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Hello Edith,
First, let me say I love the newsletter! There's very little to read out there on one of my favorite hobbies, as opposed to movies, music etc. I'm a part-time bookseller who's taken the last 5 or so months off as I'm buying a house. I'm just getting ready to move and then I'll get back into selling, but I haven't stopped acquiring stock.
Here is my question: I picked up an oversized book about the Great War (WW1 published before WW2) that the cover and binding are in horrible condition. While the pages, almost all photography, are in great shape. I'm considering breaking it up, shudder, for ephemera. While this is against my very nature as a booklover, I feel no one would want to buy it in its current condition. (The recent article about binding reminded me of this).
So my question runs to ephemera. While I know a great deal about packing books, I know virtually nothing about packaging ephemera. If it were postcards I wouldn't be worried, but these pages are about 13X11, and I have no clue as to how to send them. Are there low-cost envelopes out there that are sturdy enough, or would using tubes be better? Any advice about packaging Ephemera would be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely
Gabe Quaglia (or, "Clueless about ephemera")
Dear Gabe,
Do not feel guilty about turning a book into ephemera. No matter how much you love books, there are some times when a damaged book is beyond recovery. But if you can take something from that book that will bring joy to others or yourself, then the book isn't really "dead."
Ephemera has its own intrinsic value and place in history, after all, a great deal of what we know about our past comes from ephemeral items. And another plus is that this area of collecting takes up so little space compared to books, how can you not have a little bit of a soft spot for such items?
Now to more practical matters. How you pack ephemera for shipping depends upon the condition of the paper. Tubes are fine to use except when the paper is brittle. Chipping can take place. To safely mail paper items, your best bet is a photo mailer. They come in varying sizes and are made of heavy cardboard that isn't easily folded. If your paper item is larger than a photo mailer, go to a local art supply shop and purchase two sheets of chipboard and cut them to size. Tape the edges well but make sure you cover the paper inside with plastic so that if the boards separate a bit, the paper doesn't become attached to the tape.
The costs of photo mailers can run you up to $1 or so a package. You can get them at Staples, Office Max, or online at Fast Pack, Chiswick, Gramur.com, and other suppliers. Good luck. (And good luck with the new house.)
Edith
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Hi, Edith,
I am very new at scouting for collectible books for resale and appreciate your tips and insight. Here are my questions:
Who is the typical "book collector"? Is there a demographic or other profile of folks who are willing to pay premium prices for rare books or first editions?
Are collectors old, young, middle-aged? College educated?
Where do collectors tend to live: urban, suburban, rural areas??
Without one-to-one interaction with customers at a retail bookstore, I'm at a loss to picture who these customers really are. I'm sure I would benefit in selecting and marketing books online if I had a better sense of who these mysterious collectors really are. Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Patty Teichman
Hi Patty,
It's hard to say what is a "typical" collector since they come in a variety of packages. We have had the opportunity to get to know serious collectors both in the shop and at book fairs over the last ten years and about the only common denominator I've found is a passion for collecting and accumulating. And what they collect is as varied as how many there are.
In our shop, our collectors are usually adult white men. At shows, it's about an even split between men and women. For the most part, the age range is 30's to 60's, and the collectors generally have disposable income. Usually they are well-educated or knowledgeable people who appreciate the value of a rare book.
As for where they live, I cannot say whether collectors call the suburbs or cities their home, but they do travel to anyplace where there is a book show. In our shop, most of our serious customers live in nearby suburban towns but work in Waterbury. When we first started, we expected to see more teachers and students since Waterbury has 4 colleges, but we were dead wrong. Lawyers and state workers are our most consistent clients.
Specializing in a particular subject matter will draw collectors to you wherever you are. List enough of one type of thing and word gets around. That's why you'll see some shops filled with cookbooks, some with nautica, and so forth. When we first started, more seasoned booksellers urged us to specialize and, frankly, we were at a loss as to what we should pursue. Both of us liked history and so Americana seemed to be the area where we felt most comfortable.
We were lucky that we didn't decide on a specialty until after we got to know a clientele though. One good friend of ours set up shop at the seashore with the idea that books about the sea were just the ticket. When he realized that sellers who had an inventory that would cost him an arm and a leg to compete with saturated the market in his vicinity, he switched to another area of interest and ended up selecting a third before hitting his stride. Based on that, I don't think there's any easy way to anticipate the market unless you have other booksellers nearby who are already drawing a crowd.
The Internet makes it a bit easier, I think. If you have a plethora of one particular topic, you can have a substantial presentation while not detracting from your overall inventory.
On a side note, you can always target other sellers as a clientele. By positioning yourself as a "middleman," you may find that you have a lucrative business feeding colleagues who've developed a larger customer base than you have now. This works well in shops and at shows, but I think that market of the Internet is growing.
If any of our readers have their own experiences to share, please pipe up.
Edith
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Dear Bookologist,
Here in Portland (Oregon) we have some wonderful small independent book stores (in addition to Powells) and my favorite is Annie Blooms. (I am sure they have a Web site.) When I read of the love and care you put into your new store, I am more and more grateful for such efforts.
Annie Blooms has so many part-time employees that enrich the store with their various areas of expertise. The store is open from 9:00 am to 10:00 pm seven days a week so needs quite a staff. They are celebrating their 25th year, and I have been a customer since the beginning.
I sell online but am small potatoes (we are referred to as bottom feeders by some, but I try to use integrity all the way). I love reading what real booksellers are doing. I am a retired school librarian and can't stay away from books. People, food and other sorts of comfort can sometimes let you down, but books are dependable for comfort, company and pleasure. And I find I like handling books, reading about books, and connecting people with books almost as much as reading! My sales support my book shopping fun (as well as a bit of collecting.)
Diane Gutman
Hi Diane,
There IS something magical about books. To me they feel like the building blocks of our civilization. Way back in second grade my mother allowed me to walk to the local library every Tuesday afternoon. She deemed me too small to take myself to the movies an equal distance away but the library was safe and a good place for children to be, and so I went. After I got used to the place, I was determined to read every book on every shelf.
Later, my grandfather, who loved to read, encouraged me by saying that there's nothing you cannot know if you can read.
Those of us who work with books, whether it is in a library or a book shop or even at home, are lucky. I really don't know of any profession where so many honest, decent, and nice people can be found. There's an unspoken agreement among booksellers that keeps us striving to hold our industry to the highest standards and that makes me proud to be a part of such a group.
Sometimes it's easy to look at how other people sell and say; "Now that's the ticket!" Each method has its advantages. Working from home gives you a lot of flexibility; book fairs allow you to meet the greatest people; and bookshops offer you the opportunity to contribute something to the quality of your community. For me, the reward isn't so much in the good sale you may have made, but a joy you bring to others.
I can't think of any sale that brightened me as much as a single moment the other evening. Our staff spent the day decorating the windows for Christmas. Our shop has two 10 ft. deep display windows that we created to look like ice and snow. The culmination of our creative talents was the 6 ft. snowman in the corner. Vicky (one of our staff) trimmed the entire tableau in tiny blue lights. As we closed up for the evening (the blue lights still twinkling), a little girl raced up the street followed by her grandparents. She was screaming, "These are like MY lights." And then she saw the snowman. That child plastered herself against the glass and stood in awe. It seems we made her night and she definitely made mine.
Bookstores should create a little awe and be so very welcoming that the public wants to come in to buy a book. If a shop does its job right, then those same people will be searching the Internet and visiting fairs looking for more to buy.
Thanks for the letter, you brightened my day today.
Edith
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