Keeper of the Lost Cities Reading and Book Release Update

Keeper of the Lost Cities #9.5 Unraveled will be released one week from Tuesday.  Two online virtual events with Shannon Messenger will be held next week.  Information is in this post:

Keeper of the Lost Cities #9.5 Unraveled Pre-Order Giveaway + Live Events

Shannon will be signing copies of Unraveled for Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore.  The books will ship after the book is published.

Signed Shannon Messenger Books at Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore

Naturally, I had to pre-order a signed copy, so now I have a total of four copies of Unraveled pre-ordered.  It's excessive, but worth it.  This is how it happened.  I had previously ordered a Barnes & Noble edition, which I used to submit my information to get the publisher's pre-order giveaway.  I have to keep my original order since it's tied to the promotional package.  I am then getting a book from each of next week's virtual events.  And now, I'm getting a signed book as well.  The four books consist of two Barnes & Noble special editions, one regular edition, and one signed regular edition.  I will keep one Barnes & Noble special edition and the signed regular edition.

Shannon wrote a guest post for Teen Librarian Toolbox about how the Keeper series got off to a slow start when it was first published.

Surviving the Slow Burn of Middle Grade by Shannon Messenger

I have been reading the series again, for the fourth time, to fully refresh my memory before #9.5 is released.  I am now at the beginning of #9 Stellarlune.  I will soon be publishing a new series of Keeper posts on my current thoughts and observations.  

Beginning here, I comment on some things from late in the set but with no specifics.  Nothing is revealed, but the comments could be considered slightly spoilerish.  I mention this because some people, like me, prefer to know nothing.  If you're like me, then skip until the paragraph just above the first of the two images that are near the end of the post.

I've been mulling over several things.  I'm very eager to read the Forgotten Secrets again, and I've already read through the Fintan memory at least twice this month.  Right after I finished reading Book 7 again, I was mulling over the Fintan memory as I drove to work one morning.  I believe it was on the morning of November 12.  Yes, it's weird that I know this, but it was a watershed moment.  I thought about that Forgotten Secret and some of the oddness of it.  It reminded me of a scene in Book 7, which led me to a significant revelation.  While I was pretty sure that I wouldn't forget, I grabbed my phone and dictated a short note about what I had just realized.  I was thrilled.

After realizing that I had figured out something significant about one Forgotten Secret, I decided that I would write separate posts about each Forgotten Secret and would pull previous thoughts into those posts in order to better collect my thoughts.  That will be a work in progress over the next two or three weeks.

Book 7 is a slog to get through and is widely viewed as the weakest book in the set.  It's the book that has driven some readers away from the series.  This is a shame, since the secrets begin to be revealed in Book 8.

The thing about Book 7, though, is that there is some very important information in it.  One chapter in Book 7 gives information that led to my conclusion about the Fintan Forgotten Secret.  And by the way, that conclusion led me to realize something about all of the Forgotten Secrets (well, except for one of them), and I believe it explains the possible inconsistency with one of the Forgotten Secrets.  In fact, I know it does, so there's no inconsistency. 

It's in this post that I mention the possible inconsistency.

Keeper of the Lost Cities:  The Chronological Order of the Forgotten Secrets

It's not an inconsistency if what I believe is true.

Book 7 is extremely important, but the clues are easily missed due to how bloated the book is.  Too much time—way too much time—is spent in the Healing Center.  It also doesn't help that other parts of the book drag on for too long as well.  The joking and circular conversations are also a bit much.  Some of it is way too silly and stupid.  The flaws in the book cause readers to skim and then they miss the important details.

I skimmed a lot when I read Book 7 the second and third times.  Since it had been a year since I had last read it, my tolerance was much higher.  I did very little skimming this time.  That enabled me to notice more than I had previously.  I am so excited that I will read through all of the Forgotten Secrets again this week.

During this reading of the books, I have realized that I truly enjoy the later books in the set.  Books 8, 8.5, and 9 are really good, because we begin to learn secrets.  The series payoff begins to be doled out in Book 8.  We are getting it a little at a time, which is quite satisfying.  Book 9 sets up for the Forkle reveal, and I expect we will learn his true identity in Book 10, whenever that book is published.

While I enjoy the main plot and like Sophie and her friends a lot, my focus is on the adult characters, most particularly Forkle, Kenric, and Oralie.  All three characters fascinate me, and my interest centers on my search for clues about what motivates these characters.  All three are very gray, and gray characters are very interesting.

I unabashedly love Kenric and Oralie.

Back in July, Laura Hollingsworth ran some eBay auctions.  In a couple of them, she offered the buyer a marker sketch of any character that she has previously drawn for the Keeper books.  I immediately decided that I had to get a sketch of Kenric.  After some thought, I realized that I needed Oralie as well so that I would have a matched set of my two favorite characters.  I won the two auctions and requested Kenric and Oralie. 

This is what Laura Hollingsworth had to say about the sketches on her Instagram.

Marker sketches of Kenric and Oralie from Keeper of the Lost Cities! A buyer won two auctions with sketches and asked for these (My OTP in that series—I am very happy!)

It pleases me that my request made her happy.  I love the sketches.  

eBay, Reading, and Autoimmune Update

eBay is attempting to trick sellers into purchasing its ShipCover insurance whenever sellers use a service that doesn't not include insurance.  This new practice is shady and obnoxious.

Beginning recently, whenever I purchase a media mail shipping label, this is what eBay presents to me before the purchase goes through.  Click on the image in order to see it better.

