Official title: Collectible Stocks and Bonds from North American Railroads: guide with prices, third edition

This edition is NOT YET AVAILABLE

NO PUBLISHING DATE IS SET

ISBN: 0-9746485-?-?

Planned cover price: $40 to $45

I plan this edition to be available from major U.S. and European stock and bond dealers.

Bookseller and dealer discounts will be available.

To be published by:
TCox & Associates, Inc.
9989 W. 60th Ave, Suite 250
Arvada CO, 80004
e-mail: tcox@coxrail.com

Planned pages: about 600-650 pages
Format: 8½ x 11 inches, 1.2 inches thick
Planned shipping weight: 3.4 pounds
Binding: undecided; either perfect (flat spine) or coil
Cover: paper
Barcode: coded with ISBN only (no embedded price)
Case quantities: approximately 6 copies per box

PUBLISHING SCHEDULE

I have not set a publishing date for the third edition. I will set a publishing date after three conditions are met.

First, I must see compelling evidence that the global economy has improved over its 2009 condition. Second, I must see compelling evidence that collectibles dealers are willing to spend money on advertising. Third, I must see evidence of sales improvement in collectible stocks and bonds.

I am not rich, so I must make sensible efforts to decrease my monetary risk. Rightly or wrongly, I feel that if collectors aren't buying certificates, they aren't buying books.

The earliest possible date for the third edition will be March to August, 2010. If the economy and collectible sales have not improved sufficiently by then, the next publishing window will be March to August, 2011. My experience suggests I avoid shipping books in the three months prior to Christmas (unpredictable delivery via media mail) and in the coldest, snowiest months of the year (damage and losses).

Sales in Europe are crucial, so book size - particularly thickness - is crucial. The third edition will have several thousand more certificate listings, so I have already streamlined certificate listings. In order to cram more listings and more pages into the same amount of space, paper weight will need to be lighter than the previous edition. I suspect paper weight will be similar to that used by Scott Publishing in its Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps and Covers. I plan for photographs to occupy roughly the same percentage of the book as the second edition.

I have not yet decided whether to include a CD or DVD with high-resolution images.

I truly despise dealing with advertising. It is a huge hassle. However, I must accept advertising in order to keep book prices acceptable. I will accept advertising from both official and semi-official dealers as before. Additionally, advertisers from the second edition will have the right of first refusal for the same advertising positions as they previously had. In order to be fair to everyone, I will inform all dealers at once. I will NOT reserve advertising space before that time. Please do not ask. No exceptions.