Good morning, bookies. Stand by for news.
Coming soon and good bets for Christmas gifts:
Titanic's Last Secrets: The Further Adventures of Shadow Divers John Chatterton and Richie Kohler by Bradford Matsen. Look for this one October 1, that's tomorrow. Remember the TV show Deep Sea Detectives? These are those guys. I remember seeing Richie in a submarine exploring the wreck of Titanic and thinking 'yo, there's a book in there, somewhere.' Looks like I was right.
Kill Bin Laden by Dalton Fury. No idea what it's about, I just like the title.
The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly. Perhaps the greatest crime writer of our generation, so any new book from him is an event. Connelly likes to combine characters from different series, so in this one you get not only Mickey Haller from The Lincoln Lawyer but Harry Bosch as well.
Warren Buffett and the Interpretation of Financial Statements by Mary Buffett and David Clark. The guy is rich beyond measure, reading this can't hurt.
Today's cool, freebie site: http://librivox.org
Book copyrights only last so long and when they expire, the books are in the public domain. That is, anybody can use them in whatever way they choose. You could, if you wanted, publish a new series of Sherlock Holmes editions without paying anyone anything for doing so. Librivox takes advantage of that. Volunteer readers read books in the public domain. Sure, the quality of the readings is uneven sometimes, but for goodness' sake, it's free! You can download in MP3 format for your MP3 player, or to your computer so you can burn them to CD. I'm listening to The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Part II by Edward Gibbon.
There are at least half a dozen careers and skills I could see immersing myself in and being quite happy. Historian, writer, editor, bookseller, sex symbol...and bookbinder. I can only imagine how neat it would be to mold the bits of material and glue and leather and arcane matter into a gorgeous book, or to repair a rare but precious book and give it not only new life, but new glory. Just yesterday I found a new home for a rare book, a home in Ireland, no less, but the book could use some restoration. How I wish I could have been the one to give it. And so I read today's first story and wish that, in one alternate universe at least, it was me:
http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?category_id=18&id=23456
If you live in Kansas, or anywhere close, there is a place that is very close to my own heart. Although not strictly a book thing, it's a museum and I consider places that are havens for research to be in the same category. If you're a World War II buff, or have a relative who fought in the war and want to know more about it, or just want to wind up some places off the beaten track while in Kansas, give the WWII history center a try.
http://www.wwiihistorycenter.org/index.htm
I often wonder whether or not we here in the good old USA still have freedom of speech or not. And, if we do, what that means. Well, as we all know, the US economy is doing pirouettes these days and the Congress stayed over the weekend, supposedly to deal with the crisis. So Saturday night the House of Representatives passed legislation to shield American authors from foreign lawsuits because the foreigners might not like what we wrote. In other words, if I wrote a book saying that the kimchee in South Korea is better than in the North, theoretically I am now protected for giving my opinion. This sounds silly but might actually be important. For as more real world example, in the USA it is legal to deny the Holocaust happened. In most of Europe, however, they will get you thrown in jail. Ask British author David Irving, who was given a three year prison sentence in Austria for Holocaust denial. One presumes that the legislation passed by the House would protect an American from such a fate.
http://europenews.dk/en/node/14533
Thanks for reading, bookies. Good day!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
The World of September 29
Good morning bookies. Stand by for news.
London: The headquarters of British publisher Gibson Square, which doubles as the residence for its publisher Martin Rynja, was firebombed Saturday. Gibson Square is planning to publish The Jewel of Medina, a novel about one of the wives of the Prophet Muhammad. It was known to be a dangerous undertaking, Muslim extremists being what they are, but Rynja's stand was that in a free society, access to literature of all types is mandatory. Here in the USA Random House had plans to publish the book, but bowed to pressure.
Gainesville, FL: Last Tuesday English born professor for the University of Florida, William Woodruff, died aged 92. Late in life he became a surprise best-selling author with his biography of growing up in a working class England that has long since vanished. "The Road to Nab End: A Lancashire Childhood" and its sequel made him a hero and home and known around the world.
Teaneck, NJ: Russian emigre historian Marc Raeff died on Sept. 20th. Born in Moscow in 1923, he and his family somehow made it out of Stalin's brutal USSR in time for Raeff to serve in the US Army during World War II. So long, GI.
Washington, D.C.: Last Saturday, Jenna and Laura Bush read to an audience of children from their first book together, Read All About It, during the National Book Festival, the national celebration of books founded by Mrs. Bush. When it became obvious that a number of kids could not see the pictures in the book, the ladies organized a march to the front of the tent so the youngsters could see better, no doubt making the Secret Service very nervous. Bravo, ladies!
In the category of 'Ooohh, this sounds good': Bob Wittman, who founded the FBI Art Recovery Team and was its only undercover agent, has retired and signed to pen a book about his operations, tentatively entitled In Pursuit of the Priceless. That's the kind of thing that sounds like a great way to pass a long winter's night.
The Los Angeles area reporter for this blog, who also doubles as the creator, editor and inspiration for the site where some of my reviews have appeared, www.iloveamysterynewsletter.com, reports that Stephen Hunter was at a small book fair in West Hollywood yesterday. Hunter, you may recall, is the author of the Earl and Bob Lee Swagger (Bob the Nailer) thriller series. I'm currently reading his newest, Night of Thunder, so I was glad to here that he has finally retired and is now writing full time. Lucky him, lucky us!
Sally, the genius behind ILAM, send this bit about the panel of mystery writers at yesterday's fair: "it was a good group on Stephen Hunter's panel. Brett Battles and
Brent Ghelfi, Susan Arnout Smith and Evan Kilgore. Latter is unfamiliar to
me but he really kept things moving and was very well prepared. Anyway,
Brett has been to Bouchercon and was trying to tell Brent what to expect
since he only ever went to Anchorage which had to have been way less well
attended. They'll both be in Baltimore so I'm going to check in with them
there. Anyway, news. Harley Jane Kozak has a new book in her series coming
in March. Stephen M. Thomas (Criminal Paradise) has his second (Criminal
Karma) coming in, I think, February."
For you bookies who don't know, Bouchercon is the largest mystery convention in the world. Named for famed editor Anthony Boucher, it travels the country each year, this year being in Baltimore. Man, would BBG like to be there for that.
London: The headquarters of British publisher Gibson Square, which doubles as the residence for its publisher Martin Rynja, was firebombed Saturday. Gibson Square is planning to publish The Jewel of Medina, a novel about one of the wives of the Prophet Muhammad. It was known to be a dangerous undertaking, Muslim extremists being what they are, but Rynja's stand was that in a free society, access to literature of all types is mandatory. Here in the USA Random House had plans to publish the book, but bowed to pressure.
Gainesville, FL: Last Tuesday English born professor for the University of Florida, William Woodruff, died aged 92. Late in life he became a surprise best-selling author with his biography of growing up in a working class England that has long since vanished. "The Road to Nab End: A Lancashire Childhood" and its sequel made him a hero and home and known around the world.
Teaneck, NJ: Russian emigre historian Marc Raeff died on Sept. 20th. Born in Moscow in 1923, he and his family somehow made it out of Stalin's brutal USSR in time for Raeff to serve in the US Army during World War II. So long, GI.
Washington, D.C.: Last Saturday, Jenna and Laura Bush read to an audience of children from their first book together, Read All About It, during the National Book Festival, the national celebration of books founded by Mrs. Bush. When it became obvious that a number of kids could not see the pictures in the book, the ladies organized a march to the front of the tent so the youngsters could see better, no doubt making the Secret Service very nervous. Bravo, ladies!
In the category of 'Ooohh, this sounds good': Bob Wittman, who founded the FBI Art Recovery Team and was its only undercover agent, has retired and signed to pen a book about his operations, tentatively entitled In Pursuit of the Priceless. That's the kind of thing that sounds like a great way to pass a long winter's night.
The Los Angeles area reporter for this blog, who also doubles as the creator, editor and inspiration for the site where some of my reviews have appeared, www.iloveamysterynewsletter.com, reports that Stephen Hunter was at a small book fair in West Hollywood yesterday. Hunter, you may recall, is the author of the Earl and Bob Lee Swagger (Bob the Nailer) thriller series. I'm currently reading his newest, Night of Thunder, so I was glad to here that he has finally retired and is now writing full time. Lucky him, lucky us!
Sally, the genius behind ILAM, send this bit about the panel of mystery writers at yesterday's fair: "it was a good group on Stephen Hunter's panel. Brett Battles and
Brent Ghelfi, Susan Arnout Smith and Evan Kilgore. Latter is unfamiliar to
me but he really kept things moving and was very well prepared. Anyway,
Brett has been to Bouchercon and was trying to tell Brent what to expect
since he only ever went to Anchorage which had to have been way less well
attended. They'll both be in Baltimore so I'm going to check in with them
there. Anyway, news. Harley Jane Kozak has a new book in her series coming
in March. Stephen M. Thomas (Criminal Paradise) has his second (Criminal
Karma) coming in, I think, February."
For you bookies who don't know, Bouchercon is the largest mystery convention in the world. Named for famed editor Anthony Boucher, it travels the country each year, this year being in Baltimore. Man, would BBG like to be there for that.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Writing writers
Good afternoon bookies.
Have any of you ever written to writers? I don't mean emails or blog comments, I mean letters sent snail mail?
There was a period where I did that a lot. I still would given the chance, but sometimes life intrudes and other things take priority. I thought up a question that I wanted to ask every writer, a question that had meaning to me and that they might have found interesting to discuss. A number of them said that was the first time they had ever been asked that question, and gave excellent (and sometimes quite long) answers. Some were flip about it, a few ignored me altogether, but for the most part I was thrilled with the replies and re-read the letters occasionally to see who was right and who was wrong.
And no, sorry, I won't tell you my question. I still like to ask it, still find it fascinating. Just recently I have gotten another letter from Elizabeth Peters, aka Barbara Mertz, a personal favorite of mine for her Amelia Peabody series. You'll have to think up your own question.
