Building a Set of Hardcover Nancy Drew Digest Books

I have been working on building a complete set of the Nancy Drew digest books, #57-175, in hardcover since 2001.  It's been 15 years, and the set is still not complete.

I began building the set because at that time I did not like softcover books at all.  I first decided to build a set of the Wanderer books with dust jackets, #57-78, and quickly expanded to library bindings of all of #57 -175.

As the years have passed, the frequency with which I find hardcover digests that I need has decreased significantly.  Hardcover versions of #130 and up are extremely scarce. They exist, but most of them are still in the hands of the original owners.

Earlier this year I tallied what I needed and was shocked that I only needed 29 of the digests in hardcover.  I spent some time during the summer searching for the 29 books I needed in hardcover.  I was able to locate three of them, bringing the number I needed down to 26 books.

I have never felt that I would ever complete the set, but that kind of difficult goal is fun to work towards as a collector.  Finishing the set would still be quite improbable, but I was thrilled to see that I was beginning to get closer.

After a recent unexpected acquisition, I now see completion of the set as distinctively more possible, although still quite difficult.

I saw a near-complete set of Nancy Drew digests for sale for $300 and realized that some of the high-numbered books were hardcover editions.  I wasn't sure how many, and the seller's price was too high for me to purchase without knowing for sure what the lot contained.  Also, the listing had some contradictory information that concerned me.  The seller's picture is seen below.  The Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books at the end of the second shelf were not part of the lot, which I knew.  Remember that you can click on any image to see a larger version.

A few Aladdin books on the top shelf are missing the Aladdin icon at the top spine, which reveals them to be rebound hardcover books.  The variance in heights for the books on the second shelf shows that some are rebound hardcover books.  But I couldn't tell how many for sure.  I inquired about which books were hardcover and learned that the lot contained 27 hardcover books including at least 10 of my needed 26 books.

I purchased the lot, even though the price was still too high for me.  15 years ago, I never paid more than $5 per hardcover digest book.  In recent years, I have paid $5 to $10.  When I realized that I needed only 29 hardcover digest books, I decided that I would be willing to pay $10 to $20 each for the remaining books if in very good condition.  That's why I decided to purchase this expensive lot.

I was nervous waiting for the books to arrive, since I knew from past experience that bulk lots are almost always stacked in a box and mailed with no protection.  That was certainly the case with these books, but fortunately, nothing was damaged since the books were not able to shift much inside the box.

I was happy when I removed the books from the box and discovered a total of 32 hardcover books in the lot, which was five more than I was told.

These are the hardcover books that I received.

I was thrilled to discover that nearly all of the hardcover books are not library discards. While building a set of hardcover Nancy Drew digests is very difficult, acquiring those hardcover books in copies that are not from libraries is nearly impossible.

Only six of the books are library discards, and I quickly recognized those six books.  I knew the scuff on the spine of #89, and I recognized the way "discard" was written inside the books.  #89, 90, 92, 96, 120, and 143 used to be my books, and #89 with the scuffed spine is the book scanned years ago for my website.  I upgraded them and sold them, and now I have them back again.  I am a little dismayed that I have them back again while at the same time I am amused.  This is not the first time books have come back to me.

I am keeping all 26 of the books that are not library discards, and I will sell the six books that came back to me.  I will also sell the large number of softcover books that came in the lot.  This purchase was well worth the cost considering what I added to my collection.  Of the 26 books, five books are upgrades of copies in my collection.  Nine books are variants of books already in my collection, and I will keep both versions.  The remaining 12 books are new additions to my hardcover digest set.  Here are the books that I will keep.

This purchase brings the number of hardcover digest books that I need down from 26 to just 14 more books.  The following books are the only books that I still need in hardcover.

109. The Mystery of the Masked Rider, 1992
114. The Search for the Silver Persian, 1993
115. The Suspect in the Smoke, 1993
122. The Message in the Haunted Mansion, 1994
123. The Clue on the Silver Screen, 1995
130. The Sign of the Falcon, 1996
145. The Missing Horse Mystery, 1998
148. On the Trail of Trouble, 1999
158. The Curse of the Black Cat, 2001
160. The Clue on the Crystal Dove, 2001
168. The Bike Tour Mystery, 2002
169. The Mistletoe Mystery, 2002
170. No Strings Attached, 2003
175. Werewolf in a Winter Wonderland, 2003

It's interesting that I still need a few that are not particularly high-numbered.  However, some of the mid-range titles are harder to find even in softcover, such as #114 and #122, which is why I have not yet found them in hardcover.  Since all titles from #130 and up are quite hard to find in hardcover, I am actually surprised that I now have as many of those titles as I do.

