Seeking Advice: Possible Book Defect?

[Sock Monkey]

I reached out to the seller and he offered a 20% partial refund which I accepted. I’m still rather bummed as I wouldn’t have purchased the book with this issue but I’ve made my peace with it as the seller apologized and is making an effort to make it right.

As far as repairing it, I have no experience in this arena. Does anybody have any idea who does that and what it would cost? Would it have an impact on the book’s value in either direction?

[jeffingoff]

I had my Little Sisters of Eluria repaired by Scott Kellar in Chicago. He doesn't have a website but here's a method to contact him: https://www.yelp.com/biz/scott-k-kel...tion-chicago-2

I'd say look into local bookbinders near you. I don't know what it would take or cost. But if it's done well, I'd imagine it will help the resale value. As long as nothing on the exterior is changed.

[jeffingoff]

And I'm glad the seller apologized and is trying to make it right.

[RonClinton]

For $400, I definitely would have reached out as well...that’s a serious investment. Good to hear he offered you a resolution you could live with. I probably would have pushed for more, but ultimately eBay would have sided with him with no overt defect and apparently no quoted claim of condition, so 20% is better than nothing. A bird in the hand... and all that. Sorry again this didn’t work out for you…I know it was a book you were really looking forward to receiving.

Were it me, I wouldn’t spend any more money trying to rebind this book. What you may want to consider is reselling it, at which point it will probably fetch around $200, maybe $300, with the defects disclosed. Then take that money (albeit a loss) and find yourself a pristine copy. Might be a way to avoid some hassle, though might mean waiting (again)...let’s face it, many Centipede collectors don’t even read their books, so there’s no reason for accepting anything that’s less than as-new if one has the patience to wait for the right deal.

[Sock Monkey]

For $400, I definitely would have reached out as well...that’s a serious investment. Good to hear he offered you a resolution you could live with. I probably would have pushed for more, but ultimately eBay would have sided with him with no overt defect and apparently no quoted claim of condition, so 20% is better than nothing. A bird in the hand... and all that. Sorry again this didn’t work out for you…I know it was a book you were really looking forward to receiving.

Were it me, I wouldn’t spend any more money trying to rebind this book. What you may want to consider is reselling it, at which point it will probably fetch around $200, maybe $300, with the defects disclosed. Then take that money (albeit a loss) and find yourself a pristine copy. Might be a way to avoid some hassle, though might mean waiting (again)...let’s face it, many Centipede collectors don’t even read their books, so there’s no reason for accepting anything that’s less than as-new if one has the patience to wait for the right deal.

I thought about pushing for more when the discount was offered, but like you said, if it escalated and went to eBay for a decision, then I'd probably lose and have wasted a bunch of effort in the process. If I had known about the issue or had paid way less for the book it be the issue that it is.

I haven't settled on which direction to head in yet. Maybe I'll look into rebinding, but like you mentioned, maybe just selling the book at a loss and getting a new copy would be the best way to go. Oh well, I guess I have time to mull that one over a bit.

[Sock Monkey]

I had my Little Sisters of Eluria repaired by Scott Kellar in Chicago. He doesn't have a website but here's a method to contact him: https://www.yelp.com/biz/scott-k-kel...tion-chicago-2

I'd say look into local bookbinders near you. I don't know what it would take or cost. But if it's done well, I'd imagine it will help the resale value. As long as nothing on the exterior is changed.

Thanks, Jeff!

[slayn666]

As far as repairing it, I have no experience in this arena. Does anybody have any idea who does that and what it would cost? Would it have an impact on the book’s value in either direction?

Repairs of any sort should be reported in the sale listing, at which point buyers are free to decide if it's enough to impact what they want to pay. Typically, though, no one goes to the trouble and cost of repairing a book unless it's a) a very valuable book and b) a significant amount of damage.

[Sock Monkey]

Repairs of any sort should be reported in the sale listing, at which point buyers are free to decide if it's enough to impact what they want to pay. Typically, though, no one goes to the trouble and cost of repairing a book unless it's a) a very valuable book and b) a significant amount of damage.

If I went through the hassle of repairing the book, I probably wouldn't part with it. My main concern was would I be pouring more money into the book than either (a) it's worth after the repair, or (b) more than I could just buy another copy for. This is one of those situations where I wish had bookbinding skills and could do it myself. I do not have said skills and until they can download stuff to your brain like in The Matrix, I probably won't be picking them up anytime soon.

And, yes, for the record, while Keanu is learning Kung Fu and everyone else in the whole world are becoming super-warriors, I'll be that guy whos like "I'll take bookbinding and slipcase-making skills, please". I'll die very quickly in the eventual war, but my copy of THE AUTOPSY & OTHER STORIES will look great!