David Eddings wrote me a two page, hand-written letter (known as an ALS, Autograph Letter Signed). Dean Koontz not only answered, he sent me a signed photo and a signed paperback (and no, I didn't send enough postage for that). Arthur C. Clarke sent a polite form letter explaining why his physical condition prohibited sending signed letters anymore, then promptly signed it. Douglas Adams had a (funny!) smart-assed remark, Frederik Pohl went into great detail. Julian May told me all about her retirement plans and wrote something wonderful in a book I sent her.
One thing to remember if you write to authors or any celebrities: send a self-addressed stamped envelope for a reply. If an author takes time to respond, expecting them to pay the postage is not only rude, it's insulting.
And lastly, recognize that some authors aren't going to respond no matter what you do or say. That's just how it is and makes you cherish the answers you do get all the more.
Have any of you ever written to writers? I don't mean emails or blog comments, I mean letters sent snail mail?
There was a period where I did that a lot. I still would given the chance, but sometimes life intrudes and other things take priority. I thought up a question that I wanted to ask every writer, a question that had meaning to me and that they might have found interesting to discuss. A number of them said that was the first time they had ever been asked that question, and gave excellent (and sometimes quite long) answers. Some were flip about it, a few ignored me altogether, but for the most part I was thrilled with the replies and re-read the letters occasionally to see who was right and who was wrong.
And no, sorry, I won't tell you my question. I still like to ask it, still find it fascinating. Just recently I have gotten another letter from Elizabeth Peters, aka Barbara Mertz, a personal favorite of mine for her Amelia Peabody series. You'll have to think up your own question.
David Eddings wrote me a two page, hand-written letter (known as an ALS, Autograph Letter Signed). Dean Koontz not only answered, he sent me a signed photo and a signed paperback (and no, I didn't send enough postage for that). Arthur C. Clarke sent a polite form letter explaining why his physical condition prohibited sending signed letters anymore, then promptly signed it. Douglas Adams had a (funny!) smart-assed remark, Frederik Pohl went into great detail. Julian May told me all about her retirement plans and wrote something wonderful in a book I sent her.
One thing to remember if you write to authors or any celebrities: send a self-addressed stamped envelope for a reply. If an author takes time to respond, expecting them to pay the postage is not only rude, it's insulting.
And lastly, recognize that some authors aren't going to respond no matter what you do or say. That's just how it is and makes you cherish the answers you do get all the more.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Book terms
After mentioning in todays first blog entry that 'Mint' has no part in a discussion about books, it dawned on me that not everybody gets bogged down in esoteric discussions about what are, and are not, the proper ways by which one might describe a book's condition. So I'll give you my personal list of conditions, which are more or less in line with the majority of sellers, even if some will no doubt consider me a Phillistine.
New- The book is new. Duh, right? But you'd be surprised how many sellers out there describe books as 'new' but when the buyer gets them they are mangled. This happened to me on Ebay just this year: a box full of 'new' and 'like new' John Ringo hardbacks were actually beat-up ex-library copies. Fortunately, the matter was settled neatly without Ebay's heavy-hand ever getting involved. Anyway, new means new.
Fine- A lovely copy, possibly looks just as good as new, but there is just the hint of spacing between the pages that show it has at least been leafed through, if not read very carefully. A Fine copy has no flaws.
Near Fine- Older booksellers skin crawls when they see this term, because for the decades before the internet it was not accepted in the world of used booksellers. (Except for the rogues among us) In essence, a Near Fine book has no real flaws, but it shows some light wear or usage in a few spots. Nothing that could be called a flaw, but not exactly perfect, either. I do use this term, and ask forgiveness of those who know better.
Very Good- Still a collectible copy of a book, but there are one or more flaws. Maybe a small closed tear in the jacket, maybe an owner's name in a book or a lean to the spine. All defects must be noted in the description. Now, within Very Good one will often see Very Good+ or Very Good-. Again, many booksellers won't like these variations but they exist. I look at it this way, if a VG copy is a 7 out of 10, then VG+ would be a 7.5 and VG- would be a 6.5.
God, I feel like a heretic.
Good- A better bookie than me coined the phrase 'Good ain't good.' If you see a book described as Good, that means it is NOT collectible. It's pretty beat up, has multiple flaws and in general has seen better days. That does not mean books in Good condition don't have their place. They're fine as a reading copy or for research, or if the book is rare or you need a copy to fill in a collection, and you find a Good copy at a price you can live with, great, go for it. After all, a well read book means that more than once person thought it was worth reading. But don't order a cheap Good condition copy thinking you're going to get something pristine.
These days, many dealers let computer programs do their work for them. They scan their books with a bar code reader, don't bother even looking at the book's actual condition, and let the default condition be filled in as 'Good/Good', meaning a Good book in a Good dust jacket. And if a seller can't be bothered to even look at the book they are asking you to spend your hard earned money to buy, then you should believe the book really is in 'Good/Good' condition, meaning beat up and smelly.
Fair- A fair book is really, really beat up, it is probably still holding together but unless it's rare and you are going to have it rebound, it's value is in the text and nothing else.
Ex-library- I put XL in a special category because the condition and reasons for buying them vary widely. Libraries mark their books up in a number of ways, from stickers on the spines to card pocket, taping down jackets to stamps everywhere. Many XLs have never been read but they still have all of these defects. So from that standpoint alone they are not collectible. And yet, some do have a bit of value. A rare XL might be worth buying because it's the only copy available, or other copies in better condition are too expensive or you already have a nice copy but need a dust jacket. XL dust jackets can be in surprisingly good condition, once the old mylar protective jacket is stripped off.
That's a brief run-down on conditions in today's world of bookselling. If you've got specific questions, please just ask, I'll do what I can to answer them for you.
Addendum: sometimes uploading to various websites can alter the condition settings a seller has loaded. For example, Amazon.com routinely changes whatever setting a dealer has used to 'Used: Acceptable' on their site. Very often there is nothing a seller can do about this at Amazon and we just have to live with it. What the hell 'acceptable' means is anybody's guess, but you know the really lazy sellers when you see this term used on other websites than Amazon. That means they can't even be bothered to use a default of 'Good/Good', they simply upload whatever Amazon has regurgitated to wherever they can list their books. They might as well be selling tires or scrap metal.
New- The book is new. Duh, right? But you'd be surprised how many sellers out there describe books as 'new' but when the buyer gets them they are mangled. This happened to me on Ebay just this year: a box full of 'new' and 'like new' John Ringo hardbacks were actually beat-up ex-library copies. Fortunately, the matter was settled neatly without Ebay's heavy-hand ever getting involved. Anyway, new means new.
Fine- A lovely copy, possibly looks just as good as new, but there is just the hint of spacing between the pages that show it has at least been leafed through, if not read very carefully. A Fine copy has no flaws.
Near Fine- Older booksellers skin crawls when they see this term, because for the decades before the internet it was not accepted in the world of used booksellers. (Except for the rogues among us) In essence, a Near Fine book has no real flaws, but it shows some light wear or usage in a few spots. Nothing that could be called a flaw, but not exactly perfect, either. I do use this term, and ask forgiveness of those who know better.
Very Good- Still a collectible copy of a book, but there are one or more flaws. Maybe a small closed tear in the jacket, maybe an owner's name in a book or a lean to the spine. All defects must be noted in the description. Now, within Very Good one will often see Very Good+ or Very Good-. Again, many booksellers won't like these variations but they exist. I look at it this way, if a VG copy is a 7 out of 10, then VG+ would be a 7.5 and VG- would be a 6.5.
God, I feel like a heretic.
Good- A better bookie than me coined the phrase 'Good ain't good.' If you see a book described as Good, that means it is NOT collectible. It's pretty beat up, has multiple flaws and in general has seen better days. That does not mean books in Good condition don't have their place. They're fine as a reading copy or for research, or if the book is rare or you need a copy to fill in a collection, and you find a Good copy at a price you can live with, great, go for it. After all, a well read book means that more than once person thought it was worth reading. But don't order a cheap Good condition copy thinking you're going to get something pristine.
These days, many dealers let computer programs do their work for them. They scan their books with a bar code reader, don't bother even looking at the book's actual condition, and let the default condition be filled in as 'Good/Good', meaning a Good book in a Good dust jacket. And if a seller can't be bothered to even look at the book they are asking you to spend your hard earned money to buy, then you should believe the book really is in 'Good/Good' condition, meaning beat up and smelly.
Fair- A fair book is really, really beat up, it is probably still holding together but unless it's rare and you are going to have it rebound, it's value is in the text and nothing else.
Ex-library- I put XL in a special category because the condition and reasons for buying them vary widely. Libraries mark their books up in a number of ways, from stickers on the spines to card pocket, taping down jackets to stamps everywhere. Many XLs have never been read but they still have all of these defects. So from that standpoint alone they are not collectible. And yet, some do have a bit of value. A rare XL might be worth buying because it's the only copy available, or other copies in better condition are too expensive or you already have a nice copy but need a dust jacket. XL dust jackets can be in surprisingly good condition, once the old mylar protective jacket is stripped off.
That's a brief run-down on conditions in today's world of bookselling. If you've got specific questions, please just ask, I'll do what I can to answer them for you.
Addendum: sometimes uploading to various websites can alter the condition settings a seller has loaded. For example, Amazon.com routinely changes whatever setting a dealer has used to 'Used: Acceptable' on their site. Very often there is nothing a seller can do about this at Amazon and we just have to live with it. What the hell 'acceptable' means is anybody's guess, but you know the really lazy sellers when you see this term used on other websites than Amazon. That means they can't even be bothered to use a default of 'Good/Good', they simply upload whatever Amazon has regurgitated to wherever they can list their books. They might as well be selling tires or scrap metal.
Sept. 27
Good morning bookies! Stand by for news.
The weather is Memphis today is gorgeous. The sky is that blue that is clean and bright and utterly indescribable. A warm sun promises the grass will need to be cut into the foreseeable future. The perfect day for book scouting, but your friendly neighborhood bookseller figures writing this blog is more important than digging for treasure, which is another way of saying he's feeling lazy today.
