First, I want to remind everyone that I have books for sale on eBay and Etsy.
Jennifer's Series Books on Etsy
I have recently listed many Cherry Ames, Dana Girls, and Trixie Belden books. I have also listed many British and French Nancy Drew books.
Jennifer's Series Books on eBay
On eBay, I have a wide variety of series books. I also have quite a few bulk lots that are priced to sell.
Jennifer's Series Books on Facebook
I regularly post interesting links and information on my Facebook page.
We have groups for selling series books on Facebook including one new group.
Sleuthing for Vintage Children's Series Books
This first group is often mistaken as a discussion group, but it is solely for sales with no discussion. We have had problems with people joining and not reading the rules, so the group photo now consists of rules in order to get more people to notice them.
Books for Sale Roundup
This new group with looser rules has recently been created. This group was created by a series book fan but allows other types of books to be offered as well.
We also have series book discussion groups on Facebook.
Modern Children's Series Books
This group is for modern children's and young adult books.
Vintage Teen Books
This group is for vintage teen and young adult books. Currently, the group is mainly focused on teen books from the 1980s and 1990s like Sweet Valley High, R. L. Stine, Christopher Pike, and other similar books.
Collecting Vintage Children's Series Books
This group focuses on juvenile series books from the 20th century. Think Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Tom Swift, Judy Bolton, Dana Girls, and all of our favorites.
Nancy Drew Book Fans
This group is for fans of the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories.
Nancy Drew Game Fans
This group was created for fans of the Nancy Drew games by Her Interactive.
Trixie Belden
This group is all about Trixie Belden.
Judy Bolton Fans
Members of this group love Judy Bolton.
Vintage Stratemeyer Syndicate Series
This group is focused on the books created by the Stratemeyer Syndicate.
Stratemeyer Syndicate
This is another group devoted to the Stratemeyer Syndicate.
Maltshop Romance Roundup
This group is dedicated to teen romance books of the late 1940s up through the 1960s.
Monday, June 18, 2018
Sunday, June 17, 2018
The Problem of Pricing Books
Sellers often face the dilemma of wondering how to price books for which they do not know the value. This happens to me fairly frequently when I sell books that I do not collect or do not actively follow on eBay. In this post, I will detail two recent experiences in which I had to guess at prices.
Some sellers are paranoid about pricing and price books at consistently steep prices in order to avoid ever selling a book at below cost. Unfortunately, this practice keeps the books away from people who would like to purchase them. I prefer for my books to sell, even if I sometimes get less for a book than it might be worth.
A few months ago, I purchased a large number of Choose Your Own Adventure (CYOA) books locally. The books were cheap, but they were also library discards in rough shape. I was aware that CYOA is a popular franchise, which is why I purchased the books. However, I had no idea how to price the books.
I spent around an hour researching the different sets of CYOA books. The original set was published by Bantam Books in the 1980s and 1990s. Random House purchased Bantam Books in 1998 and somehow let the trademark for CYOA lapse, thereby losing the rights to publish the series. It's amazing that a modern publishing company was so careless.
One of the authors of the original CYOA series, R. A. Montgomery, gained the rights to the series and founded the Chooseco company, which has since issued multiple reprint sets and sets consisting of new titles. The Chooseco sets are also quite desirable and sought by fans of the franchise.
I figured out that the books I purchased were a mixture of original Bantam books and books from two different Chooseco sets. I separated the books by type, then checked eBay sold listings. I could not list the books for as high as other listings, because mine were in rough shape. I went with bulk lots and priced accordingly. Here are some photos that show the rough condition and the library stickers.
All sets sold quickly within a few days of being listed. I kept wondering if I had priced the books too low. I don't think so. Condition is important, and I couldn't ask as much for the books as if they had been in nice shape. I assume that the people who purchased my books wanted to read them, and rough condition library discards read just as well as more expensive nice copies. My bulk lots served that purpose fine and saved the buyers some money.
I am also not very knowledgeable of past Ken Holt prices. Each time I have extra Ken Holt books, I check eBay sold listings and come up with prices. Auction prices tend to be below value. Fixed-price listings that have not yet sold tend to be above value. Fixed-price listings that have sold indicate what someone was willing to pay but are not necessarily indicative of the actual value.
