Kokomo Toys recently sold off a large Tékumel collection on eBay, which gave an opportunity to assess the market for Tékumel collectibles. Reviewing the data, it seems some prices for classic items have climbed down slightly from the heights achieved last year as Covid hit. However, some rare items are still bid up to extraordinary levels. The market does still go bonkers but selectively so.

Structure of the Market

People sell Tékumel items in various ways and sometimes poking around in obscure areas of the Internet can be a way to find deals. However, by far the biggest marketplace for Tékumel collectibles is eBay. Potential buyers should approach eBay cautiously in general, but especially for Tékumel items. I’d divide the market into five categories:

The Absurd. Some sellers ask outlandish prices. The best of many examples is the seller who for the past year or two has asked $1,195 for copies of the Imperial Military Journal. The Imperial Military Journal is a rare item (sometimes unscrupulously photocopied and sold as original), but when a copy actually changes hands on eBay it goes for $50-$120 not over $1,000. I am not sure why a seller would ask such an absurd price rather than just sell the item; perhaps there’s something about the structure of eBay that I don’t understand. In some cases, sellers also seem to confuse different versions; e.g. they try to sell a Tékumel Foundation Empire of the Petal Throne booklet for roughly the price of the rarer TSR  box set. 

The Commonplace.  There are a few items that are always on eBay, not rare, and go for relatively modest prices.  A couple sellers seem to be (slowly) dumping inventory in the face of a saturated market where nearly everyone who wants the item already has it.  The various Gardásiyal/Adventures on Tékumel booklets fall into this category.

Classic Tékumel Items.There are always a few copies of Empire of the Petal Throne on eBay. War of Wizards you can find with patience. Ditto the Tekumel Journal and some other items too.  These items are still sought after and prices have increased over time. For example, in 2015 I estimated the market price of a copy of TSR’s Empire of the Petal Throne at $100-$215. In 2021, I’d say that copies range from $220-$400. A healthy increase to be sure, but not the stratospheric prices seen for the truly rare items.

Print on Demand Items.  For example, much of the Bethorm stuff is resold on eBay.  

The Truly Rare.Truly rare items command high prices and I am often surprised at how much people will pay for obscure items. For example, unopened single packs of Old Guard miniatures recently sold for $50.00 each.  Copies of the old “Tomb Complex of Nereshanbo” have sold for over $100.  The later volumes of the Armies of Tekumel series and things like the original Richfield Printing language books also fall in this category.

A Thin Market

Over the years,  I have noticed that rare items are often intensely but thinly bid upon.  Sometimes it is just two bidders who send the price sky-high.  Occasionally, I am one of those bidders and when I don’t bid a short time later on an identical or similar item, it will be sold for a much lower price.  People do get good deals when this happens but it’s hard to predict when the usual suspects won’t be paying attention.

A Trick to Know

I’ll share with you one trick: often sellers don’t know what they have.  It always pays to look through the listings closely and see if there is anything “extra” included with the sale.  I have seen a copy of the Empire of the Petal Throne with the valuable original “Book of Ebon Bindings” included in the photos but not mentioned in the description.  The seller apparently thought this was included with the Empire of the Petal Throne set.  I didn’t buy that one, but someone did get a deal, I noticed.   

Peak Tekumel

Nothing goes up forever, and Tékumel will not be an exception. A friend speculates that we are now actually at “Peak Tékumel” as those of us who originally became acquainted with Tékumel as teens and preteens, now are reaching our prime incomes. I’d also say the slow/nonexistent pace of new Tékumel publications since the death of Barker makes wider interest in our hobby hard to sustain.

If You Just Want to Play Tékumel …

Collector’s items are one thing.  However, if you just want to play Tékumel, many inexpensive resources are available. I sometimes read complaints that Tékumel is unplayable because the materials are inaccessible. This is nonsense. Go to DriveThruRPG and search for Tékumel and you’ll find PDFs of all you need to play Tékumel. Interested in a more modern RPG treatment?  Check out Jeff Dee’s Bethorm. Interested in Tékumel miniatures? Go to Howard Fielding’s Tékumel Club.  He sometimes has to pause while restocking but he offers superbly modeled miniatures at very reasonable prices. Want to just read about Tékumel?  Check out the first two novels, which have been republished and are sold on Amazon. There’s a world of Tékumel out there if you don’t insist on having the originals and just want to get down to it.  

I am always in the Market and Open to Trades …

Just a reminder that I am always in the market for rare items and am open to trades from my large collection. The email forwarding from this website can be shaky so please be patient if you contact me and I am slow to respond.