I must make a conscious effort not to click on the blue box that says "Add extra protection."  I know I'm going to mess up eventually.  When it finally happens, I will then void the label and create a new one.  This is a blatant cash grab by eBay, since the ShipCover insurance is their insurance and is not from the post office.  This is one of the lowest things that eBay has ever done.

It's important for eBay store sellers to end their listings periodically and then list them again using the "sell similar" option.  I've been too busy, tired, and distracted to mess with that in recent months.  This is why my sales slowed down.  Around the end of October, I ended all of my listings and used "sell similar."  This image shows what happened.

It does help to give listings a fresh start.  Many people search by "newly listed" first, and this gets their eyes on the listings.

On September 10 in my post Book Reading Milestone for This Year, I wrote:

I'm guaranteed to match my total from 2021.  I still have to complete my fourth reading of the Keeper of the Lost Cities series, which I plan to do sometime between now and the release of book 9.5 in early December.  I've already reread books 1 and 2 this year, but I got sidetracked like what always happens when I read these days.  Once I read books 3 through 8, 8.5, 9, and 9.5, I will have read nine more books, equaling my 2021 total of 60 books.

The last few months have been rough with multiple events causing increases in inflammation.  School started, we have new books, I got my Covid vaccine, and I caught three or four viruses in September and October.  The viruses ran together, so I'm not sure how many I had.  The one from late October caused a terrible cough which I still have.

My struggle with dryness continues.  In my post from August 25, I wrote in regard to my summer autoimmune flare:

I feared that I had Sjögren's syndrome, which causes excessive dryness.  I have suspected Sjögren's syndrome for years, but I tested negative in the past.  Most people with Sjögren's syndrome do test negative, so that doesn't rule it out.  I plan to be tested again later this year, just in case the test shows something.

I was tested two weeks ago.  I tested positive for Anti-SSA/Ro antibodies, which are autoantibodies present in around eight different autoimmune diseases, most notably including Sjögren's syndrome.  I am being referred to rheumatology, but I know it is Sjögren's syndrome.  I have the hallmark symptoms.

As a result of everything, I haven't read much, and I continue to struggle to focus on following through with any reading that I attempt.  I did finally restart reading KotLC, and I'm now on #8.  The number of books I've read in 2024 currently stands at 56 and will reach 60 once I finish this reading of KotLC.  Even though I'm unable to read much during the week, I will make it through #9 by the time the new book is released on December 3, so I'm on schedule.  Thanksgiving Break, which begins Friday afternoon, will give me enough time to finish up.

This post was supposed to be finished up early last week.  I forced myself to finish this morning, or else I was never going to publish it.

Flaky eBay Three Investigators Situation

I wrote this post back in September and delayed publishing it until the listings expired from eBay's search results.   

This post is a summary of the events surrounding an eBay listing of scarce high-numbered Three Investigators Gibraltar hardcover books.

First, here is an explanation.  The original Three Investigators series consists of 43 books.  #1-28 were issued in both hardcover and softcover trade editions.  #29-43 were only offered in softcover trade editions.  They were also available as Gibraltar hardcover editions, but these were primarily sold to libraries.  The high-numbered hardcover editions are extremely scarce and almost always surface as library discards with at least moderate wear.

#29-43 are highly coveted in the hardcover Gibraltar binding.

In late July, a seller offered a bulk lot of 12 Three Investigators books, including seven of the high-numbered hardcover books.  The listing sold via Buy It Now at $125, which was an extreme bargain.

(Click on each image in order to view in high quality.)

Right after the listing closed, someone posted about it in the Facebook Three Investigators group, saying that someone just barely beat them to the listing.  That post is important, because a large number of Three Investigators fans then knew what had just happened.

Unfortunately, some people like to meddle.  Apparently, someone immediately contacted the seller and let them know that they had just sold a valuable group of books for $125.  The seller relisted the books with a starting bid price of $1,850.  The books sold for $2,025 to the same person who had purchased them for $125.  It should be noted that whoever meddled didn't get the books. 

The seller then reneged on the second sale.  This is the negative feedback that the buyer left for both listings.

The seller then went with individual listings.  They also decided to remove the library markings, thus damaging the books.

The seller switched to another user ID for the new listings, likely due to the negative feedback on the other ID.  Regardless of what happens next, this won't end well.

The seller is greedy, unscrupulous, and lacking in judgment.  They should have honored the $125 sale.  Sometimes sellers take losses, but in the long run, they will do better when they avoid bad behavior. 

The person who meddled in the situation is also at fault.  Because of their actions, the seller has damaged the books by removing the library stickers.  They should have stayed out of the situation.  

It is understandable why the seller chose not to honor the $125 sale.  After all, many people would struggle to honor the sale after learning of the true value of the books.  It was wrong not to honor the sale, but I can see why that decision was made.

The subsequent decision to renege on the $2,025 sale is astonishing.  That price might not be the top value possible, but it's quite a good price to get for the books.  The seller made a bad decision in failing to honor the second sale.

Keeper of the Lost Cities #9.5 Unraveled Pre-Order Giveaway + Live Events

Keeper of the Lost Cities #9.5 Unraveled will be released on December 3, 2024.  The pre-order giveaway from Simon & Schuster is now open. 

