Scary book sales: Are you a vulture or a goon?
Here's the most amusing account of an FOL book sale I've read in a while. Click through to read the whole article in the Philadelphia Inquirer.Inside, the vultures ravaged the tables to stock their online stores or used bookstores. They had roaming goons, too, minions separating the Hemingways from the Harlequins. Eyes and hands never moved so fast. They filled up cardboard boxes faster than a ShopRite checkout boy on Red Bull.
Labels: book sales, library sales
posted by Steve Weber at 7/28/2007
6 Comments:
This is becoming a problem everywhere. Soon the libraries are just going to ban dealers. We need to act professional at book sales and not like we are waiting in line to open presents on Christmas morning and then pushing and shoving to get to a certain table of books.
FTB
Just like everything else a few ruin it for the masses. Don't people realize there is enough for everyone? We are moving and I am getting rid of all my books. I don't think I will be selling anymore. There are other things to buy and sell online and I won't have to put up with other book sellers who are greedy and rude. Sad because I really enjoyed going to sales and using my gut feeling to pick out books and then to see which ones were actually worth something. It was exciting. Scanners and cell phones and people who don't care about others are ruining it for everyone.
DJ
Scanners and cellphones are not ruining this business. If anything it is helping this business. What is ruining this business are the people with scanners and cellphones that want to hoard everything they see. I personally use a scanner so I can maximize my profits, but if their is someone wanting to look at books at the table that I am at, I will move and let them get what they want. There are plenty of books for everyone. I see to many dealers thinking they run the entire sale and no one should get in their way. We as book dealers need to show some consideration and respect for everyone else at the sales. If you want to be a professional, you need to act like it.
FTB
I agree with FTB. I use a scanner and exercise manners and try to be as courteous to everyone in the sale. I do not race thru the sale, I take my time moving around so I don't knock anyone down, I stay out of the way of those who are browsing, etc.) I witness other rude sellers who crowd the aisles with their big storage tubs, hog the tables scanning EVERY book, and race thru the sale so they can be first to every section and table as much as possible. I don't have any answers, but I am getting pretty close to making some complaints against fellow sellers who do not exercise common courtesy to everyone. They are very greedy and feel they are entitled to as many books as they can throw in their bags and boxes. Personally, I let anyone interested browse the books I have selected and take what they want. There will always be more books at the next sale...and I know I will be going to plenty of sales all year, while many of the local members for each FOL sale only attend their branch library sale. Maybe there are some sellers out there with ideas about how we can work together to make sales better for everyone -- and not just sellers. Pretty soon, as some have already said, libraries are going to begin to ban sellers (if they haven't already). Then where will we be?
I am a small dealer but I was lucky enough to be able to get on to the sorting team for a large county library system in the area. I put in one half day a week and make it my day to check out the resale shops in the area. As a sorter I am allowed to put a set number of books back for my purchase at the volunteer sale. I will often pass on books to other volunteers, sometimes a real gem that I know they would especially like. I try to be aware of what people are watching for so I can watch for them and if several copies of a good seller come in, I only take a couple leaving some on the shelf. If I have a book in my pile that another volunteer is looking for I will often give it up and ask them to watch for another copy for me. This has helped me turn the whole volunteer staff into book watchers for me.
Sometimes I still need to attend the Friends Sale, as there are other books I am interested in beyond my small stash. But of course I have an advantage because I know where everything is. I work reshelving on the second shift when the crush lessens up.
Most of the dealers that attend our sales are friendly and we share information on envelope suppliers and such. I am often the only reshelver since most of the volunteers are older and prefer talling or working the door. My favorite dealers have recognized this and will reshelf the book they have decided against. This way I am not faced with 5- 6 carts of books to reshelve – one dealer bring his teenagers to do the reshelving. Which is good training for them to help learn where books are located as we have a large facilities set up like a library – dewy decimal and all. We have set up some tables in a couple back corners for the dealer to sort books and have a table where boxes can be placed and marked which is watched by a volunteer. There are a couple designated bins for items to be reshelved. So we are pretty dealer friendly.
But we have a couple dealer who will block rows – put books in boxes or big piles in corners in narrow areas – often they sort and just leave the books they do not want there – or stash them on bottom shelves in what ever category they are near. Last sale, late in the day, we found four boxes of books stashed in the box pile with no one available to claim them – often I do not know if someone is coming back for these or if I should reshelf them.
Talliers have to count the books and we have had dealer get irate at their boxes being unpack to be counted or grab the sheet from a tallier and try to change the counts. The friendly dealers will organize the books for easy counting then repack them into their containers after talling.
What bothers me is when I am looking for books I am honest about being reseller – sales people often get irritable – recently a large Charity store I often go to they had just received pallets new children books – several other people were buying whole carts load of saying they were for schools and such but I saw several checking their cell phones for the going price on the books. But since the staff knows I am a dealer (my tax number is on file) they got irritable tried to tell me I could only buy so many cases. I said “you know I am always very honest about being a dealer – you are penalizing me for being honest “ so they backed down. I have had a people try to raise their prices on me- I have often had to explain that since the book market is so volatile I have no guarantee of being able to resell even very nice books for a profit so that I have to bottom skim unless I am formulary with the book
I've all but given up on FOL sales, though I attend my local branch's sale, I do not go out of my way for them anymore. The stress dealing with "crazed" dealers twice my size isn't worth it. Being peaceful meek and letting others rifle through your selections won't fly either amidst the chaos. I tried that and came away with a dozen books, none worth a great deal as those gems had been snapped up instantaneously by other dealers who pushed old ladies out of their way. I stick to traveling to yard sales now and hole-in-the-wall thrift stores. I can have the whole place to myself and not get glared at, prodded or pushed. Crazy world.
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