My advice is not to feel guilty about. If it was a woodgrain OD&D set or any one of a dozen rares, yeh I would say ethically you need to sit down with the guy and explain what he is giving up.

But even a trunkful of 1e will be worth only low hundreds at best and it will take a lot of labor to realize that. My advice is not to worry about if there are any truly valuable item in the collection , separate them out and talk about those. Also post pic or a list and I and I am sure others here will help point out the good stuff.

Quote from: Krimson;937291Take it. Buy the fellow a case of beer and a 26er of something nice, and then donate the books to a gaming group?

Or... sell the stuff, make sure you post here first, and then give the fellow 50% of the profit.

This.  Probably the best thing you can do.  YOU know the value of it, and if you want to do good by him, but won't use it, sell it and make sure he gets some of the income.

Quote from: Crüesader;937286So, long story short- some guy I know has a shitload of old 1e D&D stuff.  I never even knew they put this stuff in binders.  But he's got multiple books- and by 'multiple', I mean 'an entire tough-box full'.  

He basically inherited it from his brother, who passed away this year.  The guy wasn't really good about taking care of himself- but the books are in pretty good condition.  Discolored pages, but that's to be expected with something this old.  I didn't even know some of this stuff existed, either.  There's also some maps and boards and stuff in the box, and even some very old pewter minis that look like they got painted with a shotgun.  I called dibs on this old bulldog-looking Space Marine Terminator in the box, though.

So, now we have the issue.  This dude has basically planted this box at my feet and said "You can have it".  Well, that's cool and all but I'm not a complete bastard.  I didn't know this guy who owned it.  I wouldn't get much use out of this stuff.  I told him to hold on to it, and I'd pick it up later.

I don't know what this stuff is worth.  I just know it's worth more than a high-five, and I don't feel right about taking it.

What would be the best way to appraise this?  Should I just take it?  I would sell it, and that would be a dick move.  But I have no use for it.

What would YOU do?

Search recent sales on Ebay and tell the dude.  But like others have said, we're talking a few hundred tops.

Quote from: Crüesader;937286So, long story short- some guy I know has a shitload of old 1e D&D stuff.  I never even knew they put this stuff in binders.  But he's got multiple books- and by 'multiple', I mean 'an entire tough-box full'.  

He basically inherited it from his brother, who passed away this year.  The guy wasn't really good about taking care of himself- but the books are in pretty good condition.  Discolored pages, but that's to be expected with something this old.  I didn't even know some of this stuff existed, either.  There's also some maps and boards and stuff in the box, and even some very old pewter minis that look like they got painted with a shotgun.  I called dibs on this old bulldog-looking Space Marine Terminator in the box, though.

So, now we have the issue.  This dude has basically planted this box at my feet and said "You can have it".  Well, that's cool and all but I'm not a complete bastard.  I didn't know this guy who owned it.  I wouldn't get much use out of this stuff.  I told him to hold on to it, and I'd pick it up later.

I don't know what this stuff is worth.  I just know it's worth more than a high-five, and I don't feel right about taking it.

What would be the best way to appraise this?  Should I just take it?  I would sell it, and that would be a dick move.  But I have no use for it.

What would YOU do?

Take it, sell it, split it 50-50 with the guy. Everyone wins.

Quote from: Crüesader;937348I distinctly remember seeing at least 3 bindered products, and I know for sure one was a Monster Manual.  A lot of the other stuff was paperback and may be missing covers.  I don't think any of this is high-dollar, but someone's gotta want it.

Unless he actually rebound coverless books into binders, it's probably the 2e Monstrous Manual. You should definitely take some pictures so the items can be identified and appraised.

Let them know it might be worth something. If they're interested - tell them you'll split the difference on anything you don't keep and decide to sell. They are *offering* it to you after all. If they show interest - then it's time to negotiate things, because now it's all in good-faith.

I had a similar situation when my next-door neighbor had a garage sale and I went over to say hi and ask how things were going. She had a bunch of books for sale - all listed for 25-cents.

Among the pile, the hardcovers still had their jackets, two first-edition copies of Dune, one copy of T.E. Lawrence's 'Seven Pillars of Wisdom' with a macked-up jacket but in damn near perfect condition.

I freaked out a bit and told her what they were possibly worth. She didn't care, they were her husbands and just lying around the house in boxes. So obviously my 75-cent purchase felt *really* good. (subsequently - I gave the Seven Pillars book and original movie soundtrack on vinyl to a mentor of mine - who turned me on to T.E. Lawrence years earlier. Never seen him cry until that moment. I kept the Dune copies).

So the decision we've reached- he's going to let me take it to the FLGS and and offer it like a sort of 'auction' and after the weekend give away anything that people just aren't willing to buy.  Objective- get enough for us to grab a plate at the steakhouse.  I'm down for some Texas Land & Cattle.