I look at both sold and unsold listings and come up with a price that is usually above the auction results but below the fixed-price listings that have not yet sold. My price is also heavily influenced by the condition of the book. Condition is important, and when books have certain flaws, they must be priced lower than books that do not have those flaws. Most of the Ken Holt books that I listed in early May had sticker scars on the front panels and/or spines of the dust jackets. Sticker scars reduce value. The books also smelled of cigarette smoke, which does fade in time but is a significant flaw.
Most of my Ken Holt books sold rather fast, which is what always happens when I list Ken Holt books. Here are the listings that have sold.
Here is another picture of The Mystery of the Sultan's Scimitar which shows the faded spine.
I would have priced the book higher if not for the faded spine. The book sold almost immediately after being listed, and I am pretty confident that the book was purchased to resell. I guess that means that I could have gotten more for the book, but I did not feel that a higher price was justified.
I was asked to reduce the price of The Mystery of the Plumed Serpent shortly after I listed it. I ignored the request since my book was in a tie for the lowest price online. The prospective buyer later purchased the book at my original price.
Two books did not sell in the first listing cycle but have sold in the second listing cycle.
During the first listing cycle I was asked to reduce The Mystery of the Invisible Enemy to just $20. Considering how fast the other books sold, I was not about to do that. I did end up getting my original listing price of $34.99.
Two books, seen below, are the only ones that have not yet sold.
Even though all of the Choose Your Own Adventure and many of the Ken Holt books sold fast, I don't regret how I priced the books.
Some sellers are paranoid about pricing and price books at consistently steep prices in order to avoid ever selling a book at below cost. Unfortunately, this practice keeps the books away from people who would like to purchase them. I prefer for my books to sell, even if I sometimes get less for a book than it might be worth.
A few months ago, I purchased a large number of Choose Your Own Adventure (CYOA) books locally. The books were cheap, but they were also library discards in rough shape. I was aware that CYOA is a popular franchise, which is why I purchased the books. However, I had no idea how to price the books.
I spent around an hour researching the different sets of CYOA books. The original set was published by Bantam Books in the 1980s and 1990s. Random House purchased Bantam Books in 1998 and somehow let the trademark for CYOA lapse, thereby losing the rights to publish the series. It's amazing that a modern publishing company was so careless.
One of the authors of the original CYOA series, R. A. Montgomery, gained the rights to the series and founded the Chooseco company, which has since issued multiple reprint sets and sets consisting of new titles. The Chooseco sets are also quite desirable and sought by fans of the franchise.
I figured out that the books I purchased were a mixture of original Bantam books and books from two different Chooseco sets. I separated the books by type, then checked eBay sold listings. I could not list the books for as high as other listings, because mine were in rough shape. I went with bulk lots and priced accordingly. Here are some photos that show the rough condition and the library stickers.
All sets sold quickly within a few days of being listed. I kept wondering if I had priced the books too low. I don't think so. Condition is important, and I couldn't ask as much for the books as if they had been in nice shape. I assume that the people who purchased my books wanted to read them, and rough condition library discards read just as well as more expensive nice copies. My bulk lots served that purpose fine and saved the buyers some money.
I am also not very knowledgeable of past Ken Holt prices. Each time I have extra Ken Holt books, I check eBay sold listings and come up with prices. Auction prices tend to be below value. Fixed-price listings that have not yet sold tend to be above value. Fixed-price listings that have sold indicate what someone was willing to pay but are not necessarily indicative of the actual value.
I look at both sold and unsold listings and come up with a price that is usually above the auction results but below the fixed-price listings that have not yet sold. My price is also heavily influenced by the condition of the book. Condition is important, and when books have certain flaws, they must be priced lower than books that do not have those flaws. Most of the Ken Holt books that I listed in early May had sticker scars on the front panels and/or spines of the dust jackets. Sticker scars reduce value. The books also smelled of cigarette smoke, which does fade in time but is a significant flaw.
Most of my Ken Holt books sold rather fast, which is what always happens when I list Ken Holt books. Here are the listings that have sold.
I would have priced the book higher if not for the faded spine. The book sold almost immediately after being listed, and I am pretty confident that the book was purchased to resell. I guess that means that I could have gotten more for the book, but I did not feel that a higher price was justified.
I was asked to reduce the price of The Mystery of the Plumed Serpent shortly after I listed it. I ignored the request since my book was in a tie for the lowest price online. The prospective buyer later purchased the book at my original price.
Two books did not sell in the first listing cycle but have sold in the second listing cycle.
