The Hornby Book of Trains – The First One Hundred Years: Expensive Price

[ColinB]

Books have always been expensive, try doing an engineering degree and buying your books and you will see what I mean. Before I retired I was a software engineer and the price books on particular software languages are out of this world, unfortunately you normally need them to do you job ( a book is faster and easier that the web, it is quicker to flick through). As for model railway books, they just don't shift that many books so the cost of printing, marketing are covered by a small customer base. If it is a best seller then they become cheap because they sell so many. Also books on specalist subjects are very rarely discounted so you are paying the full price unless it is Amazon where they will do the odd discount. Go buy a workshop manual for a classic bike and you will see what I mean. Go to the US and you will find the price of books and magazines are out of this world, some of them are at least double what we pay, although technical books seem to be cheaper.

[markp123]

£25 is nothing if you try and buy a copy of Pat Hammond's Story of Rovex Volume 3.    Currently on ebay a used copy will set you back £195!     I'm not sure how limited the print run was, but this volume always seem to command high prices on the second hand market.

[Traincliff]

The more specialised the topic of a book the higher the price and that is what you would expect. The initial setting up and printing costs will be the same but will be shared to a smaller audience. The author will also expect a sensible share and the publisher and so on. I too had to buy my engineering text books back in the 60s and even the paperback ones were many times the price of say a novel that sold millions. 

I enjoy railway books and have far too many according to SWMBO. But to me one photo in a book can be almost priceless in value if it shows me exactly where to fix a transfer on a model. I rarely buy books new now finding them secondhand at exhibitions, heritage railway shops and railway club book tables. Often for less than a fiver for nearly mint. Always worth a browse especially when away from home and you find a book about a railway local to your home that is almost unobtainable in your local area.

The new Hornby book sounds to be sensibly priced for its marketplace but will soon be available for less if it sells well and moves into the secondhand market. Sounds a bit big to be launched as a bookazine or digital version unfortunately.

[Traincliff]

The more specialised the topic of a book the higher the price and that is what you would expect. The initial setting up and printing costs will be the same but will be shared to a smaller audience. The author will also expect a sensible share and the publisher and so on. I too had to buy my engineering text books back in the 60s and even the paperback ones were many times the price of say a novel that sold millions. 

I enjoy railway books and have far too many according to SWMBO. But to me one photo in a book can be almost priceless in value if it shows me exactly where to fix a transfer on a model. I rarely buy books new now finding them secondhand at exhibitions, heritage railway shops and railway club book tables. Often for less than a fiver for nearly mint. Always worth a browse especially when away from home and you find a book about a railway local to your home that is almost unobtainable in your local area.

The new Hornby book sounds to be sensibly priced for its marketplace but will soon be available for less if it sells well and moves into the secondhand market. Sounds a bit big to be launched as a bookazine or digital version unfortunately.

[Traincliff]

The more specialised the topic of a book the higher the price and that is what you would expect. The initial setting up and printing costs will be the same but will be shared to a smaller audience. The author will also expect a sensible share and the publisher and so on. I too had to buy my engineering text books back in the 60s and even the paperback ones were many times the price of say a novel that sold millions. 

I enjoy railway books and have far too many according to SWMBO. But to me one photo in a book can be almost priceless in value if it shows me exactly where to fix a transfer on a model. I rarely buy books new now finding them secondhand at exhibitions, heritage railway shops and railway club book tables. Often for less than a fiver for nearly mint. Always worth a browse especially when away from home and you find a book about a railway local to your home that is almost unobtainable in your local area.

The new Hornby book sounds to be sensibly priced for its marketplace but will soon be available for less if it sells well and moves into the secondhand market. Sounds a bit big to be launched as a bookazine or digital version unfortunately.

[Traincliff]

The more specialised the topic of a book the higher the price and that is what you would expect. The initial setting up and printing costs will be the same but will be shared to a smaller audience. The author will also expect a sensible share and the publisher and so on. I too had to buy my engineering text books back in the 60s and even the paperback ones were many times the price of say a novel that sold millions. 

I enjoy railway books and have far too many according to SWMBO. But to me one photo in a book can be almost priceless in value if it shows me exactly where to fix a transfer on a model. I rarely buy books new now finding them secondhand at exhibitions, heritage railway shops and railway club book tables. Often for less than a fiver for nearly mint. Always worth a browse especially when away from home and you find a book about a railway local to your home that is almost unobtainable in your local area.

The new Hornby book sounds to be sensibly priced for its marketplace but will soon be available for less if it sells well and moves into the secondhand market. Sounds a bit big to be launched as a bookazine or digital version unfortunately.

[LCDR]

I have written a handful of books myself, as well as contributing material to other people's books, and I can assure you it isn't 'cut and paste' especially not from the internet where there is always dubious information.

 

A manuscript can take many years to compose and then it goes to a proof reader who tears it to shreds and one spends many months re-researching those matters he has queried.  Then there are illustrations to find, and permission to get, and also to pay for, so you don't fall foul of copyright.  

 

It is great seeing the work in print, and I like to chat to booksellers about how it is going. Reading reviews can be interesting too. You have to be prepared to take the good with the bad so it pays to have a thick skin at times, fortunately I only got one bad one, and by someone who wanted me to shrink my drawings to 4mm scale instead of printing them as large as the page would stand so the detaoils were visible and then letting the user enlarge or reduce them on a photocopier. The drawings were ancilliary to the topic in any case!

