***SOLD***
A while back I made an ESV Reformation Blank Study bible and decided to give it away to someone who could use it alot more than I ever could.
I liked the process of making it so much that I have decided to begin making blank bibles in my spare time and offering them for sale to the public. Free time isn’t exactly big in my life as of late…I’m in the process of moving and switching careers all at the same time.
I have made my first blank bible to offer up for sale and am now making it public. You can see pictures of it here.
The core of the bible is an “Outreach” ESV bible. It has been interleaved with standard 20lb. acid free “copy paper” and is 4 volumes large. The Old Testament is spread throughout the first three volumes while the entire New Testament is compiled in the fourth. Each volume also has additional blank pages in the front and back of each for additional notes. The price has been set at $120 plus shipping. Payment must be in the form of money order ONLY. If interested, shoot me an e-mail at:
thefoolishgalatian [at] gmail [dot] com
I have set the price where I have because these bibles require such a tremendous amount of time and concentration to build, so I must be able to make this endeavour worth my time invested. Also, let’s face it, to my knowledge, no one has ever sold a hand made blank bible, so there is no prior example of what one may be worth monetarily. I will post future offerings here on my blog, so keep tuned. Ideas or suggestions are always welcome.
I would also love to one day offer up an ESV Study bible that has been “blanked”, but one would probably need a truck to transport it. Future plans also include a blanked ESV Personal Size bible.
Thanks to all!
22 comments
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January 8, 2009 at 11:39 pm
Matty
Any chance you might offer a discount to a hard working Seminary student such as myself?
Looks to be a great tool… I may be interested… someday
Thanks,
Matt
January 9, 2009 at 1:19 am
ESV Blank Bible For Sale « The Crimson Window
[...] Matthew Blair is currently selling ESV blank Bibles for $120 if you are interested. The blank Bible is typically linked to Jonathan Edwards who used one himself. If you are interested in making one yourself you can check out a series that Tony Reinke finished back in 2006. [...]
January 9, 2009 at 2:24 pm
Jessica
This is super cool. I particularly like the spiral-bound feature. I don’t know if I’ll be able to buy one soon, but I’m sure glad it exists–in reality, and in my bank of possible resources.
Thank you!
January 9, 2009 at 8:44 pm
Sarai
Is there any way you would consider doing a NASB blank Bible? I would very much like one of those and would rather pay another enterprising soul to make one for me than take the time to do it myself.
January 9, 2009 at 8:56 pm
Tom
The blank Bible is an interesting thought. Do you make the pages blank for note taking purposes? I’m assuming that you are. I like the idea of the blank ESV personal size Bible, as I use the ESV personal size and it is REALLY hard to take notes in.
January 9, 2009 at 11:04 pm
micey
That is totally cool!
January 9, 2009 at 11:22 pm
trout8
cool but thats way to much…
January 10, 2009 at 12:12 am
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[...] ESV Blank Bible For Sale A while back I made an ESV Reformation Blank Study bible and decided to give it away to someone who could use it alot [...] [...]
January 10, 2009 at 9:54 am
rgill720
Seriously? That’s ridiculous. I’m not trying to be rude but are you trying to rip people off? It’s much more cost effective for someone to purchase an actual study Bible from a Christian or other such religious book store and use the notations already in them and/or use the unused space around the border of the page. Looking at a study Bible that I have, it’s 1800 pages on what looks to be 4″x5″ paper and every page is only really half full due to notations and such. If you are selling an 8.5″x11″ Bible you could realistically cut that down to well under 1000 pages with blank or ruled pages in the mix for notations. Even selling it at the original size, cutting out all of the notations and adding blank or ruled pages would still set you at about 1200 pages. The cost to have this done at an OfficeMax would be about $80 at the most including having it printed off, cut and bound with a vinyl front and back. With this economy, I would be surprised to see someone pay that much for a home-brew Bible and you should almost feel ashamed.
January 10, 2009 at 12:59 pm
Douglas K. Adu-Boahen
Out of interest, who did win the Blank RSB
January 10, 2009 at 7:20 pm
Tony Miller
Matt,
I’m sorry to see that some people have left some rude comments. I was always taught if you can’t say something nice then don’t say anything. I read your posts before on how these were made and it is a lot of work, not to mention the out of pocket expenses for the binding and punching, etc…. as well as the blank paper AND the bible you started with. If I used the ESV I gladly pay to have someone do this for me as I have limited time myself. Now, make one of these using a Geneva Bible and I’ll be right there!