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Information from Shannon Messenger's Facebook:

 Each EXCLUSIVE prize pack includes: 

    ⁃    a gorgeous full-color art print (of the amazing Sophie-Keefe art from @chrissabug)   

    ⁃    an art print postcard (featuring Shannon’s art of Keefe’s little fox buddy)

    ⁃    a vinyl sticker featuring Keefe and the quote, “What would Foster Do” (a line from Unraveled)

You can find more info, as well as the form you need to fill out here: (or use the handy link in Shannon’s bio):  bit.ly/unraveled-pre-order 

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Two virtual live events will be held during the first week in December. 

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Information from Shannon Messenger's Facebook:

Here are the official event details: 

Mon 12/2/24: VIRTUAL EVENT, 7pm ET @barnesandnoble

Tues 12/3/24: IN-PERSON Launch Party, 6:30pm PT @thirdplacebooks in Lake Forest Park, Washington

Thurs 12/5/24: VIRTUAL EVENT, 7pm ET @brooklinebooksmith, @booksofwonder, @parnassusbooks, & @rakestrawbooks

Tickets for these events come with exclusive goodies—swipe to see the awesomeness. If you attend the in-person event, you’ll have a chance to take your photo with a life-size Keefe standee (& so many other cool things!)

For more info —or to buy your tickets—head to bit.ly/keeper-unraveled-tour (or use the link in my bio).

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And this is how I now have three copies of Unraveled pre-ordered.  I purchased the first copy to  enter the pre-order giveaway from S&S.  I then purchased the virtual event tickets, each of which gets me a copy of the book. 

Bulk Lots and Buyer Unawareness of Shipping Costs

The secondhand market is soft these days.  It's hard to sell many kinds of items that easily would have sold 15 years ago.  I take a loss on certain items just to move them.  I'd rather sell the items at a loss and get them into the hands of the right person than donate them to a thrift store and risk them going into a landfill.  Much of what is donated to thrift stores goes in the trash.

Here's an example of something that would have had a high chance of being trashed by a thrift store.

(Click on images in order to see them in higher quality.)

The lot sold for $14.99 with free shipping.  I can't remember what I paid for the subscription to Toy Collector.  After all, it's been three decades.  I did likely pay at least $15 total for the magazines.  It cost $7.32 plus the cost of packing supplies to ship the lot.  Even though I took a loss, I'm pleased that I got the magazines into somebody's hands.  That was my goal.

I use bulk lots to move inventory and sell books that aren't fit to sell individually.  I also use the bulk lots to sell books that are problematic to sell individually.

These books are ones that I pulled out as ones that are too risky to sell individually.

The books aren't bad at all; it's just that each one has some sort of condition problem that a buyer could miss if they don't read the description.  Each book from this lot has a problem like a text block detached from the binding, a piece torn from the edge of a page, a piece missing from the back cover, a few creased pages, or something similar.

I avoid trouble by selling slightly flawed books in bulk lots. I know I have because of the trouble I've already had.  I have a recent case to share. 

Sometimes old tweed Nancy Drew books have water stains to the top edge.  The ink stain can look rather bad at times.  I tend to place those books in bulk lots.  In this recent case, I listed one such book on Etsy, and even worse, I didn't photograph the top edge to show the water stains.  I ended up with an unhappy buyer.

They sent me this photo of the top edge and wrote, "I was aware of writing inside the book, but not the moldy looking page edges at the top!  Ugh."

I replied:

I'm sorry that I overlooked this. It's actually not mold; it's past water splashes that made the top stain ink look bad. I agree though that I should have mentioned this in the description and should have photographed the top edge.

Media mail has gone up so much in price that it's not worth me having you return the book. I will fully refund your purchase price. If you don't want the book because of the top edge water stains, then you can donate it.

I saw no reason to have the buyer return the book.  The book sold for $9.99 plus $4.95 postage.  I had to refund that amount regardless.  Having the buyer return the book meant that I would also be out the return media mail postage plus I would have placed the book in a bulk lot and gotten nothing for it.  There was no way that I would risk selling it again in an individual listing.

I recently decided to send 10% off offers to the people watching my eBay items.  One of the lots was this one.

The prospective buyer contacted me, telling me that they were only interested in Twisted Window since they have the rest.  They wanted to know if I would consider selling it individually.  Normally, I ignore these requests, because I know the buyer wants the book for less than what I can do.  In this case, I felt that I should reply just to be polite since I had sent an offer. 

I considered what my costs would be.  I decided that I could sell that book for $4.99 plus $5.95 postage.  The buyer declined.  They wanted to pay no more than $7.00 total for the book, including postage. 

The one-pound rate for media mail is currently $4.63.  My packaging supplies cost over $1.00.  This means that my cost to mail one book is around $6.00, which is precisely why I now charge $5.95 to mail a book.  A $7.00 total price for a book is way too low.  Not only is the shipping cost at $6.00, I have to pay eBay fees, which would be around $1.00 on a $7.00 transaction.  Also, I didn't get the book for free.  It makes no sense to offer a book on eBay for $7.00 with shipping included.

Buyers want to purchase from sellers who photograph the books so that they can get their desired format.  However, they also want those sellers to ship for the same low prices as Thriftbooks, which has a sweetheart deal with the post office. 

You have to expect to pay more when purchasing from an individual seller.  In return, you get exactly what you want.  If you want the cheap shipping price, then you can buy from Thriftbooks with the understanding that they will send you any format with no regard for what you want. 

