April 2021 Selling Update

I am still working on getting books out of boxes.  At one point, I had 17 boxes of books.  I am now down to three boxes of books, but at a cost.  Here are photos of my shelves of extra books that have not been listed for sale.  The Nancy Drew picture cover books are in good order, but the rest of the books are in a bit of disarray.  It's better for the books to be on the shelf in a disordered state than for them to be boxed away.

This last photo shows where my extra Hardy Boys books are hidden.

The Hardy Boys books are behind the books seen in the photo, and I could hardly take the photo because stuff is stacked in front of the shelves.  There's no way that I'm listing the Hardy Boys books anytime soon.

Each weekend I select some books to list.  This weekend, I listed Judy Bolton picture cover books on Etsy.

Jennifer's Series Books on Etsy

I had to guess at the prices.  The Judy Bolton picture covers are so very scarce that pricing cannot be researched.  I do know that some picture covers have sold for $150 or more each when auctioned on eBay in the last few years.

This is the very first time in my 30 years of collecting that I have had extra Judy Bolton picture covers other than an occasional one or two random copies found around once every five years.  I almost never find the books.  They are that scarce.  The only reason I have these extras is because I got very lucky.  I was able to upgrade a few of my own picture cover books, which was great.

Jennifer's Series Books on eBay

I also listed some vintage teen books on eBay.  I created a category for the vintage teen books so that the different sets show up together.

Vintage Teen Books Category

My message placed in each listing that states that I don't accept offers has discouraged people from submitting offers through email.  Unfortunately, I am getting asked for discounts if multiple books are purchased.  I have had three requests in just the last few days.  It discourages me, to be honest.  

I struggle with my pricing.  I want the books to sell fairly quickly, but I also don't want to take a loss when I can avoid it.  For the vintage teen books, I generally price the books at $5.99 each.  Most of the books were purchased individually online, and the lowest price for a book online is $4.00.  My eBay fees are at least $1.00 on a $5.99 listing, and fees also get charged on shipping.  For a $5.99 book that sells individually, my fee is going to be at least $1.50.  Why would I give a discount?

I tell these people that there is a discount for orders shipping to the United States when the purchase price is $35 or above.  Those orders get free shipping.  Of course, they probably already know that but want more of a discount.

I don't price my items with the shipping figured into the price.  For that reason, the shipping really is on me when the order is $35 or more.  The free shipping promotion has gained me sales.  I receive many orders where the total is between $35 and $50.  Unquestionably, many people are making sure that they get free shipping.  

Aside from some minor issues, having the stores back open is going pretty well, and I am making progress on reducing the quantity of extra books that I have.

Windswept #23 A Date with Danger and #27 Mystery Cruise

Windswept #23 A Date with Danger, Edward Hunsberger, 1983

The dark and silent halls of the old private girls' school cast an eerie spell...

 ...but Karen tries to brush off their strange chill, tries to laugh at her overactive imagination.  Then someone attempts to run her over, and the evil on campus becomes all too real.

Who could want her dead?  Sarge, the eccentric old caretaker?  Paul, the handsome premed student she just might be falling in love with?  Meredith, her new friend?  Karen is frantic to discover the truth and save her life.

This book is excellent and has a great mystery.  Karen is nearly run over very shortly after her arrival on campus, which sets up the suspense for the entire story.

Windswept #27 Mystery Cruise, Carole Standish, 1984

Dawn's birthday present from her aunt is a cruise on a luxury ship.  Before the ship leaves the pier, Dawn busily snaps pictures with her new camera of all the people on board.  That's her first mistake. 

Even with Kevin around to distract her, Dawn fears that someone is out to get her.  By the time the cruise is over, Dawn is convinced that her camera has recorded someone's secret, and a sweet-smelling but ominous perfume warns Dawn that shipboard life isn't all romance...

This book has a very good mystery.  I enjoyed this book.

Windswept #17 Mirror, Mirror and #33 Weekend of Fear by Virginia Nielsen

Vintage series book fans probably ignore these posts about vintage teen books.  However, some of the mystery teen books could appeal to those fans.  The second book reviewed here, Weekend of Fear, is one of those books.

I abandoned reading the Windswept series quite awhile back, but I found that I prepared two review posts that I never published.  This is the first of those posts.

Windswept #17 Mirror, Mirror, Virginia Neilsen, 1983

Gilly and Gerry are identical twins, separated at birth.  They meet for the first time when they're sixteen and find that they're so alike, even their boyfriends can't tell them apart!

Then Gilly visits Gerry's home, and when the vacation is over, Gerry convinces Gilly to switch places secretly.  It's fun at first, but soon strange accidents begin, and Gilly receives frightening phone calls meant for Gerry.  More confusing, Gilly is falling in love with Gerry's boyfriend.  

Is Gerry in some kind of trouble?  Why didn't she tell Gilly?  And why did she set Gilly up to be in such terrible danger?

This book starts off with a good hook.  Identical twins who have just met for the first time is compelling.  As the story progresses, it gradually becomes more and more suspenseful.  Since Gilly and Gerry have changed places, Gilly ends up in grave danger because of the danger that Gerry is in.

This is a very good book.

Windswept #33 Weekend of Fear, Virginia Nielsen, 1984

When the school loner, Brick, falls heir to a fortune of jewels, his life is threatened.  He asks Jacey to hide the jewels for him until he can get them into a bank after the weekend.  Then he disappears.

But with Brick out of the way, Jacey is now the target of unwanted attention.  And in a department store, normally bustling with hopping crowds and clerks, Jacey finds herself alone, in the dark, facing a killer.

The book starts off a little slow, but it quickly picks up in intensity once the department store closes for the weekend.  Jacey spends the entire weekend (and most of the book) inside a dark, closed department store being stalked by someone who knows that she has the jewels and is determined to get them.

The book also has a twist which I wasn't expecting.
 
This is an extremely tense, suspenseful book.  It is excellent.