But back to NN PODs - they did appear in the end but not until early on the Saturday afternoon - and here is my claim for a first - they were still in the hessian carrier bag they'd been brought in when I inquired and were only then got out and set up on the table for the remainder of the weekend.  People who placed an order might have got theirs on the Friday - though not if they had come to the Bird Fair - so this was certainly a first sighting at the Fair and amongst the first outside of Collins.  I'll come back to describe them another time...

Rowan Tree

In the hand the differences are immediately more tangible – a touch lighter than the originals due to a lighter grade of paper and noticeably somewhat square on the spine due to the glued rather than stitched block. These are probably the two most significant compromises.  But glance at some other hard backs on your shelves and you’ll soon find others these days that are not stitched.  I didn’t notice the absence of a title on the board spine, which says everything for me about the significance of this omission – it is the jackets that count.

Personally I found the digitally re-mastered print very good – better than expected in the photos – all colour ones retained (why wouldn’t they be but some had doubted this) and perhaps the print is less obviously reproduced than was the case with the recent facsimile volumes 1 to 10.  Admittedly you can tell they are different and maybe there is a slight variation between each POD – this could be problematic and something to watch if some are going to come out perfect, some a touch heavy and some a touch light. 

The success of the formula overall is that Collins have ensured the new volumes are not so different that they can’t stand alongside the originals.  These ones can and I will buy some.  Will they topple the collectors market?  I think not.  True there must be little point now in re-binding paperbacks to add a photocopy cover.  As previously the paperbacks will hold a value for people who simply need the text to work from.  Surely though, people who could contemplate £500 or even a grand or two aren’t going suddenly to spend just fifty quid instead – are they?  But those like me who might pay £50 for a book but certainly not over £100 and who would therefore forever have lengthy shelf gaps might now gradually mop up through POD at least their most desired titles otherwise available only at over say £100.  Below this there will remain a strong temptation to pay the extra for a good original – which is about where the market range for most titles sits now.  Dealers with mediocre stock: reconditioned ex library and the like, passed off as good or fine copies may suffer but these always were unsatisfactory.  In these cases it will now be better to buy from the POD.

Rowan Tree

I have about two thirds of the set so am just reaching the point where to acquire any more decent originals you are talking of spending at least £80 and in many cases hundreds of pounds (I have none of the Golden 13).

I would prefer an original for the investment potential but wonder whether some of the sky-high prices will be maintained in the face of POD and a generation of collectors who will be less fussy. I guess I will still try to pick-up the odd copy at up to say £150 but will start to fill the major expensive gaps via POD (starting with Ladybirds).

Wonder what the resale value of a mint POD will be? Clearly less than £50.00! Also if POD does not take off as a commercial exercise will Collins withdraw the service: now that would affect prices.

Hengus,

On some titles you are probably correct but there are a number of titles, particularly from the 1990s, where the NN title is the leading reference work on the subject e.g. NN Bats by John Altringham.

I know from personal experience that there are many bat workers who were desperate for a copy of this title but could never consider paying the prices of £150+ which the title was reaching about 12 months ago.   I even saw copies of the paperback edition selling for upwards of £80.

Those bat workers are now able to purchase this title at a sensible price and I believe they will.   OK, it's not going to be a best seller but I would be surprised if the volumes didn't run into the 100s ... and I suspect there are more bat workers wanting a copy than there are NN collectors with a gap on the shelf at #93

Are there other titles that fall into the same category - well Lichens, Plant Diseases, Amphibians & Reptiles are long out of print and selling at > £100 ...   Not sure whether there are so many with an interest in the subject as there are bat workers, but again I suspect that there are more "naturalists" than collectors wanting a copy.

However, I would agree that the price of First Edition paperbacks will fall sharply and I suspect that we are already seeing the first signs of the "POD effect" - I think the last two listings of Orkney (p/b) have not sold on eBay, even though the starting price was pretty modest compared to the prices of just 18-24 months ago ... and those that continue to peddle rebound paperbacks (not 2nd State versions) will be struggling to recover their costs, never mind make a profit (shame :-0)

Bill

Hengus,

Perhaps you will be surprised! The annual bat conference organised by The Bat Conservation Trust normally attracts about 280 delegates, the number limited by places at the venue.   However, there are many bat workers that do not attend the event because of cost, travelling distance, other commitments so the number is certainly higher than that.   My local bat group, in one of the Home Counties, has over 80 members and there are about 100 bat groups across the country - I'm not suggesting they all have that number of members, but I'd guess there to be somewhere between 700 and 1000 in the UK.

What I was really trying to say in my first post is that some of the later, but now out of print, titles are still standard reference works and so would be of interest to anyone that has a curious mind, a passing interest or more serious involvement in the subject matter but who are not going to be concerned about building up a complete collection.   In the past, I guess, they would have been the purchasers of 2nd editions or reprints but I'm assuming that POD will now substitute for that.   As some recent NN titles have 2nd print runs of 1000s, it's not unreasonable to assume that the PODs will sell in their hundreds, is it?

Bill