Searching for Hardy Boys books, the older ones is not an easy task. The new bluespine flashlight hardbacks are available at almost all bookshops. The paperbacks are the hard ones to find as are the out-of-print ones. Well, hopefully this guide will help you search easier.

Here are some terms that you should know:

Mint – Pristine condition, not read

Excellent – Flawless, to nearly flawless.

Fine – One or two folded pages, cover may be slightly damaged

Very Fine – Cover may have one or two creases, some folded pages

Very Good – The cover will have creases and a couple folded pages / some markings

Good – Readable condition with flaws

Poor – Only if you really want to read the story, this condition usually means it’s falling apart

Library Edition - These can be anything from very fine to poor, typically it will have all the markings, labels, etc, from the library.

Things to check before purchasing:

The Cover – Is it intact? Are there folds or torn pieces? Are there markings, stamps, or tape?

The Edition - What edition is it? Are paying way too much for a very recent copy?

The Hardcover – Is the spine intact? Has someone written on the back of it? Is there tape, glue, or a sales sticker? If it has a cover, is it genuine?

The Pages – Are they intact? How many folded or wrinkled pages can are there? Are they clean?

Places to go online:

abebooks.com

E-Bay

The Unofficial Used Hardy Boys Books Sales Page

E-Bay and Yahoo Auctions can offer some nice deals. It’s best to ask for a picture so you can see the condition for yourself. Watch for the condition of your book. When they say good condition, the cover may be wrinkled. Ask for a list of the flaws. If they ask if you want insurance, go for it. This means that the post office has to take extra care in getting your package to you. Insurance also gives a guarantee that the post office will delivery it promptly and handle it with better care. Check out the seller’s ratings before you buy. If they have had a lot of problems, it might be best to buy from someone else. The Unofficial Used Hardy Boys Sales Page is run by a friend of the Moonstar creator. Abebooks.com is a book finder. I have found some rare casefiles through this site. Including several copies of the coveted Brother Against Brother, The Operation Phoenix Series, and the rarer casefiles. This search engine will also allow you to keep a wish list. This wish list will be stored with your email. Anytime a bookstore in their lists offers that book, abe will automatically let you know.

Main Online Book Sites to check out:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Amazon.com, from my own experience will take back a book within a reasonable amount of time if it arrives damaged and replace it. Inspect the book before you buy it. Check for stamps, torn pages, missing pages, or writing. This will always decrease the value of your book. Books with their original covers are an extremely rare find. Watch to make sure that the covers aren’t computer generated reprints. Older covers will have a worn or a yellowish look to them, while computer generated paper will be crisp white, and if you look very closely, the computer colors have the distinctive “pixels” or dots. Sometimes it is possible to get an older book that is in pristine condition.

Mainstream Places to Go:

Barnes and Noble

Borders

Borders Express

Flea Markets

Library Sales

“Rare Book” Book shops

These places are good to get the current books out. They usually have some of the paperback mysteries, but only the most recent ones. It is getting harder to find the Hardy Boys casefiles anywhere. Flea Markets, Library Sales, and Rare Book shops will have copies of older mysteries, casefiles, etc. However at those places, you may come across heavily used books, those with lots of library labels, etc.

There are two main types of Hardy Boys books: Hardback and Paperback. The Hardbacks have been made over several times. The most common seen in the stores are the blue-flashlight spine series. The rarest hardcover series are the red-hardcover books. The rarest of the redspines are the ones with intact covers. The older hardcovers were written at a time where many things considered demeaning, racist, or chauvinist were acceptable in literature. These were taken out in later books. The later ones also had characters rewritten, gadgets and phrases updated, and the general time updated.

There are five main types of paperbacks: casefiles, mysteries, Undercover Brothers, graphic novels, comic books, and clues brothers. The mysteries are still in print, all though many are complaining about the silliness of the current stories. Many feel that the current mysteries are losing the flare that the older paperbacks had. The older paperback mysteries are out-of-print, and it is rare to find any in mint condition. The first paperbacks had two or more different covers printed with each story. Some covers are extremely rare to find. The later paperbacks have dropped Frank and Joe from the cover all together. A decision that has angered a lot of long-time readers.

The mysteries have stopped the current run at paperback mystery 190. Undercover Brothers takes over from there at 1. While the same characters are there, the main format of the mysteries has changed. Some characters have undergone personality and name changes. As well as everything is kept current as far as technology and language goes. The graphic novels take the comic books and at three at a time, puts them into paperback book format.

The Casefiles was a series targeted to teenagers. The danger had heightened in the series, and the reader got a very involving story. The most coveted out of all the casefiles, is the rarest one; Brother Against Brother. All casefiles are now out of print, and it’s rare to find one that is not a 5th or 6th reprint. Many casefiles have seen extensive library usage, so it’s also rare to find one that hasn’t been on a library shelf.

The clues brothers series didn’t last past the 17th story. It was designed for a younger audience. This series quickly lost interest as many hardcore fans of the brothers didn’t like the series. The stories focused on Frank and Joe in middle school, and really lost any type of flare of being a true Hardy Boys story. It set up the brothers in little middle-school type mysteries of like “who took the book?” or “who tampered with the bike seat?” or “who played the practical joke?” The books were shorter than the paperback mysteries, but to my knowledge still charged the same price.