An interesting site I found today if you're an old book person. I haven't had time to really investigate the site the way it deserves, but it's obvious that someone has a serious case of bookaholism. Admiration from this corner, sympathy and understanding. This sort of obsession plugs right into my brain receptors. The owner makes some bigtime mistakes, most notably in his list of book description terms. For the record, the word 'Mint' has NO business in a book description. For restaurants and coin dealers 'Mint' might be appropriate, but not for books. And his ideas of where to buy used books are about five years out of date. But those sorts of errors can be more than forgiven by his impressive research on old books and authors. I'm grateful for such people.
http://www.kingkong.demon.co.uk/ngcoba/ngcoba.htm
The Great Ebay Con by Stephen MyCoe. In this new book, a former Ebay employee reveals what a mess the company has become, and how you, too, can con your way into getting anything for free. Deal with Ebay at your own risk, bookies.
I think by now my opinions on dealing with Ebay are pretty familiar. But if you don't like my opinion on this, try http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080926/e_commerce_ahead_of_the_bell.html?.v=1
There, got the link fixed and it should work. The gist is that Ebay is bleeding customers because of their blizzard of new rules and it's hard to see where and how they will replace them. To be clear, though, I have absolutely nothing against Ebay itself. If the Ebay of 2004 were to suddenly reappear I could by and sell there with a clear conscience. It's the vicious Ebay of 2008 that I find objectionable.
I just heard that Paul Newman died. Like everyone else who watched him work and admired the way he lived his life, this is a sad day.
The weather is Memphis today is gorgeous. The sky is that blue that is clean and bright and utterly indescribable. A warm sun promises the grass will need to be cut into the foreseeable future. The perfect day for book scouting, but your friendly neighborhood bookseller figures writing this blog is more important than digging for treasure, which is another way of saying he's feeling lazy today.
An interesting site I found today if you're an old book person. I haven't had time to really investigate the site the way it deserves, but it's obvious that someone has a serious case of bookaholism. Admiration from this corner, sympathy and understanding. This sort of obsession plugs right into my brain receptors. The owner makes some bigtime mistakes, most notably in his list of book description terms. For the record, the word 'Mint' has NO business in a book description. For restaurants and coin dealers 'Mint' might be appropriate, but not for books. And his ideas of where to buy used books are about five years out of date. But those sorts of errors can be more than forgiven by his impressive research on old books and authors. I'm grateful for such people.
http://www.kingkong.demon.co.uk/ngcoba/ngcoba.htm
The Great Ebay Con by Stephen MyCoe. In this new book, a former Ebay employee reveals what a mess the company has become, and how you, too, can con your way into getting anything for free. Deal with Ebay at your own risk, bookies.
I think by now my opinions on dealing with Ebay are pretty familiar. But if you don't like my opinion on this, try http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080926/e_commerce_ahead_of_the_bell.html?.v=1
There, got the link fixed and it should work. The gist is that Ebay is bleeding customers because of their blizzard of new rules and it's hard to see where and how they will replace them. To be clear, though, I have absolutely nothing against Ebay itself. If the Ebay of 2004 were to suddenly reappear I could by and sell there with a clear conscience. It's the vicious Ebay of 2008 that I find objectionable.
I just heard that Paul Newman died. Like everyone else who watched him work and admired the way he lived his life, this is a sad day.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Forget? Not me.
Hiya bookies, sorry for the late blog today. After a late afternoon yesterday at the Germantown Friends of the Library Sale I made it to the Cordova FOL sale this morning, then spent the rest of the day doing legwork and paperwork for an aged relative who needs help. I did manage to squeeze in a visit to Karin at the English Major bookstore on Madison, where her friend Kelly was hanging lots of lovely and thought-provoking paintings (yes, they're for sale).
Will try to post something a bit more entertaining later.
Will try to post something a bit more entertaining later.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Southern Festival of Books
Good morning bookies. Stand by for news.
So, did you know that Tennessee sponsors a major book festival every year, the second weekend of October? No? Don't feel bad, 99.73% of Tennesseans don't know it either. True or False: in 2004 and 2006 it was held in Memphis. I know, you heard nothing about it so it must be false, right? Bzzzz! The answer is true. The Southern Festival of Books moved from its location in downtown Nashville for a two year experiment at the Cook Convention Center in Memphis, and it shoul dhave returned there in 2008. However, the City of Memphis was completely uninterested in doing anything that would return this massive cultural event to our city. Indeed, when it was here did you know it? in 2006 we had two of the most influential African-American writers of our times here, but did you see school kids lining up to meet them, or the mayor handing them the key to the city? Nope. Nobody cared and it's a damned shame. When the decision was made to return the festival permanently to Nashville I wrote them a snarky email asking why the didn't simply rename the thing the Nashville Festival of Books. But the truth is, with Memphis so completely indifferent, I understand completely.
Indignation aside, the Southern Festival of Books takes place the second weekend of every October in Nashville. About 200 authors in various fields are brought together on Legislative Plaza to hold panel discussions, sign books, sell books and generally mingle with readers. It's always a fun show. Why Tennessee doesn't do more to promote it is anybody's guess.
So, did you know that Tennessee sponsors a major book festival every year, the second weekend of October? No? Don't feel bad, 99.73% of Tennesseans don't know it either. True or False: in 2004 and 2006 it was held in Memphis. I know, you heard nothing about it so it must be false, right? Bzzzz! The answer is true. The Southern Festival of Books moved from its location in downtown Nashville for a two year experiment at the Cook Convention Center in Memphis, and it shoul dhave returned there in 2008. However, the City of Memphis was completely uninterested in doing anything that would return this massive cultural event to our city. Indeed, when it was here did you know it? in 2006 we had two of the most influential African-American writers of our times here, but did you see school kids lining up to meet them, or the mayor handing them the key to the city? Nope. Nobody cared and it's a damned shame. When the decision was made to return the festival permanently to Nashville I wrote them a snarky email asking why the didn't simply rename the thing the Nashville Festival of Books. But the truth is, with Memphis so completely indifferent, I understand completely.
Indignation aside, the Southern Festival of Books takes place the second weekend of every October in Nashville. About 200 authors in various fields are brought together on Legislative Plaza to hold panel discussions, sign books, sell books and generally mingle with readers. It's always a fun show. Why Tennessee doesn't do more to promote it is anybody's guess.
After the beginning, but before the middle
This continues the saga of how I became a bookie, following up the blog entry titled 'In the Beginning.' Hopefully those hundreds of emails begging me not to leave you hanging any longer will stop.
Sometime during 8th grade two seminal events occurred in my life: first, I discovered that chess wasn't a waste of time and, second, I discovered that people who wrote books were allowed to make things up. It's called 'fiction.' I knew they were allowed to do this with comic books but nobody had ever told me it was legal to put things in actual books that weren't historically accurate. Whoa.
The chess story we'll save for another day; I can only bore you for so long, after all, with all of this reminiscing glop.
I should make it clear that by 8th grade I had long since discovered the greatness of comic books. This was the 60's, remember...when Fantastic Four #1 hit the stands I was actually old enough to have read the title on the cover. (not that Mom would ever have let me buy such nonsense) My best friend, Dan, and I, rode to the drugstore on the corner of Poplar and Mendenhall at least twice a week to check out the new deliveries of comics. (Native Memphians will instantly spot the radical change in the city since those days; nobody in their right mind would let two young boys ride their bikes on Mendenhall these days, much less go anywhere near Poplar. And yet we did it daily. ) This was the store next to what is now the Mr. Pride car wash. On the other corner, near Wild Oats, was a Rexall drugstore that had a real honest-to-goodness soda fountain and banana splits that were made from a recipe sent directly from Heaven. If you were sick they would deliver your prescriptions and whatever other stuff you might need. But they didn't sell comics.
So Dan and I would buy comics and trade comics and talk about comics and, in general, make sure that our parents had no idea how much money we were spending on comics. I preferred Marvel, all the usual suspects. X-Men, Fantastic Four, Spiderman, Avengers, Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commadoes. Dan preferred DC, especially Justice League and Teen Titans. We both devoured Sgt. Rock and Enemy Ace. There were no action figures of these guys, we had to actually imagine what it would be like to be a superhero and go around bashing the bad guys. We were so deprived.
Anyway, around the time of 8th grade I discovered fiction. I can't remember what the first novel I read was, all I know is that the earliest novels I remember reading were Conan by Robert E. Howard and The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by Tolkien. How I gravitated to the two best examples of their genres I don't know. Maybe I had a mentor that is now forgotten, maybe I was lucky or maybe it was divine intervention. I like the latter. That way, I can claim that this blog is God-approved and everything in my life was leading up to this.
By 9th grade I had read enough fiction to know that the non-REH Conan stories were inferior, that Elric was a warped but fascinating counter-point to the stoic Cimmerian and that Tolkien only got better with successive readings.
Sometime during 8th grade two seminal events occurred in my life: first, I discovered that chess wasn't a waste of time and, second, I discovered that people who wrote books were allowed to make things up. It's called 'fiction.' I knew they were allowed to do this with comic books but nobody had ever told me it was legal to put things in actual books that weren't historically accurate. Whoa.
The chess story we'll save for another day; I can only bore you for so long, after all, with all of this reminiscing glop.
I should make it clear that by 8th grade I had long since discovered the greatness of comic books. This was the 60's, remember...when Fantastic Four #1 hit the stands I was actually old enough to have read the title on the cover. (not that Mom would ever have let me buy such nonsense) My best friend, Dan, and I, rode to the drugstore on the corner of Poplar and Mendenhall at least twice a week to check out the new deliveries of comics. (Native Memphians will instantly spot the radical change in the city since those days; nobody in their right mind would let two young boys ride their bikes on Mendenhall these days, much less go anywhere near Poplar. And yet we did it daily. ) This was the store next to what is now the Mr. Pride car wash. On the other corner, near Wild Oats, was a Rexall drugstore that had a real honest-to-goodness soda fountain and banana splits that were made from a recipe sent directly from Heaven. If you were sick they would deliver your prescriptions and whatever other stuff you might need. But they didn't sell comics.
So Dan and I would buy comics and trade comics and talk about comics and, in general, make sure that our parents had no idea how much money we were spending on comics. I preferred Marvel, all the usual suspects. X-Men, Fantastic Four, Spiderman, Avengers, Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commadoes. Dan preferred DC, especially Justice League and Teen Titans. We both devoured Sgt. Rock and Enemy Ace. There were no action figures of these guys, we had to actually imagine what it would be like to be a superhero and go around bashing the bad guys. We were so deprived.