Keep up the great work with your blog, your photos and the blank Bible project.
Tony
January 10, 2009 at 7:29 pm
Tom
I don’t think the cost is too high. I assumed that, if you were going to pay for the Bible, the cost includes, not only the work and blank pages, but the actual Bible itself, and the shipping for the four volumes that would be created. If I were to take rgill’s estimate of it costing $80 at OfficeMax and add the cost of the Bible, $30 [which is the cost of my personal size ESV], I’d already be at $110 dollars. Shipping could easily be over $10, but that depends on the weight.
Study Bibles are nice, I have two of them, but I don’t always agree with the study notes. In addition, I feel that my own personal observations would be worth way more to me in the future. Many Bibles don’t have enough margin space to actually take notes in. If there is, you quickly run out of room and you can’t add pages to it.
January 10, 2009 at 8:55 pm
dogbarber
I appreciate all the great reponses and comments from everyone….I wish I had more time to comment here (I’m in the middle of a move) but I just wanted to say thanks to all who helped get the word out about this humble little project of mine.
I fully expected poo pooers when I posted this…that’s OK. They lead to my sanctification….:)
So far I have had a few e-mails showing interest and I have e-mailed them back and am still waiting for a response. Looks like whoever gets back to me first gets it though…sorry!
January 11, 2009 at 3:51 am
rgill720
Actually, the $80 was if you were having them print it. If you have the bible, let’s say costs $30, it costs a dollar to have it cut, and maybe $20 to have them all bound. Add some blank paper let’s say a ream costs $5 on the high end for 500 sheets. To have them shipped will cost only $10 using a flat rate box. Grand total of $65. That’s having someone else do all of the work for you. Doing it yourself would be even cheaper provided you have something like a band saw and some way of binding the books. Like I said, I wasn’t trying to be rude at all. I was just being honest. For someone to do that project, which is extremely easy, it would cost them half of what is being charged by this nice gentleman. The process can be found via a search on the internet and following the directions is easy. If you already have an extra Bible laying around, it’ll be cheaper. If someone sent me a Bible, and $30 (for the binding, paper and use of equipment) and enough to cover shipping to have it sent back, I would do it all for them myself as there is an OfficeMax right behind where I live within walking distance and having worked in a copy center, I know how to use the equipment for self serve making it a little cheaper.
January 11, 2009 at 3:10 pm
Tony Miller
I can already imagine myself spending half a day just collating the 920+ bible pages with a blank page in between each before the punching and binding!
I have a Staples Store print for me every few weeks, a 3 page flyer, a front/back page and a single front, staple one corner, tri-fold when done. It typically costs $32 for just that and they rarely get the front/back copied page right.
Someone has to interleave the blanks with the printed pages and it’s gonna’ take time ($).
Tonny
January 12, 2009 at 12:45 am
rgill720
“I can already imagine myself spending half a day just collating the 920+ bible pages with a blank page in between each before the punching and binding!
I have a Staples Store print for me every few weeks, a 3 page flyer, a front/back page and a single front, staple one corner, tri-fold when done. It typically costs $32 for just that and they rarely get the front/back copied page right.
Someone has to interleave the blanks with the printed pages and it’s gonna’ take time ($).
Tonny”
Ok, your $32 print job has to either be color or you are just getting a lot of black and white prints. It’s like 18cents for a double sided black and white page and about 70 cents for a double sided color page. Tri-folding is like 2cents for each page, by machine and to have it machine stapled is like 2 cents. This really wouldn’t take too long to collate, especially if/when you had some down time. Let’s say waiting for your apt or even while you watch a movie. For a do it yourself project, as much as I hate to say it, you are being ripped off if you are paying $120 for this. Depending on the cost of the actual Bible, your project should cost $65.
