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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