Anyway, around the time of 8th grade I discovered fiction. I can't remember what the first novel I read was, all I know is that the earliest novels I remember reading were Conan by Robert E. Howard and The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by Tolkien. How I gravitated to the two best examples of their genres I don't know. Maybe I had a mentor that is now forgotten, maybe I was lucky or maybe it was divine intervention. I like the latter. That way, I can claim that this blog is God-approved and everything in my life was leading up to this.
By 9th grade I had read enough fiction to know that the non-REH Conan stories were inferior, that Elric was a warped but fascinating counter-point to the stoic Cimmerian and that Tolkien only got better with successive readings.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
A not so close call in Sin City and other news
Good morning bookies! Stand by for news.
I haven't been to Las Vegas, Sin City, for many years now, since my days repping electronics for a major Japanese corporation. Early every January we were required to head for California to learn about our new lineup of car audio gear for the coming year, then it was off to Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show. There wasn't much time during that massive gathering of salesmen, designers, techs, high-level executives pretending they knew what the heck the younger people were talking about, and the glitzy models and clowns and hangers-on that generally lounged about the convention center, to actually see Las Vegas. You saw your hotel, the casino, maybe a neighboring casino, and that was about it.
You certainly didn't see anything like Bauman's Rare Books. And for me that could be a good thing. A bookie with a credit card in the midst of such splendor could have been very, very dangerous. http://vegasblog.latimes.com/vegas/2008/09/folios-to-flemi.html
Wow, that was almost a close call.
Can you imagine kicking around a garage sale early one Saturday morning, the sun's just up, it's cold outside and you haven't had enough coffee and breakfast is still in the future but you know that to get the best stuff you have to beat the next guy to the sales. So there you are in somebody's driveway, they're sipping coffee as their garage sale cranks up, watching you dig through their stuff. You find a book with an odd looking bookplate in it, cradle it, pay for it (all the while hoping the owner doesn't change their mind), get home and discover that bookplate is what you thought it was: the personal bookplate of Adolf Hitler. It could happen.
It does not happen in the article herein linked. That's not what it's about. But bookies like me read the part about GIs taking books from the Berghof, Hitler's Bavarian home, and instantly our imaginations kick into gear and make dreams like the one above appear in our minds.
http://www.nysun.com/arts/timothy-rybacks-hitlers-private-library/86436/
It's a fine article and Sir Ian Kershaw certainly has the street cred to review the book. I disagree a bit with his conclusions, but only a bit. I'd like to read that book.
I haven't been to Las Vegas, Sin City, for many years now, since my days repping electronics for a major Japanese corporation. Early every January we were required to head for California to learn about our new lineup of car audio gear for the coming year, then it was off to Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show. There wasn't much time during that massive gathering of salesmen, designers, techs, high-level executives pretending they knew what the heck the younger people were talking about, and the glitzy models and clowns and hangers-on that generally lounged about the convention center, to actually see Las Vegas. You saw your hotel, the casino, maybe a neighboring casino, and that was about it.
You certainly didn't see anything like Bauman's Rare Books. And for me that could be a good thing. A bookie with a credit card in the midst of such splendor could have been very, very dangerous. http://vegasblog.latimes.com/vegas/2008/09/folios-to-flemi.html
Wow, that was almost a close call.
Can you imagine kicking around a garage sale early one Saturday morning, the sun's just up, it's cold outside and you haven't had enough coffee and breakfast is still in the future but you know that to get the best stuff you have to beat the next guy to the sales. So there you are in somebody's driveway, they're sipping coffee as their garage sale cranks up, watching you dig through their stuff. You find a book with an odd looking bookplate in it, cradle it, pay for it (all the while hoping the owner doesn't change their mind), get home and discover that bookplate is what you thought it was: the personal bookplate of Adolf Hitler. It could happen.
It does not happen in the article herein linked. That's not what it's about. But bookies like me read the part about GIs taking books from the Berghof, Hitler's Bavarian home, and instantly our imaginations kick into gear and make dreams like the one above appear in our minds.
http://www.nysun.com/arts/timothy-rybacks-hitlers-private-library/86436/
It's a fine article and Sir Ian Kershaw certainly has the street cred to review the book. I disagree a bit with his conclusions, but only a bit. I'd like to read that book.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
The Street's take on Ebay
Good morning bookies! Stand by for book news.
Click on the title for a link to the story from Jim Cramer's The Street about Ebay's continuing muddle and downfall. No need for my opinion on this one.
Click on the title for a link to the story from Jim Cramer's The Street about Ebay's continuing muddle and downfall. No need for my opinion on this one.
Monday, September 22, 2008
ebid.net officially launches in the USA
Good day, bookies. Stand by for book news!
Although ebay alternative ebid.net.us has been around for a while now, today is the official launch day in the USA, with a media advertising campaign to go along. ebid is a nice site, reminiscent of the long gone early days of ebay, and offers two different pricing programs. No subscriptions and small final value fees, or a one-time subscription and no fees. Your friendly neighborhood bookseller mentions this, bookies, because this is the auction site he will probably be using in the future for all of those juicy one-of-a-kind treasures he digs up from time to time.
Bonanzle.com passed the 100,000 listing mark. This is pretty amazing, considering the site just launched June 1 of this year. If you like Craigslist, then you'll probably love this place. You can check out my booth if you want to see what it would look like: http://www.bonanzle.com/booths/Billthebookguy
Sorry I couldn't come up with a better looking photo.
Davis Kidd will host Lauren Fix this Tuesday at 6 pm. Her book Lauren Fix's Guide to Loving Your Car sounds intriguing if you're a car person.
Haywood Smith will be at Davis-Kidd this Wednesday, 6 pm, for a meet-and-great and a signing for Wedding Belles, a novel with mothers, daughters, weddings and, no doubt, mayhem. Author of the enormously popular Red Hat Club, she is a regular here and will no doubt be a lot of fun, assuming that's your cuppa. I've always wondered why more people don't attend book signings, it's a great chance to meet the author, ask questions and mingle with other bookies.
Although ebay alternative ebid.net.us has been around for a while now, today is the official launch day in the USA, with a media advertising campaign to go along. ebid is a nice site, reminiscent of the long gone early days of ebay, and offers two different pricing programs. No subscriptions and small final value fees, or a one-time subscription and no fees. Your friendly neighborhood bookseller mentions this, bookies, because this is the auction site he will probably be using in the future for all of those juicy one-of-a-kind treasures he digs up from time to time.
Bonanzle.com passed the 100,000 listing mark. This is pretty amazing, considering the site just launched June 1 of this year. If you like Craigslist, then you'll probably love this place. You can check out my booth if you want to see what it would look like: http://www.bonanzle.com/booths/Billthebookguy
Sorry I couldn't come up with a better looking photo.
Davis Kidd will host Lauren Fix this Tuesday at 6 pm. Her book Lauren Fix's Guide to Loving Your Car sounds intriguing if you're a car person.
Haywood Smith will be at Davis-Kidd this Wednesday, 6 pm, for a meet-and-great and a signing for Wedding Belles, a novel with mothers, daughters, weddings and, no doubt, mayhem. Author of the enormously popular Red Hat Club, she is a regular here and will no doubt be a lot of fun, assuming that's your cuppa. I've always wondered why more people don't attend book signings, it's a great chance to meet the author, ask questions and mingle with other bookies.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Mid-Southerners send in your news!
That's an order! Or, at least, a polite request. Your friendly neighborhood bookseller will be out scrounging for book and author news from all over the globe. That's my (self-appointed) job. It would be a big help to me, however, if you fine folks in the Memphis/Mid-South region would forward any and all author news you think I can use, and that pretty much means anything.
I would like this blog to be a clearing house for books, authors, signings, conventions, whatever, that is occurring among the writing community in the Memphis area. I would also like it to hold enough information of national interest that on the off-chance I should have visitors from, say, Houston or Buffalo, they would not be bored.
Anything and everything. Bring it on.
I would like this blog to be a clearing house for books, authors, signings, conventions, whatever, that is occurring among the writing community in the Memphis area. I would also like it to hold enough information of national interest that on the off-chance I should have visitors from, say, Houston or Buffalo, they would not be bored.
Anything and everything. Bring it on.
Celebrate tomorrow
Remember the big day, Sept. 22nd, birthday for both Bilbo and Frodo Baggins. They may have sailed west, but don't for one second think they won't be partying hearty on their shared birthday.
Countrywood Garage Sale Roundup
Good day, bookies. Stand by for book news.
The Countrywood Garage Sale wrapped up yesterday with crowds and sales much down from previous years. I had promised photos but none came out. It was that kind of day.
Rain early made everything start late. Crowds were thinner than usual, possibly due to the weather, maybe the economy, more likely due to the news the previous night. Some very unpleasant woman representing the Countrywood Home Owner's Association was on the news blasting the sale. Why would anyone oppose a neighborhood event that promotes neighbors meeting neighbors? Heck if I know. About the only thing that I could tell from the venom she was spewing was that people were having fun without her approval. Very sad.
As for me, while I didn't buy much and sold less, the sale still did exactly what it was originally intended to do; it let me meet the neighbors. Indeed, I met a nice lady (whom I first met at last year's sale) and her husband who were interested in some alternate selling site ideas of mine, and I got to handle his authentic 9 mm holster from a WW2 era German Luger. (And later, half a subdivision from that house, I met the man who bought the holster! Talk about synchronicity) I met two friends from a long, long time ago, when I made my living selling audio gear, and come to find out they are both in the publishing/writing field. One is Allan Gilbreath, author of the 'Galen' series of novels. Before that moment I had never associated my old sales companion and the talented writer. Who knew? Cards were exchanged, who knows what might come of that. I met a new neighbor who had just moved in down the cove, said hi to others.