Looking back, I see you were the one who left the, “I’m sorry people are leaving rude comments” comment. I wasn’t being rude and stated that I wasn’t trying to be rude. I was being completely honest. If this man was a good a Christian as he says or acts like he is, he would be forthright and honest. How about this, the next time I’m out, I’ll purchase a Bible and I’ll do this project myself and let you know of the total cost. I have a nice Bible laying around with plenty of paper but I’ll buy everything from scratch anyway just to track the receipts and total cost of EVERYTHING. It is no way going to come close to $120, I can promise you that.
January 12, 2009 at 1:26 am
Tony Miller
Making money for ones time makes a person dishonest, not forthright or not a good Christian?
Matt never said he was working for free or simply providing the service. He mentions he must make it worth his time. I’m simply saying $120 does not go far once the cold hard costs are deducted. I realize it does not cost a person $120 to do this themselves but if paying someone to do it that is a reasonable charge.
Why are people on Christian forms so judgemental and quick to cast judgements on whether others are true Christians or not?
I’m sorry that I took the bait on your post but have followed Matt’s blog for a while now and felt I should come to his defense. I can really relate to his posts and just feel a connection.
We both should have remained silent and let the public decide for themselves whether this product and Matt’s time is worth the $120.
Matt, my aplogies if I have stirred things up but just could not let this one slide. I’ll let this go now.
Tony
January 13, 2009 at 7:43 pm
dogbarber
“If this man was a good a Christian as he says or acts like he is, he would be forthright and honest. How about this, the next time I’m out, I’ll purchase a Bible and I’ll do this project myself and let you know of the total cost. I have a nice Bible laying around with plenty of paper but I’ll buy everything from scratch anyway just to track the receipts and total cost of EVERYTHING. It is no way going to come close to $120, I can promise you that.”
Let me save you some time. Cost of the bible + about $10 or $15 dollars for the paper (depending on how many pages needed) + $5 per volume to bind.
I have nothing to hide. The bulk of the cost is time.
If you think it is priced to high, don’t buy it and and please stop casting comments on the validity of my salvation.
Matthew
April 7, 2009 at 3:08 am
Bob
I would just love to purchase everything I see for sure. I just get so inundated with reading material that I get overwhelmed. When I feel the pressure mounting, I just go to my own trusty Bible and start reading. I then calm right back down! How amazing.
May 12, 2009 at 4:57 am
BlessedByFaith
“If someone sent me a Bible, and $30 (for the binding, paper and use of equipment) and enough to cover shipping to have it sent back, I would do it all for them myself as there is an OfficeMax right behind where I live within walking distance and having worked in a copy center, I know how to use the equipment for self serve making it a little cheaper.”
rgill720
can i send you a bible and say 40 dollars for you to make me one?
i am a college student and would love to make one if i had an abundance of time.
Thanks
be blessed
(rcr0009@auburn.edu)
July 6, 2009 at 7:02 pm
Arcy
I just had a “blank bible” made for me at one of the “office” stores. Cost me $ 26. But that did not include the cost of the blank paper, nor did it include collating of the blank pages with the bible; I had to do that myself or it would have cost a lot more.
In addition, when I got home and took a closure look at the paper, I noticed some real inconsistencies in the cutting size of the blank paper. About one-half of the paper (about 500 pgs) was cut crooked. Also, about 15 pages of the Bible had been punched incorrectly and the sales associate replaced them with copied replacements, which was the only solution but dissappointing nonetheless. Attention to detail in a project like this can make a lot of difference!!
If you’re like me, you want it to be done spot-on right – not a hack job. Needless to say, I am re-trimming the paper myself to ensure it’s done correctly this time.
Bottom line….if you care about REAL quality, then you will probably be more satisfied having an individual do the work for you – someone who not only shares your love of the word, but is also skilled in the process involved in putting one of these together. And don’t complain about the value that another individual places on his/her time. Remember, these are custom Bibles and to produce one means taking time away from family and/or other endeavors. It took me 4-hours just to interleave the pages. If I had to cut the paper, punch it, and bind it, it might take a total of 6 or 7 hours.
I’m thinking of doing several more of these. But next time, I will do most of the work myself to ensure the type of quality that’s important to me.
Grace,
Arcy
July 6, 2009 at 7:34 pm
dogbarber
Thanks Arcy for your comment…it’s nice to see others givin’ it a shot!
…also nice to see others take a long time too!