Here are all of my books together on the shelf.  The back shelf starts with #57 on the left and goes through #84. The front shelf begins with #85 on the left and ends with Ghost Stories on the right.

I was asked earlier this year how to find the Nancy Drew digest books in hardcover.  I have some methods that have helped me locate them, but I am not willing to divulge everything I know until I complete my set.  The primary method, however, is obvious and can be inferred from this post:  Be observant.

Keeping in mind that this recent transaction is an anomaly, my present acquisition rate of just one or two per year means that I cannot expect my set to be complete for at least another seven years.  I am not sure that I will complete the set, but I am ever hopeful and enjoy the process.

Input Needed for Farah's Guide to Nancy Drew

David Farah is asking for corrections for one final edition of his Nancy Drew guide.  Here I will mention some lingering concerns about certain printings.

The first issue is the first printing of The Clue in the Crossword Cipher.  Please read this post and its comments for more information.  According to the guide, the first printing lists to Pine Hill on the back cover and has no interior list.  The existence of that printing is not in question.  The problem is that multiple copies listing to Pine Hill on the back cover and with an interior list page to 99 Steps have surfaced.  I'm pretty sure that at least four different people own first printings both with and without the interior list page.

The problem is that Farah has not been able to determine which one came first or whether both versions can be considered the first printing.  Anyone who owns a Crossword Cipher book that lists to Pine Hill on the back cover, either with or without the interior list, should check the book for any kind of markings that could indicate the exact age of the book.  These markings would include inscriptions with dates. 

Another issue is the first revised text printing of Mystery of the Brass-Bound Trunk.  According to the guide, the first revised text lists to Sky Phantom on the back cover.  The problem is that none of us can find one.  In the comments to this post, someone claimed to own two of them and acted like it was common.  However, that person did not provide photographic proof and was posting under a screen name.

If anyone does own a revised text Brass-Bound Trunk that lists to Sky Phantom, please contact David Farah with photographs of the book.  Otherwise, that printing will be removed from the next guide.  Farah has not seen any examples of the first revised text with Sky Phantom on the back cover, so the current belief is that it does not exist.  Unless he can get proper documentation of the existence of the revised text of Brass-Bound Trunk listing to Sky Phantom, the printing with the Cookbook ad on the back cover, 1977A-59, will be considered the first revised text.

I remembered that I do not own the first printing of the third cover art to Hidden Staircase, 1966A-97.  The book seen at the left lists to Pine Hill on the back cover and to 99 Steps on the inside, which makes it the second printing of the third cover art, 1966B-98, according to the guide.  The first printing of the third cover art lists to Pine Hill on the back cover and inside the book. 

I recall that I have been asked about the first printing of the third cover art to Hidden Staircase and now know of several advanced collectors who do not own one.  So my question is... Does anyone own the third cover art to Hidden Staircase that lists to Pine Hill on the back cover and inside the book?  And if you do not own one, I'd also like you to confirm, since that gives us an idea of the scarcity of the book.  If it exists, that's wonderful, and I'll keep searching for it.  But if it doesn't, then Farah needs to know.

I would also like to verify that the printing indicated to be the first revised text of Shadow Ranch exists.  The first revised text is 1965B-82.  The first revised text book has the second cover art and lists to Fire Dragon on the back cover and to Pine Hill on the inside.  The book seen to the right is the second printing of the revised text and has the second cover art.  It lists to Pine Hill on the back cover and inside.  Notice it has black and white multi I endpapers, which is indicative of the revised text.

Does anyone own the second cover art Shadow Ranch with the revised text that lists to Fire Dragon on the back cover and to Pine Hill on the inside?  Either way, let me know so that I will have an idea of scarcity and a verification of existence.

I thought of two more variants listed in the guide that I do not own, and I want to verify their existence.  The first is the original text of Haunted Bridge matched with the cover art seen at the left.  I have never seen one with the original text.  Do any of you own the original text paired with the cover art seen at the left?

The second variant is the revised text of Leaning Chimney matched with the cover art seen at the right.  I have never seen one.  Do any of you own the revised text paired with the cover art seen at the right?

I am going to be telling Farah about the following two books that have the back cover printed entirely in black ink.

