Wacky Auction Photos Part 2

Nearly three years ago, I posted some photos from eBay auctions that I found particularly amusing.  I followed up with my own parody of wacky seller photos along with advice on how sellers could impress their buyers with their photography skills.

Wacky Auction Photos

A Parody of Wacky Seller Photos

I recently compiled a bunch of photos from eBay listings.  These photos aren't particularly amusing or strange, but taken all together, they make an interesting group of photos.  It's interesting how sellers take different ordinary household items and use them to showcase the books.  My favorites are the photos that show different objects in the background, like knives and electrical cords.

Rick Brant #18 Flying Stingaree and #19 Ruby Ray Mystery

In Rick Brant #18, The Flying Stingaree, Rick and Scotty sail aimlessly in their houseboat in Chesapeake Bay with their only goal to visit Steve Ames at his home.  Rick sees a stingaree fly over their boat during a storm, and later, a stranger warns the boys not to be nosy about a certain man.  Of course the boys get involved, sensing a connection between the man and the stingaree, and soon, Steve Ames is just as engrossed in the boys' mystery.

In a bit of cross promotion, Rick asks Ken Holt for help in identifying the man in a photograph.  Likewise, Ken Holt asks Rick Brant for assistance in one of the Ken Holt books.

As with a number of the Rick Brant books, I found this book slow to get started.  The overall pace of the book is slow.  I found the climax of the book to drag a bit too much for my taste.  The events seemed to go on and on.  I enjoyed this book, but not as much as many of the others in the series.

In Rick Brant #19, The Ruby Ray Mystery, Rick and Scotty attend a scientific conference in Europe with Hartson Brant.  While at the conference, Steve Ames contacts the boys, asking them to keep an eye on one of the scientists, Dr. Keller.  He believes that Dr. Keller may be in trouble and wants the boys follow him.  This request leads Rick and Scotty on a harrowing trip across Europe.

On page 5, we learn that the word laser is "made up of the first letters of the phrase 'light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation.' "  Nowadays we are so familiar with lasers that the word doesn't need to be defined.

On page 15, the boys use "knapsacks of the kind used by European schoolboys for carrying lunches and books.  The boys had purchased the knapsacks for their own use at home because they were practical and easier to carry than a bag or briefcase."  I do believe that we are talking about backpacks, which must not have been yet in vogue in 1964.

Rick and Scotty come across as full adults in this book, even though they are still described as boys.  The plot of this book is quite sophisticated and also a bit convoluted.  However, the complicated plot does not detract from the story.  This is a thoroughly engaging book.  It is interesting to see how the boys track Keller across Europe.

Offers on eBay Listings

Some buyers have a real problem with items offered on eBay with free shipping.  They don't realize that I am paying part of the shipping cost, so they don't want to purchase multiple books without receiving a discount.  I break even when multiple books are purchased.  They have received a discount on the first book ordered when I offer an item with free shipping.

Back in September, a buyer offered me $49 plus shipping for seven different books on eBay.  I did not consider the offer.  I might have considered the offer if the buyer had presented it differently.  The buyer was probably figuring a postage cost of around $6 for the seven books and was willing to pay $49 plus $6.  It would have been complicated for me to have changed the listings.  I would have had to have taken seven listings and converted the postage from free to a postage cost of $3.95 plus $0.60 for each additional listing.  I would then have had to have figured the starting prices so that this would have worked out to what the buyer wanted to pay.

Alternatively, I could have canceled the listings and made one listing with all seven books plus postage, which would have solved the problem.  However, I did not want to cancel my listings and then have to create a new listing since I am allowed a set number free listings per month.  Moreover, I did not want to have to go to any extra trouble.  If you've read a recent post where I mentioned my reluctance to spend extra time on buyer questions due to illness and stress, then you'll understand why I didn't consider setting up a new listing.  I didn't want to mess with it.  If the buyer had stipulated a set price per book, like $8.00 with shipping still set as free, there is a small chance that I might have quickly edited the seven listings to $8.00 each so that the buyer could have made a purchase.

For these particular books, I was certain that I had not overpriced these books, since they were desirable books.  When the eBay listings expired, I moved all seven books to Bonanza.  It was clear that the eBay buyers wanted me to offer them below value.  I had received previous offers on these books.

Five of the books sold immediately on Bonanza.  The books sold in two different orders on Bonanza, and the prices paid ended up being within around $0.50 each of the prices of the original listings on eBay.  I was correct that I had not overpriced the books.

In another situation, I had a complete set of Nancy Drew books, #1-56, with the double oval endpapers.  I priced the set at $295 including postage.  I knew this was a bit steep and wasn't sure if the books would sell.  One day in early December, I almost reduced the price to $275.  I decided not to do it for whatever reason.  Just a few hours later on that same day, a buyer contacted me and asked if I would take $275.  Why not?  I had almost lowered the price a few hours before, so I told the buyer that I would lower the price.