Sadly, media mail has become very expensive for people like me.  The cost probably hasn't gone up for Thriftbooks, but the postal service keeps raising the retail rate.  We are paying the postage cost for Thriftbooks.  

Buyers must decide whether accurate photos or low postage is more important.  They can't have it both ways.

Recent Nancy Drew Library Edition Prices on eBay

This kind of post can have unintended consequences because online sellers see it and assume that all Nancy Drew library editions are exceedingly valuable when that's not true at all.  Even Nancy Drew collectors who aren't interested in library editions misunderstand, thinking that any old Nancy Drew library binding is of high value. 

In an attempt to mitigate potential misunderstanding, here's an example of some Nancy Drew library bindings that are of low value.  (Click on images in order to see them in higher quality.)

The listing was for 10 Nancy Drew library editions for $24.00, or $2.40 per book.  Bulk lots usually offer good deals, but even individually, these books are worth roughly around $5.00 each.  If the books were in excellent condition, they'd likely be worth around $10.00 at the most.  They aren't valuable, not by a long shot.

This is why:  The books are relatively recent, and the cover art is identical to the modern Grosset & Dunlap editions that are still in print.  The cover art on these books offers nothing different or interesting.  Yes, people collect them, but they command lower prices for a reason.  There's nothing special here; they are just a variant.  They are also fairly abundant.

Nancy Drew fans want the library editions that are older and that have cover art that is in some way different from the original editions.  The preferred ones have cover art that is based on the original editions but has been redrawn.  Library editions of this type are interesting and coveted, because they offer something new that is appealing to collectors.

Perhaps the most popular library edition type is this one.  It consists of Nancy Drew #1-34, issued in many color variations.

These books are coveted because the covers feature the familiar illustrations that we love, but they were redrawn.  They aren't identical to what is on the Grosset & Dunlap books.  The bindings are colorful, and the books look outstanding on the shelf.  You can't beat the appeal of these books.

A few examples of this binding sold via auction recently on eBay.  It's apparent that a few more collectors have entered the fray, deciding to collect library editions.  These prices are the highest I've seen yet for this particular style binding.

These prices do not mean that these books should sell for this much.  I feel like these are high-end prices, caused by at least one person who is new to collecting library editions.  I am not suggesting that the buyer paid too much.  They paid what the books are worth to them.  Instead, I am saying that sellers should not consider these prices to be the new baseline.  These auction results indicate that a few people really covet these books and were trying to win the auctions at all cost.  

Years ago, the rule of thumb for eBay auctions was that the actual value was the amount of the third highest bid.  The third highest bid on both auctions was $101.00.  Around $100 is probably the high end of what could be the considered the value range of these books, let's say $25 to $100.  Condition and the binding color matter greatly.  These books are red, which makes them pop.  The condition isn't that great, but the books are very hard to find.

I wrote all of the above before the third auction closed.  Here is the result.

The person who won the other two auctions didn't bid on this one.  Maybe they didn't need this one, or maybe they failed to spot this auction.  Whatever the case, their absence caused the book to sell at a much lower price.  

I mentioned a price range of $25 to $100 for these books.  This one went for near the bottom of that range.  I have sold a few examples of this binding at auction but mine maxed out at around $100.  Some of them sold for quite a bit less.  Even $100 is a bit of a high-end price.  The actual value is probably around $50.

I usually don't bid on any of these auctions.  While I would like to have every color variant for every title, I have 196 different books in this style of binding at present.  I won't try to buy one unless it is different and the condition is high-grade enough that it's worth paying a premium. 

Fortunately for me, I already have the title/color combinations that were offered in these auctions.  Also perhaps in my favor, I haven't updated the cover gallery on my website in many years.  Nobody knows for sure what I need and which books could stand an upgrade.  For that reason, nobody will know when I could decide to bid on future library edition auctions.

In conclusion, I thought about what my books are supposedly worth based on these recent auctions.  If I assign a value of $100 each, then my set is worth $19,600.  That's insane!  The books aren't worth that much.  If I were to decide to sell all of my books, I'm confident that the dispersal of 196 books into the marketplace would cause prices to decrease.  There is just no way that my set is worth around $20,000. 

If I assign a value of $50 each, then my set is worth $9,800.  That's high, but I can kind of see it.  Therefore, I will close this post by saying that these books are worth around $50 each, not $100 to $150 each.  

Library editions are a niche collectible appealing to a certain demographic.  The supply is not unlimited, so prices will always be very volatile. 

Nancy Drew #8 Mysterious Letter 1st Printing in DJ eBay Auction

A first printing of Nancy Drew #8 Nancy's Mysterious Letter in dust jacket sold recently on eBay.  (Click on images in order to see them in higher quality.)

The seller provided enough photos to show that both the book and the jacket are from the first printing, 1932A-1.  The auction closed at $1,275.10.  Several people were surprised at how high the final bid was.  I can shed some light on the situation.

I own first printings of all Nancy Drew books in dust jacket from #1 through #38.  It took me over 20 years to acquire all 38 book first printing books matched with first printing dust jackets.  I phrased it that way because I had to match books and jackets together from separate purchases for a number of the earliest books.  I recall that I matched first printing books and jackets together for #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, and #10.  I also swapped out dust jackets or books when I found a better example of ones that I had.  It was quite an endeavor.

Spending over 20 years searching for all 38 first printings gave me a good idea of the scarcity of the early titles, #1-10, as compared to each other.  I don't think about it very often, but I have a good feel for the situation. 

