Buyer Confusion on Nancy Drew #21

Nancy Drew 1 - 56 Matte Yellow Spine Comp Set NR Item #390008185176

This auction was for a complete set of the matte yellow Nancy Drew picture cover books. This is the seller's picture:


Here we go:

Question: Hi, none of the books are the "Flashlight" hardback editions, correct ? What do the yellow banners on some of the books say? Can't see it clearly from the images. Thank you in advance.

Answer: Hi None are flashlight editions all are the older set The yellow at the top of a few Have the number out of the set and the title The blue tweed has a copyright from 1936 and the rest are copyrights in the 1960's and 1970's Thanks Henry

It is clear from the picture that the books are not flashlight editions. This buyer apparently does not know what the flashlight editions look like. I do not understand since I would think that if someone knows that they do not want the flashlight editions that they would also know what the flashlight editions look like.

Also, the buyer asks for what is on the yellow banners that are on some of the books. Since the books are not flashlight editions, there is certainly not going to be a flashlight on those banners. The banners have no significance except for indicating that the books with the banners are definitely from the 1970s or early 1980s rather than from the 1960s.

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LOT of 20 Vintage NANCY DREW MYSTERY books GREAT Shape Item #290276337389

The same person must be asking everyone whether they are selling flashlight editions.

Question: None of these books are the "Flashlight" hardcovers, correct? And there are no missing pages on any of them? Thanks in advance!

Answer: Hi. I am not sure what you mean by "Flashlight", but they are not the shiny hard covers. They are older with pictures drawn on both the front and the back inside covers. There are no missing pages on any of the books, my daughter just read them all, plus she read my other two lots that I have on auction and the pages are in GREAT condition! Thanks for looking! ~Amy :)

Why does the buyer not know what the flashlight editions look like? The above lot had a clear picture of matte picture cover editions. Could the buyer perhaps be trying to discover whether the books have double oval endpapers? I don't know.

The above listing is noteworthy because it sold for $315.50 for only 20 books. Normally a complete set of matte books sells for around $300.00.

Harriet Pyne Grove's Books

I have never read good comments about Harriet Pyne Grove and her books. The dust jackets are pretty, so I would like to collect the books. I have searched the archives of the Girls Series Group, and the only comments that I find make fun of her name or state that her books ramble. Has anyone actually read her books, and do they have any redeeming qualities? Has anyone read them and not liked them?

I have the book The Girl Scout's Problem Solved, which more correctly should be The Girl Scouts' Problem Solved, since the book appears to be about several Girl Scouts. Everybody makes errors in grammar and punctuation at times, but to do it in the title of a book? Please. Getting past that and the funny name, Harriet Pyne Grove, I have read a few pages. On page eight, I found this horrible sentence:

In spite of the girls' desire to reach Mrs. Farleigh before Cordy, all prostrated, as they thought should be brought home, the big car, which had been used to drive the two girls from the dock where the yacht landed them, was standing in front of the house.

WHAT??? I had to reread the sentence quite a few times and read past it before I fully grasped the meaning. Actually, I fully grasped the intended meaning, but I did not even then grasp how the words formed the meaning. Around half an hour later, I revisited the sentence, and I think I get it now—maybe.

Let's see if I can rewrite the sentence so that it makes a little more sense.

In spite of the girls' desire to reach Mrs. Farleigh and tell her about Cordy's accident before the man bringing Cordy home arrived with her, the girls arrived at the Farleigh home to discover that the man's vehicle had arrived first.

My version of the sentence is still rough, but at least it conveys the meaning a little better. It would help if I knew the man's name, but I do not believe it was given in the previous pages. Is this what Harriet Pyne Grove's books are like? If so, no wonder I cannot find any good comments about them.

Friday's Slipshod Package

As a matter of course, I have come to expect that quite a few of my online purchases will arrive in slipshod packaging. Even so, I am sometimes surprised at what does arrive in the mail. On Friday, I received my first completely open box. Here is what I found waiting for me on the porch:

The box was delivered upside down. Apparently the bottom came open, so the carrier turned the box over and delivered it upside down and open as seen above. There was only one small strip of tape used on the bottom of the box, and this was a heavy package. It is little wonder that the tape split and the box came open.

The seller used masking tape on the top of the box, and even the tape on the top of the box was torn.


Since the box arrived completely open, I had a sinking feeling that some of the books were missing. I was very surprised when I counted the books and found that all of them made it to me. The books may have been damaged by banging around in the box without any type of packing material, but I do not see anything obvious.

It is times like this when I wonder why I bother to pack well. It seems that I could just throw a bunch of books in a box, put a small strip of tape on the box, and send the box on its way. Only if I did that, the box would probably get destroyed in transit. I wouldn't get away with it. Besides, I like to do things the right way.

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Update: I finally went through the books and was very pleased with what I found. I bought this lot because I knew from the seller's picture that the books were all early or first printing Nancy Drew picture covers that list either to Fire Dragon or Pine Hill on the back cover. I have explained in some of my posts called "Buyer Confusion on Nancy Drew" how it is possible to determine the age of Nancy Drew books by observing the external appearance of the books. By what the spines looked like in the seller's picture, I knew what I would be getting. I never asked the seller a single question, but I knew with certainty how old the books were.

