Jᴀᴄᴜʀᴜᴛᴜ - Tʜᴇ Cᴀsᴛ Oᴜᴛ

Maybe 7 years ago I got a very old book club edition of dune, the cover and layout was based on the edition published by chilton. I paid maybe 7 bucks for it, and then yesterday I go into the same bookstore where they have 2 copies of the same edition, one for $40 and the other for $35. I have written notes in my copy and underlined passages. Did I just destroy a minor investment in literature or has anyone else seen or paid for these kind of fluctuations in price? I know it depends on the person appraising these books also but damn I was shocked when I saw that price tag.

It's not uncommon to find BCE's in that price-range on Amazon in the used vendor's section. That's the sucker's price though. Personally I never pay more than $10 - $15 for used BCE's of Dune, and Ive found fantastic looking ones in library/donation sales with no ex-lib marks for $3. I just sent a very pretty one for Rob's class that I think I paid $4 for, or something like that.

However, there are lots of BCE's out there, and age and condition are factors in that particular BCE. Some have ISBNs that correspond with first edition printings (meaning they were printed in the 60's or 70's), and they are still printing it today. Also I've seen a pretty wide spectrum of condition with those books. Generally speaking the pages disintegrate pretty quickly, so it may be that those in the bookstore are in pristine condition and yours is kind of a piece of shit? I dunno, but personally I don't pay the sucker price for a Dune BCE.