The Taunton Press of Newtown, Connecticut has a history of publishing high-quality special interest magazines. Most are targeted at serious hobbyists of various genres. Each of their magazines contain well written, often detailed, articles making them a nearly sure-sell when listed correctly on eBay.
Most Taunton Press magazines are still being published and you will probably find them at garage sales, book sales, flea markets, or in thrift shops. When you find them, you will often have the opportunity to buy years, or several years, worth of issues at one time.
Included here are a list of Taunton Press magazines along with information on each magazine to help you buy them and sell them.
Fine Woodworking Magazine
The first issue of Fine Woodworking was the Winter issue published in 1975 and it continues to be published today. Initially published quarterly, it evolved into a monthly and then back into a bi-monthly publication. As of the December 2007 issue, a total of 194 different issues have been published.
Issues Nr. 1 through Nr. 114 are now out of print. Issues Nr. 115 through 194 are still mostly available through Taunton’s web site at a price of $7.99 per issue. This has some affect on the prices complete or lengthy runs will bring on eBay.
Complete, and near complete, runs of the first 100 to 150 issues regularly bring final bids $250 to $350 when offered on eBay. Runs of roughly the first fifty issues regularly bring final bids of $150 to $200. Good-sized runs of later issues will generally bring final bids amounting to approx. $1.50 to $2.00 per magazine.
Sellers frequently sell copies of the first four to six issues individually. If you choose to market them in this manner you can expect final prices somewhere in the following ranges:
No. 1 - $25 to $35
No. 2 - $20 to $25
No. 3 - $20 to $25
No. 4 - $20 to $25
No. 5 - $15 to $20
No. 6 - $15 to $20
Once you get past issue No. 6 the values of individual issues falls pretty quickly and in nearly all cases you will see better returns by selling them in lots rather than individually.
Fine Homebuilding Magazine
The first issue of Fine Homebuilding was the March issue published in 1981 and it continues to be published today. As of the 4/5/2006 issue, a total of 191 different issues have been published.
Issues Nr. 1 through Nr. 49 are now out of print. Most issues from Nr. 50 through 191 are still available through Taunton’s web site at a price of $7.99 per issue. This has some affect on the prices complete or lengthy runs will bring on eBay.
Complete runs of all 191 issues will normally sell for between $150 and $225 on eBay. Good-sized partial runs of the first 75 to 100 issues should bring you somewhere in the neighborhood of $100 to $150.
Individual issues of the first twelve issues will normally sell without any problem bringing prices in the range of $15 to $20 for issues No. 1 to 3 and in the $10 range for issues No. 4 through 12. Lengthy runs or mixed lots of later years will normally bring prices amounting to $2 to $3 per magazine
NOTE: Occasionally Taunton also published Fine Homebuilding supplements titled “Fine Homebuilding Homes”. These were also in the magazine format and they are all worth picking up when you find them at prices of $1 or under. As usual, earlier years will bring the highest prices, but any of these regularly sell in the $10 range on eBay.
Threads Magazine
The first issue of Threads was the October/November issue published in 1985 and it continues to be published today. Published every other month, as of the October/November 2007 issue, a total of 133 different issues have been published.
Issues Nr. 1 through Nr. 79 are now out of print. Issues Nr. 80 through 133 are still available through Taunton’s web site at a price of $6.99 per issue. This has some affect on the prices complete or lengthy runs will bring on eBay.
Issues Nr. 8 and Nr. 14 are probably the most sought after individual issues due to knitting articles by Alice Starmore. (Alice Starmore is a big name in knitting circles and if you should come across any knitting books or pattern books written by her – grab them. They’ll treat you well on eBay.)
Complete runs will normally bring somewhere between $175 and $250 on eBay – sometimes higher. While Threads will normally bring you more money if sold in lots or runs, there are a few issues that sell fairly well on their own.
No. 1 - $5 to $10 range
No. 2 - $5 to $10 range
No. 8 - $5 to $10 range
No. 14 - $25 to $40 range
You can generally figure that a good-sized run of sequential issues or a mixed lot will sell for roughly $2 to $4 per magazine.
Fine Cooking Magazine
The first issue of Fine Cooking was the February/March issue published in 1994 and it continues to be published today. As of the December 2007 issue, a total of 89 different issues have been published.
Issues Nr. 1 through Nr. 26 are now out of print. Issues Nr. 27 through 89 are still available through Taunton’s web site at a price of $6.95 per issue. This has some affect on the prices complete or lengthy runs will bring on eBay.
