A new post by contributor William Smith of Hang Fire Books The Unkindest Cut In preparation for an upcoming move, I’ve spent the last couple of weeks (with more to follow) going over every item in my inventory and pruning the dead weight. This has been a painful but instructive process. First I ran a … Read more
Another entry from our distinguished writer from Massachusetts Tom Nealon of Pazzo Books A signed proof of Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls is headed for auction in November at Swann. It has a signed dedication to Martha Gellhorn, Hemingway’s fiancee and is signed to his friend and longtime employee Toby Otto Bruce, as well … Read more
We’ve been lucky enough with our book sources that we as a rule do not carry library discard books. Even so, there are certain children’s book titles that I always look for when I’m on scouting trips that I will pick up even as x-libris. These are a few author/titles that I always scout for: … Read more
We will be doing a piece on Scouting Books and why you should carry one shortly. Here are a few auction results from this weekend that warrant mention in your book. These are a few knitting books that I would have easily walked right by. The Starmores may be old news to some but I … Read more
Posted by Tom Nealon of Pazzo Books Dana’s great story about the Baum that got away reminded me of mistakes in book selling. I traded stocks for a few years, and the most common mistake is to get married to your screw-ups. You bought something at 20 that you were SURE was a winner. It … Read more
Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with The Art of Books, I am a paying customer of theirs. The Art of Books (AOB) is an online bookseller’s inventory management system. Different sellers with differing needs will find their own way of using the system. Here’s how I use it. For the time being I use Abe’s … Read more
Tom Nealon of Pazzo Books brings us his first post on specialization and how you might want to get your feet wet after first opening a shop. Some good thoughts for veteran sellers as well. ************* After the initial madness of setting up a bookstore (be it online or an open shop), and assuming you’re … Read more
Do you add a few remaindered books to your inventory? Remaindered books are simply publisher’s overstock or book returns. They are often purchased by third party wholesalers who then turn around and sell them to stores like mine (and maybe yours). If you have a general trade store selling a few remaindered books can help … Read more
