Unit 4 - Assignment Part A - Out-of-print books

I first examined Abe Books (http://www.abebooks.com/), a good resource for rare and out-of-print books.  There, I found one hard copy of the book Cold Comfort Farm at a cost of $15.40.  The bookseller is in the United Kingdom, so there may be some delay in receiving the copy.  MasterCard and other cards are acceptable as well as cash and check.

I was unable to tell if there was more than one copy, so I looked further.  There were first edition copies available for $800, which I assume the drama department is not willing to pay.  I also found another copy from Abe Books through a bookseller in London for $21.06 which also includes watercolors.  With an extra $15 for shipping, each of these books can be received within about a week.

Again, I assume that there is only one copy available from this company, and all other editions were either in paperback or audio format or were not cost efficient.  Another possibility would be to order one of the paperback editions and have it bound, but that would take longer.  I found Abe Books to be an easy site to maneuver.  Items could be searched by author, title, or subject, and information was given about the actual seller and how to order the item.

I then tried Alibris (http://www.alibris.com/home.cfm?siteID=pDJF0pSg2.Q-s1aaznecBQL8UmYwIN0KKA).  There were many copies available, but only one was in hard cover, and it was in large print. ($15.70) but ships within 2-3 days.  Again, binding a paperback would be an option.

Another hardback edition sold for $21.67 and would be shipped within 3 weeks.

Another copy is available for $24.95 which states that there is no dust jacket.  Since paperbacks to not come with dust jackets, I presume this is a hard copy edition.  It ships within 2-3 days.

Another edition ships within 3 weeks and is available from Folio Society as was the previous edition above.  This one is $24.75.

Finally, a fourth copy, also from Folio Society, is in hard copy and includes water color drawings as does the previous edition above.  It sells for $37.95 and ships within 3 weeks.

Alibris was also an easy site to maneuver.  All information about shipping, etc., were included.

I then checked the used and out-of-print books for amazon.com but only found the book available in paperback format.  Other companies were searched using a Google search for antiquarian books.  Though searching the Amazon site had resulted in no hardback editions, this search pulled up one hardback copy at a cost of $98 (http://s1.amazon.com/exec/varzea/ts/exchange-glance/Y01Y3936006Y1868301/102-6593060-3686563.  That price would be too high but would be kept in mind in case the other books did not materialize.

To order the three copies for the drama department, I would chose the least expensive copies in hard copy format from Abe Books or Alibris and would also take accessibility time into consideration.  Since the books are needed soon, time would be the most important issue in this case.  As mentioned before, if none of the books are available at a reasonable cost, I would consider getting the paperbacks for the present and having them bound as soon as possible.