Spent $80 on a signed first edition that turned out to be a book club printing

Our group spent half the meeting arguing about whether the crease on the spine proves it's not actually a first edition, and now I'm stuck with a fancy-looking paperback that's worth maybe $10.

2 comments

2 Comments

josephs2613d ago

Hey, but the gutter code thing isn't always a sure giveaway - some early book club editions from the 70s didn't even have them. @brown.susan is right that it's a common tell, but I've seen a few that slipped through without one. Sucks you got burned on that one though.

brown.susan13d ago

...and that's exactly why I stopped trusting the seller's photos alone. Like, I get it, people make mistakes, but a book club edition with a creased spine is basically telling you it's not a real first printing. The giveaway for me is always the gutter code on the last page - if it has a letter and a number, it's usually a book club version. But even then, I've been burned by those too. Honestly, the whole "first edition" mania is such a trap for new collectors. You have to learn the hard way like the rest of us, I guess.