Out of Print ≠ Out of Style
Seth Klarman’s infamous book, Margin of Safety, was published in 1991 in limited supply. It’s rumored that only 5,000 copies of the first edition were printed. At the time, Klarman was a relative unknown and the book didn’t sell very well. Years later Klarman became a household name (well, certain households) and demand for the book was stronger than ever. The book ceased publishing years ago, however. Klarman’s refusal to republish means there has long been an imbalance in supply and demand; some copies have fetched thousands of dollars second-hand at online auction sites1.
In Baupost’s 2012 year-end letter, Klarman wrote that he “endeavoured to make the book timeless - more about how to think about investing than about what one should buy or sell at any given moment”. The book was originally published to spell out “why financial markets weren’t, and never would be, efficiently priced”. He remarks on how markets have changed since publishing the book some 2…