During the first listing cycle I was asked to reduce The Mystery of the Invisible Enemy to just $20. Considering how fast the other books sold, I was not about to do that. I did end up getting my original listing price of $34.99.
Two books, seen below, are the only ones that have not yet sold.
Even though all of the Choose Your Own Adventure and many of the Ken Holt books sold fast, I don't regret how I priced the books.
Saturday, June 16, 2018
Continuing the Search for Hardcover Nancy Drew Digest Books
I have written of my quest to find the hardcover library editions of all of the Nancy Drew Digest books from #57 up through #175. I have been working on this set for over 17 years. My earliest hardcover Nancy Drew Digest books were acquired on May 21, 2001.
Building a Set of Hardcover Nancy Drew Digest Books
13 More Nancy Drew Digest Hardcover Books Left to Find
On August 8, 2017 and December 22, 2017, I acquired three more of the books taking the total I needed down to just 10 books.
I continually tell people that eBay should be checked every single day. Even if eBay has nothing of interest for 30 or more straight days, keep checking. eBay is my primary source for these books, since typically all sellers photograph their books. They can be spotted easily.
By the way, I do not have memorized which of these books that I need. I know I need #175, but I do not know the other titles offhand. I have to look at my list or check my shelf. So...
In the late afternoon of June 13, I was checking eBay and spotted a hardcover library edition of Nancy Drew #114 The Search for the Silver Persian. It had just been listed. As I stated, I do not have the titles that I need memorized, but this one seemed like it might be one of them. I dashed to the other side of the house to look at my books. Sure enough, my books skipped from #113 to #116. I dashed back to make the purchase.
This seller only accepts credit cards, so I had to enter a credit card number. Annoying, but whatever. The card failed due to an eBay glitch. On June 13, eBay had glitches everywhere. I could not even look at many of my own listings because of errors. I tried again, feeling a bit stressed because I did not want someone to get the book. The card failed again. I then tried another card. Yay! It worked. I got the book purchased.
The book arrived today.
I now need just nine more hardcover Nancy Drew Digest books. The following books are the ones that I still need.
115. The Suspect in the Smoke, 1993
122. The Message in the Haunted Mansion, 1994
130. The Sign of the Falcon, 1996
148. On the Trail of Trouble, 1999
158. The Curse of the Black Cat, 2001
160. The Clue on the Crystal Dove, 2001
169. The Mistletoe Mystery, 2002
170. No Strings Attached, 2003
175. Werewolf in a Winter Wonderland, 2003
Here are all of my books. Click on any image to see a larger version.
Building a Set of Hardcover Nancy Drew Digest Books
13 More Nancy Drew Digest Hardcover Books Left to Find
On August 8, 2017 and December 22, 2017, I acquired three more of the books taking the total I needed down to just 10 books.
I continually tell people that eBay should be checked every single day. Even if eBay has nothing of interest for 30 or more straight days, keep checking. eBay is my primary source for these books, since typically all sellers photograph their books. They can be spotted easily.
By the way, I do not have memorized which of these books that I need. I know I need #175, but I do not know the other titles offhand. I have to look at my list or check my shelf. So...
In the late afternoon of June 13, I was checking eBay and spotted a hardcover library edition of Nancy Drew #114 The Search for the Silver Persian. It had just been listed. As I stated, I do not have the titles that I need memorized, but this one seemed like it might be one of them. I dashed to the other side of the house to look at my books. Sure enough, my books skipped from #113 to #116. I dashed back to make the purchase.
This seller only accepts credit cards, so I had to enter a credit card number. Annoying, but whatever. The card failed due to an eBay glitch. On June 13, eBay had glitches everywhere. I could not even look at many of my own listings because of errors. I tried again, feeling a bit stressed because I did not want someone to get the book. The card failed again. I then tried another card. Yay! It worked. I got the book purchased.
The book arrived today.
I now need just nine more hardcover Nancy Drew Digest books. The following books are the ones that I still need.
115. The Suspect in the Smoke, 1993
122. The Message in the Haunted Mansion, 1994
130. The Sign of the Falcon, 1996
148. On the Trail of Trouble, 1999
158. The Curse of the Black Cat, 2001
160. The Clue on the Crystal Dove, 2001
169. The Mistletoe Mystery, 2002
170. No Strings Attached, 2003
175. Werewolf in a Winter Wonderland, 2003
Here are all of my books. Click on any image to see a larger version.
