1908-Present Complete Collection

[Michael Sabala]

My father-in-law is wanting to see what his collection is worth and I thought this would be the place to begin my research. He has spent years locating every single magazine back to 1910, and most of 1908 and 1909. Most of them are very good to excellent condition. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Melvin L. De Vilbiss]

A response I posted some time ago that may help you:

What's an "old" NG Magazine and what is it worth (trying to sell)?

http://ngscollectors.ning.com/forum/topics/whats-an-old-ng-magazine...

The bottom line - there's always someone out there that wants what you're trying to get rid of (sell) - and they may not even know it!

So there's the rub - you have to find that person that wants your particular item at a price you both can agree upon. You will never know unless you try!

Now to NG magazines - nope, not yet...

An old book collector once told me that for a book to be rare (generally speaking), there had to be fewer than 1000 copies printed. For a book to be scarce, there had to be fewer than 10,000 copies printed. Throw in a bunch of decades, and a high demand, and you've got yourself something a lot of people want, hence high dollar value. The antithesis is, if it isn't at least scarce - it's probably not worth a lot (nor the time and effort to sell it). However, there is NOTHING written in stone in the world of book sales - so please take this with a grain of salt.

Now to NG magazines (first issue published - Oct. 1888):
By 1896 more than 1,200 copies per issue were published each month.
By 1905 more than 10,000 copies per issue were published each month.
By 1914 more than 285,000 copies per issue were published each month.
By 1925 more than 990,000 copies per issue were published each month.
1940 - 1.1 million
1950 - 1.9 million
1960 - 2.5 million
1970 - 6.8 million

These numbers should give anyone an indication of the demand for their magazines, i.e. the more published - the less the demand.

Generally speaking, good condition magazines are relatively easy to come by beginning with 1920, moderately difficult from 1907 to 1919, and increasingly difficult (and costly) as you slip back in years earlier than 1907.

There are some anomalies, e.g. 1904 is much more difficult to find, especially in good condition, than several of the earlier years.

I like to use Very Good (VG) as a benchmark {note there exists no accepted standard grading system for NG magazines} and would describe this condition as:

"Minor soiling, creasing (two minor tears) with moderate surface wear on the cover with moderate reflectivity and fading. The spine must be in tact and complete with moderate tears. Interior pages may have minor soiling and discoloration - but otherwise must be complete with all pages present (to include advertising)."

When you consider the number of NG magazines represented by over 120 years you begin to see how involved collecting becomes - especially when you start evaluating each magazine's quality.

Generally speaking, I have found the following decades (per issue) in VG condition go for (sliding scale downward as you reach the end of the decade):

1910 - $25 (with war years sometimes asking more)
1920 - $15
1930 - $10
1940 - $7.50 (with war years sometimes asking more)
1950 - $5
1960 - $2
1970 - $.50

Now I'll paraphrase what I stated in the beginning, "it's all in the timing!"

I've seen a Jan 1921 go for $50 with the picture supplement included. I've seen Aug 1914 with map supplement go for over $100. But I've also seen a beautiful August 1905 with map supplement go for $27.

Thus far, my record keeping on eBay for the year 1907 has the average sales prices for the top three highest priced issues sold per month averaging just $24.72 per issue for the entire publication year.

For the last 12 months on eBay, the minimum 1907 (any issue) sale was $18.51 with the maximum sale being $41.01 for all quality of magazines.

You just never know who wants what you're offering AND whether or not they're watching you right now!

I hope this helps! Good luck with your collections whether you're buying or selling!

Mel

P.S. It costs about $125 to ship 14 years worth of NG magazines via UPS - and that does not include packing material costs. The Post Office will not ship (declared) "magazines" via media mail because of their "advertisements."

[Elaine N. Jenks]

I have posted notices in this space 7/20-22.
I wish to give away 40 bound volumes of NGM: Years 1959-1978; 20 years.
There are 6 issues to a binder; "handsomely printed" with the years.

Is there any interest in bound collections?

Each binder weighs about 5 lbs.: 200 lbs.
I also have loose copies since the 1960s.
I will give th em to anybody who will pick them up, but I can't afford to ship them.

Elaine N. Jenks
I live in MD in the DC area. Any ideas?

[Melvin L. De Vilbiss]

Elaine,

I'm sure there is someone out there interested in acquiring your bound volumes. But are they in Maryland and/or can they make the trip to your location?

It is unfortunate that you can't find schools to donate the books to because they no longer want them on hand in this age of computers and hand-held electronics - they take up too much valuable space. This too is one of the reasons book stores, used or otherwise, across the country are going out of business.

I am sorry to say that, generally speaking, bound NG volumes, especially those newer than about 1920, are not sought after. All the while, dedicated collectors are searching for those loose magazines earlier than 1907.

Mel

[Elaine N. Jenks]

Thanks for the info, tho it's not good news.
I live in P.G. County, about 14 miles South of the Beltway.
Elaine