I did lower the price, but the buyer did not purchase the set.  No matter.  Five days passed, and then a different buyer purchased the set.  Around two hours after the set sold, the buyer who had asked for the lower price contacted me to ask what had happened to the set, since she was going to buy it that evening.  Unfortunately, she waited too long to make the purchase.  She should have purchased the lot on the day that she made the request.  The price of $275 was at the right level that made the lot desirable to others.   

Rick Brant #16 Egyptian Cat Mystery and #17 Flaming Mountain

In Rick Brant #16, The Egyptian Cat Mystery, Rick and Scotty travel to Egypt with Parnell Winston.  Winston will be working on a project while the boys enjoy Egypt.  As a favor to a new acquaintance, Bartouki, Rick and Scotty take an Egyptian cat prototype with them to give to Bartouki's business partner.  The boys have trouble making the delivery, as it turns out that other men try to take the Egyptian cat away from them.

The Egyptian cat consists of lead that is covered with plastic.  Somehow the plastic makes the cat look like a reproduction of an authentic Egyptian artifact.  This is somehow an extraordinary idea, although I can't image how plastic over lead looks and feels just like sandstone.  That aside, this excellent idea is to be rushed into production in Egypt, so the boys take the statue to Egypt.  The story doesn't ring true.  I knew that the cat had to have been designed to hide something, yet the boys wonder for the entire book why the cat is important.  It's hard to enjoy a book when the protagonists, who have 15 previous adventures behind them and are seasoned detectives, act like complete idiots.

The cover art to this book is in the style of the later Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys Nappi covers, which is quite different from other Rick Brant books.

I did not find this story to be engaging.  It's hard to pinpoint exactly why, but the story didn't grab me.  The main reason probably has to do with the lack of a mystery about the cat, since I knew that it had to contain something important.  I did enjoy some parts of the book greatly, but much of the book was mediocre.

In Rick Brant #17, The Flaming Mountain, the Spindrift scientists head to San Luz island to try to save it from a volcanic eruption.  Fears are increasing that a volcanic eruption is imminent, and the Spindrifters gather data in hopes of coming up with a means to prevent an eruption from destroying the island.

This book is a return to the kind of adventure that I enjoy, although I do miss Chahda.

This is an engaging book.  The solution is a bit hard to believe.  As long as the reader doesn't worry about how logical that part is, then the book is quite enjoyable.

Buyers Thinking the Wrong Book Was Sent

I had a buyer contact me, telling me that I sent her the wrong book.  She told me that she expected to receive title A, which was pictured, and instead, she received title B.  This was a Nancy Drew book.  Pretty much, I was speechless. 

You see, I know how I package my books.  I know how easy it is to pack a different copy of a title or to switch address labels, thereby sending the wrong books to two different people.  Around 16 or 17 years ago, I had a suspicion that I might have switched labels right after I packed two boxes.  I opened one, and I discovered that I had switched labels.  Around the same time, I mailed the wrong copy of a book to someone and had to have that person mail the book to the correct recipient.  Ever since those incidents, I have been careful to make sure it doesn't happen again.  I was 99.9% certain I had sent her the right book.  I am not infallible, so I could possibly have messed up.

This is how I pack my books.  I find the title that was purchased.  To make certain that I have the right copy of the right book, I bring up the listing and get the picture enlarged.  I hold the book and compare it to the picture.  I make sure that both have the same wear patterns.  As long as I can find some blemishes, even very tiny ones, that match exactly, I know I have the same book.  Sometimes I discover that I have picked up the wrong book and have to go back to find another.  When I am satisfied that I have the correct book, I pack the book with the packing slip from that listing.  I make sure that I click on the "print label" link from that listing.  I completely finish sealing the box and applying the label before I begin on the next package.  That's why I was 99.9% certain I had mailed the right book.

I looked at the listing and thought about it.  This isn't always the case, but I remembered packing that book.  I won't get into the details, but there is a specific reason I remember.  It has to do with when I was checking for wear patterns and looking over the listing.  I knew I had packed that book a week before.  I had mailed out no copies anytime in recent weeks of the title the buyer said she received.  I couldn't have mailed the book she received.

I told the buyer that I was certain I had mailed the right book and asked for a picture of what she received.  I also told the buyer my name and asked if my name was on a packing slip inside the package.  Meanwhile, I continued thinking about the book.  There was still a chance I could have screwed up.  I thought of one possibility.  I had a stack of Nancy Drew books on the floor that had been there since around the time that I packed this book.  There was a slight chance that I could have somehow switched the book with one from that stack.  I still had the books stacked, so I brought up the listing from which they were purchased and compared the books to the listing.  The books were all there, and the book I was supposed to mail was not in the stack.  I had to have mailed the right book.