Even though I am building a set of the Nancy Drew Digest books in hardcover, the books were not issued in a set. In fact, not all of the books may even exist in hardcover. Notice that my books are an eclectic mixture of different types of bindings. Binderies rebind books that libraries send them. There is no guarantee that a softcover copy of every Nancy Drew title from #57 up through #175 was sent to a bindery to be rebound as a hardcover. That is why I do not know if I can ever complete the set. I do believe it quite likely that the lower-numbered titles that I need were rebound as hardcovers. I am not so sure about the higher-numbered ones, but I will continue my quest.
Friday, June 15, 2018
Roy Stover #3 Cliff Island Mystery and #4 Circle of Fire
Brackenbone goes to Cliff Island, which he owns. Roy follows him there to get information and discovers a suicide note. Roy finds some of Brackenbone's clothes scattered on the cliff, and all evidence indicates that Brackenbone is dead. Furthermore, Brackenbone's money is missing. Roy has a hunch about what really happened and hopes that he can learn the truth.
After Roy finds the suicide note, he searches the empty house. This portion of the book is quite foreboding. On page 102, Roy, while inside the dark house, concludes that Brackenbone might have shot or hanged himself inside the house. Roy then begins to search the house for the body. On page 105, Roy is "fearful of some dangling object that the searching light might at any moment expose." This story is definitely for older readers.
Roy is alone on Cliff Island during much of the story.
This is a weak and ridiculous story. Three different groups of people are hanging out on the Boswell property for different purposes, and the three groups have nothing to do with each other. Each group also doesn't seem to know that the other two groups are on the property.
On page 219, Roy finally figures out how stupid this story is when he remarks, "This mystery is not at all what I thought it would be." I was disappointed as well, but I figured out much earlier in the story that the mystery would end up being stupid. Poor Roy takes it seriously up until page 219.
When Roy discovers the professor in the basement, a bunch of barrels fall down, and the professor is hit and presumably is knocked out. On page 52, Roy thinks that the professor might have gone crazy. Roy tells himself that "if the old 'bugologist' is in here with me, I'm getting out, and I hope he is unconscious. This is no place for a healthy lad who wants to stay that way." Say what!? Roy hopes the man is unconscious when there is nothing to indicate that he is a criminal. This is bizarre. Roy then leaves without checking on the professor to see if he is okay.
While I did not enjoy this book, it is overall very good and comparable to the Hardy Boys books of the same time period. The story would have been better as a Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys book and simply doesn't fit with the other Roy Stover books. To clarify, the major series of the Stratemeyer Syndicate often have ridiculous plots but are still quite enjoyable to read. The first three Roy Stover books are masterpieces. The fourth book falls far short of that level.
The Mystery of the Circle of Fire does not strike the same tone as the other books in the set. Roy is very introspective in the first three books and does lots of investigation alone. He investigates alone some in this book, but he spends much more time talking to others about the case and is often accompanied by others.
I never cared about the story in this book and felt that it was a bit stupid all along. Of course, the book has a different author, but I presume that whoever outlined the story was not the same person who did it for the first three titles. I usually like books written by Walter Karig, but I did not enjoy this one because of the flawed story.
The first three books in this series are excellent to outstanding. The fourth book is a disappointment.
Wednesday, June 13, 2018
The Mercer Boys #3 Treasure Hunt and #4 Mystery Case
The professor plans to join Ned in search of the galleon, and he invites Don and Jim to go with him. Terry later joins the expedition. In Lower California, the boys soon learn that others have heard about the missing galleon.
It is an extremely unlikely coincidence that Terry meets the professor on page 38 in San Francisco. The world is a large place, but the Mercers' best friend just happens to encounter them during their trip.
I am sure that many of us can identify with this passage from page 81.
The professor enjoyed his day of solitude. Long years of serious study and instructive reading had made him one of the men who prefer being alone to mixing with a noisy crowd. Not that the professor was the least bit snobbish or unsociable, but he loved the quietness of inner thought and the companionship of a book.Captain Blow, who is a character in The Mercer Boys' Cruise on the Lassie, makes an appearance on page 183.
This is a very good book.
Morrell tells the boys how Arthur Gates won the 1913 cup in an academic contest in which he had bested William Long in an earlier round. After Gates won the cup, Long had some type of argument with him and seemed bitter. Long was to present the cup to Gates, since Long was the senior class captain. Long kept the cup overnight in his room, where it vanished. Long was widely believed to be the person who took the cup and has since lived in disgrace. The Mercers believe that Long was innocent and set out to prove it by finding the cup.
