, and I was just saying - on no deep evidence, admittedly - that I think eBay has greater reach, faster notifications etc. I had the same thought as you but don’t really have the space.

>33 abysswalker: nope, it was still available on abe when I put in my order through their website.