Crazy money on Luger books?

castile · 04-03-2014, 10:52 AM

I had the book Luger handbook by arron davis. I paid 8 bucks give or take about 7 years ago or so. It was a book I used to replace Lugers at random that I had sold for 110 can could not replace for under 175 at the time. I decided to get a few of my books back and thought I would start with the newer books like Arron Davis book for I figured 10 bucks on Ebay.

Imagine my surprise when I saw they were asking 150 bucks for a small bad photos crude drawings hand book that was very limited in scope. WTHeck is going on? Its not that good of a book. I checked everywhere and could not find it for less then 50 bucks. I know its out of print but so is a book from 1902 I just bought for 10 bucks. Have any of you run across this kind of thing?

mrerick · 04-03-2014, 02:31 PM

It's supply and demand. There are more recent books that have much more accurate information available today.

Since there is a limited marketplace for books that are as specific as our Luger books, the publishers tend to make limited printing runs.

Sometimes demand continues to the point where they make second and more printings.

But.... when they stop, the number of people interested in Lugers seems to continue to grow.

Some of them are worth the price. I think that Sturgess' book (basically a life's work at research) is worth the money. I can't imagine it being duplicated by anyone in the future at any price.

i would put Mauro and Gerben's "The Parabellum Is Back" and Joop and Don's "The Mauser Parabellup", the Krieghoff book by Gibson and Ed's Simson books in the same category... All are must haves if you have an interest in those specific Lugers.

Marc

Marc

Zorba · 04-03-2014, 04:09 PM

I think most of the prices are insane - but its what the market will bear.

318is_Parabellum · 04-03-2014, 09:27 PM

I share Zormpas' opinion on luger book prices. If I were to spend my limited funds on acquiring luger books, I'd have none left to buy luger pistols!

One of the big reasons I appreciate being a member of this forum is that the knowledge here allows me to spend my limited budget on luger pistols, without making the sort of gross errors that I would otherwise make without the knowledge gleaned from this forum!

That said, I would love to have a set of Jan Still's books, they are beautiful objects in their own right!

ETA: I also would like a copy of Ed's Simson book as well.

04-03-2014, 10:52 AM	#1
castile User Join Date: Jun 2012 Posts: 95 Thanks: 0 Thanked 36 Times in 12 Posts	Crazy money on Luger books? I had the book Luger handbook by arron davis. I paid 8 bucks give or take about 7 years ago or so. It was a book I used to replace Lugers at random that I had sold for 110 can could not replace for under 175 at the time. I decided to get a few of my books back and thought I would start with the newer books like Arron Davis book for I figured 10 bucks on Ebay. Imagine my surprise when I saw they were asking 150 bucks for a small bad photos crude drawings hand book that was very limited in scope. WTHeck is going on? Its not that good of a book. I checked everywhere and could not find it for less then 50 bucks. I know its out of print but so is a book from 1902 I just bought for 10 bucks. Have any of you run across this kind of thing?

04-03-2014, 02:31 PM	#2
mrerick Super Moderator - Patron LugerForum Life Patron Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Eastern North Carolina, USA Posts: 3,919 Thanks: 1,377 Thanked 3,135 Times in 1,518 Posts	It's supply and demand. There are more recent books that have much more accurate information available today. Since there is a limited marketplace for books that are as specific as our Luger books, the publishers tend to make limited printing runs. Sometimes demand continues to the point where they make second and more printings. But.... when they stop, the number of people interested in Lugers seems to continue to grow. Some of them are worth the price. I think that Sturgess' book (basically a life's work at research) is worth the money. I can't imagine it being duplicated by anyone in the future at any price. i would put Mauro and Gerben's "The Parabellum Is Back" and Joop and Don's "The Mauser Parabellup", the Krieghoff book by Gibson and Ed's Simson books in the same category... All are must haves if you have an interest in those specific Lugers. Marc Marc __________________ Igitur si vis pacem, para bellum - - Therefore if you want peace, prepare for war.

04-03-2014, 09:27 PM	#4
318is_Parabellum User Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: West Virginia Posts: 130 Thanks: 80 Thanked 75 Times in 31 Posts	I share Zormpas' opinion on luger book prices. If I were to spend my limited funds on acquiring luger books, I'd have none left to buy luger pistols! One of the big reasons I appreciate being a member of this forum is that the knowledge here allows me to spend my limited budget on luger pistols, without making the sort of gross errors that I would otherwise make without the knowledge gleaned from this forum! That said, I would love to have a set of Jan Still's books, they are beautiful objects in their own right! ETA: I also would like a copy of Ed's Simson book as well. Last edited by 318is_Parabellum; 04-04-2014 at 11:39 AM.

04-03-2014, 04:09 PM	#3
Zorba User Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Merritt Island, Fl Posts: 952 Thanks: 777 Thanked 527 Times in 290 Posts	I think most of the prices are insane - but its what the market will bear.