On page 5, the boys are said to be in their early twenties.
On page 48, Long remarks that some of his classmates "are resting in France. I was there, too, and it is just by the mercy of the Almighty that I am not resting there now." This quote gave me pause to reflect on the death toll of World War I.
This is an excellent and highly engaging story. I was captivated as I tried to figure out the solution to the deeply engaging mystery of the 1913 class cup.
Monday, June 11, 2018
Roy Stover #1 Lakeport Bank Mystery and #2 Snowbound Express
The Roy Stover series is a Stratemeyer Syndicate series that consists of four books.
1. The Lakeport Bank Mystery, 1929
2. The Mystery of the Snowbound Express, 1929
3. The Cliff Island Mystery, 1930
4. The Mystery of the Circle of Fire, 1934
The first three books were written by John W. Duffield, and the last book was written by Walter Karig. The first three books were originally published by Barse and later by Grosset and Dunlap. The fourth book was published by Grosset and Dunlap. The Barse books are extremely scarce, and the Grosset and Dunlap books are scarce.
This series was aimed at young adults rather than children. The language and content is more mature than that of the average vintage series book. The stories are of high quality.
In Roy Stover #1, The Lakeport Bank Mystery, Roy starts working as a cub reporter on his father's newspaper. Roy hopes for a big story to cover and soon he gets one when the Lakeport bank is robbed. Roy's big story becomes personal when Joe, who is going to marry Roy's sister, is accused of the robbery. Roy sets out to find the true culprit and thereby prove Joe's innocence.
Roy comes up with an idea to help the women of the town. His mother is stressed out by the process of mailing out checks for all of the bills at the start of the month. Roy's idea is that the women can give all of their signed checks to the bank along with their bills. The bank will make out the checks for them and send the checks to the creditors. I thought that this was a smart solution to a problem that has been solved nowadays with electronic payments.
The subject content is aimed at slightly older audiences. The story mentions liquor and narcotics. The expression "one of the biggest scoundrels yet unhung" is used. The text contains lots of slang, like yegg, which is not usually seen in series books.
On page 239, Roy has cornered the culprits in a cellar. As the men try to get out, one of them begs Roy, "Say, bimbo, have a heart." This shows how language changes over the years. "Bimbo" meant "fellow" or "man" in the early 20th century. The meaning is now quite different and no longer applies to men.
In Roy Stover #2, The Mystery of the Snowbound Express, a train has stalled in the snow near Lakeport. Roy goes to interview the passengers. On Roy's way to the train, he picks up a case and carries it with him, little aware of the significance and trouble it will cause.
While Roy is on the train, a theft of valuable diamonds is discovered. The case is found on Roy, and it is the case in which the diamonds had been kept. Roy is accused of being the thief! Roy unwittingly has provided the key evidence against himself, but he knows that he did not steal the diamonds. Roy must now prove his innocence.
On page 19, Roy suspects that a man is a "dope fiend" because of the look in his eyes.
Both of these books are extremely good. These books are excellent mysteries.
Review for Roy Stover #3 Cliff Island Mystery and #4 Circle of Fire
1. The Lakeport Bank Mystery, 1929
2. The Mystery of the Snowbound Express, 1929
3. The Cliff Island Mystery, 1930
4. The Mystery of the Circle of Fire, 1934
The first three books were written by John W. Duffield, and the last book was written by Walter Karig. The first three books were originally published by Barse and later by Grosset and Dunlap. The fourth book was published by Grosset and Dunlap. The Barse books are extremely scarce, and the Grosset and Dunlap books are scarce.
This series was aimed at young adults rather than children. The language and content is more mature than that of the average vintage series book. The stories are of high quality.
Roy comes up with an idea to help the women of the town. His mother is stressed out by the process of mailing out checks for all of the bills at the start of the month. Roy's idea is that the women can give all of their signed checks to the bank along with their bills. The bank will make out the checks for them and send the checks to the creditors. I thought that this was a smart solution to a problem that has been solved nowadays with electronic payments.
The subject content is aimed at slightly older audiences. The story mentions liquor and narcotics. The expression "one of the biggest scoundrels yet unhung" is used. The text contains lots of slang, like yegg, which is not usually seen in series books.
