Anyone collect guidebooks?

[CanisCanemEdit]

I collect everything including guides. I really want to buy artbooks, but I feel a lot of the ones I want will be expensive due to importing costs. At this moment, I only own a few art books.

[LyricalOne]

CE guides can become so addicting, since so many always go "on sale" on amazing at least lol

[HIPPEEDUDE]

Originally Posted by LyricalOne

CE guides can become so addicting, since so many always go "on sale" on amazing at least lol

True,but the most wanted or sought after ones usually arent around for long. The ones on special or you get cheap generally arent a wanted item occasionally you might find a bargain. I managed to get the Halo 4 Collectors guide for $15 from JB Hi Fi,though i think it was a mistake as all the other guides were $30

[asiak75]

I would also add that depending the edition you might find some guides that were sold out 1st edition mainly and sold as 2nd edition for a bargain...(Hate that so much...)
The really really rare guides are those OOP obviously were there was one print run only...best example known to me is Bayonetta and the GOTY Fallout CE HB guide.
You also have to check the Publisher...Piggyback are usually reprinting most of their guides. Not the case of Futurepress...and quality wise FuturePress is far far better.
Think Killzone 2,3 CE or the Fallout 3 Softback edition...as for Bradygames it really depends on their release, older guides not necessary CE's, were great and color full but they tend to be sensible and needed like comics almost dust jackets to protect them.
I say if you get a bargain on any guides CE or not, then go for it if you are collecting with no resell in mind. Otherwise I hope the above gives some insight.

[Redmagster]

Originally Posted by asiak75

I would also add that depending the edition you might find some guides that were sold out 1st edition mainly and sold as 2nd edition for a bargain...(Hate that so much...)
The really really rare guides are those OOP obviously were there was one print run only...best example known to me is Bayonetta and the GOTY Fallout CE HB guide.
You also have to check the Publisher...Piggyback are usually reprinting most of their guides. Not the case of Futurepress...and quality wise FuturePress is far far better.
Think Killzone 2,3 CE or the Fallout 3 Softback edition...as for Bradygames it really depends on their release, older guides not necessary CE's, were great and color full but they tend to be sensible and needed like comics almost dust jackets to protect them.
I say if you get a bargain on any guides CE or not, then go for it if you are collecting with no resell in mind. Otherwise I hope the above gives some insight.

That is superb information and really helpful - appreciate you taking the time to post it up for us

Thanks!

[SwiftDeath]

The problem I have with believing any guide to be rare is that the first print run is in the tens of thousands

The Fallout 3 GOTY CE Guide for instance used to sell for 50 - 70 USD mint but due to so many coming back on the market recently from ppl seeing the prices, a mint copy goes for 20 - 30 USD

The Fallout 3 GOTY CE Guide has a print run of at least 40,000 which for a CE might be on the lower end but for a CE guide? Plenty of copies

I suggest you wait and watch the market for a while to get a feel for what any particular guide is truly worth

The Zelda Phantom Hourglass CE guide used to sell sealed for 75 - 100 USD but now goes for 30 - 45 USD or so

HTF guides are Bayonetta and the killzones solely because the only English versions were distributed in the UK and maybe Aus/NZ

So their print runs are probably smaller but still in the tens of thousands for sure

[asiak75]

Swift, correct me if I am wrong but I strongly believe the GOTY HB Fallout 3 guide was released in limited quantities and again if I am not wrong they limited the print because of the massive amount of pages, it was sold out quickly and so far I can only find this one listed on eBay.
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Fallout-3-Gam...item3a80727624

Saying this the release of the Skyrim GOTY CE guide has the same potential...
I agree on some of your points but you have to differentiate around the publisher as it dictates the amount that will be printed and even if it is more than the average Game CE it is way more tricky to maintain a book in sealed new condition over the years compared to CE games.

[SwiftDeath]

Originally Posted by asiak75

Swift, correct me if I am wrong but I strongly believe the GOTY HB Fallout 3 guide was released in limited quantities and again if I am not wrong they limited the print because of the massive amount of pages, it was sold out quickly and so far I can only find this one listed on eBay.
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Fallout-3-Gam...item3a80727624

Saying this the release of the Skyrim GOTY CE guide has the same potential...
I agree on some of your points but you have to differentiate around the publisher as it dictates the amount that will be printed and even if it is more than the average Game CE it is way more tricky to maintain a book in sealed new condition over the years compared to CE games.

Here are some of the ones being listed now

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw...guide&_sacat=0

There are more than that listed incorrectly

Here are some that sold recently for around the 30 USD price mark mostly

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_saca...&LH_Complete=1

This listing specifically http://www.ebay.com/itm/FALLOUT-3-GA...p2047675.l2557

States the numbering on the guide at 36094 hence at least 40000 copies

I think 50000 are likely as this is certainly a small sampling

So while it is limited, it is not rare and will never be that rare tbh at least imo

It is desirable and does ebb and flow in its availability but there are simply too many copies of it for it to be that hard to find

Don't get me wrong I love that guide, paid 35 or so for it mint and it's great but there's quite a lot of them

I can imagine it might be a different market for someone outside the US but you always have to compare markets to find the best prices

Books are hard because shipping them internationally is so expensive

Originally Posted by asiak75

Saying this the release of the Skyrim GOTY CE guide has the same potential...
I agree on some of your points but you have to differentiate around the publisher as it dictates the amount that will be printed and even if it is more than the average Game CE it is way more tricky to maintain a book in sealed new condition over the years compared to CE games.

I disagree for the most part as almost no CE guide has ever been made in truly limited quantities. I seriously doubt any has been made with less than 20,000 copies or so but some are in different languages so hard to gauge English copies

What I meant before about comparing CE's to Ce guides is that CE guides are actually usually made in lesser quantities than a lot of CE's BUT they are usually considerably less collectible

For instance how many people have you seen that collect CE guides but not CE's? Reverse of that how many ppl do you know that collect CE's but not CE guides?

Hence the collector market for CE's is much greater than CE guides and CE's can indeed become a lot harder to find for a reasonable price

Very few CE guides have hit big sale numbers on ebay and even when they do, they tend to fall again as ppl list them etc.

I would also point blank disagree on the sealed point you made as most collectors keep game guides sealed as with the internet today the guide itself is not that valuable so just a collectors item and no point to open it

Obviously sealed CE guides are rarer and worth more than unsealed. What I mean though is a lot more people will keep CE guides sealed then CE's for instance

There are plenty of sealed copies of the Fallout 3 CE GOTY guide on ebay now and in the past month or so

One is on auction and bid is up to 36 USD I think? Another is a buy it now for 100 USD but has been up for a while with no bites

I don't mean to sound argumentative as you seem like a true collector so I respect that but most CE guides don't really appreciate in value in my opinion even some of the older rarer ones

There is perhaps one exception to that though

I believe that there were a few copies of the Saints Row the Third CE guide in existence that was planned to be released but cancelled

Hence a copy of that would be a unicorn of CE guides

I have no confirmation of its existence or evidence of any kind, save my word that I saw an auction for it on ebay from a relatively reputable seller who sold them for 150 GBP at the time

[comaamen86]

guides are like cereal now to me, i go for the most colorful with the best bonus toy

skyrim for the love of it

[SwiftDeath]

Originally Posted by comaamen86

guides are like cereal now to me, i go for the most colorful with the best bonus toy

skyrim for the love of it

Yes coma but even you keep some guides sealed, don't you?

One's without toys in them

That says volumes to me about the nature of guide collecting

I still like the pretty pictures and nice paper they're printed on lol