Mark Wyatt
06-16-2010, 12:02 PM
In addition to woodworking, I’m also an avid reader. I spend some time at used book stores picking through titles and talking with the owners (always avid readers; this is a labor of love!). A little while ago, one of the store owners (let’s call her BM) told me this story.
Me: “I was looking for a copy of Vonnegut’s ‘Slaughterhouse Five.’ Do you have any in stock?”
BM: “I don’t have any right now, but I expect to have some relatively soon.”
Me: “Okay. You usually have several copies in stock.”
BM: “Well, you know we have a few books collectors who stop by from time to time looking for used and rare books. My business is mostly buying and selling the high volume things people want to read like Stephen King and Robert Ludlum and authors like that, but occasionally we get some collectible books in stock. Most of the time I don’t really bother doing anything special with them and just put them on the shelf at the same price as our other books. But collectors do stop by and look for them.
About four months ago, this fellow stopped by and was looking for rare and collectible books by Kurt Vonnegut. But, he was also willing to buy everything I had in stock, even multiple copies of the same book. “
Me: “Everything? Even the paperbacks?”
BM: “Yep, even the paperbacks. He cleaned me out. He said that he had been buying and selling rare books in Indianapolis for a couple of years as a side business and the most common request he got was for books by Vonnegut. He said because Vonnegut was from Indianapolis and he grew up here people had a special desire for his books and were willing to pay extra for them.
He had this idea that if he had a large stock of Vonnegut books, he could open a dedicated bookstore and people would come to him to find what they were looking for. He wanted to be the main source of Vonnegut in Indianapolis and he was going to open his own small store near downtown specializing in these books.”
Me: “So that was 4 months ago. Haven’t you got in any books since then? They are pretty common. He was a well known author.”
BM: “Sure, I get in a few every week from my regular suppliers. But the guy kept coming back every two or three weeks and purchasing whatever I had in stock. The second time he came in, I asked him how it was going. He said it was going great. He was able to find a lot of books pretty cheap and he was building up a pretty good stock. He seemed excited. The next visit he was really worked up that I only had one Vonnegut book in stock.”
Me: “He was disappointed?”
BM: “Oh no! He was excited. He told me that he had a new idea. Instead of having a bookshop dedicated to Vonnegut, he was going to be the only person in Indianapolis stocking Vonnegut. He had been to every used and rare bookstore in town and purchased all their Vonnegut stock. He had been to each of them every two to three weeks and bought whatever they had. Some of them had started to raise their prices, but he always paid the asking price and took their entire stock.
He had also moved on to private libraries and started buying every rare and used book he could get his hands on. He said he was able to get some incredible deals early on. A lot of times people didn’t even know the value of what they had. He said he was able to buy a signed first edition of “Cat’s Cradle” for $2. But lately it was getting tougher and tougher for him to find and buy the books. And he was having to pay more and more for them.”
Me: “He must have been discouraged.”
BM: “No, I think he was pretty excited that he was rounding up all the Vonnegut books. He stopped in several times after that and usually I didn’t have any stock for him. He said that was a good sign. He was having a hard time finding any other books in the area. The ones he did find he had to pay a pretty penny for, even if they weren’t first editions or signed copies. Fortunately, he’d had some referrals and some folks would even come to him with books to sell ‘for the right price.’ He had also leased space for his store near Fountain Square and was getting it ready to open.
Then, about two weeks ago he stopped by again to check if I had any more books. When I said that I didn’t and I wasn’t sure when I’d get more, he was especially pleased with himself.
I asked how his venture was going. He said that it was going excellent. He was sure he had rounded up the available books and he had them tightly stored away. If anyone wanted a vintage, used, or rare Vonnegut book in Indianapolis they would have to come to him.
Then he gave me this sly knowing look and said he would let me in on a secret.
He said word on the street was that a serious but unknown Vonnegut collector was in town. And apparently this collector was interested in buying rare and vintage Vonnegut books. Best of all, this collector was willing to pay absolutely top dollar, even unheard of prices, for Vonnegut books. And they didn’t even need to be that rare.
He said as soon as he hooked up with this collector he would be able to sell some of his ‘second tier’ books and make a killing!”
Me: “No….”
BM: “Yes! I had to choke back the laughter! I wanted to tell him to look in the mirror and he would find his collector!
Anyway, stop back in next week. I’m getting a bunch of books from my exchange partners in Chicago and Seattle and I’ll put a copy of Slaughterhouse Five aside for you.”
