Mammillaria John Philbeam bargain or not?

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Tiggy
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Mammillaria John Philbeam bargain or not?

Post by Tiggy »

I would like some advice as to whether it would be a good idea to buy a second hand book. The one that I have seen is Mammillaria - A Collectors Guide by John Philbeam. The dates of the publications are 1981-1985. I am a bit concerned if they are too out of date or would it still be a worth while investment with regard to help in identification care etc. The prices that I have found are very good ranging from approx. 20euro.

Susi
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BobbyZ
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Re: Mammillaria John Philbeam bargain or not?

Post by BobbyZ »

Tiggy: I buy all my books used online from Amazon. I have got some great bargins. I usually pay anywhere from less than a dollar to around 10 US or Canadian dollars. I bought the complete Britton and Rosr Cactaceae in 2 volumes for 18.00 USD. I was very pleased to get the Cactus Encyvlopedia by the Preson;Marham brothers for 4.00 CAD in excellent shape and 6.00 shipping from the UK. Take a chance sometimes the older books are great, you can always go on the mammillaria net for up to date info. I have never seen Philbeam book at a good price online. Bobby Z
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Tiggy
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Re: Mammillaria John Philbeam bargain or not?

Post by Tiggy »

Ok Bobby, you've just convinced me. Tomorrow night the order will be in. Thank you

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DaveW
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Re: Mammillaria John Philbeam bargain or not?

Post by DaveW »

His best one is in the Cactus File Handbook series "Mammillaria" by John Pilbeam published in 1999 (now out of print). I have not seen the earlier one you mention so cannot comment on it.

http://www.cactus-mall.com/bookshop/mammillaria.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I sometimes wonder where some specialist second-hand booksellers get their prices from for out of print books though. The price range can be fantastic if you Google the title. I once saw a UK specialist botanical booksellers advert listing a second-hand hand copy of a cactus book for 50% more than it was still available new from the publishers! I think some just think of a number and double it!

Don't forget to also go around your non specialist second-hand bookshops in your town since you can often pick up cheap second-hand cactus and succulent books, or those on any other subjects you are interested in. Also some of the Garden Centres or discount clearance booksellers in the UK often get end of run books on our subject to sell off at well below their original published price. I don't know if you have similar discount clearance book shops in other countries? Also EBAY is often a good source of clearance books if you put in "Cactus & Succulent Books".
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BobbyZ
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Re: Mammillaria John Philbeam bargain or not?

Post by BobbyZ »

I love amazon because many non for profit organizations sell on Amazon, Goodwill of Southern Florida being one that I bought several cactus books from. Being here in Canada for the summer I have been exposed to many good used English books, even in Thrift shops. My neighbor says I have a whole box full of cactus books I have recently ordered, many hours of readind. I believe theJohn Philbeam book Tiggy was chatting about cost 50 US used.
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