eBay's Largest Collection

At the beginning of February, I purchased a couple of Hardy Boys Digest books locally to try them to see if I wanted to continue reading the Hardy Boys series past #58.  I decided that I did, so I had to figure out how to quickly build a complete set of Hardy Boys Digests so that I could continue reading.  I had very little time.

I had to do it quickly because if I decided to begin reading my complete set of Girls of Canby Hall, which was what I intended to read after I finished Hardy Boys #1-58, then I knew that I would never read the Hardy Boys Digests.  I know myself well enough to know that despite my best intentions, I will never get back to a series after I move on to another series.

I began looking around online for sets, of which there were none.  There had been a complete set of Hardy Boys Digests on eBay in January and at an excellent price, but that set had sold.  I didn't want the books in January.  If I had only known...

I saw some small lots.  However, there would be lots of duplicates, and some lots weren't that reasonable.  I could as a last resort use Thriftbooks.com, where most likely all titles would be available at $3.59 each.  If I did that, the books would end up costing me over $400 total to complete the set.  Ouch.  But I could get the set done fast.

And then I saw it.

An eBay seller listed "Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys Novels (ebay's largest collection)" on February 5 at a starting bid of $800 and a Buy It Now of $2,500.  This was the mother of all Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys lots.  It was huge.  The seller's description was as follows.

Nancy Drew Volumes 1-175

Nancy Drew Case Files Volumes 1-124

Nancy Drew on Campus Volumes 1-25

The Hardy Boys Volumes 1-190

The Hardy Boys Case Files 1-122

Nancy Drew and hardy Boys Volumes 1-76

Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys Ghost Files  2 volumes

Hardy boys and Tom Swift 2 volumes

I detected an obvious typo in the 76 Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books, since there are just 36 volumes in the set.  I also noticed that the Casefiles last number didn't match the last number in that series, but otherwise, the numbers offered matched up with complete sets of everything.  All I cared about was the line that read "The Hardy Boys Volumes 1-190."  OMG.  Every single Digest in addition to the complete set of hardcover books.

The seller provided these pictures showing just some of the books offered.

But should I bid?  I wasn't concerned about anyone taking the Buy It Now, which was way too high.  Additionally, the opening bid of $800 would scare most people off.  I waited and watched, thinking about the lot every single day.  I kept checking and no bids.  I was also concerned about the risk, so I kept thinking about it the entire seven days.  Oh, I wanted the books, but what if I didn't get all of them?  What if I didn't get the Hardy Boys Digests?

$800 was not too high of a price for what was offered altogether, and I also knew that I would get my money back if the books were not received.  But most importantly, I wanted the books, and I didn't want this to be a failed transaction.  Should I bid?

I wanted to ask the seller to photograph more of the books to raise my confidence, but I took a calculated risk and did not ask.  If the seller would have added more photos, that would have given more confidence to other prospective bidders.  I was hoping for no competition.  That is, if I decided to bid.

Of course all along, I knew that I would bid.  I did, and I won the auction at the opening bid of $800.  I was still worried, because large lots are almost never packaged well.  This is just the reality of large lots, and this was by far the largest lot I had ever purchased. 

Four days after I won the auction, the seller put tracking numbers up.  I then got worried a few days later when one package showed as delivered in Oregon, which is where the seller is located.  I asked about the packages.  I learned that the seller had been called away and that someone else had shipped the books.  Something went wrong, and most of the packages had been returned.

I have not given the specific details, but I feel confident that what I was told was true, even though frustrating for me.  I am good at reading sellers and have always been correct about whether they were telling me the truth or telling me a lie.  I felt that the seller was being honest and would get the books delivered, even though I was gradually getting more and more stressed.  By the way, huge bulk lots are always stressful. Something always goes wrong. That's why I was indecisive about bidding.  I knew that I was setting myself up for a lot of worry.

It was apparent that two packages were coming and that the others had been returned to the seller.  I had run out of Hardy Boys Digest books, so I went around to several local stores to buy more Hardy Boys Digests so that I could keep reading.

—continued in "eBay's Largest Collection Part 2"