I was here when the first Countrywood garage sale happened and this was the whole point: meet your neighbors, make some friends, maybe make a buck or two. Feel like you are part of a bigger community. Everyone today bemoans that we no longer know the people living beside us the way our parents did, and that's true. But when someone devises a mechanism to correct that, there will always be the sad few who curl their lip and shake their head in disapproval. How sad that the current crop of home owner's association spokespeople are more interested in being controlling than being neighborly. The lady on TV was a prime example. She's probably a very nice lady to those who know her, probably the world's greatest mom, probably brings cupcakes to her kid's school for birthdays and all the other great stuff moms and dads do.
The Countrywood Garage Sale wrapped up yesterday with crowds and sales much down from previous years. I had promised photos but none came out. It was that kind of day.
Rain early made everything start late. Crowds were thinner than usual, possibly due to the weather, maybe the economy, more likely due to the news the previous night. Some very unpleasant woman representing the Countrywood Home Owner's Association was on the news blasting the sale. Why would anyone oppose a neighborhood event that promotes neighbors meeting neighbors? Heck if I know. About the only thing that I could tell from the venom she was spewing was that people were having fun without her approval. Very sad.
As for me, while I didn't buy much and sold less, the sale still did exactly what it was originally intended to do; it let me meet the neighbors. Indeed, I met a nice lady (whom I first met at last year's sale) and her husband who were interested in some alternate selling site ideas of mine, and I got to handle his authentic 9 mm holster from a WW2 era German Luger. (And later, half a subdivision from that house, I met the man who bought the holster! Talk about synchronicity) I met two friends from a long, long time ago, when I made my living selling audio gear, and come to find out they are both in the publishing/writing field. One is Allan Gilbreath, author of the 'Galen' series of novels. Before that moment I had never associated my old sales companion and the talented writer. Who knew? Cards were exchanged, who knows what might come of that. I met a new neighbor who had just moved in down the cove, said hi to others.
I was here when the first Countrywood garage sale happened and this was the whole point: meet your neighbors, make some friends, maybe make a buck or two. Feel like you are part of a bigger community. Everyone today bemoans that we no longer know the people living beside us the way our parents did, and that's true. But when someone devises a mechanism to correct that, there will always be the sad few who curl their lip and shake their head in disapproval. How sad that the current crop of home owner's association spokespeople are more interested in being controlling than being neighborly. The lady on TV was a prime example. She's probably a very nice lady to those who know her, probably the world's greatest mom, probably brings cupcakes to her kid's school for birthdays and all the other great stuff moms and dads do.
One Ebay story
So why do I keep warning everyone about the dangers of doing business with Ebay right now? Here's one seller's account, taken from a message board. You can believe it or not, but there's literally thousands like this around the net.
Gementia13 wrote: "OK, I get my account restricted because of a disgruntled customer who threatened to neg me if I didn't both refund her money and let her keep the item...when I refused, she created a new account just to neg me again, and had her friend do the same. Goodbye 99.8%, hello 98.4%. I'd written eBay repeatedly about these girls, & still they would not remove the negs or help me in any way. Then a call and email from eBay telling me I can't sell for 30 days. Now get this:
"If your customer satisfaction ratings do not improve during that time, your account may be permanently suspended." OK, all thinking people out there, how am I supposed to improve my customer satisfaction ratings if I'm not allowed to have any customers? I don't have any recent sales, thanks to the lowered visibility due to these girls' negs. So once again, my hands are tied & I can do -nothing- to improve my situation.
So, I write another email asking politely how I am supposed to improve my ratings without any customers. I get a nasty email back from Trust & Safety telling me to conclude my open sales satisfactorily - not an option since I have none - and adding insult to injury by finishing with this line:
"Remember, your account on eBay is at serious risk."
Having no further need of my account on fleaBay, I respond:
"Yes, dear. I have already opened a shop elsewhere and am doing fine without eBay. So you can take your threats and stick 'em in the 'One of Our Many Mistakes' file. Sincerely, ==gem=="
Is it just me, or does logical thinking seem to be against eBay policy as well?"
The only real reason to wonder if such stories are real or not is because they are so incredibly stupid on Ebay's part. Could any major corporation really be this myopic? I don't know. Could Enron?
These are the days that will be taught in business schools for decades to come, how a hugely successful corporation committed suicide by making every major mistake possible. It's as amazing to watch as it is painful, for those of us who once preached the Ebay canon like devoted acolytes.
Gementia13 wrote: "OK, I get my account restricted because of a disgruntled customer who threatened to neg me if I didn't both refund her money and let her keep the item...when I refused, she created a new account just to neg me again, and had her friend do the same. Goodbye 99.8%, hello 98.4%. I'd written eBay repeatedly about these girls, & still they would not remove the negs or help me in any way. Then a call and email from eBay telling me I can't sell for 30 days. Now get this:
"If your customer satisfaction ratings do not improve during that time, your account may be permanently suspended." OK, all thinking people out there, how am I supposed to improve my customer satisfaction ratings if I'm not allowed to have any customers? I don't have any recent sales, thanks to the lowered visibility due to these girls' negs. So once again, my hands are tied & I can do -nothing- to improve my situation.
So, I write another email asking politely how I am supposed to improve my ratings without any customers. I get a nasty email back from Trust & Safety telling me to conclude my open sales satisfactorily - not an option since I have none - and adding insult to injury by finishing with this line:
"Remember, your account on eBay is at serious risk."
Having no further need of my account on fleaBay, I respond:
"Yes, dear. I have already opened a shop elsewhere and am doing fine without eBay. So you can take your threats and stick 'em in the 'One of Our Many Mistakes' file. Sincerely, ==gem=="
Is it just me, or does logical thinking seem to be against eBay policy as well?"
The only real reason to wonder if such stories are real or not is because they are so incredibly stupid on Ebay's part. Could any major corporation really be this myopic? I don't know. Could Enron?
These are the days that will be taught in business schools for decades to come, how a hugely successful corporation committed suicide by making every major mistake possible. It's as amazing to watch as it is painful, for those of us who once preached the Ebay canon like devoted acolytes.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Countrywood Garage Sale
Today is the unofficial start to the Countrywood Garage Sale, which officially begins tomorrow. Hundreds and hundreds of homes in the Cordova subdivisions of Countrywood, Berryhill and Riverwood will be having sales this weekend, including your friendly neighborhood bookguy. Nobody really knows the numbers of homes, but it could top 1,000. Tens of thousands of shoppers show up from all parts of the country. I know the local hotels are full, the streets will be clogged. If I get a chance I'll post pictures this weekend or early next week.
I've already made my first buys of the weekend, even though I'm technically selling this year and not buying. Picked up some terrific rock 'n' roll biographies, look for them soon at http://www.bonanzle.com/booths/billthebookguy.
I've already made my first buys of the weekend, even though I'm technically selling this year and not buying. Picked up some terrific rock 'n' roll biographies, look for them soon at http://www.bonanzle.com/booths/billthebookguy.
Michigan Library Selling Its Book of Mormon
Clink on the blog title for the story.
Seriously, they are selling this? What a pity, although we are seeing more and more of this these days. I'm not sure what libraries think their mission is, I always thought it was to bring people closer to books but obviously that's wrong. But maybe it's just me: if you could trade one beat up old copy of the Book of Mormon for hundreds of copies of the latest Patricia Cornwell masterpiece, why wouldn't you?
MUSKEGON, Mich. (WZZM) - The Hackley Library in Muskegon is selling its' most valuable book - a rare first edition "Book of Mormon."
5,000 books were printed in 1830 by Joseph Smith, the Founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Book collectors think only 1,000 first editions still exist.
The library's board is selling the book through a rare book dealer in Salt Lake City, Utah. The book could demand a price of around $72,000 dollars. Any procedes from the sale will go to the library.
Martha Ferriby, the Director of Hackley Public Library said, "The library board has not decided what to do with the money. I am sure it will be used for some good project. There has been talk about new books, and there are things the building needs too."
Since learning of the book's high value, it has been moved off-site and placed in temperature and humidity-controlled storage.
Jon Mills"Seriously, they are selling this? What a pity, although we are seeing more and more of this these days. I'm not sure what libraries think their mission is, I always thought it was to bring people closer to books but obviously that's wrong. But maybe it's just me: if you could trade one beat up old copy of the Book of Mormon for hundreds of copies of the latest Patricia Cornwell masterpiece, why wouldn't you?
...Continuation of Ebay...
Let's make a list.
1. Outrageous fees. Sellers have always had to figure in fees for items that don't sell, because you paid the fee whether your item sold or not. And, if it did sell, then you paid another fee. Ebay increased these repeatedly over the years, finally reaching the breaking point where sellers were no longer working for themselves, they were working for Ebay. The little company that did not want to act like a corporation became a corporation.
2. Feedback. The innovative two-way feedback system, wherein buyers and sellers were allowed to rate each other, was changed so that only buyers could leave negatives. Supposedly there had been rampant abuse of the old system. But if not before, there certainly is now. Buyer extortion has reached epic proportions according to the forums devoted to this sort of thing. And a few negative feedbacks, whether deserved or not, can find a seller suspended without warning.
3. DSRs. Detailed Seller Ratings. Buyers are now asked to rate sellers on various factors of their purchase, shipping time, shipping cost, etc. Where a seller's goods come up during a search, or even if they are allowed to sell at all, are dependent on their DSR ratings. And yet no one can explain exactly how this works, including Ebay. When DSRs change without a new feedback having been added, it does make you wonder.
4. An un-level playing field. Wasn't that the whole idea behind Ebay in the first place, to give the average joe a place to buy and sell without having to involve such corporate beast? To give us the same advantages that the big guys have? Well, it was fun while it lasted. Now, on Ebay, the behemoths pay much lower fees and are not held to the same standards as everyone else. In addition, their stuff comes up first in searches. So much for the founding concept, eh?
5. Homogenization. Ebay wants to be a mall. Why they want this...well, who cares, really. When was the last time you went to the mall and found something unique? If Ebay were an ice cream company, they would have cancelled all flavors except vanilla.
1. Outrageous fees. Sellers have always had to figure in fees for items that don't sell, because you paid the fee whether your item sold or not. And, if it did sell, then you paid another fee. Ebay increased these repeatedly over the years, finally reaching the breaking point where sellers were no longer working for themselves, they were working for Ebay. The little company that did not want to act like a corporation became a corporation.
