This book closed at $227.22.
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Nancy Drew Applewood 1st THE HAUNTED BRIDGE Fine hcdj Item #250260268151
This one closed at $250.29.
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Nancy Drew 20 Clue in the Jewel Box 1st edition w/DJ Item #110262818261
This book closed at $255.55, which is a bit high for recent years. I believe when I have sold first printings of this book that they sold somewhere in the $50.00 to $150.00 range.
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NANCY DREW MYSTERY OF TOLLING BELL 1946 1ST W/DJ Item #140241775862
Not all books are selling for high prices. This book sold for $22.51. Part of the reason it did not sell at a higher price is that it is not the first printing. The title of the listing states that it is the first printing, but the first printing should have Beverly Gray on the back panel. This is why bidders need to do their own research as sometimes sellers make mistakes. Just because a listing states that a book is a first printing does not mean that it is.
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It is difficult to answer the question of why buyers pay such high prices for books that should not be selling at inflated prices. The auctions on eBay create a competitive mindset, and that is part of the reason why prices are so inflated at the moment. People see that someone is willing to pay hundreds of dollars for the Applewood editions, and they notice that the books are not available elsewhere, so they also bid in the hundreds of dollars.
Buyers also respond emotionally to certain types of descriptions. If a seller uses superlatives, the buyers seem to bid a lot higher. Some sellers describe their books as "wonderful," "fantastic," "extraordinary," "beautiful," "pretty," "pristine," and "gorgeous." In some cases, the word is used as an overall descriptor of the entire book and jacket. Other times, it is used to describe a certain aspect of the book, such as that the dust jacket's front panel has "gorgeous color." It is always interesting when "gorgeous" is used on a book and jacket that have significant wear and tear. Regardless of whether the book and jacket are truly gorgeous or not, I have noticed that when these words are used, the listings sell at inflated prices. Buyers just love to bid on gorgeous books!
The ubiquitous "RARE" and "SUPER RARE" are now used to describe fairly common books. Even the word "scarce" is now getting misused. Just a short while ago, I viewed an eBay listing for an ordinary tweed Nancy Drew book, The Hidden Staircase, with the original text and digger endpapers. It is described as "scarce." It is hardly scarce.
Sellers also find creative ways to make their books sound better than they actually are. Some sellers describe their books as having paper that is "creamy" or "creamy white." Well, duh. All books have creamy paper unless the paper is yellowed. There are sellers that describe the wartime Grosset and Dunlap books as having "uniformly age-toned paper" or "supple yellowing paper." Um, the paper is brown and yucky and sometimes smells bad, but I can understand why they don't want to put it that way.
The phrase "it is in good condition for its age" is often used by people who are new to selling books and antiques, and it is used by other people that use it so that they don't have to describe any of the flaws. Age has nothing to do with condition as it relates to old books. I have seen 70 year old books that are in far better condition than 10 year old books. It is possible to find any book from the past 100 years in pristine "as new" condition, regardless of age. Yes, it will be much harder to find some than others, but it is possible.
In closing, I do feel that some buyers allow themselves to be manipulated by sellers. They read descriptions that state how wonderful a book is and ignore what can be clearly seen in the photographs. Buyers can cause themselves to have to pay much higher prices by allowing themselves to be swayed by these types of descriptions.
Note: The above comments are not aimed at anyone in particular and are not intended to offend anybody. My comments reflect observations that I have made as a buyer and also reflect my continuing amusement over how a seller's description influences the closing price.
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