Shortly, the buyer sent me a picture of an envelope with another seller's name on it along with a UK edition Nancy Drew book.  I told her that the seller was not me, because we have different names and live in different states.  The buyer told me that she had begun to wonder after she received my response giving my name, which was different from the sender's name.  She agreed that I didn't send her that package.  That was the end of it.

I probably have around one buyer per year tell me that I sent the wrong book.  The situation always gets resolved when they figure out that they have confused me with another seller.

Rick Brant #14 Pirates of Shan and #15 Blue Ghost Mystery

In Rick Brant #14, The Pirates of Shan, Howard Shannon and Tony Briotti have disappeared while on an expedition in the Sulu Sea.  Rick, Scotty, and Zircon travel to the Philippines to see if they can find the missing scientists.  They soon learn that the Pirates of Shan are likely responsible for abducting the scientists and that the pirates are formidable opponents!

This book reads like a companion novel to The Golden Skull since the setting is once again the Philippines along with the surrounding area and includes some of the same characters from that book.

I thought that Chahda's English pronunciation took a nosedive in this book.  Why make him seem more stupid?  Speaking of Chahda, this was the last book to feature him.  Some people have theorized that perhaps the changing times caused Chahda to be dropped from the series because of the racial stereotyping.

This is possible, since The Pirates of Shan was published in 1958.  The last Nancy Drew book to have obvious racial stereotyping was The Haunted Showboat, which was copyrighted 1957. 

This book has no science and is purely adventure.

In one scene, Rick carefully avoids killing a pirate and finds a way to knock him out.  In another scene, Rick and Scotty shoot pirates with a rifle and arrows.  While the reader does not know for sure, it is implied that some pirates die.  It's a bit strange for Rick to go to great lengths to avoid killing a pirate and then go on an apparent killing spree later in the book.

As always, the beginning of the book has much expository information, although it did not drag as much for me as in some other books.  It is at about page 63 that the main action truly begins, and the book is quite fast-paced from that point on.

This book is quite good.

In Rick Brant #15, The Blue Ghost Mystery, Barby and Jan beg the boys to come investigate the ghost that appears near the Millers' property in Virginia.  The ghost of a Union soldier appears nightly near the old mine.  Rick and Scotty believe that the ghost is a hoax and set out to prove it.

This is another of those stories where a ghost is used to frighten people.  I find it hard to believe that everyone would have been frightened away from a campsite because of a ghost sighting.  Nowadays, everyone would flock to the campsite with their cell phones waiting to take pictures of the ghost so that they could post the pictures on Facebook.

While I enjoyed this book, I did not find this story to be very compelling.  It was enjoyable, but in some places I felt like the story dragged. 

German Three Investigators Master of Death and Final Thoughts

In Master of Death, the Three Investigators take part in the filming of a short drama for a school project.  The students find an old house to use for filming.  The owner informs the Three Investigators that they must not touch the puppets or disturb the chalk line that serves as a magical barrier.  The puppets are cursed, and if the barrier is broken then the students will be in grave danger.

Ooh, this sounds spooky!  M. V. Carey would have come up with a plot like this one.

On page 43, it is stated that a 400 year old puppet is not that valuable.  I find it strange how often in the Three Investigators series that very old items are said not to be valuable.

I greatly enjoyed this book.

The German Three Investigators books fall between the Crimebusters series and the original Three Investigators series as to how good the books are.  Some titles are as good as the original series.

This is how I rank the books.  I have indicated the condensed books in green.

Outstanding:

The Haunted Ship
Valley of Horror
Evil Games
Ghost Train
Ghost Village
Soccer Trap

The books I ranked as outstanding are as good as the original Three Investigators books.  In particular, The Haunted Ship, Valley of Horror, and Ghost Train are not only as good as the original series but have the same atmosphere as the original series.  These three books hit the mark quite well and are actually better than some books in the original series, such as the higher-numbered ones.

Very Good:

Hidden Fouls
The Curse of the Cell Phone
Mysterious Testament
Pharoah's Message
Pirate's Curse
Vampire City 
Master of Death

These books are a step down from the previous group, but they are still quite good and are above average.  My two favorites from this group are Pirate's Curse and Vampire City.

Good:

Poisoned E-Mail 
Dangerous Quiz Show
Canyon of Demons 
Black Madonna 
Soccer Mania
Web Phantom

The "good" books can also be considered borderline mediocre.

Did not like:

Soccer Gangsters
Hollywood Horrors
Arctic Adventure
Bite of the Beast

This last group is mediocre or not good.  Hollywood Horrors is the only one in this group that was not shortened for the English translation.  The condensed books tend not to be as good as the ones that were not shortened.

The books in the German series are uneven in quality, like the higher-numbered books from the original series.  Some books are excellent while others are not as good.  The premise also varies somewhat depending upon who wrote the books.  Some books mention Bob having lots of girlfriends, while other books have the boys using chalk like in the early books from the original series.