I searched this blog for my old comments about the first printing of Mysterious Letter.

From March 23, 2008 in my post Nancy Drew Prices on eBay, I noted these early and first printing prices on eBay.

#1 The Secret of the Old Clock, true first printing 1930A-1, no DJ $306.00
#2 The Hidden Staircase, 1931 blank endpapers edition, w/DJ $800.00
#4 The Mystery at Lilac Inn, 1930 blank endpapers edition, probably the 2nd or 3rd printing, lists to Lilac Inn, w/DJ $761.50
#5 The Secret at Shadow Ranch, 1931 blank endpapers edition, w/DJ $361.00
#7 The Clue in the Diary, true first printing from 1932, blank endpapers edition, w/DJ $1,641.88
#8 Nancy's Mysterious Letter, true first printing from 1932, w/DJ $910.00
#10 The Password to Larkspur Lane, true first printing with revised/enlarged copyright page notice, w/DJ $515.00
#17 The Mystery of the Brass Bound Trunk, true first printing, w/DJ $107.46

I also wrote this about the closing prices:

As high as these prices are, the five true first printing books were all sold to a bookseller who will place them back up for sale on fixed-price sites, unless the bookseller already has a buyer in mind.  

Nothing has changed in 16 years.  Most of the recent first printings were also purchased to resell.

Even though not all of the books that sold in 2008 were first printings, the closing bids as compared to each other can help us draw some conclusions about the perceived scarcity and value back in 2008.  The first printing of Mysterious Letter sold for $910.00 in 2008.  It's no easier to find now than it was back then.  It might be even more scarce.

On September 25, 2011, I published the post Ten Rarest Nancy Drew Books and Collectibles.  Guess which book I included as one of the ten?

Nancy's Mysterious Letter first printing book

The first printing dust jacket is scarce but can be found without a huge amount of trouble since it was used on the first three printings. The first printing book is nearly impossible to find. The first printing book has a post-text ad that ends with Clue in the Diary. Some buyers have had trouble with sellers answering questions about the post-text ad wrong, which adds to the difficulty in acquiring this book.

On July 14, 2013, I published the post Recent Interesting Nancy Drew Auctions.  I mentioned a first printing of Mysterious Letter that had sold.

Another interesting auction was for the first printing book of Nancy's Mysterious Letter.

The first printing of Nancy's Mysterious Letter lists to The Clue in the Diary in the post-text ads.  This auction closed at $118.28, and the book does not have a dust jacket.  Multiple later printings list to Nancy's Mysterious Letter in the post-text ads, and those books are often mistaken as the first printing.

The first printing [of Mysterious Letter] listing to The Clue in the Diary is extremely scarce and is one of the toughest first printing books to acquire.  This first printing is harder to find than nearly all of the blank endpapers first printings, with the possible exception of the first printing of The Mystery at Lilac Inn.

In 2013, I thought the Lilac Inn book was the toughest to find of the blank endpapers first printings.  I felt that the first printing Mysterious Letter book was harder to find than all of the other blank endpapers first printings.  I considered it harder to find than the first printing book for Clue in the Diary.  Note that I am referring to the books, not the jackets.

My opinion remains unchanged.  I consider the Lilac Inn book to be the hardest to find first printing book with Mysterious Letter in second place.  The first printing book for Twisted Candles is right up there with them.  

Now you know my perspective, which is quite pertinent to this recent auction of Mysterious Letter.

I noted the listing for Mysterious Letter with interest when I first saw it.  I determined that the jacket and book are both the first printing.  I do already own the first printing.  I matched a bare book purchased in 2002 to a first printing jacket purchased in 2003.  The book was a bit rough, but at least I had the first printing book and jacket, even if the book had seen better days. 

I haven't had the patience to continue searching hard for a better first printing book.  Too much has happened in my life, and my autoimmunity has worsened over the years.  I figured I'd spot a better condition book someday.  A few years ago, I realized that I probably wasn't ever going to upgrade the book.

At first, I wasn't sure I would bid on the Mysterious Letter auction.  The seller's presentation was suboptimal.  Upon looking at the listing again, I realized that the bad appearance of the jacket's spine in the first photo was caused by shadows.  Suboptimal presentation, indeed.

The jacket was clearly the first and was overall in better condition than mine.  My attention was on the book, which the seller didn't picture.  The book was the first printing due to the post-text ad ending with Clue in the Diary.  There it was, a first printing without a doubt, and no need to ask a question.  This was an opportunity.

It was also a problem.  I only needed the book, but I couldn't just purchase the book.  I would have to purchase the book and its dust jacket.  Not only that, I would have to outbid the resellers, who are very stiff competition.  

Despite the drawbacks, I decided that I would bid.

But what to bid?  I knew that I would have to outbid the resellers.  That's always the case with early first printing Nancy Drew books in dust jacket.  With me involved, the auction was going to close at a high price and probably at more than I would like.  The resellers have deep pockets and have clientele who are willing to pay high prices.  The resellers are tough to beat in these auctions, and any bidder who wants to have a chance must bid aggressively.

I don't like to have regrets.  There was a high chance that I would lose the auction, but I had to make sure that I bid high enough that I wouldn't be kicking myself when I ended up losing the auction.

I use eSnipe for stealth last-minute bids.  A last-minute bid is the only way to win these high-end auctions without paying extreme prices.  I use a buffer of five seconds, which means that my bid lands five seconds before the end of the auction.  Two seconds would be ideal, but I'm not brave enough to do that.  Sometimes bids land slightly later than intended.  

