Current eBay Prices

I am not going to list eBay prices for a while except to point out that they are completely out of whack with reality. What is happening is that one person is buying up thousands of books and has very little concern for how much she pays. I believe that this is someone who is quite wealthy and has the attitude that she must assemble a collection quickly and at all cost. This person is also buying lots of duplicates. She appears to have now purchased close to three complete sets of the Beverly Gray books, many without intact dust jackets. She is buying duplicates of many other series books as well and is usually paying well above value for them.

Additionally, there are several other people who want certain series books, and these people have deeper pockets than most collectors. These other people are willing to pay whatever it takes to win whichever books they want. As a result, ordinary books are selling for hundreds of dollars when more than one of these buyers wishes to obtain the same book.

Sellers are now reacting to the sheer folly of these bidders. There are a few people who haven't listed items for sale in ages who are now putting up everything they can. There are other people who appear to have taken certain items from their collection and have placed those items up for sale at obscene prices. There are regular sellers who have had these buyers buy a bunch of books from them and have now raised their prices. The prices are going up quickly to unreal levels—and the books are still selling!

As a result, the prices are now at an artificially inflated level. They will come back down, but probably not until the main person responsible for the price inflation quits trying to buy every single series book on eBay.

Let's look at a few examples of this insanity (none of these prices are at all normal):

NANCY DREW #1-OLD CLOCK--Beautiful WS DJ -4 Glossies Item #280231316650

This book sold for $690.00 to the person who is buying everything and was bid up by one of the people with deep pockets. Farah's Guide values this book at about $200.00, and in normal times, this book can be had for less than that amount.

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1st Ed.Blank EP Nancy Drew-The Secret of the Old Clock Item #350067605203

This book is not in very good condition and is not even the first printing. It sold for an astonishing $565.55, oddly to someone who buys to resell, and he outbid the same person who is bidding on everything. Perhaps the winning bidder is feeling frustrated like the rest of us and decided to win the auction no matter what. I have had books just like this and have sometimes gotten only $20.00-$50.00 for them.

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NANCY DREW CLUE IN THE DIARY SUPER RARE 1932A-1 FIRST! Item #140237939490

First, of all, this book is not SUPER RARE, just scarce, but ignoring that for a moment . . . this book sold for $456.00. The main thing that is puzzling about this auction is that the winning bidder also bought another one, item #250254562810 , the same day for $281.00. It may also be worth mentioning what a bizarre coincidence it is for two copies of the same SUPER RARE book to sell in the very same day just seven hours apart!

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NANCY DREW - The Secret of the Old Clock - CAMEO Item #160250947033

This book sold for the Buy It Now price of $300.00 and is an example of a seller listing something at a huge price in reaction to the current buying frenzy. The book sold quickly. Normally, this book would sell for far less.

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Nancy Drew The Hidden Staircase HC DJ Cameo Ed Item #230259170326

This book sold for $179.00, also far higher than normal. The seller is one who has raised her prices in the last week after she noticed what is happening. By the way, the seller of this listing is a reliable seller from whom I have purchased many very hard to find books. I make certain to check her listings often. She is the one who offered the nice Desert Valley that I mentioned in a recent post. Her prices are always a little high, but they are very fair for truly scarce books. Sometimes for the hardest to find books, her prices are even a little low.

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Nancy Drew con. Peggy Lane by Hughes Hollywood 1st Ed Item #330240852965

This book sold for $103.50. Another Peggy Lane book, Peggy's London Debut, sold for the same price. Peggy Plays Paris sold for $99.01. These books can be had for around $10.00 if one is patient.

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Connie Blair Betsy Allen Series Books 12 Vol. 1948-58 Item #250256700697

This is a complete set of Connie Blair books in dust jacket that sold for $710.00. It is possible to obtain Ruby Queens in dust jacket for under $100.00 easily. It is also possible to obtain #4-11 for $50.00 or less. #1-3 are only worth $5.00-10.00.

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Connie Blair Puzzle in Purple HC DJ 1st Nr FINE Item #230259170849

This book sold for $42.00 and is a $5.00-10.00 book, never mind the fact that the buyer also bought the complete set of Connie Blair books mentioned above.