Saving the Books

{last updated October 5, 2007}

STILLMAN BOOKS

11611 Waresley St., Maple Ridge, British Columbia CANADA V2X 9Z3

You may contact me via email at:
orders@stillmanbooks.com


This WebSite address is:
www.stillmanbooks.com


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Saving the Books
by Terry A. Stillman

Sometimes, I consider myself a saver of books. Or, perhaps a better term is "savior" of books, because I don't use the word "saver" in the context of buying the books and storing them for years, although that is often part of the process. By "saving the books", I simply mean that by buying them at thrift stores and garage sales, I am probably rescuing them from a worse fate. By buying good books when they are priced cheaply, I have an opportunity to give these books the respect that they deserve. Let's say that I buy a book at a thrift store for fifty cents and I know that book in very good or better condition is a twenty-dollar book. I take it home and offer it for resale for twenty dollars. Someone sees that copy of the book for sale on my website or on Biblio or one of the other book-matching services and orders it from me. It's possible that the person was just browsing and the book looked interesting, but, more likely, the buyer was looking especially for a nice copy of that book and is more than willing to pay twenty dollars for it. Having paid twenty dollars, plus shipping, he or she is probably going to hang onto that book for a long time and care for it properly. And, when they do move or for some other reason have to trim their library, the owner of that book is more likely to take it to a local used bookstore rather than give it away in a garage sale. In the bookstore, the book has a good chance of finding another appreciative owner. Had it sold to someone else besides me at the thrift store, it could have been carried home, browsed through, tossed on the coffee table, and a week later been put out with the stack of newspapers for recycling. Afterall, it only cost fifty cents. This morning, I spent one-and-a-half hours carefully sifting the books at two local thrift stores. At the first store, I bought 5 books for $3.00. From the second store, I took away 6 books for $6.55. Without complete descriptions, I list below my purchases just as an example of what is available on a daily basis. The first column of prices is what I paid for each book; the second column my selling prices. First store: . George Balanchine's The Nutcracker, photographed and told by Joel Meyerowitz. 1st ed. thus. Near Fine in VG+ d.j. $ 1.00 $ 10.00 . Have You Seen Dogs? by Joanne Oppenheim. Illus. by Susan Gardos. 1st ed. Near Fine in NF d.j. .50 15.00 . Dinosaurs Divorce by Laurene Krasny Brown and Marc Brown. Paperback. VG. .25 4.00 . The Good Terrorist by Doris Lessing. Jonathan Cape. 2nd printing. VG+ in VG+ d.j. 1.00 10.00 . The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey. Paperback. VG+. .25 7.50 Second store: . Totto-Chan: the Little Girl at the Window by Tetsuku Kuroyanagi. Trans. by Dorothy Britton. Near Fine paperback with d.j. $ .99 $ 5.00 . The Night Before Christmas by Clement Moore. Illus. by Arthur Rackham. 1985 Chancellor Press facsimile. VG+ in VG d.j. .99 10.00 . Windigo: an Anthology of Fact and Fantastic Fiction. Edited by Robert Colombo. 1st ed. thus. VG+ in VG d.j. 1.50 30.00 . Salmon Creek by Annette LeBox. Illus. by Karen Reczuch. 1st ed. VG+ in VG d.j. Inscribed by author. 1.49 25.00 . The Hill and the Rock written and illus. by David McKee. 1st U.S. ed. VG glossy boards without the d.j. .69 10.00 . The Singing Basket by Kit Pearson. Illus. by Ann Blades. 1st ed. VG glossy bds., no d.j. as issued. .89 10.00 So there you have it...a good morning's work. The dinosaur book I just bought because it was a unique idea, and the Totto-Chan because I have an affinity for stories of Japan. Otherwise, I try to concentrate on more valuable books. And for you budding booksellers and wouldbe bookscouts, a piece of advice: don't be discouraged when you go out one day to several thrift stores and you don't find anything of value. Go again the next day...that's the day you may be able to "save" a lot of good books! XXXXX Terry A. Stillman

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  • {last updated October 5, 2007}

    STILLMAN BOOKS

    You may contact me via email at:
    info@stillmanbooks.com


    This WebSite address is:
    www.stillmanbooks.com