As I expected nearly every book lists to Fire Dragon on the back cover and just a few list to Whistling Bagpipes or Pine Hill. I knew the books were in excellent condition, which is why I bought them. With this lot, I upgraded twelve of my first printing picture covers. It is quite unusual for me to upgrade more than one book when I buy a lot like this one. I also upgraded my copy of Whistling Bagpipes with the trifold ad. The lot also contained Clue in the Diary with the 1932 text; I was unable to upgrade it since the book from this lot is in worse condition than the one I already had.

All in all, this is an outstanding group of early and first printing Nancy Drew picture covers, and they deserved to be better packaged than they were. It would have been a shame if some of the books had gone missing due to the open box.

Buyer Confusion on Nancy Drew #20

I continue to be baffled by the buyer questions that are posted on Nancy Drew listings. It is clear that these buyers have visited Nancy Drew websites and/or discussion groups and know that they want the original text books and glossy internal illustrations. I fail to understand why they have no idea what the books that they want look like and why they do not know which books have the characteristics that they desire.

In the last two weeks, I have seen a large number of pointless questions. I have already posted some of them and will post more in the coming days. I cannot imagine spending so much time asking questions about random listings—questions that are not necessary. As I have stated many times, buyers need to educate themselves about what the books they seek look like so that they do not have to ask so many questions. Buyers need to study formats pages so that they know what they want.

The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene Item #160298881135

This auction is for a blank endpapers edition of the first Nancy Drew book. Here is the seller's picture:

Question: please discribe endpapers and first 6 pages and how many pages it has.

Answer: The first two pages are blank. unnumbered page 4 has a full page black and white picture with the caption,"There's a clock in front of you......" unnumbered page 5 is the title page unnumbered Page 6 has two other stories listed, The Hidden Staircase and The Bungalow Mystery. next is page iii & iv - table of contents Story has 210 pages. The end pages have these titles per page This Isn't All The Nancy Drew Mystery Stories The Lilian Garis Books Carolyn Wells Books Amy Bell Marlowe's Books for Girls The Blythe Girls Books Buddy Books For Boys Great Sport Stories Western Stories For Boys Ted Scott Flying Stories Then 2 blank pages. One has a faded stamp of M P 50

It was not necessary to ask what kind of endpapers the book has since the book has no silhouette on the front cover. Nancy Drew books with no silhouette on the front cover also have no silhouette on the endpapers; that is, they have blank endpapers.

I do not understand why the prospective buyer wanted the seller to describe the first six pages. The buyer probably thought that the description of the first six pages would reveal whether the book is the first printing, but the answer to that mystery lies in the post-text ad pages, which the seller did list.

The buyer also wanted to know how many pages the book has. The book has the original text, which is true for all Nancy Drew books from this time period. The revision process did not begin until 1959, and this book is clearly from the early 1930s. Visit my formats page to see what 1930s-era Nancy Drew books look like. The above book cannot have anything other than the original 1930 text with 210 pages.

Nancy Drew Mirror Bay Black Print Back Cover

I recently posted that I had found two copies of The Secret of Mirror Bay with all of the print on the back cover in black. Normally, "Solve these Thrilling Mystery Stories with NANCY DREW" and "By CAROLYN KEENE" are in red ink.

I had also found one copy of The Whispering Statue with all of the print in black on the back cover. Both copies of The Secret of Mirror Bay plus the one copy of The Whispering Statue all list to Parchment on the back cover and on the order form inside the book.

I have now found a third copy of The Secret of Mirror Bay with all of the print in black on the back cover. This copy does not have the gray overstamp of the price on the back cover.


This third example of The Secret of Mirror Bay also lists to Parchment on the back cover and on the order form. Of the three Mirror Bays, two have the original price of $2.50 on the back cover while one has the gray overstamp of the price.

It is beginning to look like these books are not that hard to find. There must be more of them, because I now have found three copies of Mirror Bay without even trying. All of these books have turned up in complete sets or near complete sets of Nancy Drew picture cover editions from the 1970s that I bought on eBay.

Buyer Confusion on Nancy Drew #19

Nancy Drew First Edition The Whispering Statue 1937 Item #170278013174

This auction was for a true first printing of Whispering Statue. The seller's pictures were enough to verify that the dust jacket is the first/second printing dust jacket. The seller's answer to the question was enough to verify that the book is the first printing but was very hard to interpret.

Question: Good Morning. Can you please tell me the last title of the books listed within the book itself. I'm also interested in the number of glossies. Thanks for your time.

