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Great goal, @Korman Junkie. Reading even three or four Gordon Korman books qualifies you as a Kormaniac—but reading all 106 (and counting) truly is an epic quest.
The good news first: Every Gordon Korman title is easy to find. Some are out of print, and a handful cost a little more—but none are truly elusive if your goal is simply to read them.
Most used copies run $4 to $10 per book (including shipping costs). A few—like OUR MAN WESTON and NO COINS, PLEASE and the two Bugs Potter books—go a bit higher, but even those are usually available for $20 or less.
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If your goal is to READ (not necessarily own) the books:
> Libraries: Your local librarian is your secret weapon. Even if the book you want isn’t on the shelf, interlibrary loan can often produce it. Friends are another underrated resource—GRK books are everywhere.
> E-books: Many GRK titles are available as e-books, and they’re usually cheaper than paperbacks. Several earlier books are available for purchase as Kobo eBook editions. Or try Libby or Hoopla (two book-lending apps where your local library offers free e-book loans). A few examples of Korman Classics you can find as e-books: THE 6th GRADE NICKNAME GAME, DON’T CARE HIGH, LOSING JOE’S PLACE, I WANT TO GO HOME, SON OF THE MOB, and all or parts of several earlier series: Macdonald Hall (Bruno & Boots); On the Run/Kidnapped; Everest; Dive; Island. And it’s not just the early books: Nearly everything from the past 15 years is available digitally.
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If your goal is to OWN them all:
> Canadian reprints: Scholastic-Canada has reissued several Korman Classics, so larger Canadian bookstores might still have brand new copies available.
> Bind-ups and anthologies: These can be a good value. One book can contain two, three, or even four titles—often for the price of a single paperback. A few examples are GAME ON! (which includes THE CHICKEN DOESN’T SKATE and THE TOILET PAPER TIGERS), the 4-in-1 Slapshots Complete Collection; the 4-in-1 Ultimate Nose-Picker Collection; and the Island, Everest, and Dive trilogy bind-ups.
> Local bargains: Like @Darren mentioned, thrift stores, library sales, garage sales, and used bookstores are unbeatable for price.
> Online sellers: The easiest way to find out-of-print books is online. A site I like a lot is bookfinder.com. You type in the book you’re looking for, and it gives you a list of online sellers offering the book. If you’re willing to put in some time to research lots of booksellers, you can often find a good deal. A few places to check: eBay, Amazon (they also sell used books!), Biblio, AbeBooks, Alibris, Etsy, PangoBooks, Mercari, Poshmark, Thriftbooks, Kijiji (if you\’re in Canada), Half Price Books, Better World Books, Powell’s Books, and Paperback Swap.
> Box lots: For the lowest cost per book, look for bundled lots. The price per books is usually lower this way, and the shipping definitely will be lower (you might spend $8 in shipping for 10 books instead of $6 in shipping for a single book). eBay, Kijiji, PangoBooks, and Mercari often have great box lots available.
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If your goal is a world-class collection:
Earlier, I said every GRK title is easy to find—and that’s true. A readable copy of every story is always available, which is something Kormaniacs are incredibly lucky to have. But it’s worth noting a few **specific editions** may be genuinely scarce. Good luck finding the first Macdonald Hall boxed set, or NO COINS, PLEASE in hardcover with the dust jacket intact, or NOT THIS TIME! (a retitled printing of OUR MAN WESTON). You might not find one for sale even if you search for years. So if you complete your epic quest to read every GRK title and feel ready for a new challenge, hunting down those rarer editions can be a quest of its own.
TL;DR: Use everything—libraries, friends, local shops, online sellers. Buy opportunistically (not necessarily in order): Grab good prices when you see them. And be patient. If you stick with it, you will find every Gordon Korman book.