2. Feedback. The innovative two-way feedback system, wherein buyers and sellers were allowed to rate each other, was changed so that only buyers could leave negatives. Supposedly there had been rampant abuse of the old system. But if not before, there certainly is now. Buyer extortion has reached epic proportions according to the forums devoted to this sort of thing. And a few negative feedbacks, whether deserved or not, can find a seller suspended without warning.
3. DSRs. Detailed Seller Ratings. Buyers are now asked to rate sellers on various factors of their purchase, shipping time, shipping cost, etc. Where a seller's goods come up during a search, or even if they are allowed to sell at all, are dependent on their DSR ratings. And yet no one can explain exactly how this works, including Ebay. When DSRs change without a new feedback having been added, it does make you wonder.
4. An un-level playing field. Wasn't that the whole idea behind Ebay in the first place, to give the average joe a place to buy and sell without having to involve such corporate beast? To give us the same advantages that the big guys have? Well, it was fun while it lasted. Now, on Ebay, the behemoths pay much lower fees and are not held to the same standards as everyone else. In addition, their stuff comes up first in searches. So much for the founding concept, eh?
5. Homogenization. Ebay wants to be a mall. Why they want this...well, who cares, really. When was the last time you went to the mall and found something unique? If Ebay were an ice cream company, they would have cancelled all flavors except vanilla.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
History of the Decline and Fall of Ebay- Chapter 3
Someone asked me why, exactly, I feel it necessary to write this self-indulgent screed detailing Ebay's recent idiocy and probable suicide. Isn't it a waste of time, they asked, pointless, a gnat buzzing a rhinocerous? Okay, maybe they have a point. Speaking strictly for me, however, I find gnats annoying in the extreme. Nor am I alone in spreading the world about Ebay and their treatment of those who helped build the site. There are thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of gnats out there, gnats like me buzzing and making a lot of noise and flying up their nostrils and...well, you get the idea. And if all we turn out to be is irritating, I can live with that.
If my personal experience counts for anything, however, then for every seller Ebay loses they also lose a buyer. Maybe it's no big deal not having my stuff on the site, although I think my stuff is kind of interesting. This year I have sold off my personal collection of old metal fantasy figures that I bought to play Advanced Dungeons and Dragons back in the late 70's, most still in the bag because I never actually got around to playing AD&D with them. Those were scooped up fast. I have sold a large number of odd, rare, damaged and just plain cool books, my stock in trade. I have sold a sweater. That's right, one of those things you wear in cold weather. I sold off a large stack of my old SFF paperbacks, mostly Ace doubles that I have owned for decades. Beer collectibles, Furbies, you name it, I have a pretty decent eye for picking off things like that and I had learned my market fairly well. And that was always the key to Ebay, knowing your market. It was work to research what would and would not sell, what the price should be, when to post your stuff, hard work, but it was worth it.
And, of course, that's all gone now. If you want to swim in the Ebay sewer, be my guest. Just don't expect me to join you.
So what is it, exactly, that Ebay has done to upset me so much?
To be continued...
If my personal experience counts for anything, however, then for every seller Ebay loses they also lose a buyer. Maybe it's no big deal not having my stuff on the site, although I think my stuff is kind of interesting. This year I have sold off my personal collection of old metal fantasy figures that I bought to play Advanced Dungeons and Dragons back in the late 70's, most still in the bag because I never actually got around to playing AD&D with them. Those were scooped up fast. I have sold a large number of odd, rare, damaged and just plain cool books, my stock in trade. I have sold a sweater. That's right, one of those things you wear in cold weather. I sold off a large stack of my old SFF paperbacks, mostly Ace doubles that I have owned for decades. Beer collectibles, Furbies, you name it, I have a pretty decent eye for picking off things like that and I had learned my market fairly well. And that was always the key to Ebay, knowing your market. It was work to research what would and would not sell, what the price should be, when to post your stuff, hard work, but it was worth it.
And, of course, that's all gone now. If you want to swim in the Ebay sewer, be my guest. Just don't expect me to join you.
So what is it, exactly, that Ebay has done to upset me so much?
To be continued...
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
42
Good day, Bookies. Stand by for news.
As you all surely know, that's the answer to everything. 42.
Douglas Adams died in 2001 at age 49. I remember the shock when I heard that he'd died. But now at how he died: he was at a gym, exercising. He must surely find the irony delicious.
I was pretty PO'ed at the time. After all, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy trilogy was stuck on five books and just didn't quite seem complete. 'Mostly Harmless' was panned by a lot of fans, but I loved it. Maybe that's me having low standards, maybe that's a literary marketplace devoid of anything approaching truly talented humorists or maybe I'm right. Since this is my blog, I'm picking the latter. It was a great book and Adams died before he could ever give us the next one, dammit!
Chin up, lads and laddies, because now we'll get that one last book we're looking for. Click on today's blog title for the full story, but Eoin Colfer is writing the sixth, and last, in the series, '...And Another Thing." Some will say this is bad and terrible and the omen of an interstellar bypass heading our way, I say good-O, mate! Why the hell shouldn't we have another book? If it's awful, I won't read it. If it's great, then I have my last in the series. No downside as far as I can see.
Adams often co-wrote books, most notably Starship Titanic, where we are told Terry Jones did most of the actual writing, so it's not like this is a new thing. It's probably new for Adams, collaborating on a project 7 years after he died, but when you're dead you're almost surely looking for something to pass the time and looking over the shoulder of a co-writer, trying to materialize and tell him you hate what he's doing with Chapter 5, seems about as good a way as any.
This project has my stamp of approval. I know that's great news for all involved.
On a sidenote, I had a correspondence with Adams while he was still alive, and to this day have several letters from him, signed and all that. And with those letters I can reveal a secret to his personal staff that history may have wondered about: his administrative assistant was a choco-holic. It's true, I have the evidence.
As you all surely know, that's the answer to everything. 42.
Douglas Adams died in 2001 at age 49. I remember the shock when I heard that he'd died. But now at how he died: he was at a gym, exercising. He must surely find the irony delicious.
I was pretty PO'ed at the time. After all, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy trilogy was stuck on five books and just didn't quite seem complete. 'Mostly Harmless' was panned by a lot of fans, but I loved it. Maybe that's me having low standards, maybe that's a literary marketplace devoid of anything approaching truly talented humorists or maybe I'm right. Since this is my blog, I'm picking the latter. It was a great book and Adams died before he could ever give us the next one, dammit!
Chin up, lads and laddies, because now we'll get that one last book we're looking for. Click on today's blog title for the full story, but Eoin Colfer is writing the sixth, and last, in the series, '...And Another Thing." Some will say this is bad and terrible and the omen of an interstellar bypass heading our way, I say good-O, mate! Why the hell shouldn't we have another book? If it's awful, I won't read it. If it's great, then I have my last in the series. No downside as far as I can see.
Adams often co-wrote books, most notably Starship Titanic, where we are told Terry Jones did most of the actual writing, so it's not like this is a new thing. It's probably new for Adams, collaborating on a project 7 years after he died, but when you're dead you're almost surely looking for something to pass the time and looking over the shoulder of a co-writer, trying to materialize and tell him you hate what he's doing with Chapter 5, seems about as good a way as any.
This project has my stamp of approval. I know that's great news for all involved.
On a sidenote, I had a correspondence with Adams while he was still alive, and to this day have several letters from him, signed and all that. And with those letters I can reveal a secret to his personal staff that history may have wondered about: his administrative assistant was a choco-holic. It's true, I have the evidence.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
In the beginning
Good day, bookies, stand by for book news.
A note of concern: in editing today's blog I realized that it makes me sound like I'm 125 years old. So let me say up front: I'm not 125 years old. It's an illusion. Call me Criss Angel.
Like so many of my fellow booklovers/booksellers, I am a collector first, a book scout second and a bookseller third. I suspect that my story of becoming a bookseller is anything but unusual, it's probably how most people start selling books. (Unless you're a megalister or book broker, which is an entirely different animal we will address at some future date when I can't think of anything else to blog about) Every since I was a little baby I was a reader. At 9 months old I was flipping pages on those plastic books with the thick pages and pictures of cute animals. (Although highly improbable, it can't be proven negative so I'm sticking with this story.) Some of my earliest memories are of reading and, good grief, I don't mean Dr. Seuss. My mom was a realtor as I was growing up in the late 50's and early 60's, the days before computers and cell phones and instant communications. (For you younger readers, the answer is 'yes, the internal combustion engine was in common use.) This meant that I got dragged along with her when she drove all over the city showing houses, previewing houses, writing contracts, hanging out at the office, etc. I did not have a hand-held game device, nor a PDA or a cell phone with texting capabilities or any other cool electronic toy with which to entertain myself. The car radio could provide some pretty good music, on occasion, the Beatles were the new guys on the block about then, but, of course, Mom wasn't a rock and roller so we usually listened to what passed for talk radio. Fun times.
Aside- The one electronic device I did own was a transistor radio. It was big, about half the size of a lunch box, but operated on batteries as well as A/C, which was a nice feature. I spent many nights listening to the St. Louis Cardinals play baseball, with the volume turned down so Mom wouldn't yell at me to go to sleep.
Anyway, what I did to pass the time was read. A lot. And not just any old kid's book, either. I read history. I'm not sure I even knew fiction existed until I was 13 or so. The earliest book I remember reading was 'The Two Ocean War' by Samuel Eliot Morison, a dense but fairly readable one-volume account of the US Navy in World War II. I was probably about 8 or 9 at the time and World War II was already a consuming passion of mine. I've never known why that was true, it just was. And still is. The book I am currently researching is about a rather obscure bit of World War II that I feel has not yet received its due from historians. As a reward for sitting in a hot (or cold) car for hours on end, Mom would sometimes take me to a store over on Summer, in the shopping center at Waring, where some department store had a book section and carried the Ballantine's History of the Violent Century series of trade paperbacks. I could usually buy one of them at about $1 each, maybe two if I had been especially traumatized by the day's dragging about, and I would devour them pretty quickly.