Answer: Hello. Thanks for your question. Starting from the back cover of the dustjacket and moving forward from the back of the book, the last books listed in the ads are: Judy Bolton Mysteries "The Riddle of the Double Ring" (Back cover); Dana Girls Mystery, "The Circle of footprints" (inside back cover of DJ); Judy Bolton Mystery Stories, "Mysterious Half Cat" (next to last page); Melody Lane Mystery Stories, "Dragon of the Hills" (next page); Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, "Mystery of the Ivory Charm" (the first book ad after last story page (pg 217); Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, "The Whispering Statue" (inside flap of front DJ). There is on glossy frontispiece showin Nancy Drew and a seaplane. The spine of the DJ is white. Thanks.

While the buyer's question did result in the seller giving a detailed answer, part of the question was not necessary. The buyer wanted to know how many glossies were in the book. The Whispering Statue was never printed with more than one glossy. All that it ever had was the glossy frontispiece with no glossy internals.

Vintage Nancy Drew Original Series 24 books dust jacket Item #220312476611

This auction was for a set of 24 Nancy Drew books, 23 of which were tweed books with dust jackets.

Question: What is the range of publicaton dates? What color are the covers of the books without the dustjackes on? What do the front flap pages in the books look like? Thanks for your response...

Answer: Hi, Thank you for your questions. I do not know the publication dates- it does not say. The copyright is 1960. The publisher is Grosset & Dunlop. How can I find out the date of publication? The books are blue without the dustjackets. The front flap pages of the books are like the back- blue ink depicting Nancy in different sluething positions, like peeking around a door, hiding behind a couch, etc. Please let me know how I can learn the answer to your question about the dates of publication. Thank you, and happy bidding! Lynn

First, the buyer asked for the publication dates. For all of the books except for #3, the question was pointless. All of the tweed books for #5 and up were printed in the original text and would all have the original copyright date, regardless of when the books were printed. The seller also did not understand what the buyer wanted, which made the question even more pointless.

Second, the buyer asked for the color of the covers of the books. This question puzzles me, since all Nancy Drew books printed in the dust jacket era are blue. I don't understand what the buyer was trying to discover.

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1930 Nancy Drew Mystery at Lilac Inn Item #220314068434

This is a blank endpapers edition of Lilac Inn.

Question: I can determine what printing this is since I own David Farah's guide. If your printing is earlier than my 1930C-3 printing I will take great interest in this one. You can tell me the name of the lists in the back of your book the first two or three pages after The End will likely allow me to tell you what your printing is. I will be home tomorrow evening and will do it right away for you.

Answer: Hi There, The end page which is page 200. Next page after not numbered, has This Isnt All on top of page with writting below. Next page on top reads The Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, with book titles below. Next Page Amy Marlows Books for Girls, with book titles below. Next page the last one The Puss- In -Boots, Jr. Series, with book titles below. I hope this answers your question. If not fell free to respond

Since only one printing of Lilac Inn has the combination of Nancy Drew, Amy Bell Marlowe, and Puss-In-Boots listed in the post-text ads, the seller's answer is enough information to determine that the book is the 1931B-5 printing. It should be noted, however, that the seller only gave the series titles and not the last title listed in each series, which is in most cases necessary in order to determine exactly which printing the book is. As I have already stated quite a few times, buyers must be very specific about what they need or the sellers will not answer the questions correctly.

Betty Gordon/Ruth Fielding Poll Results

My first Betty Gordon vs. Ruth Fielding poll has closed:


I want to know how many people who prefer each series have actually read both series. I have a new active poll in the right sidebar, so please vote if you have read and like either series.

Buying to Resell on eBay Part II

Here are some examples of people buying to resell.

Nancy Drew Book Lot Matte Picture Cover Mystery Stories Item #300274857260

This was for a lot of 44 Nancy Drew books: 24 early picture covers and 20 tweeds with jackets. Here is a screen capture of the bidding history:


The two highest bidders were both buying to resell. If you do not know who they are, search for Nancy Drew books and you can find them very easily. I believe that search results can be customized so that feedback displays in the results, so if that is done, the IDs can be found fast. They both have many books up for sale right now under the IDs used to bid on this auction. Notice how much lower the lot would have closed for if neither had been involved. Actually, it still would have closed for around the same amount because several other people would have bid above $100.00 if not for the two whose bids were placed. When certain resellers do not bid, others do.

Here is another example:

57 hardcover Nancy Drew Books 1-56 plus Rare Cook Book Item #200279226277

This complete set of Nancy Drew books closed at $110.50, which is a very good price. Here is the bidding history:


I know who the top two bidders are, so this one was definitely bought to resell. It would be a bit hard for others to figure out who they are, but I do know both IDs so there is no doubt.

Here is another listing:

LOT OF 13 DANA GIRLS MYSTERIES STORIES-CAROLYN KEENE! Item #120334267705

This lot contained 13 white spine Dana Girls picture covers, including Hundred-Year, Mountain Peak, and Witch's Omen. Here is the bidding history:


The two highest bidders are resellers. The second highest bidder is someone who sells complete sets of various series books such as Connie Blair, Judy Bolton, and Vicki Barr. Take that as a hint as to who it is.

I could give many more examples. I have seen listings in which the highest five to six bidders are all resellers, and I have seen listings in which the only bidders are all of the resellers. It is rather amusing to watch.