Jim Cannon Posted October 11, 2016 Share Posted October 11, 2016 I received a notice today that a copy of the classic Riviera 1963-1973 book by Chris Wolfe is available on eBay, listed by Goodwill of Central Florida. It sounds like it is not in great condition, but the price is right! If you don't have one of these, you might want to pick this one up. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Buick-Riviera-1963-1973-Classic-Motorbooks-Photofacts-by-Wolfe-Chris-/361586820233? (Not mine.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZRIV Posted October 11, 2016 Share Posted October 11, 2016 Well that didn't take long. Its sold. Interestingly there's another listing for $160 though it is new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Cannon Posted October 11, 2016 Author Share Posted October 11, 2016 1 hour ago, JZRIV said: Well that didn't take long. Its sold. Interestingly there's another listing for $160 though it is new. Oh, yea, that's why I posted this here. They are routinely listed for over $100. Now, I don't know anyone who has actually PAID that amount, but they are listed for that. I laugh every time I see one. I knew Chris Wolfe Personally for many years, and it's a nice book, but it's not worth over $100. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted October 11, 2016 Share Posted October 11, 2016 How about a personalized autographed copy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
68RIVGS Posted October 11, 2016 Share Posted October 11, 2016 . . . for $20 US Ed ??? LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seafoam65 Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 When did this book first come out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Cannon Posted October 12, 2016 Author Share Posted October 12, 2016 15 hours ago, RivNut said: How about a personalized autographed copy? I do have one of them, Ed, and I still don't think it's worth $100! I have no idea where this high price came from, but once one person used it, it seems like they all ask that much. I guess ONE copy was sold for this at some time in the past (to some crazy person on eBay?) and now all the book dealers see that and use that as their starting price. Maybe this lower price auction sale will pull the price down. A quick look on Amazon shows a publication date of 1986. They have copies for sale by various book dealers for prices that range $80 to $203. Crazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 Chris signed one for me a number of years ago before they became sort of rare. Doesn't that make it worth More? LOL? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZRIV Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 I have seen them sell a couple years ago on ebay for around $120. Apparently it depends who is looking. I tried to sell one of mine then but couldn't for that price. As Riviera's continue to get public exposure and hence newly found enthusiasts, they seek a written publication with information because there just isn't much out there in the way of a comprehensive publicized book. If they aren't aware of or want to join ROA, they don't have much option other than the Riviera Performance Portfolio 1963-1978. Chris always talked about writing an updated version of his book to make corrections and include up through 1985. I think it would have been well received. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 I used to talk with Chris weekly "HI Ed, this is Chris in Denver, how are you?" We would talk about the updated version but that was long enough ago that the 95 through 99 Rivieras were still basically new cars and not yet collectable. When did the ROA expand to include the last generation years? He had owned different Rivieras up through the 6th generation T-types but wasn't familiar with the 86 - 93 and 94 - 99 years well enough to write about them. If someone were to continue this, wouldn't they want to include all the years through '99? I know that he had things on paper. I wonder if any of this was found in what was left of his Estate? Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jframe Posted October 13, 2016 Share Posted October 13, 2016 Wish I had one of theae books, but I'm not paying scalper prices for one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lapham3 Posted October 13, 2016 Share Posted October 13, 2016 Ed-If his house was still as I'd last seen it, there would have been a huge job for somebody to go through all his stuff=the rooms were floor to ceiling of boxes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted October 13, 2016 Share Posted October 13, 2016 I know. The executor of his estate must have had some real fun going through that. Hopefully some of his local car enthusiast friends helped sort through all of that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodneybeauchamp Posted October 13, 2016 Share Posted October 13, 2016 Hi Jim, Already have a few quality Buick books on my shelf, including "The Buick, a complete history " ( Dunham & Gustin) , Automobile Quarterly volume 19 #2 (Riviera Reborn, the story since 1963) , "Seventy years of Buick" George Damman). All are great books that I have read and re-read. In your opinion is this one by Wolfe worth chasing? Does it have much more than what the others have? Would any others like to chime in as to what are " the must books and articles to have." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PWB Posted October 13, 2016 Share Posted October 13, 2016 Its more of a photo book. I wish we would make one with all background studio/design history. With all commercial ads, dealer options, etc. I'd buy that! ROA has the periodical goods. Time for an all inclusive bind? Perhaps when the 2020 Riviera model debuts.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