On page 239, Roy has cornered the culprits in a cellar. As the men try to get out, one of them begs Roy, "Say, bimbo, have a heart." This shows how language changes over the years. "Bimbo" meant "fellow" or "man" in the early 20th century. The meaning is now quite different and no longer applies to men.
While Roy is on the train, a theft of valuable diamonds is discovered. The case is found on Roy, and it is the case in which the diamonds had been kept. Roy is accused of being the thief! Roy unwittingly has provided the key evidence against himself, but he knows that he did not steal the diamonds. Roy must now prove his innocence.
On page 19, Roy suspects that a man is a "dope fiend" because of the look in his eyes.
Both of these books are extremely good. These books are excellent mysteries.
Review for Roy Stover #3 Cliff Island Mystery and #4 Circle of Fire
Saturday, June 9, 2018
The Mercer Boys #1 Cruise in the Lassie and #2 Woodcrest
The Mercer Boys series consists of 10 books published originally by A. L. Burt and reprinted by World Syndicate. The books were written by Capwell Wyckoff.
1. The Mercer Boys' Cruise in the Lassie, 1929
2. The Mercer Boys at Woodcrest, 1929
3. The Mercer Boys on a Treasure Hunt,1929
4. The Mercer Boys' Mystery Case, 1929
5. The Mercer Boys on the Beach Patrol, 1929
6. The Mercer Boys in Summer Camp, 1929
7. The Mercer Boys as First Classmen, 1930
8. The Mercer Boys and the Indian Gold, 1932
9. The Mercer Boys with the Air Cadets, 1932
10. The Mercer Boys and the Steamboat Riddle, 1933
The first six books were reprinted in very slightly revised editions by Falcon Books. The titles of volumes five and six were changed for these editions.
1. The Mercer Boys' Cruise in the Lassie, 1948
2. The Mercer Boys at Woodcrest, 1948
3. The Mercer Boys on a Treasure Hunt,1948
4. The Mercer Boys' Mystery Case,
5. The Mercer Boys with the Coast Guard, 1949
6. The Mercer Boys in the Ghost Patrol, 1951
I read The Mercer Boys' Cruise on the Lassie in the Falcon Books edition in June 2017 in order to see if I should purchase the rest of the Mercer Boys books.
In The Mercer Boy's Cruise in the Lassie, Don and Jim Mercer are the sons of the owner of a lumber company. Mr. Mercer recently gave the boy a 30-foot sloop and permission to sail it on an excursion during the summer. The brothers are joined by their best friend, Terry Mackson. During their voyage, the boys encounter a group of marine bandits and help bring them to justice.
I overall enjoyed the book, but not enough to want to read any additional titles. For some reason, I struggle with books that are set on the shore with sailing on boats. I do not know why this is, but my lukewarm reaction to the first book in the set is likely due to this aversion.
That said, I still did not know if I would like the Mercer Boys series and put off reading any additional titles.
In March 2018, I read Capwell Wyckoff's Mystery Hunters series. I greatly enjoyed them, so much that I knew that I needed to give the Mercer Boys series another try. I decided to read the second book in the series, The Mercer Boys at Woodcrest, which I also already had on hand in the Falcon Books edition.
I started reading The Mercer Boys at Woodcrest and became immediately confused. The book opens with a scene where the boys are about to receive a ride to the military school in a station wagon, which is described as having headlights, and the driver steps on the starter. There is no doubt that the station wagon is a motorized vehicle. I was confused because the boys sit on seats made from "plain board planks" with their feet dangling down. Terry pulls a trick on the sergeant, who sits in the front seat, by pinning up his trousers. I was so confused about the entire situation, because I had trouble understanding the scene. Since I was reading the revised Falcon edition, I knew that my confusion had been caused by a change in the text.
I realized that I didn't want to read the Falcon books because of my confusion, but I had quite a dilemma. I would have to purchase the Burt editions, which are extremely scarce and usually quite expensive, and I had to be certain that such an investment was wise. Could I be certain to like the books?
I found the Mystery Hunters books to be excellent, and that told me that I probably would like the Mercer Boys. However, I had also read at least one comment online from someone who doesn't like the Mercer Boys books as much as Wyckoff's other books. What to do?
Meanwhile, some nice Burt editions with dust jackets were up for sale. The clock was ticking, and I had to make a decision. I finally decided to go for it. I was able to acquire all 10 Mercer Boys books in Burt or World Syndicate editions in a period of just 15 days from start to finish. That's probably some kind of record, and a good amount of both luck and money was involved. Eight of the books are Burt editions with dust jackets in varying condition. Two of the books are World Syndicate copies that are missing their jackets.