Throughout my life I have heard people say that they don't re-read books. I have never understood that. I have re-read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings 27 times, not counting skimming through chapters or scenes, and every time I have realized some new facet of the work that I had not understood before. I suppose everybody else is just smarter than me and had 100% comprehension right from the start, but somehow I doubt it. No, I think rather that I'm just one of those people who find a book they love and keep re-visiting it to milk every last drop of pleasure it has to offer. And that's how book collections begin.
By the time I hit high school I had a lot of books. I couldn't imagine getting rid of them, I might want to re-read them, so I just stuffed them wherever I could. I still have a lot of them. They were almost all history of one sort or another and I was perfectly content with that, or so I thought. End of the beginning
A note of concern: in editing today's blog I realized that it makes me sound like I'm 125 years old. So let me say up front: I'm not 125 years old. It's an illusion. Call me Criss Angel.
Like so many of my fellow booklovers/booksellers, I am a collector first, a book scout second and a bookseller third. I suspect that my story of becoming a bookseller is anything but unusual, it's probably how most people start selling books. (Unless you're a megalister or book broker, which is an entirely different animal we will address at some future date when I can't think of anything else to blog about) Every since I was a little baby I was a reader. At 9 months old I was flipping pages on those plastic books with the thick pages and pictures of cute animals. (Although highly improbable, it can't be proven negative so I'm sticking with this story.) Some of my earliest memories are of reading and, good grief, I don't mean Dr. Seuss. My mom was a realtor as I was growing up in the late 50's and early 60's, the days before computers and cell phones and instant communications. (For you younger readers, the answer is 'yes, the internal combustion engine was in common use.) This meant that I got dragged along with her when she drove all over the city showing houses, previewing houses, writing contracts, hanging out at the office, etc. I did not have a hand-held game device, nor a PDA or a cell phone with texting capabilities or any other cool electronic toy with which to entertain myself. The car radio could provide some pretty good music, on occasion, the Beatles were the new guys on the block about then, but, of course, Mom wasn't a rock and roller so we usually listened to what passed for talk radio. Fun times.
Aside- The one electronic device I did own was a transistor radio. It was big, about half the size of a lunch box, but operated on batteries as well as A/C, which was a nice feature. I spent many nights listening to the St. Louis Cardinals play baseball, with the volume turned down so Mom wouldn't yell at me to go to sleep.
Anyway, what I did to pass the time was read. A lot. And not just any old kid's book, either. I read history. I'm not sure I even knew fiction existed until I was 13 or so. The earliest book I remember reading was 'The Two Ocean War' by Samuel Eliot Morison, a dense but fairly readable one-volume account of the US Navy in World War II. I was probably about 8 or 9 at the time and World War II was already a consuming passion of mine. I've never known why that was true, it just was. And still is. The book I am currently researching is about a rather obscure bit of World War II that I feel has not yet received its due from historians. As a reward for sitting in a hot (or cold) car for hours on end, Mom would sometimes take me to a store over on Summer, in the shopping center at Waring, where some department store had a book section and carried the Ballantine's History of the Violent Century series of trade paperbacks. I could usually buy one of them at about $1 each, maybe two if I had been especially traumatized by the day's dragging about, and I would devour them pretty quickly.
Throughout my life I have heard people say that they don't re-read books. I have never understood that. I have re-read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings 27 times, not counting skimming through chapters or scenes, and every time I have realized some new facet of the work that I had not understood before. I suppose everybody else is just smarter than me and had 100% comprehension right from the start, but somehow I doubt it. No, I think rather that I'm just one of those people who find a book they love and keep re-visiting it to milk every last drop of pleasure it has to offer. And that's how book collections begin.
By the time I hit high school I had a lot of books. I couldn't imagine getting rid of them, I might want to re-read them, so I just stuffed them wherever I could. I still have a lot of them. They were almost all history of one sort or another and I was perfectly content with that, or so I thought. End of the beginning
Monday, September 15, 2008
History of the Decline and Fall of Ebay- Part 1 Chap. 2
Good morning bookies! Bright and cool here in Memphis today, very unusual for this time of year. Refreshing, even.
As we discuss the decline and fall of a uniquely American company, Ebay, it's important to note that the focus will be on how that collapse affects one seller: me. It's not that I'm more deserving of attention than any other seller out there, it's that I'm writing this blog and, narcissism aside, I'm aware of precisely how I am affected by the death of the once fabulous market.
Click on today's blog title for a link to a Barron's news article on Ebay's trouble. Along the way there will be links like today's, outside views of what is going on with the company, other opinions, maybe other blogs, all to put things into perspective. For now, read the short article above as homework and background.
So what does the demise of Ebay and selling books have in common? Simple. For years Ebay has been a place to buy and sell books of all kinds, by the hundreds of thousands. I have sold very common books there and I have sold books so rare they are unique. Just this year I sold a rare book that I researched for more than a week before posting the auction, and could not find one other copy anywhere that had been sold, was for sale, was in a library, nowhere. This was the 1895 edition of a family history that was later reprinted in 1898 and after, but with changes. The 1895 edition was the first one and, so it seems, contained information not found anywhere else. This I turned up in my research. (By the way, that's what booksellers actually do, they learn why and how certain books are different from others.) Anyway, the book was very badly damaged. It had no spine cover or front cover. The first pages were missing to the title page, although the textblock itself was intact and still bound. Condition was poor. How poor? See for yourself.
So I threw it up on Ebay with a low starting price but a long description on why it was important, how it differed from later editions and why a family member might want it.
Apparently this is a very large family.
There was a bidding war. See, if that had been the 1898 edition, then it would not have been quite as valuable (although it might have sold for more, had the condition been better. But that's a different issue). Two members of the family from opposite ends of the country, who did not know the other existed, were both trying to buy it. When the auction ended I was able to introduce the two long-lost relatives to each other via email, I had made a nice sale on Ebay, my extensive research had been rewarded (in the end more than 6 hours worth, not to mention the eyedrops to keep me from going blind reading and staring into my monitor all day) and Ebay had made a tidy little fee for themselves. Winners all around. But the key factor in all of this was the product itself. I had scared up a battered, damaged old book, found out its value, marketed that value and made both a sale and a happy customer. The item itself was unique, the transaction was not repeatable.
Ebay in a nutshell, right?
No. Not any more. Ebay does not want those sales anymore. Ebay wants to be a 'mall.' That's right, their new CEO says they want to be a mall. Could you find a unique item like that book in a mall? No, of course not. You can find overpriced clothes and greasy food and lava lamps at a mall, maybe the latest Patricia Cornwell abomination at a tiny bookstore near the exit, but not a rare 1895 geneaological gem that no one knew existed. Nothing so tawdry as a smelly old book. And so Ebay has done their best to run off sellers like me, with our unique and esoteric rarities, in favor of golf clubs or an ipod. Nothing against golf clubs or ipods, they are both useful in their own right (or even together, how long before we see a wedgepod?), but was the world holding its breath waiting for yet another place to buy an ipod? Apparently Ebay thinks so.
And therein lies their demise. They are now content to be just another website. No more cool factor, no more wow moments, just a boringly conventional website that has no character, no soul and no future.
Layoffs, anyone?
As we discuss the decline and fall of a uniquely American company, Ebay, it's important to note that the focus will be on how that collapse affects one seller: me. It's not that I'm more deserving of attention than any other seller out there, it's that I'm writing this blog and, narcissism aside, I'm aware of precisely how I am affected by the death of the once fabulous market.
Click on today's blog title for a link to a Barron's news article on Ebay's trouble. Along the way there will be links like today's, outside views of what is going on with the company, other opinions, maybe other blogs, all to put things into perspective. For now, read the short article above as homework and background.
So what does the demise of Ebay and selling books have in common? Simple. For years Ebay has been a place to buy and sell books of all kinds, by the hundreds of thousands. I have sold very common books there and I have sold books so rare they are unique. Just this year I sold a rare book that I researched for more than a week before posting the auction, and could not find one other copy anywhere that had been sold, was for sale, was in a library, nowhere. This was the 1895 edition of a family history that was later reprinted in 1898 and after, but with changes. The 1895 edition was the first one and, so it seems, contained information not found anywhere else. This I turned up in my research. (By the way, that's what booksellers actually do, they learn why and how certain books are different from others.) Anyway, the book was very badly damaged. It had no spine cover or front cover. The first pages were missing to the title page, although the textblock itself was intact and still bound. Condition was poor. How poor? See for yourself.
So I threw it up on Ebay with a low starting price but a long description on why it was important, how it differed from later editions and why a family member might want it.
Apparently this is a very large family.
There was a bidding war. See, if that had been the 1898 edition, then it would not have been quite as valuable (although it might have sold for more, had the condition been better. But that's a different issue). Two members of the family from opposite ends of the country, who did not know the other existed, were both trying to buy it. When the auction ended I was able to introduce the two long-lost relatives to each other via email, I had made a nice sale on Ebay, my extensive research had been rewarded (in the end more than 6 hours worth, not to mention the eyedrops to keep me from going blind reading and staring into my monitor all day) and Ebay had made a tidy little fee for themselves. Winners all around. But the key factor in all of this was the product itself. I had scared up a battered, damaged old book, found out its value, marketed that value and made both a sale and a happy customer. The item itself was unique, the transaction was not repeatable.
Ebay in a nutshell, right?
No. Not any more. Ebay does not want those sales anymore. Ebay wants to be a 'mall.' That's right, their new CEO says they want to be a mall. Could you find a unique item like that book in a mall? No, of course not. You can find overpriced clothes and greasy food and lava lamps at a mall, maybe the latest Patricia Cornwell abomination at a tiny bookstore near the exit, but not a rare 1895 geneaological gem that no one knew existed. Nothing so tawdry as a smelly old book. And so Ebay has done their best to run off sellers like me, with our unique and esoteric rarities, in favor of golf clubs or an ipod. Nothing against golf clubs or ipods, they are both useful in their own right (or even together, how long before we see a wedgepod?), but was the world holding its breath waiting for yet another place to buy an ipod? Apparently Ebay thinks so.
And therein lies their demise. They are now content to be just another website. No more cool factor, no more wow moments, just a boringly conventional website that has no character, no soul and no future.
