Signed Barack Obama Book: Audacity of Hope

I got a signed Barack Obama book ... first edition ... The Audacity of Hope nearly two years ago.

 This was at the 2006 Texas Book Festival held each November in Austin. Since Mr. Obama is now the Democratic candidate for President, I thought I'd see how much the book, Audacity of Hope had appreciated in price.  
  
Mr. Obama must have signed several hundred or maybe a thousand or more books after he gave a speech in the capitol building. He was there signing for at least an hour and a half. I think the first printing for the book was at least a million.

So I expected a signed Barack Obama book might be $50-100 or so before I looked it up on ABE.com. I also thought there would be dozens or hundreds of copies for sale.

When I looked up the prices for a first signed printing of his book (by the way, this is his second book) I was shocked to see only 10 listed!

 I was happy to see that the prices ranged from $750 to $2500!

Where are all the other signed first editions?  I know that thousands have been signed.  Well, I thought ... maybe they are on Ebay. So I went to Ebay and found a signed Barack Obama book that was being bid on.  I clicked the "Watch this item" button and came back a few days when it had ended.  The seller got the book in New Hampshire where Mr. Obama did a signing.  

The winning bid was $202.50 on June 26th.  I thought that was very reasonable and that I might have even bid on it myself. But a month later I went back and looked at the page again and noticed that the seller did not include a picture of the copyright page showing the number line.

 I looked at other auctions of signed copies of supposedly first edition books and the "Buy it Now" prices were $200-300.  

Here is what is happening:   These books are not true first editions. The publisher, Crown has a number line that  has a"1" in it if it is a true first edition/first printing.  They also have the words "First Edition" under the number line. Crown apparently does not take the words "First Edition" off for 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc. editions/printings.

 Non book collectors are selling these as first editions not knowing any better since it does say "First Edition" on the copyright page.  This is confusing to many people.

So remember ... when bidding on Ebay look for the number line in a picture ... or e-mail the seller and ask about a "1" in the number line.  

These later printings are signed, though, by a possible future President.  They may be collectible from this standpoint.

A signed true first edition of the book is expensive and likely will go up in price if Mr.Obama wins in November.  This is why we collect books.

I only wish now I had gotten two like Jim did.

Well, Mr. Obama is now the president-elect and as you could have expected ... the price of his book, The Audacity of Hope has jumped considerably.

A few days after the election, Jim listed one of his first edition/first printing copies at $2,600 on ABE.com (where he lists about 2,000 books - look under Jim Bowling, Bookseller).

On the ABE website they say one signed Barack Obama book has been sold for $3,500.The current asking prices of first printings are $2,200 to $4,000.

You'll want to be very careful before buying a signed copy. A true first edition will have a number line with a "1" in it and a $25 price on the front flap.

Later printings with Mr. Obama's signature are now listed from $1,000 to $2,500.

So e-mail the seller before buying and the quiz her/him about the number line.

First printings without a signature are priced at $500 on ABE.com.

Prices on EBay appear to be slightly lower than on ABE.com but you would need to be even more careful before bidding.

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