Complete runs or lengthy runs including the first 15 issues are seldom seen on eBay, but when they do they often bring prices in the $300 to $500 range. Although I have no actual information to actually confirm this, I don’t believe this magazine was that popular when it first began publication. Because of this, the market for many of the earlier individual issues is quite strong. Probably because a lot of people are trying to fill out sets.
Issues No. 1 through 10 usually easily bring $10 to $15 when offered individually and often get into the $20 to $40 range for the earlier issues. Lots made up of all the issues from a single year will normally bring between $30 and $50 for years as late as 2000 and 2001.
Individual issues prior to 2002 are worth picking up when you find them also. They won’t all sell by themselves, but if you find them by themselves and list them on eBay there’s a good chance they’ll bring $5 to $10.
Note: Taunton also offered bound annual editions of this magazine (the only one they’ve done this with that I am aware of). These bound issues nearly always sell when offered on eBay. Final prices vary with earlier years normally bringing more, but any of these bound annuals are worth picking up for $1 or $2 if you come across them.
Fine Gardening Magazine
The first issue of Fine Gardening was the May/June 1988 issue and it continues to be published today. As of the November/December issue, a total of 118 different issues have been published.
Issues Nr. 1 through Nr. 34 are now out of print. Issues Nr. 35 through 118 are still mostly available through Taunton’s web site at a price of $6.99 per issue.
There seems to be next to no interest in this magazine on eBay. Even when lengthy runs of the early issues appear the generate little if any interest. I would not recommend you buy any of these.
Home Furniture Magazine
The first issue of Home Furniture was the Winter issue published in 1994. Publication ceased with the January issue in 1998. A total of 14 issues were published before publication ceased.
To the best of my knowledge back issues are all out-of-print. Issue No. 14 is the hardest to find due to the fact that it was only sent to subscribers and never made it to the newsstands.
Complete runs of all fourteen issues will normally sell in the $100 to $150 range when offered on eBay. Runs of the first thirteen issues will often bring similar prices.
Individual issues or small mixed lots will normally sell for roughly $4 to $5 per issue. I’ve never seen an individual copy of issue No. 14 offered on eBay, but I would guess one would likely bring somewhere between $10 and $25 if offered.
The Inspired House Magazine
The first issue of Inspired House was the November/December issue published in 2003. Publication of this magazine terminated with the March/April issue of 2003. A total of 14 issues were published. All fourteen issues are still available through Taunton’s web site at a price of $6.99 per issue.
At the present time there is very little current activity or interest in this magazine on eBay, but a few early issues sometimes change hands at BIN prices in the $4 to $5 range.
If the opportunity presents itself to pick up a full set of all fourteen issues, you may want to grab them and see what happens, but I wouldn’t recommend spending much more than $10 for the entire run. Individual issues aren’t worth handling at this time.
Final Thoughts On Taunton Press Publications
Since most of the magazine Taunton Press published are currently still being published you are most likely to find them at garage or yard sales. Occasionally a group of them will show up in thrift shops or at a flea market, but this isn’t that common, so garage sales are still the best place to find them.
When you do find them it’s likely you will find a good-sized run of them at a time and I recommend you buy them all and not just attempt to cherry-pick the earlier issues. It’s also quite likely that someone who’s selling a bunch of one of these magazines may also have one or more of the other ones also because people tend to be fanatical about this publisher.
When you buy a lengthy run of any Taunton magazines that includes the first issues it may seem tempting to pull out the early issues and sell them individually, but I don’t recommend that. My experience has shown, that in the long run, you will maximize profits by selling these in runs and lots and not individually (see the pricing comments for Fine Cooking for the only possible exception to this).
When you find these at garage sales the seller will often have a box or more of them and have them price at so much per magazine. No matter what the price is, always try to make a reduced offer for all they have. I’ve often found a group of a hundred or more of these at garage sales priced at $1 a magazine and been able to buy them for $.10 to $.25 each by simply making an offer for the all of them. If nothing else, doing this will normally reduce what you pay considerably.
Taunton Press also publishes books, and over the years they have published several books under the auspices of Fine Homebuilding and Fine Woodworking that were targeted toward specific woodworking techniques or woodworking tools. These are all sought after by woodworking hobbyists and are well worth picking up when you find them for $1 to $2 each. The prices you get for them will depend on the subject and when the book was published but you will make money from them.
Taunton Press also publishes hardcover books that are targeted for the do-it-yourself home decorator and remodeler. Nearly all of these will sell quickly on Amazon for anywhere from $10 to $30 each, again, depending on the subject, so they are worth picking up for a dollar or two also.
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