Agent Cooper wrote in New Candidate: Silliest Auction Price of the Year:were the notches intentional to mark the books as overstock, or a flaw from the printer?

Once the Asset is discarded, legally it must be so indicated permanently (no stickers etc). This notch thing appeared at some point (no idea whenwhere), was both satisfactory and easy, and became widespread. In the book trade they just rip the front cover, but they don't have to deal with shrinkwrap, some of which contains loose components and ancillary hassles in general.

I say Asset because this involves CoGS and Accounting and Taxes and the whole corporate hairball.

Complete destruction was far more common after 1984. The great RH return referenced above cleared the pipeline of all earlier product, priming the stage for the RedBox (etc) reimaging and subsequent global explosion.

F

Deadlord wrote in New Candidate: Silliest Auction Price of the Year:
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He sees a Tegel selling for $695 and values his accordingly.


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This one is just a HUH?

Can't remember where I saw it, but I believe the "Ghost Tower of Inverness" module was a personal copy of someone famous within the D&D world; the name escapes me. Maybe that's why someone paid more for it?

jazzman wrote in New Candidate: Silliest Auction Price of the Year:I have only ever seen one other notched module, an S3, in the past year show up for sale on EBay. It was in pretty bad shape. Maybe most got destroyed? This is all really interesting.

I have had a number of notched modules in the past.  It was also a tool that some used bookstores used to mark that they had been through the shop before.

Mars wrote in New Candidate: Silliest Auction Price of the Year:The notch is probably a lot more common than you think, just most people don't look at it or know what it means.  I've had probably a couple dozen notched modules pass through - some from used books stores and also some in shrink (from Random House).  For example:

http://www.petrick.ca/tsr/shrink/x1s1.jpg

http://www.petrick.ca/tsr/shrink/x1s2.jpg

Doubt any of them came from Anniversary packs.  Also, if there was any increase in market value due to having the notch, a number of sellers would simply add it themselves.  Similar to the Wilderness Survival Guide and Dungeoneer's Survival Guide that came in the special packs (marked in the back with a felt tip pen through the back).  No extra value because it easy to create after the fact.

I bought a Anniversary pack at B Dalton when they originally sold and all the modules where notched. So I do know some packs where sold with notches.

In the publishing industry, notching is typically used to denote overstock, or "remainder" items -- items that a store is returning to the warehouse because they have too much, and they aren't able to sell them.  That's essentially what the Anniversary Packs were -- overstock, with TSR getting creative on repackaging (rather than pulping them).  So the notched modules were probably actual copies that were returned to TSR from stores, versus modules that never left the warehouse in the first place.

Just my guess here.

Foul

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Only paid $2,200 for mine, I assume I got a good deal then. =)

--Thor

Thor wrote in New Candidate: Silliest Auction Price of the Year:[ Image ]


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Only paid $2,200 for mine, I assume I got a good deal then. =)

--Thor

Damn! I need to list one of my copies ASAP!  8O  :P  :lol:

I'm not sure about this one... ;-)

Plus, the seller name is worrisome...


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Blackmoor wrote in New Candidate: Silliest Auction Price of the Year:I wonder shy this went for $1000??

Maybe $200

Boxed Dungeons & Dragons Original White Box, D&D, Gygax 1974 No Mpn  | eBay

Obviously because it had no Mpn. Silly person.  :P