[JJ73]

@ Jane2 :- ooops -I'd better not let my Mum know that you only paid £1.50 for the same book when she paid £30.00!!! 

[NWR-Gordon-4]

I assume though that your mum bought you your book new though, JJ? jane2 found hers in a charity shop and at £1.50, I am sure it would have been used. An item new, is always worth more than a used item.

 

GNR-Gordon-4 (HF)

[JJ73]

Yep & Yep!!!

[Mike_P]

The 25 year edition (1954-1979) was £4.95 (last numbered page is 175) and converted to todays price would be £25.21 so if this really is 448 pages it  is pretty cheap; Amazon however are quoting 140 pages. If its on general release to book sellers then some hefty discounts will probably exist otherwise model shops like Rails are already offering it to order with 10% off.

The last railway book I bought was one of David Larkins wagon books which has 144 numbered pages and a marked price of £25 from wordery.com for £18.09.

[walkingthedog]

Jacob you said "An item new, is always worth more than a used item."  Well I believe this post has rather disproved that statement. Many old books are worth much more than there original price. I have several books that I know I can get three times the price I paid 5 years ago. 

[NWR-Gordon-4]

Well to myself then, new books are worth more than used books.

 

GNR-Gordon-4 (HF)

[walkingthedog]

Guess it depends on the book. Fiction you're probably right, reference well that depends how rare it is.

[Ruffnut Thorston]

Pat Hammond's books are always in worth reading, in my opinion.

 

He's a nice fellow as well! 😉

 

Our personal reference library has a copy of this new book on order.

 

It will join Tri-ang Railways,  The First Ten Years (1962), The Tri-ang Hornby Book of Trains (1968), and the Hornby Railways Book of Trains, 25 year edition (1979).

 

Also in the library, The Art Of Hornby, catalogue covers, etc. ; And many many more, including all three of Pat Hammond's The Story of Rovex, The British Trix book, and the Hornby Dublo, and Hornby O Gauge books also published in the same series by Cavendish...

 

[NWR-Gordon-4]

@walkingthedog

 

It depends on the book, how rare it is, if it rare at all and what the potenial buyer is prepared / wants to pay for the book.

 

@Sarahagain

 

I take it you have met Pat Hammond then?

 

GNR-Gordon-4 (HF)

[Ruffnut Thorston]

Pat Hammond was the editor of the Train Collector, the magazine of the Train Collector's Society until recently.

 

As I have contributed to the magazine, I have corresponded with Pat, and also met him on occasions at exhibitions, such as the Tri-ang Society exhibitions.

 

 

 

[NWR-Gordon-4]

Oh, c 😎 😎l. Well done and thank you for sharing that information with us.  😀

 

GNR-Gordon-4 (HF)

[Anglia998]

Pat Hammond has a huge archive of Hornby material.

His three volume set "The Story of Rovex" is testament to that.

He will have taken care to ensure that the content of this new publication is up to his usual high standard.

Collating facts and images in preparation for printing is very time consuming. He deserves to be rewarded for his efforts. I hope everyone buys it. If you wait for it on ebay, it will cost you much more than £25.00!

[NWR-Gordon-4]

Anglia998, if the prices do sell for more than £25.00 on eBay, then imagine that will be when the book has been discontinued and is no longer being published! There's no chance of that happening yet, as the book has not been released yet!  😆

 

GNR-Gordon-4 (HF)

[Ruffnut Thorston]

It would be good if Pat can find the time, etc., To get volume four published...

 

If you read volume three, you will find references to models that would be covered in volume four.

 

Last I heard, volume four was still a work in progress...

[Anglia998]

Hello GNR

 

So you don't think that it is going to sell out?

[NWR-Gordon-4]

Hello Anglia998.  😀

 

I do think it will sell out, but not before it gets released, or for a while.

 

GNR-Gordon-4 (HF)

[LCDR]

Book prices can be quite confusing. 

 

The original price of a hardcover railway book can be in the range £15 to £40 depending upon its content and size, and the quality of the paper and print. 

 

After a few years any unsold copies may be offered as 'remaindered' to the trade and sold at anything up to half price. 

 

However books that have sold out may resume popularity and second hand copies come into demand. This pushes the price up and up and can result in the price going up by ten times its original price.  A new copy of Colin Gifford's book Decline of Steam is currently on offer on Amazon for over £1000 ! I treasure my own copy bought in the 1960s for about £10, albeit somewhat careworn and loved.

[NWR-Gordon-4]

LC&DR, I have just this second ago, searched for the 'Decline of Steam' book on Amazon.co.uk and these are the pirces that showed up, in used and new conditions.

 

Used:

1. £39.01 + free delivery
2. £35.79 + £3.22 delivery
3. £36.21 + £2.80 delivery
4. £37.20 + £2.80 delivery
5. £45.00 + £2.80 delivery

 

New:

1. £888.83 + £2.80 delivery
2. £1,008.04 + free delivery

 

I think it's cheeky that the seller of the £888.83 + £2.80 listing, is charging additonal postage money, when the price for the book is nearly £900.00!  😬  😆  😉  😀

 

I would love to know how long those two new listings, have been on Amazon.co.uk for. I will be very suprised if those ever get sold. There's a lot cheaper used listings for sale instead, on the same website.

 

GNR-Gordon-4 (HF)