Layoffs, anyone?
Sunday, September 14, 2008
David Foster Wallace, R.I.P.
The influential and original novelist David Foster Wallace was found dead today, an apparent suicide, it's being reported by AOL news. He was 46.
Why does it seem that humorous writers often do themselves in? Does it consume your soul to see the world in a preposterous light instead of a tragic one?
Why does it seem that humorous writers often do themselves in? Does it consume your soul to see the world in a preposterous light instead of a tragic one?
History of the Decline and Fall of Ebay- Part 1 Chap. 1
Good morning bookies! Here in Memphis we are seeing the outlying bands from Hurricane Ike, dark blue and purple snakes coiling about the sky looking for somewhere to strike. By and large it's Memphis that takes these hits, this time it appears to be to our west. Wherever and whenever, I hope the destruction is over.
Today's topic is Ebay. Yeah, yeah, I know, a real yawn, right? 'Don't just shop, win'. Dancing fireplugs telling you how great Ebay is, some doofus selling software on how to sell on Ebay, people writing books on how to become millionaires selling on Ebay (the trick is not to sell on Ebay, it's to write software or books telling other people how to become rich on Ebay). Boring. Or maybe not. If you buy, sell or trade on the internet, then Ebay's fate directly affects you.
But let's start at the beginning, which is usually a good idea. Okay, so think Men in Black. The movie, not the guys hiding behind your fence. Remember the alien that kills the exterminator and takes over his body? How, as the movie goes on, he begins to decompose, turning colors, smelling bad and then bits and pieces of him falling all over the place? Can you see the image? Good. Now, where you picture his face, place the Ebay logo. Because that's what the Ebay of 2008 resembles, an alien creature that has taken over the body of someone we once knew, first killing them and then staggering around while they decompose before our very eyes.
It's a crying shame. Look, I'll be the first to admit, I miss Ebay. I really do. Ebay was slated to be a huge part of my business plan this year. I had 27 saved searches there relating to a large, long-term project of mine. Ebay and I were going to do a lot of business in 2008 and into the future. If the Ebay of 2005, heck, even 2007, were to suddenly reappear, I suspect I would throw myself into their arms and pretend this whole thing has been a nightmare.
Or, maybe not. Before we go any further, read this: http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2008/09/14/afx5421268.html
That's a good link because it's short. But the essence is that Ebay is falling apart right in front of our eyes. If you have never seen a major company self-destruct before, then pay attention. It will be brutal and cruel and, for those of us who make a living selling on the internet, it will produce a lot of tears. But the fate of our once beloved trading partner has apparently been sealed.
Today's topic is Ebay. Yeah, yeah, I know, a real yawn, right? 'Don't just shop, win'. Dancing fireplugs telling you how great Ebay is, some doofus selling software on how to sell on Ebay, people writing books on how to become millionaires selling on Ebay (the trick is not to sell on Ebay, it's to write software or books telling other people how to become rich on Ebay). Boring. Or maybe not. If you buy, sell or trade on the internet, then Ebay's fate directly affects you.
But let's start at the beginning, which is usually a good idea. Okay, so think Men in Black. The movie, not the guys hiding behind your fence. Remember the alien that kills the exterminator and takes over his body? How, as the movie goes on, he begins to decompose, turning colors, smelling bad and then bits and pieces of him falling all over the place? Can you see the image? Good. Now, where you picture his face, place the Ebay logo. Because that's what the Ebay of 2008 resembles, an alien creature that has taken over the body of someone we once knew, first killing them and then staggering around while they decompose before our very eyes.
It's a crying shame. Look, I'll be the first to admit, I miss Ebay. I really do. Ebay was slated to be a huge part of my business plan this year. I had 27 saved searches there relating to a large, long-term project of mine. Ebay and I were going to do a lot of business in 2008 and into the future. If the Ebay of 2005, heck, even 2007, were to suddenly reappear, I suspect I would throw myself into their arms and pretend this whole thing has been a nightmare.
Or, maybe not. Before we go any further, read this: http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2008/09/14/afx5421268.html
That's a good link because it's short. But the essence is that Ebay is falling apart right in front of our eyes. If you have never seen a major company self-destruct before, then pay attention. It will be brutal and cruel and, for those of us who make a living selling on the internet, it will produce a lot of tears. But the fate of our once beloved trading partner has apparently been sealed.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Firsts
Firsts is not only the name of my favorite book-related magazine, Firsts.com and its printed sister, it's also the significance of this particular blog entry. It's the first in what I hope will be a very long running series of blogs relating not only to the book business in general, but in Memphis and Tennessee in particular. The literary heritage of the Mid-South is quite rich but little known and I hope to alleviate that somewhat. I intend for this blog to become a clearing house for book and author news throughout the region.
In the beginning this news will probably involve mostly news stories and my comments about them. Today's topic will be what I consider the future of used book selling on the internet, but let's leave that until after the introductions. As the blog develops I hope to have regular commentators and guests bringing their ideas and observations on board.
So, who am I and what qualifies me to write this blog? I'm Billthebookguy, aka BBG, your friendly neighborhood used bookseller. I have been selling used and rare books for more than 10 years now, first via the brick and mortar outlet of the Cordova Antique Market and, when that closed, totally through the internet. I sell on ABEbooks.com, Alibris.com, Amazon.com, Biblio.com and, most importantly, on WorldBookMarket.com. I have sold thousands of items on ebay.com but have quit that completely since ebay went berserk earlier this year and has begun treating sellers like criminals. (Did you know ebay had done that? If not, that's a good reason to subscribe to this blog, that's the sort of thing I'll be detailing) In ebay's place I now list at Bonanzle.com, thus the clever booth title http://www.bonanzle.com/booths/Billthebookguy. I have dabbled in a number of other sites, such as choosebooks.com and blujay.com. I've sold more than 30,000 books and bought more than that. What is most important, however, is that soon, very soon, Billthebookguy.com will finally become a reality.
This is a big deal, because while I love the idea of this blog and intend to work at it very hard, in the long run it will only be one component of a much larger site. I have the world's best webmaster slaving to make it the world's best website, so stay tuned.
And that segue brings me to the idea that will revolutionize the world of online selling: Worldbookmarket.com. How is WBM different? Unlike those other sites, who will let anyone with the requisite fees list anything they want (and if you believe those places enforce listing guidelines, you need to lay off of the animal tranquilizers), WBM is a consortium of dealers who mutually enforce a set of ethics and regulations for how to correctly sell used and rare books over the internet.
Or, put another way, if you order a hardback first edition of The Hunt For Red October in Fine condition with like dust jacket, you actually get what you expect and not an abridged audiobook on cassette, as happened to one fellow I have met. The sellers of WBM will all maintain their own websites which will be marketed under the banner of the WBM. Instead of paying ABEbooks outrageous listing fees approaching 20% in some cases, the dealers can perhaps offer discounts from their own websites, use better packing materials because the listing site isn't taking a huge skim from the shipping and discover if you have any other interests they might help with. The WBM will be the middleman that cuts out the middleman.
It's a great concept. It's in its infancy but sure to grow. Visit the site, meet some of my friends from around the world. Say hello to Mrpickwick, you might receive a reply to savor. Ask him what it's like to live in Katoomba, west of Sydney, the land of the Yowie. Or say hello to our mates in the UK, or in North Carolina. Meet the pros and love their books.
Okay, that does it for blog #1. Plenty more to come, so subscribe, let's have some fun.
In the beginning this news will probably involve mostly news stories and my comments about them. Today's topic will be what I consider the future of used book selling on the internet, but let's leave that until after the introductions. As the blog develops I hope to have regular commentators and guests bringing their ideas and observations on board.
So, who am I and what qualifies me to write this blog? I'm Billthebookguy, aka BBG, your friendly neighborhood used bookseller. I have been selling used and rare books for more than 10 years now, first via the brick and mortar outlet of the Cordova Antique Market and, when that closed, totally through the internet. I sell on ABEbooks.com, Alibris.com, Amazon.com, Biblio.com and, most importantly, on WorldBookMarket.com. I have sold thousands of items on ebay.com but have quit that completely since ebay went berserk earlier this year and has begun treating sellers like criminals. (Did you know ebay had done that? If not, that's a good reason to subscribe to this blog, that's the sort of thing I'll be detailing) In ebay's place I now list at Bonanzle.com, thus the clever booth title http://www.bonanzle.com/booths/Billthebookguy. I have dabbled in a number of other sites, such as choosebooks.com and blujay.com. I've sold more than 30,000 books and bought more than that. What is most important, however, is that soon, very soon, Billthebookguy.com will finally become a reality.
This is a big deal, because while I love the idea of this blog and intend to work at it very hard, in the long run it will only be one component of a much larger site. I have the world's best webmaster slaving to make it the world's best website, so stay tuned.
And that segue brings me to the idea that will revolutionize the world of online selling: Worldbookmarket.com. How is WBM different? Unlike those other sites, who will let anyone with the requisite fees list anything they want (and if you believe those places enforce listing guidelines, you need to lay off of the animal tranquilizers), WBM is a consortium of dealers who mutually enforce a set of ethics and regulations for how to correctly sell used and rare books over the internet.
Or, put another way, if you order a hardback first edition of The Hunt For Red October in Fine condition with like dust jacket, you actually get what you expect and not an abridged audiobook on cassette, as happened to one fellow I have met. The sellers of WBM will all maintain their own websites which will be marketed under the banner of the WBM. Instead of paying ABEbooks outrageous listing fees approaching 20% in some cases, the dealers can perhaps offer discounts from their own websites, use better packing materials because the listing site isn't taking a huge skim from the shipping and discover if you have any other interests they might help with. The WBM will be the middleman that cuts out the middleman.
It's a great concept. It's in its infancy but sure to grow. Visit the site, meet some of my friends from around the world. Say hello to Mrpickwick, you might receive a reply to savor. Ask him what it's like to live in Katoomba, west of Sydney, the land of the Yowie. Or say hello to our mates in the UK, or in North Carolina. Meet the pros and love their books.
Okay, that does it for blog #1. Plenty more to come, so subscribe, let's have some fun.
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