68RIVGS Posted October 13, 2016 Share Posted October 13, 2016 (edited) The book has some good reference information on early model Buick Riviera, up to third generation cars. There are photos and detailed info on early Riviera models, and it will render a basic education in the world of Riviera up to 3rd generation cars. It is no longer in print, and hasn't been for some time now - hence the reason for 'scalper' the prices on 'evilBay' and other sources. The fact that we had met the author, Chris Wolfe, at some of the early ROA meets was reason enough to track down a copy. I was fortunate to score a 'pristine copy' of the book on 'evilBay' for $26 + shipping a few years back. I would say it is a good source of Riviera information, if you can obtain a copy for a reasonable price. Edited October 13, 2016 by 68RIVGS (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZRIV Posted October 13, 2016 Share Posted October 13, 2016 Concur with Randy's explanation. I will ad; particularly all-new enthusiasts to the Riviera will find it helpful. I scoured over and over it for the first couple years in the late 80s and it was valuable self-study book. Back then info on Rivs was almost non-existent other than ROA sources and most members did not have email so info/fact gathering was slow and cumbersome. Today the internet has probably reduced the usefulness of the book somewhat...... but the internet is also responsible for a lot of misguided information on the Riviera. The book has a small number of errors but in general its a great resource and something many Riviera fans just want to have laying around as part of their paper collection. I always thought the cover is very attractive which probably helped sales to this day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zimm63 Posted October 13, 2016 Share Posted October 13, 2016 Who owns the copyright? Perhaps ROA could scan and add it to the website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZRIV Posted October 13, 2016 Share Posted October 13, 2016 Not home to check my book but believe I looked at this in past and Classic Motorbooks owns the copyright. Someone will correct me if wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
68RIVGS Posted October 13, 2016 Share Posted October 13, 2016 (edited) Motor Books International was the original publisher in 1986, and a revised edition, with corrections, was published in 1992. They do own the copyright, and it was published as Classic Motorbooks Photofacts, Buick Riviera 1963-1973. Edited October 13, 2016 by 68RIVGS (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lapham3 Posted October 14, 2016 Share Posted October 14, 2016 Classic Motorbooks=boy that brings back old memories. I recall that the original guy was a Brit who started out at his south Minneapolis house/garage not far from me. He later moved to a couple locations on either side of the St. Croix river on the Mn/Wisc border and it has spawned others to do similar 'transportation' publishing in the area. I remember years ago he'd mentioned that he'd bought a new Cobra back in the 60's and had still had it-an interesting guy. Dan Mpls. Mn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsgun Posted October 15, 2016 Share Posted October 15, 2016 For whatever it's worth, Ebay uses a type of photo and text recognition software. You're a seller, and post an ad for a switch for a Riv. If it identifies other ads with that same part number, it will tell you what that part is, and most importantly, how much it typically sells for. It will do that by photo too. That's great for the seller and ebay, because it gets them more money. Horrible for the buyer, because good deals are hard to find. Ebay is a seller's market, and has effectively priced themselves out of competition. It's the main reason I go to amazon to buy new things. I only use ebay to find old stuff. Even then, it's a lot of shopping to find things at realistic prices. So that's why that book is so expensive. A seller either posted it at a high "buy it now" and someone bought it, or there was a bidding war, and it went that high. From then on out, Ebay tells anyone selling that book, "this last sold for $159". One of my other hobbies, is working with desktop sized Unimat milling machines. That market is completely ruined by ebay. The prices for accessories are insane. There's several accessories for sale, that I know have been listed on and off for the past 5 years. They're hedging a bet that someone will eventually buy it for that sky high price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimera Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 I just picked up a copy for about $42 on Amazon. Classic...yeah, a new book is needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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