gamegrene.com

"Traders went on a buying spree on 1st Edition Players Handbook today, pushing it up 50 cents. On EBay, Dragon Magazine #1 fell $30 as a collector posted a new issue for sale. 3rd Edition rule books were unchanged."

If only that were true. Unfortunately, the new/used D&D market is not like the stock market, with real-time quotes and continuous pricing. However, for the past two weeks, I have been investigating this market to bring this report to you.

Here's the best prices that I found in the 3rd Edition market (sans shipping):

Players Handbook, 3rd edition, $11.97, http://www.booksamillion.com/
Dungeon Masters Guide, 3rd edition, $10.49, http://www.half.com/
Monster Manual, 3rd edition, $10.97, http://www.half.com/

As you can see, the 3rd Edition market is not very interesting. Since the products are new, they are available anywhere and everywhere. I've just presented the best prices that I found.

The 2nd Edition is slightly more interesting. 2nd Edition items are only available through online and offline used bookstores, Internet auctions and individuals. I've included multiple prices here to indicate the variation in prices instead of the cheapest price. So, here's the highlights on the 2nd Edition market (prices sans shipping charges):

Players Handbook, 2nd edition, $20, $15, $12, $8, $5
Dungeon Masters Guide, 2nd edition, $21, $6
Monstrous Compendium, 2nd edition, $15

Still, the 2nd Edition was mass produced with no real variation between printings. The items themselves show the growth of AD&D, both in professionalism and consistency. For better or for worse, the 2nd Edition market is indistinct and crowded. People buy 2nd Edition to use in their games. One book is the almost the same as another.

In contrast, the 1st Edition market is in the realm of the collector, with its pickiness about quality, printings and versions. For the 1st Edition, the Deities and Demigods book is the apex of distinction and defines the market. Deities and Demigods, comes in two versions: the one with Cthulhu and Melnibonean mythos and the later version without those same mythos (since those mythos violated copyrights). Naturally, the first Deities and Demigods commands higher prices and is the most valuable 1st Edition book. On a smaller scale, the Dungeon Masters Guide with Demon cover and the Players Handbook with Efreet cover have slightly increased in value, although the same books with different covers have not. In auctions, the condition of the books will vary and affect the value.

Many books with worn covers and readable but marked up pages are available for $5. Still, the market is not consistent: I found a past EBay auction where a Dungeon Masters Guide with Demon cover in mint condition had sold for $6. Here are some details on the prices for various 1st Edition rule books:

Players Handbook, 1st edition, $19, $14, $12, $5
Dungeon Masters Guide, 1st edition, $15, $9, $6
Monster Manual, 1st edition, $15, $11, $10
Monster Manual II, 1st edition, $11, $7, $5
Fiend Folio, 1st Edition, $17, $13, $11, $10, $7
Deities and Demigods (with Cthulhu), 1st edition, $51, $51
Deities and Demigods (without Cthulhu), 1st edition, $33, $22
Unearthed Arcana, 1st edition, $21, $17, $16, $11

The 1st Edition books are generally available, although items of a specific quality or of a specific edition may not be. However, the pre-1st Edition market is illiquid and inconsistent. These items are only available at certain times since not many exist. The sellers and buyers are few and far between. The most valuable editions are the so-called "White Box" editions of "Original D&D", with the woodgrained box being the most valuable of all. These editions contained three booklets: Men & Magic, Monsters & Treasure and The Underworld & Wilderness Adventures. A full review of the White Box edition is available here as part of The Museum of Role Playing Games. In spite of the general unavailability, I've pieced together some prices and presented them here:

Original D&D (Woodgrain box), $500+ (estimate by Dragon's Trove)
Original D&D (White box), $150, $96 on EBay (ongoing auction)
Supplement I: Greyhawk, $80, $45
Supplement II: Blackmoor, $55, $37
Supplement III: Eldritch Wizardry, $60
Supplement IV: Gods, Demigods and Heroes, $50

And, finally, no report would be complete without mentioning issue #1 of Dragon magazine (which was put out in July 1976). This issue is the most valuable of all the issues of all the role-playing magazines. It is slightly easier to find than White Box editions of Original D&D but still is not very available. Although online gaming bookstores sites sell them for $200 or $300 (depending on condition), an auction would probably end up selling this issue for $120 or so. A recent auction reached $51 before it was withdrawn; the seller subsequently sold the magazine to a friend. Another seller was offering issues 1 through 30 (as well as assorted less valuable issues for a total of 76 issues) for $1800 but the offer had not attracted a single bid.

Dragon Magazine #1, $300 (dealer), $200 (dealer), $51 (auction but withdrawn)
Dragon Magazine #1 through #30 (with other assorted issues), $1800

If you are interested in finding some of these items, you can look at the following web sites and newsgroups which I used as source material for this article:

http://www.ebay.com/ - (search on "Dungeons")
http://auctions.yahoo.com/ (search on "Dungeons", "AD&D" and "D&D")
http://www.dragontrove.com/adndbook.html
news:rec.games.frp.marketplace

So, that's the market.

"Next is Bob, with sports and weather."