With all the discussion about collectors lately, I thought I’d pass the story along…
Me: “I was looking for a copy of Vonnegut’s ‘Slaughterhouse Five.’ Do you have any in stock?”
BM: “I don’t have any right now, but I expect to have some relatively soon.”
Me: “Okay. You usually have several copies in stock.”
BM: “Well, you know we have a few books collectors who stop by from time to time looking for used and rare books. My business is mostly buying and selling the high volume things people want to read like Stephen King and Robert Ludlum and authors like that, but occasionally we get some collectible books in stock. Most of the time I don’t really bother doing anything special with them and just put them on the shelf at the same price as our other books. But collectors do stop by and look for them.
About four months ago, this fellow stopped by and was looking for rare and collectible books by Kurt Vonnegut. But, he was also willing to buy everything I had in stock, even multiple copies of the same book. “
Me: “Everything? Even the paperbacks?”
BM: “Yep, even the paperbacks. He cleaned me out. He said that he had been buying and selling rare books in Indianapolis for a couple of years as a side business and the most common request he got was for books by Vonnegut. He said because Vonnegut was from Indianapolis and he grew up here people had a special desire for his books and were willing to pay extra for them.
He had this idea that if he had a large stock of Vonnegut books, he could open a dedicated bookstore and people would come to him to find what they were looking for. He wanted to be the main source of Vonnegut in Indianapolis and he was going to open his own small store near downtown specializing in these books.”
Me: “So that was 4 months ago. Haven’t you got in any books since then? They are pretty common. He was a well known author.”
BM: “Sure, I get in a few every week from my regular suppliers. But the guy kept coming back every two or three weeks and purchasing whatever I had in stock. The second time he came in, I asked him how it was going. He said it was going great. He was able to find a lot of books pretty cheap and he was building up a pretty good stock. He seemed excited. The next visit he was really worked up that I only had one Vonnegut book in stock.”
Me: “He was disappointed?”
BM: “Oh no! He was excited. He told me that he had a new idea. Instead of having a bookshop dedicated to Vonnegut, he was going to be the only person in Indianapolis stocking Vonnegut. He had been to every used and rare bookstore in town and purchased all their Vonnegut stock. He had been to each of them every two to three weeks and bought whatever they had. Some of them had started to raise their prices, but he always paid the asking price and took their entire stock.
He had also moved on to private libraries and started buying every rare and used book he could get his hands on. He said he was able to get some incredible deals early on. A lot of times people didn’t even know the value of what they had. He said he was able to buy a signed first edition of “Cat’s Cradle” for $2. But lately it was getting tougher and tougher for him to find and buy the books. And he was having to pay more and more for them.”
Me: “He must have been discouraged.”
BM: “No, I think he was pretty excited that he was rounding up all the Vonnegut books. He stopped in several times after that and usually I didn’t have any stock for him. He said that was a good sign. He was having a hard time finding any other books in the area. The ones he did find he had to pay a pretty penny for, even if they weren’t first editions or signed copies. Fortunately, he’d had some referrals and some folks would even come to him with books to sell ‘for the right price.’ He had also leased space for his store near Fountain Square and was getting it ready to open.
Then, about two weeks ago he stopped by again to check if I had any more books. When I said that I didn’t and I wasn’t sure when I’d get more, he was especially pleased with himself.
I asked how his venture was going. He said that it was going excellent. He was sure he had rounded up the available books and he had them tightly stored away. If anyone wanted a vintage, used, or rare Vonnegut book in Indianapolis they would have to come to him.
Then he gave me this sly knowing look and said he would let me in on a secret.
He said word on the street was that a serious but unknown Vonnegut collector was in town. And apparently this collector was interested in buying rare and vintage Vonnegut books. Best of all, this collector was willing to pay absolutely top dollar, even unheard of prices, for Vonnegut books. And they didn’t even need to be that rare.
He said as soon as he hooked up with this collector he would be able to sell some of his ‘second tier’ books and make a killing!”
Me: “No….”
BM: “Yes! I had to choke back the laughter! I wanted to tell him to look in the mirror and he would find his collector!
Anyway, stop back in next week. I’m getting a bunch of books from my exchange partners in Chicago and Seattle and I’ll put a copy of Slaughterhouse Five aside for you.”
With all the discussion about collectors lately, I thought I’d pass the story along…