Needful thing: ballpark value estimate of SK collection

[Stoney]

Hi, Collectors, and forgive me for posting a new topic as a new user but I'm a tad on the desperate side. My house burned down, destroying my lovingly curated Stephen King collection. I now have to try to assign a value to it for my insurance company and would hugely appreciate any help ballparking what number I should put down for this loss.

Starting with IT in 1985, I bought First Edition hardcovers of every novel and short story collection SK published through End of Watch in 2016, including audiobooks and the little Green Mile installments, as well as the Bachman books from Thinner on. I had also painstakingly completed the collection with 1st Ed.s of the earlier and special edition works through used book stores, eBay, Bookfinder, and a pristine 1st/1st Book Club edition of Carrie left by someone who passed. Everything was in great condition.

Of the special editions, non-fiction anthologies and other publications featuring his work. What I can remember is below:
Danse Macabre
On Writing
My Pretty Pony (1989 Trade)
Dark Forces
Modern Masters of Horror
Fear Itself
Dark Descent
Night Visions 5
Prime Evil
The Book of the Dead
The Complete Masters of Darkness
Shock Rock
Midnight Graffiti
Dark Love
Shivers VI
Borderlands 5
McSweeney's Mammoth Treasury of Thrilling Tales
Esquire & Playboy issues
Shooting scripts for IT, Hearts in Atlantis, Misery, Riding the Bullet, Delores Claiborne, Needful Things
And a Rock Bottom Remainders hat from their 2012 concert at the El Rey theater.

Any thoughts and/or guidance would be a big help. Thanks!

[Mr. Rabbit Trick]

Sorry about the house fire. Bad news on the value as well. They look to be all unsigned trade editions. You say the condition is, "great", but what does that mean. Do they have prices on the jackets?

Most are still available on ebay and Abebooks for you to get a valuation. Your insurance company will probably not question your valuation too much.

[Stoney]

Hi, Mr. Rabbit Trick, thanks so much. I've been looking at the prices on bookfinder and ebay but they vary so much, even with trade editions. But thanks for the advice!

[TheCollector]

Hi Stoney, man I'm sorry to hear about that. Really what you're looking at is replacement value for the books. What's the insurance going to need to pay to make your collection whole again. You're right the prices can vary wildly. I think you're on the right track by checking eBay and an aggregator site (I use ABEbooks). I would take a middle of the road approach on books that have multiple copies listed, if you have say a 1st trade edition of Misery and the range is $35 - $100 with 5 sellers out there then either add the price of each seller and divide by 5

For example

$35
$50
$65
$69
$100

$319 / 5 = $63.80 for your average replacement value.

or just focus the sellers that match the condition of your book and go with that. If we can help with specific titles after you go thru the exercise or you want a 2nd set of eyes on it to double check your values let us know.