Steve Ginter books; Original v Re-prints.

[500 Fan]

Hi folks. I thought this might be a good place to make this query.

I recently purchased a couple of books from the Steve Ginter Naval Fighter series. One on Convair Tradewind and the other on the Convair Charger. Both books are packed full of details on these rather rare birds. However, I did notice a stark contrast in the quality between the two books. One is clearly a (poor) photo-copy of the original (Tradewind) with a glossy colour cover while the Charger book is printed on quality paper with great clarity in the pictures and drawings. I have since read on a review of one of the Ginter books on Amazon that Amazon themselves make these "copied" versions of the out-of-production originals and charge full-price for them. Ebay, Amazon and Alibris appear to be the best sources for these books.

My question is; How do you know which version of a book you are buying? How do you make sure you are purchasing an original volume and not a book that has been run through the copier at the local 7-Eleven? Is it possible to tell from the format or layout of the cover? Or from the ISBN number?

These are nice books of rare types but if many of them are of the same quality as the Tradewind copy that I recently received, it is hard to justify the outlay. Thanks for any assistance anyone can offer with this query.

500 Fan.

 

[aim9xray]

You might want to contact Steve Ginter directly via his website where he does direct sales. One advantage is that by dealing direct, you will know what you are getting, Amazon is not taking a cut, and you are directly supporting the publication of new books.

http://www.ginterbooks.com/

 

[500 Fan]

Thanks 9, I will order direct for the volumes of interest that he has available. Sadly, some, like the Martin Mars book, are out-of-print and I'll have to take the gamble of ordering unseen from one of the online book stores or Ebay. As you say, it will be good to send the money direct to Steve to ensure future books. Thanks.

500 Fan.

 

[gatoraptor]

I think that if you buy a used copy from one of Amazon's vendors, you will probably get the original version.

Amazon is doing this with some other books as well, such as the Warbird Tech series from Specialty Press, where photos that were color in the original release are now black-&-white.

 

[XP67_Moonbat]

Yeah, my copy of the XF-12 Rainbow book from Amazon is a print-on-demand version. No complaints except for the color inserts being black and white. Still readable.

 

[Tailspin Turtle]

If a title is no longer on ginterbooks.com, then it is out of print, meaning Steve has no stock left, e.g. F-111B (for it, you can contact me). He recommends that you check with the seller whether his/her offer is a used original or a Print-on-Demand book (POD).

 

[GeorgeA]

I tend to order books through Amazon because my family tends to give me gift cards for Christmas, etc. I have at least twenty Ginter titles. I've never noticed if any are POD to be honest, but then again I've never looked that closely.

 

[500 Fan]

Thanks for all the info on Steve Ginters' books and why there is a variance in quality between the original issues of each volume and the Print-on-Demand copies. I just wish the vendors, be they on Alibris, Ebay or elsewhere, would clearly state whether the book they are selling is an original print or a Print-on-Demand copy. Charging the same price for both is taking the p1ss just a little but that is purely down to the ethics of each individual vendor and perhaps some vendors aren't aware of the difference between the two. At least I know what to look out for in the future.

Will still chase down the books of all those weird and wonderful rare types featured by Steve and his fellow writers that are of interest. Currently reading the excellent Convair Charger book (an original ).

500 Fan.

 

[martinbayer]

I'd recommend to browse through the listings at bookfinder under http://www.bookfinder.com/search/?author=ginter&title=&lang=en&isbn=&new_used=&destination=us&currency=USD&mode=basic&st=sr&ac=qr.

Martin