Since then, I have read the entire set. Did I make the right decision? Absolutely yes!
Once I had the The Mercer Boys at Woodcrest on hand, I immediately checked out the first scene in the book. I quickly grasped the situation. The "vehicle" is said to be a "station wagon" in the original text, but the station wagon is actually pulled by horses. Now I understand the planks and the dangling legs since the boys ride in a wagon that is pulled by horses. This is why revisionists should be careful what they change.
In The Mercer Boys at Woodcrest, Don and Jim Mercer begin their training at Woodcrest Military Academy. The original building, Clanhammer Hall, is closed up and no longer used. Terry accidentally enters it to discover that an old man lives there. Sensing a mystery, the three boys investigate.
This is a very good to excellent book.
I have been curious about how extensive the revisions are in the Falcon books editions. I compared part of the text of the two versions of The Mercer Boys' Cruise in the Lassie.
In the original story, Don is 20 years old while Jim is 19. In the revision, Don is 17 while Jim is 16. In the original books, the boys are in their middle twenties by the end of the series, even though later books do not mention their ages.
On page 26 of the original text, Terry remarks, "This is great." On page 26 of the revised text, Terry's statement was changed to "This is swell." Reading the text now, "great" sounds normal while "swell" is dated. They should have just left it alone.
On page 29, "Hello" was changed to "Hey, look!"
On page 35, "causing the ice to thump around inside the ice-box" was changed to "causing the dishes to clatter inside the cupboard."
I did not check any further for text changes. The original text has 239 pages, and the revised text has 214 pages. While the lower page count implies that the story was shortened, the text was reformatted, and each page has more words on it in the revised text. The Burt books have 28 lines of text per page while the Falcon books have 29 lines per page. Also, each line of text is slightly longer in the Falcon edition. For those reasons, I believe that both versions are nearly identical with only minor text changes like the ones I mentioned. This means that it probably doesn't matter if the original or revised text of each book is read, except for instances where minor changes would be confusing like what happened to me.
Reviews of the rest of the Mercer Boys set will follow.
1. The Mercer Boys' Cruise in the Lassie, 1929
2. The Mercer Boys at Woodcrest, 1929
3. The Mercer Boys on a Treasure Hunt,1929
4. The Mercer Boys' Mystery Case, 1929
5. The Mercer Boys on the Beach Patrol, 1929
6. The Mercer Boys in Summer Camp, 1929
7. The Mercer Boys as First Classmen, 1930
8. The Mercer Boys and the Indian Gold, 1932
9. The Mercer Boys with the Air Cadets, 1932
10. The Mercer Boys and the Steamboat Riddle, 1933
1. The Mercer Boys' Cruise in the Lassie, 1948
2. The Mercer Boys at Woodcrest, 1948
3. The Mercer Boys on a Treasure Hunt,1948
4. The Mercer Boys' Mystery Case,
5. The Mercer Boys with the Coast Guard, 1949
6. The Mercer Boys in the Ghost Patrol, 1951
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| A. L. Burt edition |
In The Mercer Boy's Cruise in the Lassie, Don and Jim Mercer are the sons of the owner of a lumber company. Mr. Mercer recently gave the boy a 30-foot sloop and permission to sail it on an excursion during the summer. The brothers are joined by their best friend, Terry Mackson. During their voyage, the boys encounter a group of marine bandits and help bring them to justice.
I overall enjoyed the book, but not enough to want to read any additional titles. For some reason, I struggle with books that are set on the shore with sailing on boats. I do not know why this is, but my lukewarm reaction to the first book in the set is likely due to this aversion.
That said, I still did not know if I would like the Mercer Boys series and put off reading any additional titles.
In March 2018, I read Capwell Wyckoff's Mystery Hunters series. I greatly enjoyed them, so much that I knew that I needed to give the Mercer Boys series another try. I decided to read the second book in the series, The Mercer Boys at Woodcrest, which I also already had on hand in the Falcon Books edition.
