why do they put oil in batter for batter fried foods? - Page 2

Quote:

Originally Posted by petalsandcoco 

Nadeest,

 

The shame is that its being sold "used" at Amazon for  $ 832 and new is half price.....

 

Petals.

Hi Petals! If you search Amazon for "cookbooks", then sort your search result by price, highest to lowest, to see the highest prices cookbooks, you'll see that used cookbooks sellers are quite creative in their pricing. I believe some may think that one day maybe, someone will be dumb enough to fork out what they're asking.

Here's the craziest one, a $1,000,000.00 "Stalin-era" cookbook: http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B003R4UKH4/ref=dp_olp_collectible?ie=UTF8&qid=1323795700&sr=1-1&condition=collectible

FF,

Obscene !!! That book was first published in 1955  how could they ? And according to the review, it is not even in good shape. My friend and I are trying to get a book, its Australian, and it is about cake decorating. The reason why I would like the book is because it has all the techniques for Royal icing ( layers of mounting techniques  ). The book is over 450.00. I am just so disappointed.

The people that are selling those books for outrageous prices should recongnize the fact that no one will buy at those prices, therefore the contents will never be shared, which to me is a shame.

Petals.

recongnize the fact that no one will buy at those prices

You're a great cook, Darlin', and I love you dearly. But you don't know nuthin' bout the book collecting market. Not if you believe that.

It's important to understand that there are users and there are collectors and that these are two different populations. Doesn't only apply to books; go look at used cast iron for another example. Users look for value. Collectors have other criteria, ranging from "I need it" to "What a great investment."

And therein lies the problem. You're looking for a book to use, so $400, or $600, or a $k-note seem exhorbitent. But for a collector, maybe those prices represent a bargain. Or, to use the cast iron example again: I'd love to have some Grizwald, it ranks among the best cast iron cookware ever made. But anyone who think's I'd pay more than a hundred bucks for an 8-inch skillet is crazy. But, on the other hand, to a collector a hundred dollars for that skillit is a steal.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KYHeirloomer 

recongnize the fact that no one will buy at those prices

 

You're a great cook, Darlin', and I love you dearly. But you don't know nuthin' bout the book collecting market. Not if you believe that.

KYH, are you saying you believe that someone out there will fork out $1,000,000.00 for that book? 

I'm saying somebody might.

At that level, however, it's usually an auction or specialized rare book dealer that gets the custom.

Understand that I'm not the slightest bit familiar with that book; how rare it is, how in demand, how it fits in the collector market. But I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if somebody forked over that kind of money.

Note that the book is listed as a first edition collectible. One of the things that means is that there are all sorts of collecter categories that might have interest in it. Just some of them would include:

1. People who collect rare cookbooks

2. People who collect first editions (and break that down into as many sub-categories as you wish)

3. People who collect Stalinist memorabelia

4. People who collect Russian publications

etc., etc., etc.

The only thing that surprises me is that the book is listed as an open offering, as though it's just another used book. Normally, dealers who handle that sort of thing have lists of potential customers, and it goes out as a private offering.

Although not applicable in this case, another factor effecting book prices is initial printing. Sometimes there is a book published of great importance to the field, but which is incredibly expensive to produce while having a limited sales potential. Many scientific reference books fall in that category. I have one like that, for instance, called Evolution of Crop Plants that was issued at $450. I haven't checked, but it wouldn't surprise me in the least to find that it's selling used for two or more times that.

French Fries,

   It wouldn't surprise me in the least, for a collector of rare books to do so.  If I had the funds and space to do so, I'd be collecting all of Andre Norton's books, both in paperback and hardcover, and would be willing to pay a goodly amount of money for the right copies that I would need to complete my collection.

   For example, a signed copy of a book that was first published in 1961, by an author that I know of is being advertised for sale at $304.  I purchased my copy of that book sometime during 1984 or later, since that was the 20th edition of that book at the grand price of $5.95 brand spanking new.

   The world of collectors can be a crazy world indeed, to people that are not collectors.  How much, do you think, would a chef that happened to have struck it rich, be willing to pay for a authenticated copy of "Banchetti", "Opera", or one of Escoffier's original books?  It would not surprise me in the least to see them sell for $1mil+ .