Looking for advice

Hello all,

I'm sorry if I'm posting this in the wrong place but I was hoping I could get some help.  I am a student in Kingston with an interest in the local history and especially all the historical battlements, forts, etc.

While I'm not a student at RMC I am just as interested in its rich history as everything else here.  Recently a friend of mine who does attend that school mentioned a year book for sale on eBay.  Upon checking it out I was blown away by the asking price!  I would love to own something like this but I'm not rich...  

There is an option to make an offer on it, but I'm not sure how low I should go?  I mean I don't want to offend the seller or be laughed at.  I am willing to invest a couple hundred dollars but that's all I can afford.  Can anyone weigh in on what you think it might be worth?

Here's the link:

RMC Year Book

Listen to your 'gut', if your gut tells you something is over priced, it probably is.

I looked at the eBay listing - a ridiculous price. Save your money and borrow a copy through inter-library loan.

Phishing for an offer. The vendor is hoping someone will make him an offer he feels is acceptable.

I'd hold out ..... Its a year book ! It probably is rare but I'm sure if you went to the RMC library they would have a copy (Also a copy of every year the book was published). You may be able to take photos of the parts you are interested in even if you were unable to take them out on loan. I hope the seller made a mistake entering this listing .... at the most, my opinion is, $100 at the high high high end ..... perhaps he tried to type $100.00 and forgot his decimal point !!. Here is a link to a 1962 RMC yearbook for $20 plus $8 shipping ... save the $9 972 !

Good Luck,

Ypres

http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?kn=RMC+Yearbook&sts=t

Oh .... place a posting in the "Wants" section of the forum ... you may get a few replies.

Ok, thank you for the replies.

edstorey: That makes sense. I didn't even think to check their library for a year book. I imagine something like that wouldn't be 'borrowable' though? I suspect it would be confined to viewing in an archive room.

Bill: That's what I thought too. So I could probably make any offer and unless it's 'acceptable' it wouldn't matter anyway...

Thanks for the help, maybe I'll keep watching to see how low it goes down to. Cheers!

Ypres: good point. Thank-you.

Am I the only one that sees the irony in Ed's comment about not buying the book??? Sorry Ed I just had to say it.

I have to say, I think the seller goofed on his listing and meant $100.00 or best offer. I would not worry myself over insulting the seller. If it were a book I was interested in, I would drop him a note saying basically;

"I assume there is an error in your listing price of $10,000.00 and you meant $100.00. I am in at $75.00. "


If you don't ask you will never know. As the others have said, for a one time use book, the RMC Library is the way to go.

I moved this topic to the WANTED section, in hopes of further exposure.

I just sent the seller a message through eBay worded similarly to what you suggested pylon. I also threw in a reference to this thread in hopes that the opinions of some serious collectors may put the price into perspective (in case it wasn't a mistake). I'll let you know if I hear back. Thanks again.

I am a very vocal advocate of buying a book, but only if the price is fair. Sometimes you have to use the research tools at your disposal and inter-library loan is a great tool.

*Update: Received a reply from my message to the seller! Sounds like he is selling on consignment and didn't set the price. He agrees it is pretty high but had no real choice as the person paying him wanted to see what he could get. Told me he would keep my info and let me know when and if the price (inevitably) goes down on it.

Thanks again to you all for you input! Cheers.

I have some swampland in Florida, perfect for a winter retreat....

at the bottom he mentions

"Please e-mail the seller for a complete catalog of photos taken of each page, "

or as Ed mentions check out the library, the reference library here has always been good to me

Good day szimj,

All good advice given above, in my opinion. Checked the listing and somebody has chopped it down to US$500. For what it's worth, make him an offer...the worst he can say is "No". Or, you can wait and see if he comes any lower to what you're willing to pay.

Ian

At least its moving in the right direction ..... keep waiting it will be below $50 at some point. Many dealers think anything military and old is worth something! Patience is hard to develop when you're a passionate collector but is essential if you want your collection to get anywhere !!!

Ypres

Still up for sale and down to $250.  Wait long enough and the seller may actually pay YOU to take it!!  LMAO!!