I entered an eSnipe bid of something above $1000.  In the last day of the auction, I raised my bid two more times, just so that I wouldn't regret it too much when I lost.  I was prepared to pay what I bid, regardless.

I ended up winning the auction, and I don't regret what I bid.  I wanted the book, and I now have it.

The second-highest bidder is a reseller, the same one I mentioned in a recent post.  The third-highest bidder is probably a collector who wanted the book.  A rule of thumb from years ago was that the true value of an item sold in an eBay auction is whatever the third-highest bidder was willing to pay.  Since that person bid $1,024.00, the first printing of Mysterious Letter in dust jacket is solidly a $1,000+ book.

Here is what I upgraded.  Note:  I put stickers on the outside of the mylar covers of my first printing Nancy Drew books.

The jacket is okay but the book has a water stain and pencil markings on the back cover.  The book also has a loose illustration.  As I stated earlier in this post, I swapped out books to turn a second printing combo into the first printing, which is how I have a rough condition book matched with the jacket.

This is the book that I just purchased.

It is not in the very best of condition, but it is an improvement over what I already had.

Most Etsy Listings Now Reactivated

I reactivated most of my Etsy listings.

Jennifer's Series Books on eBay

I have held back some listings so that I can decide what to do with them.  

My eBay listings have all been reactivated.

Jennifer's Series Books on Etsy

On both sites, I converted many vintage teen books to bulk lots in order to get them moved out.  This is often problematic, because buyers look at a bulk lot and think that they can cherry-pick the lot and get one book for a bargain.  They also expect the postage to be unrealistically cheap as well, wanting me to ship the book as cheaply as Thriftbooks does.  It doesn't work that way.  

I price the bulk lots to sell.  I want to move out all of the books that are in the lot.  In order to do that, I must offer the books at a great price per book.  If I sell individually, then the price goes back up to what it was before the book was placed in the bulk lot. 

I will expand on these thoughts in an upcoming post that I wrote last week.  It details a story about what a prospective buyer expected and how unrealistic it was.

Nancy Drew #7 Clue in the Diary 1st Printing in DJ eBay Auction

A first printing of Nancy Drew #7 The Clue in the Diary in dust jacket sold recently on eBay.  (Click on images in order to see them in higher quality.)

Both the book and the jacket meet the points for the first printing, 1932A-1.  The auction closed at $2,605.00.  

Here are prices for examples that have sold in the past.

February 26, 2008 post:

#7 The Clue in the Diary w/DJ, 1932A-1, 1st printing, $2,750.00

June 3, 2008 post:

#7 The Clue in the Diary, 1932A-1 w/DJ, $1,650.88

July 12, 2014 post:

The 1932A-1 first printing of The Clue in the Diary, $997.56.

I believe that the first printing in jacket has also sold for around $3,500 on one occasion.  

A discussion about this auction and others that closed at the same time occurred on Facebook.  I made the following comments.  

On September 15, I wrote:

Two things about eBay these days:

1.  Prices are extremely volatile.  A valuable first printing in jacket could sell at auction in the thousands one day and for a song at auction few weeks later.  It all depends upon who's looking during the time that the auction is active.

2.  Prices are being driven by people buying to resell, very often to list on other marketplaces.  The winning bidder of the recent Shadow Ranch 1st w/DJ, tonight's Diary 1st w/DJ, and tonight's Bungalow Mystery non-1st w/DJ is a reseller who purchased the books under his buying ID.  He was the runner-up bidder on Mysterious Letter.  He will most likely be selling all of the books that he purchased.

I was asked who will buy the books from the reseller.  I responded:

Some of them put the books right back on eBay with the price greatly marked up.  They do often make a profit.  Some buyers inconsistently check listings online, or they may impulsively purchase, thinking a high price means better quality.  Buyers like that are likely quite well off.

Some resellers sell to celebrities who don't deal with common folk.  Celebrities are fine with paying a premium.  The eBay user Bookbid is someone who sells to celebrities.  His Nancy Drew books are priced extremely high, and he doesn't expect to sell his books to any of us, just the rich and famous.  Bookbid doesn't appear to have bid on any of these recent listings.  When he does bid, he almost always wins.

A common tactic is to buy on eBay and then sell on Amazon or AbeBooks.  There are buyers who only check sites like those and never check eBay.  Those buyers probably never interact with any of us and aren't in these Facebook groups.

While $2,605.00 sounds like a high-end price, consider that someone purchased the book in order to resell it.  The question is, how much do they think they can get for it?  $4,000 or $5,000...?

All eBay Listings Restored + Creating Bulk Lots

I reactivated all of my eBay listings this week.

Jennifer's Series Books on eBay

After I did that, I deactivated my Nancy Drew Files books.  I gathered them together along with all of the unlisted extras.  I separated them out into several bulk lots, which I then listed.  Two of the lots have already sold.  

On Etsy, 71% of my listings are expired.

Jennifer's Series Books on Etsy

I'm glad for that, because it gives me leeway to create some bulk lots.  I pay for each listing on Etsy, so deactivating a bunch of listings turns into a headache.  I then have to change the listings to other books so that I don't lose what I paid for each listing's four-month duration.  Since most of my listings are expired, I can do whatever I want with them.

My next step will be to deactivate all of my Sweet Valley High books on eBay.  I will pull all of my expired Etsy SVH listings.  I also have a large number of unlisted extra SVH books.  I will gather all of them together and then work on creating bulk lots.