 

Whispering Statue is 1977A-66, and Mirror Bay is 1977B-9.  I have sold extras of both books, but I haven't kept track.  For verification purposes, please let me know if you own either variant.  Also let me know if you own any picture cover books other than these two with the back cover printed entirely in black ink.  Both of these books list to Parchment.  Do yours?  Also, do any of you own either Whispering Statue or Mirror Bay that match the above printings that have the back cover normal with the red and black ink?  I have never paid attention, and now I wonder if the entire print run has all black ink or whether this variant is a subset of the print run.

Please respond either here or on my Facebook page.

Nancy Drew Picture Cover Prices

I wrote a post three years ago about the scarcity of Nancy Drew original text picture cover books.  The data compiled in that post is relevant to this discussion.  Also relevant are some statements about Nancy Drew prices that David Farah made in Farah's Guide in 2005.  At that time, I disagreed with what he wrote.  I have now changed my mind and agree completely.

Farah wrote that eBay listings are but a small portion of the Nancy Drew listings sold online and that eBay listings are not representative of the average prices paid for Nancy Drew books.  At that time, I felt that the eBay sold listings were truly representative of the value of Nancy Drew books, since I felt that most of the action was on eBay, even though it was in decline.  Now in 2016, eBay has declined considerably, and I completely agree with Farah.  eBay sold listings are no longer representative of the average value of Nancy Drew books, because now, most used books are not sold on eBay.  It's interesting what a difference 11 years can make on one's perspective.

In my recent post on Bret King prices, I mentioned that buyers often pay higher prices for books on fixed-price sites such as AbeBooks and Amazon than they do in eBay auctions.  Since fixed-price sites do not make sold listings available, collectors have no idea what other collectors are paying for books on those sites.

The original text Nancy Drew picture cover books are in demand and are getting harder to find.  I have noticed that I tend to price some of my books higher than other sellers do and that my books do tend to sell, sometimes very quickly.  Am I pricing them too high?  I don't think so, at least not for most of them, since they are selling.  I cannot keep some titles in stock, since I cannot find additional copies quickly enough to satisfy demand.  This causes me to wonder if I am pricing them too low.  For some books, I cannot justify pricing them any higher because the condition is not good enough.

Another reason I wonder about prices is because I have a buyer who is purchasing some of my picture cover books to resell.  This does not bother me at all.  However, this causes me to wonder about the value, because when someone who is reselling pays $20 for a Nancy Drew picture cover book, that tells me that buyers are paying much higher prices on the fixed-price sites.  The seller cannot be selling the book for just a few dollars more if the seller is willing to pay $20 for the book.  The seller must be pricing the book at $30 or more.

I have observed that I sell some picture cover books at $15 to $20, while in eBay auctions, some of the same books sell for just $5.  That's why I believe that eBay auction prices are actually low-end prices.  The auction prices are a good benchmark for value and give us very useful information.  But we have to remember that we don't know anything about the fixed-price sites and what type of prices are being paid on those venues.  Since my experience is that fixed-price listings bring higher prices, I contend that the eBay auction results are at the low end.

This does not mean that the books are worth hugely more than the eBay auction results.  In some cases, they are worth only slightly more.  In other cases, they are worth much more.  When I have a book to sell from a scarce series, I check the eBay auction results and unsold fixed-price listings from other sites.  I will usually price the book higher than the auction results but lower than the unsold fixed-price listings.  This may mean pricing a $5 auction book at $10 or a $20 auction book at $30.  In some cases, I may decide to price a book significantly higher, if I feel that the scarcity justifies the higher price.

With all this in mind, I took screen captures of some of the sold listings for individual sales of Nancy Drew picture cover books on eBay.  For books sold by "best offer," I noted on the photo the approximate price paid, which was determined by the book's placement in search results sorted by price.

Click on each image to see a larger version.

The "man with pipe" cover art of The Clue of the Broken Locket is scarce.  Knowledgeable sellers price the book at $15 and up.  I saw four examples on eBay that sold for between $13 and $23.  I saw a few others that sold for $5 to $10.  The book that sold at the lowest price was a copy for $2.50 in an auction.

 

The original text PC of The Clue of the Tapping Heels is one of the harder to find picture cover books.  Seen below are two books that list to Pine Hill.  One seller priced the book at $8, and I priced mine at $20.  I always price this title at $10 and up if the condition is good enough, and I have no trouble selling it.

The revised text of Mystery of the Brass-Bound Trunk is one of the hardest to find revised text books.  I sold one at $15 while two other sellers priced their books quite low.

