Auctions of Scandinavian Nancy Drew and Other Series Books

Some series book fans have trouble understanding why other fans collect the international editions.  That should be obvious.  It's for the same reason that we collect books with dust jackets or that we collect books in various formats like library editions.  We enjoy the differences in cover art or the different styles of books.  The cover art of the Scandinavian editions is especially gorgeous.

My very favorite books of the international editions are the Danish editions.  One example is seen at the left above.  My next favorite books are the Norwegian editions, with one example of an early book seen at the right.  I do love the original style Norwegian cover art as much as I love the Danish editions.  However, the later Norwegian cover art isn't as beautiful in my opinion, which is why I place the Norwegian editions overall in second place. 

Several collectors currently are building sets of Scandinavian series books.  For that reason, prices for Scandinavian Nancy Drew books have been especially high in recent months.  Some fans think that the prices are too high and that the bidders are being foolish.  Fans in Norway say that the books are only worth around $5 in Norway.  The value in Norway has no bearing on the value in North America. 

Different markets, different availability. 

This is simply a case of high demand for books that are in short supply in North America.

Let's think about this.

How exactly is the average collector living in the United States going to acquire Scandinavian series books?  I suppose that they could travel to a Scandinavian country, but that would be expensive with no guarantee of success.  The cost of the trip must be considered as part of the cost of any books that are found.

If a collector is lucky enough to find a contact in another country, then it is possible to acquire the books inexpensively.  Most collectors will not be able to find a contact.  This is why the prices are high.  More than one person wants the books, and so they must bid against each other.

If the people currently buying the books end up getting all that they need, then the prices will fall again.  However, this doesn't mean that the current buyers are paying too much for the books.  The buyers have no idea whether any additional copies of each title will surface or how long that might take.  These books are in short supply in North America with no guarantee of any future availability.

I have paid high prices for international editions myself.  I've had people laugh at me or criticize me for it.  It seems like how I choose to spend my money is my business.  The same goes for how anyone else spends their money.

I paid a large amount of money for all the Japanese Nancy Drew and Judy Bolton books that I purchased in 2018.

2018: The Year of the Japanese Series Book

I wrote:

When the books were mentioned on Facebook, some people questioned why the prices were so high.  Some thought that it would be better to go to Japan and find the books.  Assuming that the books could be found, one still has to pay airfare, lodging, and transportation.  The books would not be cheap once the other costs were factored in.  Of course, if one were to be going to Japan anyway, then the cost of the trip would be irrelevant.

However, this is assuming that the books can actually be found in Japan.  I have heard about collectors who have traveled to other countries and tried to find series books as they vacation.  They usually cannot find any, or they find very few.  The international editions are not just laying around waiting for one of us to show up.

I consider it far easier just to buy the books than to try to travel to Japan to purchase them.  If some of the books are priced a bit high, then that cost is a convenience fee.

The same is true for the Scandinavian books.  It is far easier to bid on an eBay auction than to travel to Norway and search for Norwegian Nancy Drew books.  

I took screen captures of recent eBay auction results.  The bottom line is that the buyers did not pay too much.  Most of the prices are lower than what I paid for each of the Japanese series books that I bought in 2018.  There, I said it.  Those books were expensive, but they were worth it to me, which is all that matters.

Always click on each image in order to see it clearly.  Blogger shows images at a low resolution until they are enlarged. 

The results are sorted by highest price first, but some appear out of order because the seller had a higher shipping charge on some listings.

More Vintage Japanese Nancy Drew and Judy Bolton Books

I recently acquired two more vintage Japanese Nancy Drew books and three more vintage Japanese Judy Bolton books.

The Japanese books tend to use the original English titles somewhere on the outside of the book or jacket or possibly on the title page.  The text of each book is entirely in Japanese.

This edition of Nancy Drew #12, The Message in the Hollow Oak, was published by Kodansha in 1958.  The book has a dust jacket, and the dust jacket has the original cellophane cover on it.

