The trades involved two pricey books that the dealer had customers for - that's why it was so easy - one a pristine (but not as pristine as my own copy, which is also signed) of a rare Ray Bradbury book, one of his first, and one almost impossible to find with a non-faded spine (both my copy and the trade had no fade at all - very unusual) - Bradbury, which I got at the right time, has jumped up in value about three hundred percent since his passing. The other was my extra copy of the original French paperback (the way it first came out) of Vertigo (Des Entres les mortes) - a book almost impossible to find. I found two several years ago that were actually reasonably priced - both were on the ABE and just sitting there like so much fish because, I think, both dealers listed it under the French title (they were French dealers) and the word "Vertigo" didn't appear in their listing. Neither copy was what you'd call pristine, but both were very good. I kept one for the collection and have had the other just sitting in the closet. Then I saw a listing for it, a copy in about the same condition for so much money it made my head spin. This dealer had a Hitch collector and he was desperate for it and that completed the trade. I think he's actually getting enough for that to cover his entire cost of what he paid for Shane, so the rest is gravy for him. As for me, if you think about what I paid for the two trades, I got Shane REALLY cheap, which is amazing given what certain dealers are charging for it.