The original text PC of The Mystery at the Moss-Covered Mansion is one that I sometimes have more trouble finding.  I found it to be quite scarce a few years ago, but more recently, I have had more extras come into my possession.  Nevertheless, I tend to price it a little higher, and I don't have much trouble selling it.  The two higher-priced books are first picture cover books, but I typically price my non-first picture cover copies at $10 to $15 depending upon condition.  Two sellers sold their books, one a first PC, for only around $5.

The original text PC of The Clue in the Old Album with the original cover art is one of the very hardest to find PCs with only three printings.

Here are several different completed listings that I captured.  I don't have any specific comments to make.

Here are several examples of sold listings for Mystery of Crocodile Island.  All four of these books are first printing books.  The book that sold at auction went at the very low opening bid.

The Thirteenth Pearl is a strong seller.  It's not as hard to find as some other books, and I often find extras locally.  In fact, I just purchased one in the last two weeks.  However, it's a book that probably isn't found easily in a local store by the average person who actually needs a copy of the book.  For that reason, it always sells well online.  Notice the range of $10 up to $30 for the following listings.  The lowest prices are auctions.

Even copies of The Thirteenth Pearl with double oval endpapers are strong sellers.  I have sold nice condition copies of The Thirteenth Pearl with double oval endpapers for $20 to $25.  In nice condition, all matte copies of this book are worth $20 to $40, with the true first printings commanding the prices at the high end of the range.

The prices shown here are not definitive and do not show the entire situation.  Mainly, I hope I have shown that prices do vary considerably and that auctions do often bring prices that are much lower than prices of the fixed-price listings.

Nancy Drew Auction Results for Books with Blank Endpapers

I took some screen captures of recent Nancy Drew auctions.  I don't have any particular comments to make.  What sold and for how much should be apparent in the images.  Click on each image to see a larger version.

Collecting Library Editions

I have avidly collected library editions since 2001.  The genesis of my library edition collection came from my desire to own hardcover bindings of Nancy Drew #57 and up.  My first goal was to acquire Nancy Drew #57 through #78 in the hardcover edition with dust jacket.  While seeking those books, I began noticing all the library bindings that were up for sale.  I began acquiring hardcover library bindings of #79 and up when I could find them.  This quickly led to an interest in all library editions for all series, and I now own approximately 1,000 library editions, which is around 20% of my entire collection.

You might wonder how I have acquired so many of them.  I am good at spotting them in photos, and I have different search techniques that I use as well.  Most importantly, I am willing to purchase any lot, large or small, to get any interesting library binding that I spot in the lot.  I do sometimes purchase large lots of 50 books or more just to get that one special library binding.  That's the key to collecting library editions.

The downside is that I have ended up with large quantities of extra books that have to be sold.  Unfortunately, library bindings come up for sale in lots with regular edition books that are library discards and in awful shape.  Those books have to be sold in bulk at low prices, since there is no other way to get people to take them.  This means that over the years I have had to offer many large bulk lots of books that are in generally poor condition in order to get rid of the large number of extras. 

I thought you might find it interesting to see examples of the kinds of lots that a library edition collector has to purchase.  Sometimes I have been lucky and found large lots of library bindings all together where I can easily acquire a bunch of them.  More often, just a few are mixed in with other books.  I took some screen captures of some recent eBay lots.  The first two are not lots that I purchased, but they give an idea of the kinds of lots I have purchased over the years just to get just a few books.

 

These next ones are lots that I purchased.  The first photo is of a lot that I purchased to get the yellow Tolling Bell that is second from the left in the middle row.

 

I purchased this next lot to get the blue Brass Bound Trunk that is on the far right side of the photo.  I already had several of them, but this was a different color.

The next photo is of a lot that I almost did not purchase.  I located what I thought were seven library bindings of the Minstrel books plus a book that I thought was an omnibus edition containing three Aladdin books.  Most of the books were softcover.  I did not need any of the Minstrel library bindings, so I did not plan to bid.  On the last day of the auction, I looked again and realized that the book on the bottom row that is second from the right is not an omnibus edition.  It is instead a hardcover version of Nancy Drew #172.  I did not own any hardcover Nancy Drew book higher than #154.  This was a find, and I did win the auction.

  

I also purchased this next lot, which was an excellent lot since only three books were softcover.  The rest were hardcover library bindings.  I ended up keeping half of the books from the lot.  Of the half that I kept, I needed around half of those and the rest were upgrades.

As you can see from the lots that I recently purchased, I ended up with lots of extras that had to be sold.  That's how I have collected library editions.