Dust jacket with cellophane cover

Dust jacket without cellophane cover

Cellophane cover

Front panel of dust jacket

Front cover of book

Back cover of book

Frontispiece

This edition of Nancy Drew #19, The Quest of the Missing Map, was published by Poplar in 1968.  The book and jacket have the same cover art.

Front panel of dust jacket

The cover art is a bit creepy.  That looks like a monster's hand reaching for the map.  The cover art gives the impression that The Quest of the Missing Map is a horror story rather than a mystery.  Perhaps Godzilla makes an appearance.

Frontispiece

This edition of Judy Bolton #1, The Vanishing Shadow, was published by Kodansha in 1957.

Book with dust jacket

Front panel of dust jacket

Front cover of book

Back cover of book

Frontispiece

Since the Nancy Drew Kodansha edition pictured at the beginning of this post has a cellophane wrapper on the dust jacket, I assume that this Judy Bolton book originally had one as well.

This next edition of Judy Bolton #1, The Vanishing Shadow, was published by Poplar in 1968.  The book and jacket have the same cover art.

Front panel of dust jacket

Frontispiece

This edition of Judy Bolton #16, The Secret of the Barred Window, is a hardcover book in a slipcase.  It was published in 1964.

Front of slipcase and front cover of book

Back of slipcase

Frontispiece

Previous posts:

2018: The Year of the Japanese Series Book
Vintage Japanese Judy Bolton Books Part 1
Vintage Japanese Judy Bolton Books Part 2
Modern Softcover Japanese Nancy Drew Books
Older Japanese Nancy Drew Books Part 1
Older Japanese Nancy Drew Books Part 2
Older Japanese Nancy Drew Books Part 3

Older Japanese Nancy Drew Books Part 3

I have two versions of The Sign of the Twisted Candles in Japanese.

Front of 1962 and 1971 slipcases

Back of 1962 and 1972 slipcases

The cover art on the 1962 book is rather disturbing.

1962 book

This Japanese edition of The Message in the Hollow Oak is from 1963.  The hardcover book comes in a slipcase.

This Japanese edition of The Mystery of the Ivory Charm is from 1983.  It is a hardcover book with dust jacket.

This Japanese edition of The Whispering Statue is from 1972.  The hardcover book comes in a slipcase.

Here are three versions of The Clue of the Tapping Heels. 

Front of 1968 and 1972 slipcases

Back of 1968 and 1972 slipcases

1985 dust jacket

Here are two versions of The Mystery at the Moss-Covered Mansion.

Front of 1968 and 1970 slipcases

Back of 1968 and 1970 slipcases

This Japanese edition of The Secret in the Old Attic is from 1956.  It is a softcover book with dust jacket.

This Japanese edition of The Ghost of Blackwood Hall is a hardcover book with dust jacket.  The book is from 1985.

This Japanese edition of The Scarlet Slipper Mystery is a hardcover book that is missing its dust jacket.  The book was published in 1968.

For more detailed information about the Japanese series books seen in this post, please visit the Japanese Nancy Drew books page of the Around the World with Nancy Drew website.

Older Japanese Nancy Drew Books Part 2

The Japanese Nancy Drew books pictured in this post were all purchased in 2018.

I have three different examples of The Secret of the Old Clock.

Front of 1965 and 1972 slipcases

Back of 1965 and 1972 slipcases

1985 dust jacket

This Japanese edition of The Hidden Staircase is a softcover book with dust jacket from 1956.

This Japanese edition of The Hidden Staircase is a hardcover book with dust jacket from 1968.

Here are three editions of The Secret at Shadow Ranch.

Front of 1967 and 1971 slipcases

Back of 1967 and 1971 slipcases

1985 dust jacket

This Japanese edition of The Secret of Red Gate Farm is a hardcover book with dust jacket.  It was published in 1974.  At least two other copies of this book sold on eBay in 2018.

This Japanese edition of Nancy's Mysterious Letter is a softcover book with dust jacket from 1961.

This Japanese edition of Nancy's Mysterious Letter is a hardcover book that is missing its dust jacket.  The book was published in 1968.

For more detailed information about the Japanese series books seen in this post, please visit the Japanese Nancy Drew books page of the Around the World with Nancy Drew website.