If I feel like I'm handling my eBay store okay, then I will begin reactivating my expired Etsy listings sometime between now and fall break, which is in three weeks.

The Value and Scarcity of Beverly Gray at the World's Fair

In this post, I expand upon what I mentioned about Beverly Gray at the World's Fair last night on Facebook.

I shared a photo of the book from my collection (first on the left) and the three extras that I currently have in my possession.

I wrote:

I mentioned in today's blog post that I have three extra copies of Beverly Gray at the World's Fair right now.  Here you can see them.  The first book is my copy, shown to indicate that the other three are indeed extras.  The second book is on eBay right now and is the second-lowest price of the books shown for sale online via BookFinder.com.  The third and fourth books are unlisted extras.

If you're looking for a copy of World's Fair, someone on AbeBooks has one available at a total cost of $73.90.  That's a lower price than you usually see.  Most sellers try to get $200+ for the bare book and $400+ if the book has a jacket.  Those prices are now too high.  The value appears to be starting to fall.  It will really drop off in five years (sorry, actually six but it's getting close) when the book enters the public domain.

As I expected, last night someone purchased the World's Fair book that I mentioned.  It was a good deal, and I'm glad someone got it.

What's going on with World's Fair right now is really just a crack in the veneer.  There are signs of the value going down.  The fact that I have been able to acquire three extras in the last year at reasonable prices is one sign.  That didn't use to happen.  That also has happened with Vicki Barr #15 The Mystery of Flight 908 in the last few years.  At one point, I had two or three extra copies of it.

20 years ago, the idea of having extra duplicate copies of these extremely scarce books was unthinkable.  The books aren't as scarce now.  They are still pricey for the most part, but the values are reaching the tipping point where we will soon see them fall off greatly.  More copies are showing up at reasonable prices.

This is because of the aging collector base.  Many collectors are downsizing, and the books are entering the secondhand market in greater quantities than perhaps they ever have.  This is causing the prices to decrease.

Furthermore, the aging collector base means that series like Beverly Gray will sharply decline in popularity.  Even now, Beverly Gray is only known to people in the series book community.  As the collector base ages, fewer and fewer people will care.  This has already happened with all of the very early series books.  Series like Poppy Ott, Jerry Todd, the Rover Boys, and the Corner House Girls still have fans, but they are mentioned very seldom in the discussion groups.  Most series book fans just aren't interested in the early series.

Even Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys are not immune.  There is an obvious crack in the Hardy Boys veneer, since the Hardy Boys Adventures series hasn't had a new title since 2023.  Simon & Schuster has said that the Adventures series will have a new title in 2025.  Even if they do release a new title, the publishing gap isn't helping interest in the series.  What I saw the last time I was in Barnes & Noble was dire.

Nancy Drew is in a slightly better position than the Hardy Boys, but only because Nancy Drew has been more popular than the Hardy Boys for most of the history of the two series. 

Beverly Gray at the World's Fair will become public domain on January 1, 2031.  When that happens, the value will really fall off.  I expect in 2031 that the bare book copies of World's Fair will collapse in value.  The copies in dust jacket should retain more of their value, since some collectors will always desire books with jackets.

I have one copy of World's Fair on eBay right now, and it's the worst condition of my three extras.  It's not bad, but you can clearly see in my photo that it is in lower-grade condition than the other copies.  I have been gradually lowering the price.  I just went from $134.99 to $129.99 last night.  I may have to reduce the price a bit more before it sells.  A few years ago, a World's Fair book priced at $129.99 would have sold pretty quickly.

The Order in Which I Acquired My Nancy Drew First Printings

Recent auctions of early and first printing Nancy Drew books on eBay got me to thinking about my acquisition of the first printings.  I compiled a list of the order in which I acquired my first printing Nancy Drew books in dust jacket. 

In some cases, I already had either just the first printing book or just the first printing jacket for a period of time before I finally ended up with the full matched set of first printing book and first printing jacket.  The dates seen here are for when I finally had both the book and the jacket. 

Some of the books and jackets were upgraded one or more times since the first acquisition.  The dates seen here are for my first acquisition of each title.  I suspect that there are a few where I do not have the actual first acquisition date, but these dates are pretty accurate for most of the titles.

I recall that I found a very early Old Attic book and jacket in the mid-1990s in a local antique shop.  I don't know if it was the true first printing, mainly because of how confusing Farah's Guide is concerning the first printings and formats of the 1940s. 

Looking at Farah's Guide, the Old Attic of the mid-1990s probably had the first printing jacket, but who knows what the book was.  It comes down to cover color. 

I know I have the first printing book now for certain reasons; I had a number of books on hand in 2002 and compared colors, using extrapolation to make my decision.  The date given here for Old Attic is from when I upgraded my purchase from the 1990s and decided that the copy I purchased in 2002 simply had to be the first printing even though I didn't understand the format variances.

My search for first printings lasted 20 years and 9 months.  As I worked on acquisition of all 38 first printings, I knew that the final title would be Old Clock.  I had very serious doubt as to whether I could acquire it.  Whenever a 1930A-1 jacket of Old Clock comes up for sale, the resellers converge on it.  Valuable first printings are books that the rich and famous covet, and the resellers offer the books to those people.  Nancy Drew collectors must spend a lot in order to acquire the breeder set (#1-3) first printings in dust jacket. 

