The Earth is the Lords back in print

[ken_sylvania]

Four of these for sale on Ebay right now - probably the first time that's been the case in years.

[JohnH]

Four of these for sale on Ebay right now - probably the first time that's been the case in years.

About to be as valuable as litter of kittens.

I bought a copy of Unser Leit because Leroy Beachy was present at Behalt and signing copies. It seemed a bit expensive, but it was cheaper than buying one from the bookstore, and why not get a signed copy? Now he's deceased, and who knows what kind of drama will go on when it inevitably goes out of print.

[seinetsodumm]

When you see those sorts of prices online those are mostly placeholder prices for something out of stock. So they don’t have to rewrite the whole listing when it comes back in stock.

Do you think that is also why people bid them up to $800, $1,000 or even $1,200 at auctions?

A valid question. I watched 4 go for between $500 & $1000 at sales or auctions in the last year or two. Here's another question - each one of those copies was aggressively bid and bought by Old Orders or pretty conservative Mennos - is it just a status symbol, or what gives that particular book such value to that demographic? As a ecclesio-historic bibliophile, I don't mind paying $100 for a truly solid history book, especially in a niche relevant to me or a particular line of study, but the conservative Anabaptist craze surrounding this particular tome is a bit perplexing at times.

A similar occurrence happens with out-of-print genealogical books. I have heard relatives speak of rare genealogy books with almost reverent hushed tones. I can't remember the exact prices, but at one point some of the older and rarer books were bringing hundreds of dollars apiece at family auctions. The books serve as the primary source of historical accounts and family connections. In a circle hesitant to look to the internet, family lore and books are the means of preserving historical information.

[JohnH]

Imagine if they found out I could just print off the entire Swiss database and Grandma Online database.

[Ernie]

Four of these for sale on Ebay right now - probably the first time that's been the case in years.

And there is now a copy available there for less than $700.

Mine sold. Two more left.

[Ken]

Imagine if they found out I could just print off the entire Swiss database and Grandma Online database.

Someone could easily scan this book and put it online too. Google does it.

[Ernie]

Imagine if they found out I could just print off the entire Swiss database and Grandma Online database.

Someone could easily scan this book and put it online too. Google does it.

That would benefit some of us, but not the majority of the people interested in the book. See bolded/underlined demographics below. And there are various others of us that prefer sitting down with a book and less screen time.

So just for fun, let's do some estimates on how many people might purchase the new edition.

Here are my guestimates:

700 - Old Order Mennonites (horse)
300 - Old Order Mennonites (car)
225 - Ultra-Conservative Mennonites
100 - Intermediate-Conservative Mennonites
50 - Moderate Conservative Mennonites
20 - Progressive Conservative Mennonites
50 - Other Plain Anabaptists
25 - Theologically Conservative Evangelical Anabaptists - Rosedale, parts of LMC and Brethren in Christ.
75 - Neo-evangelical Anabaptists - The majority of LMC and Brethren in Christ, a few exiting MC USA congregations.
30 - Conservative mainline - Large chunk of MC USA and COB.
30 - Moderate mainline - Large chunk of MC USA and COB.
4 - Progressive mainline - Some percentage of MC USA and COB.

100 - Non-Anabaptist individuals

70 - Anabaptist Libraries/Churches/Schools
50 - Other Christian Libraries

[Ken]

Imagine if they found out I could just print off the entire Swiss database and Grandma Online database.

Someone could easily scan this book and put it online too. Google does it.

That would benefit some of us, but not the majority of the people interested in the book. See bolded/underlined demographics below. And there are various others of us that prefer sitting down with a book and less screen time.

So just for fun, let's do some estimates on how many people might purchase the new edition.

Here are my guestimates:

700 - Old Order Mennonites (horse)
300 - Old Order Mennonites (car)
225 - Ultra-Conservative Mennonites
100 - Intermediate-Conservative Mennonites
50 - Moderate Conservative Mennonites
20 - Progressive Conservative Mennonites
50 - Other Plain Anabaptists
25 - Theologically Conservative Evangelical Anabaptists - Rosedale, parts of LMC and Brethren in Christ.
75 - Neo-evangelical Anabaptists - The majority of LMC and Brethren in Christ, a few exiting MC USA congregations.
30 - Conservative mainline - Large chunk of MC USA and COB.
30 - Moderate mainline - Large chunk of MC USA and COB.
4 - Progressive mainline - Some percentage of MC USA and COB.

100 - Non-Anabaptist individuals

70 - Anabaptist Libraries/Churches/Schools
50 - Other Christian Libraries

Someone could run a scanned version through an OCR engine and “self-publish” it on Amazon for pennies on the dollar and sell hard copies or paperback copies to people who would rather spend $25 than $700.

Probably not worth the bother for something this niche. But in this day and age, stealing copyrighted work is ridiculously easy.

[JohnH]

Someone could easily scan this book and put it online too. Google does it.

That would benefit some of us, but not the majority of the people interested in the book. See bolded/underlined demographics below. And there are various others of us that prefer sitting down with a book and less screen time.

So just for fun, let's do some estimates on how many people might purchase the new edition.

Here are my guestimates:

700 - Old Order Mennonites (horse)
300 - Old Order Mennonites (car)
225 - Ultra-Conservative Mennonites
100 - Intermediate-Conservative Mennonites
50 - Moderate Conservative Mennonites
20 - Progressive Conservative Mennonites
50 - Other Plain Anabaptists
25 - Theologically Conservative Evangelical Anabaptists - Rosedale, parts of LMC and Brethren in Christ.
75 - Neo-evangelical Anabaptists - The majority of LMC and Brethren in Christ, a few exiting MC USA congregations.
30 - Conservative mainline - Large chunk of MC USA and COB.
30 - Moderate mainline - Large chunk of MC USA and COB.
4 - Progressive mainline - Some percentage of MC USA and COB.

100 - Non-Anabaptist individuals

70 - Anabaptist Libraries/Churches/Schools
50 - Other Christian Libraries

Someone could run a scanned version through an OCR engine and “self-publish” it on Amazon for pennies on the dollar and sell hard copies or paperback copies to people who would rather spend $25 than $700.

Probably not worth the bother for something this niche. But in this day and age, stealing copyrighted work is ridiculously easy.

You’re underestimating the cost of printing a tome this weighty

[Ernie]

Someone could run a scanned version through an OCR engine and “self-publish” it on Amazon for pennies on the dollar and sell hard copies or paperback copies to people who would rather spend $25 than $700.

Probably not worth the bother for something this niche. But in this day and age, stealing copyrighted work is ridiculously easy.

The whole point of this thread is that you can now buy a copy for $105. And most Plain Anabaptists are not going to want to buy one of these books if it was stolen copyright.