Where can I buy Freddy books?
The last time the full series was brought back into print was the late 1990s and early 2000s, so it’s unlikely you’ll find them in most physical bookstores. You might have somewhat better luck online, but in most cases the secondary market prices you’ll see (on Amazon, ABE Books, eBay, etc.) will reflect the relative scarcity of supply. It’s worth noting that well done e-book versions of all the titles are available through Amazon and probably represent the least expensive approach these days.
Where can I sell my Freddy books?
We get a lot of calls at Centerboro City Hall from folks who wonder what to do with old Freddy books. Sometimes they’re downsizing. Sometimes they’re modernizing by replacing the hard-copy books with e-books. Sometimes the books belonged to kids who have moved on to other things. Sometimes, sadly, they’re dealing with cleaning out the home of a parent or grandparent.
Surely old books are worth a lot, right?
Well… sometimes. It primarily depends on how easy it is for collectors to find that particular edition and the condition the book is in.
Here are some general guidelines. If the books you have are:
• severely mildewed or half-eaten by Simon and/or his lesser kin, it’s probably time to burn them with appropriate respect.
• published by The Overlook Press (the most recent publisher to bring the entire series into print) and in excellent shape, check Amazon prices and try selling through them or eBay. Otherwise, it might be best to donate the books to your local library or put them in a Little Free Library box for others to enjoy.
• a complete set of all 26 Freddy books published by Overlook, those can be hard to compile these days so you might well want to look into listing them for sale online. Note: Friends of Freddy, Inc. sometimes has use for complete sets as gifts to worthy libraries or similar institutions – so you might want to consider donating them to us. We are a 501c3 charity, so you’d get a tax deduction. You can contact us at freddythepig@gmail.com
• foreign editions, try searching for them online to see if they’re currently available through sites like Amazon or ABE Books. That’ll give you a good sense of whether it’s worth it to go to the trouble of listing and fulfilling orders or to donate them – perhaps to a library in an area where the particular language is relatively common.
• published by other houses than The Overlook Press, they might be of interest to collectors if they’re in good shape and it’s worth checking ABE and similar sites. The original publisher was Knopf. (A complete set from Knopf would be a relatively rare find.) First editions tend to be worth more than reprints, and you can usually identify them by looking on the publisher information page.
• signed by Walter R. Brooks and/or Kurt Wiese (especially if there’s authentication), it’s definitely worth listing the book for sale at one of the online sites and also dropping us a line at freddythepig@gmail.com