Overall, the German books are worth reading.

My 2014 Book Year in Review

I have always used reading as escapism, and I become an unusually voracious reader during times of great stress, particularly when the stress is caused by a physical ailment.  I didn't realize as 2014 began that it would be a year of great stress and illness and that I would use books as escapism to a greater degree than I ever have in my entire life. 

I began 2014 reading In the End, the second volume in Tracey Ward's Quarantined dystopian series.  I quickly followed by reading Zombie Attack! Rise of the Horde by Devan Sagliani and then Erased by Jennifer Rush.

My next task was forcing myself to continue reading the Nancy Drew Digest books.  I had taken a long break to read the dystopian novels that I just mentioned in addition to a good many others that I read at the end of 2013.  I had been sidetracked from the Nancy Drew Digests for at least two months.  I resumed my reading of the books with #92 The Ghost of Craven Cove on approximately January 19.

I became sick around January 28 or January 29.  I didn't realize immediately how sick I was.  I gradually figured it out over the next week as I made some very unusual errors, including leaving an electric skillet on and the deletion of a not-yet-published blog post on February 1.  Ugh.  I had to quickly rewrite the deleted post from memory, and I know parts didn't get rewritten.  Fortunately, I was able to recreate it pretty well.

I got worse and had to miss work on February 4.  I made it to work on February 5 and later realized that had been a bad idea.  I was relieved when school was closed on February 6 and 7 due to snow, giving me a four-day weekend.  I was not well.  I was somewhat better the next week, and my illness lingered for around a month.

Meanwhile, I read and read Nancy Drew books.  I finished #175 in the Nancy Drew Digest series on March 22.  I observed that even though I was over my illness that I was quite rundown and not well.  So I kept reading.

I acquired two pieces of advertising memorabilia in March, one new and one old.

 

Also in March, I first learned about the Valerie Drew stories.

I read through the entire Nancy Drew Girl detective series, finishing on May 10.  After I finished the Girl Detective series, I read the Nancy Drew Diaries books.  I then read Sky Raiders by Brandon Mull and played the Nancy Drew game, The Shattered Medallion.

I began the Three Investigators series around May 20 and finished around July 16 or 17.  Meanwhile, I wasn't feeling that great in June and July with a bunch of symptoms that could have been anything.  I didn't realize it until much later, but I was in rather bad shape.  The Three Investigators helped me during that time.  I decided to catalog my collection in July, and you wouldn't believe how fast I went. I was miserable.  I felt bad and stressed out because of how awful I felt, and I didn't know what was wrong with me.

I read the Three Investigators Crimebusters books from around July 17 to August 4 and followed up with the German Three Investigators books from August 5 through September 20.  During this time I was quite ill and was diagnosed with hypothyroidism.  I received medication, and as my body adjusted, I went through six weeks of feeling worse with bad reactions.

I only mention this because it has had a profound effect on me and should explain some remarks I have made.  I mentioned in July that I had "motivational issues that I need to overcome."  That is one of the symptoms.  This is also why I have been terse when answering questions and why I have skipped some details when listing books online.  I have managed to do everything I normally do, but I have had to figure out how to do things in an easier, quicker fashion.  I expect myself to perform my duties at or as near as possible to 100% regardless of any hardship. 

I got over the bad reactions but then cold and flu season began.  I began to catch one virus after another beginning in the middle of September.  I also had dental work that didn't go well resulting in intense pain that lasted for an entire month.  Bad toothaches are awful.  So I had to keep reading and reading.  I also ate lots of chocolate ice cream.  Reading and ice cream go great together.

After I finished the German Three Investigators books, I read The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey and Tearing Down the Wall by Tracey Ward.  I read the follow-up book to the Parallel Trilogy by Christine Kersey.  I played the Nancy Drew game, Labyrinth of Lies.

I read the entire Rick Brant series from early October through December 11.  I immediately followed up with the six books in the Brains Benton series and the six Power Boys books.  I felt worse in December, a cumulative effect of having caught around 10 viruses since early September.  Must...keep...reading.

On December 31, I received a higher dose of medication.  2015 begins with my body starting the adjustment process to the new dosage, and I will probably resume catching viruses once school starts back in a few days.  Meanwhile, I started reading Ken Holt #1 on December 30 and will hopefully read through the Ken Holt series during the next month unless I get sidetracked onto something else.  I have read the Ken Holt books before, and I want to see how Ken Holt compares to Rick Brant.

The beginning of 2015 will be like 2014 for me.  This is good for all of you, since my reading pace will not slow anytime soon.  For the next couple of weeks, I plan to schedule some posts closer together so that I can reduce the number of posts in the queue.  My reading has been so rapid that I have many posts already written.

I read at least 262 books in 2014.  I might have read one or two more.