In the shop we buy and sell them, but in truth books have no owner. Every book you see here has been somebody’s best friend. _- Carlos Ruiz Zafon, The Shadow of the Wind. (A great read!)

This is all my opinion.

I am a laid back owner. At least that’s how I view myself. This is ‘no rules’ store. No restrictions. No hold backs. Look in boxes on the floor. I’m okay to be interrupted. Ask whatever question you want. Climb over me to view the books I sell online. Etc., etc., etc. Except don’t go behind the curtain to the backroom. It may or may not be safe with piled boxes or even a path.  I’m in the business to sell used books and that’s pretty much all I care about. Books, reading. literature, publishing, and all that great stuff. And embroidery. Sure there’s more but I’m keeping it used books.

If you believe you have books to unload it would be a good idea to call ahead to make sure there is someone who will be able to assist you. In other words, here to negotiate with. I don’t always buy but generally will accept donations. Or offer store credit. I never do consignment. Never. It can become complicated and this is a used bookstore with no complications. No conflicts. No complications.

I make final decisions as to what is accepted and the price I offer because this is my store. I know. That reads very stern. Well, sometimes I allow the customer to dictate to me and frankly, that never goes well. For me. So I’m trying to ‘buck up’ and be more assertive. You see, when I first bought the store I was so thankful for anyone walking into the store. Potential regular customers. No. Most times when people brought in books to sell I realized they weren’t going to be regular customers. Potential customers. Maybe. Generally, I never saw them again. Not that I need to but I had hoped to. Still true today.

Books need to be clean. Seriously. I’ll offer more if they are clean. If I have to clean them I probably won’t buy them unless they are say, Hemingway first editions. I’ll even fight off spiders for them. Kidding. I do not like spiders. At all. No spiders in boxes! Check them first! Please.

I will go through the boxes or bags to determine which books I’ll accept.  Or as I like to say, will work in this store. In other words, will sell. Not all books are sellable. Or are right for this store. I have limited space and as you can tell if you’ve been in here recently we are maxed out. Hence the sales. And I’m feeling another one will be planned soon. If you’ve been in you know exactly.

The price I offer for books I’m buying might be considered low to some. The some who are looking to make a lot of money. I feel my used book prices are somewhat low. As low as I can make them. I do have an overhead I need to take care of – rent, utilities, and such. My competition is the internet. Not another used bookstore. Used bookstores complement one another. I have to determine how long the book will sit on the shelf, what price the book will sell in the store, condition and other factors.

So call ahead. Clean the books. I make final decisions. Never take the situation personal as I never do. And that’s it.

Please remember I do get claustrophobic. I work really hard to not get anxious about the boxes or piles of books surrounding me. I think I do rather well. Like for instance, I’m writing this blog rather than addressing all the recent arrivals into the store or that are still in the back of my truck that I know I have to content with. Just not now.

And all, thank you for your patronage. I really appreciate it. It is hard to have a retail business in this business climate but yet, it is so much fun. I love it. So thank you from the bottom of my heart.

When you sell a man a book you don’t sell just twelve ounces of paper and ink and glue – you sell him a whole new life. Love and friendship and humour and ships at sea by night – there’s all heaven and earth in a book, a real book. – Christopher Morley