At present, only 13 1930A-1 dust jackets of Old Clock are known to exist.  Mine was the 13th jacket to surface, and another has not been seen since.

#37  June 1998
#20  July 1998
#38  October 1998
#18  July 1999
#17  August 1999
#36  August 1999
#29  August 1999
#34  August 1999
#30  October 1999
#24  January 2000
#28  April 2000
#23  May 2000
#35  July 2000
#12  August 2000
#26  September 2000
#27  November 2000
#33  November 2000
#11  January 2001
#32  June 2001
  #8  May 2002
  #7  May 2002
#21  May 2002
#31  May 2002
#14  June 2002
#19  August 2002
#16  October 2002
#13  October 2002
#25  November 2002
#22  January 2003
#10  July 2003
  #6  October 2004
#15  April 2005 
  #9  January 2007
  #4  February 2010
  #2  October 2010
  #3  October 2010
  #5  September 2011
  #1  March 2019

I acquired 30 of the 38 first printings between 1998 and 2003.  The pace slowed down considerably for the final eight titles.  Not surprisingly, seven of the final titles were single-digit numbered titles.  #1-9 are tough to locate, and within that group, #1-5 are overall the very toughest.  #8 and #9 are real contenders to be as tough as #1-5.

The only reason I have all 38 first printings is that I decided to significantly increase what I was willing to pay once I was down to needing just four first printings, which were #1, 2, 3, and 5.  As in, I stayed under $500 for all first printing purchases until I was down to those four books.  I decided that I would go above $1,000 for those that I needed if a purchase opportunity presented itself.  I had concluded that I would never own first printings in jacket for #1, 2, 3, and 5 unless I became willing to compete with the resellers.

#7 has legendary status as a very tough first printing to acquire, but I view it kind of like Beverly Gray at the World's Fair.  World's Fair is considered very scarce just like the first printing of Clue in the Diary, but I feel like there are more copies out there than people realize.  In fact, I've had a few lucky purchases of World's Fair in recent months.  I have three extra copies of World's Fair on hand right now.  Yes, seriously.  That's why I don't see World's Fair to be as scarce as people think.  Quite a few copies are out there; the problem is that most sellers price them extremely high, making them out of reach.

I also am a bit biased concerning #7, since it was pretty much handed to me on a silver platter.  I purchased the bare first printing book for #8 on eBay, and the seller then sold me #7 in dust jacket for $25.  That's how I got my first printing book and jacket for #7.

Still, I've seen the first printing of #7 come up for sale quite a few times, especially bare books that are missing their jackets.  The book itself is not as scarce as people think.  The jacket is tough.

I am pretty sure that ALL of my first printing Nancy Drew books for #1-38 were purchased on eBay.  This is why it's astonishing and disappointing that so many people on Facebook refuse to look at eBay.  They complain that they can't find Nancy Drew books anywhere.  They are told to check eBay, but they refuse.  They see eBay as a place where it's too risky to buy.  The key is to use common sense on eBay and view sellers' feedback.  eBay is no riskier than anywhere else online.

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder Trilogy

The Good Girl's Guide to Murder Trilogy consists of these books.

1.  A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, 2020
2.  Good Girl, Bad Blood, 2021
3.  As Good as Dead, 2021

Publisher's summary of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder:

Everyone in Fairview knows the story.

Pretty and popular high school senior Andie Bell was murdered by her boyfriend, Sal Singh, who then killed himself.  It was all anyone could talk about.  And five years later, Pip sees how the tragedy still haunts her town.

But she can't shake the feeling that there was more to what happened that day.  She knew Sal when she was a child, and he was always so kind to her.  How could he possibly have been a killer?

Now a senior herself, Pip decides to reexamine the closed case for her final project, at first just to cast doubt on the original investigation.  But soon she discovers a trail of dark secrets that might actually prove Sal innocent... and the line between past and present begins to blur.  Someone in Fairview doesn't want Pip digging around for answers, and now her own life might be in danger.

The first two books are really excellent books.  The third book is much darker.  The first half of the third book is very much like the first two books, except that Pip has PTSD from what happened at the end of the second book.  This is understandable.  However, I did not expect the story to take the turn that it does halfway through the third book.  Still, I greatly enjoyed reading the second half of the third book but as something quite different from what I read for the first 2 1/2 books.  

I don't like what happens when the story turns.  While I understand that the PTSD leads Pip into the situation, it doesn't fit the content of the first two books.  It's just off.  Many readers share my opinion, while other readers are fine with the turn in the story.

I read most of the second half of the third book, but I skimmed at times due to being uninterested in the extremely detailed descriptions of everything that Pip does in this part of the story.  I was still invested in the story although I was less interested.  I wanted to see if events would turn out the way Pip wants.  I'm being careful with my wording so as not to give anything away. 

Most reviews for this series are overwhelmingly positive.  The negative reviews are in the extreme minority.  It should be noted that many of the negative reviews suggest not reading the third book, feeling that the third book ruins the story.  I don't feel that way, at least not exactly, but the third book is quite a downer.

The third book is heavy, dark, and foreboding.  Like the other two books, it has a mystery.  Unlike the other two books, the culprit is blindingly obvious.  The point of the third book isn't to fake out the reader; it is to set up what happens halfway through the book.  Beginning halfway through, the book turns into a thriller with a protagonist acting a bit different from what she is in the first 2 1/2 books.  

The high point of this series is Pip and Ravi's relationship.  It's just precious.