Originally Posted By: the shadow knows
 Originally Posted By: DrWatson
If someone is truly opposed to pressing, then it really shouldn't matter what grade we are talking about or the price it sells for on the market. It amuses me when someone wants to buy a pressed book at a discount because it has been pressed. If they are against pressing, then they shouldn't be buying the book at all. That's like saying, "I am against wearing fur, but if you sell me that fox fur coat cheap enough, I'll still buy it."


I think this is the whole truth of the matter.People want to know if a book has been pressed to used as a bargaining chip.On another board someone was talking about the price he paid for a pressed Batman 1.Stating that its worth 20-50% less because it was pressed.You have one of the most vocal anti pressers (Aaron) saying he would buy a pressed book,if the price is right.
So my question is do you hate pressing or want to use it for a discount?


Shadow;

Once again, I believe the good doctor is bang on in his analysis of the situation. But only if the part that I have highlighted in bold print is true. If a potential purchaser is indeed truly opposed to the actual act of pressing, then they should really not be interested in the book at all, no matter what the price is.

The problem I have with your statement is that you are assuming that anybody that doesn't care for pressed books must then be into this other camp. My personal belief is that there are also many collectors who viewed pressing as a very minor form of restoration who just wants to be able to make a fully informed purchasing decision.

For example, most collectors generally do not like to purchased restored books. On the other hand, some collectors will in certain situations (depending upon rarity, extent of restoration, etc) be willing to purchased a restored book if the price is right. But I do not know of any collectors that would be willing to pay the same price for a restored book as they would for a truly unrestored book.

With respect to pressing, there are some collectors who view this as similar to a very minor restoration or a negative such as a date stamp or what have you. These collectors don't really hate pressing more than the fact that they hate the non-disclosure of pressing because it prevents them from making a fully informed purchasing decision.

In these situations, the potential purchaser is simply trying to factor the pressing or what have you into the final price he is willing to pay for the book and I don't see anything wrong with this. I am sure that you also discount for things that you do not like on a book that you are thinking of purchasing. Not really a bargaining chip as it's really more of being able to make a fully informed purchasing decision.

You seem to feel that any potential purchaser that asks about pressing is only using it as a bragaining chip to lower the price. Well, if you are the seller, you shouldn't really have to worry about this at all. Just ignore this buyer and sell it to the other 90+% of the market who has clearly stated they are more than willing to pay full price for a pressed book. Nobody is forcing you to sell it to the buyer offering you the lower price.

Now, how about turning the argument around. If you are a seller and you truly believe that restoration is nothing and the marketplace accepts it, then you should be more than willing to fully disclose when it comes time to sell.

To not disclose it would be totally hypocritical since it gives the impression that you are trying to gain the non-pressed premium for the book when it has actually already been worked on.