I started reading The Mercer Boys at Woodcrest and became immediately confused. The book opens with a scene where the boys are about to receive a ride to the military school in a station wagon, which is described as having headlights, and the driver steps on the starter. There is no doubt that the station wagon is a motorized vehicle. I was confused because the boys sit on seats made from "plain board planks" with their feet dangling down. Terry pulls a trick on the sergeant, who sits in the front seat, by pinning up his trousers. I was so confused about the entire situation, because I had trouble understanding the scene. Since I was reading the revised Falcon edition, I knew that my confusion had been caused by a change in the text.
I realized that I didn't want to read the Falcon books because of my confusion, but I had quite a dilemma. I would have to purchase the Burt editions, which are extremely scarce and usually quite expensive, and I had to be certain that such an investment was wise. Could I be certain to like the books?
I found the Mystery Hunters books to be excellent, and that told me that I probably would like the Mercer Boys. However, I had also read at least one comment online from someone who doesn't like the Mercer Boys books as much as Wyckoff's other books. What to do?
Meanwhile, some nice Burt editions with dust jackets were up for sale. The clock was ticking, and I had to make a decision. I finally decided to go for it. I was able to acquire all 10 Mercer Boys books in Burt or World Syndicate editions in a period of just 15 days from start to finish. That's probably some kind of record, and a good amount of both luck and money was involved. Eight of the books are Burt editions with dust jackets in varying condition. Two of the books are World Syndicate copies that are missing their jackets.
Since then, I have read the entire set. Did I make the right decision? Absolutely yes!
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| A. L. Burt edition |
In The Mercer Boys at Woodcrest, Don and Jim Mercer begin their training at Woodcrest Military Academy. The original building, Clanhammer Hall, is closed up and no longer used. Terry accidentally enters it to discover that an old man lives there. Sensing a mystery, the three boys investigate.
This is a very good to excellent book.
I have been curious about how extensive the revisions are in the Falcon books editions. I compared part of the text of the two versions of The Mercer Boys' Cruise in the Lassie.
In the original story, Don is 20 years old while Jim is 19. In the revision, Don is 17 while Jim is 16. In the original books, the boys are in their middle twenties by the end of the series, even though later books do not mention their ages.
On page 26 of the original text, Terry remarks, "This is great." On page 26 of the revised text, Terry's statement was changed to "This is swell." Reading the text now, "great" sounds normal while "swell" is dated. They should have just left it alone.
On page 29, "Hello" was changed to "Hey, look!"
On page 35, "causing the ice to thump around inside the ice-box" was changed to "causing the dishes to clatter inside the cupboard."
I did not check any further for text changes. The original text has 239 pages, and the revised text has 214 pages. While the lower page count implies that the story was shortened, the text was reformatted, and each page has more words on it in the revised text. The Burt books have 28 lines of text per page while the Falcon books have 29 lines per page. Also, each line of text is slightly longer in the Falcon edition. For those reasons, I believe that both versions are nearly identical with only minor text changes like the ones I mentioned. This means that it probably doesn't matter if the original or revised text of each book is read, except for instances where minor changes would be confusing like what happened to me.
Reviews of the rest of the Mercer Boys set will follow.
Friday, June 8, 2018
10% Discount on Etsy through Monday, June 11
eBay fees are extremely high. I pay eBay over $100 per month in fees. The Etsy fees are lower, even considering that I have to pay $0.20 to list each item. For that reason, I want to try to use Etsy more effectively than I have. I have listed many items on Etsy that I would normally list on eBay. I now have slightly more than 200 items on Etsy.
To encourage traffic and sales, I have a 10% discount on Etsy from tonight through Monday, June 11, 2018. There is no minimum order, so all orders qualify. If you see this blog post after June 11, 2018, the offer will no longer be active and will not be honored.
Jennifer's Series Books on Etsy
New listings include many international edition Nancy Drew books, many Cherry Ames books, and some Trixie Belden books. I have a nice selection of Nancy Drew books with dust jackets and in the picture cover format, both original and revised text.
I have no current promotion on eBay, but here is a link to my eBay store.
Jennifer's Series Books on eBay
To encourage traffic and sales, I have a 10% discount on Etsy from tonight through Monday, June 11, 2018. There is no minimum order, so all orders qualify. If you see this blog post after June 11, 2018, the offer will no longer be active and will not be honored.
Jennifer's Series Books on Etsy
New listings include many international edition Nancy Drew books, many Cherry Ames books, and some Trixie Belden books. I have a nice selection of Nancy Drew books with dust jackets and in the picture cover format, both original and revised text.
I have no current promotion on eBay, but here is a link to my eBay store.
Jennifer's Series Books on eBay
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