Chapter 18 The Best Library Sale Ever

I’ve mentioned before how much I like the library sale held by a town near mine. It’s got three rooms full of books of all kinds, people say almost 60,000 volumes. I’ve not to been to the sales of many other libraries except those in my area, but I have heard other booksellers comment in general on the rudeness of patrons at other library sales. Their escapades run the gamut from cutting in line, to elbowing others out of the way, to covering tables of books with cloth in order to “reserve” them, to hoarding books in a big pile and then scanning them with cell phone technology. I’ve been told that some library sales have even degenerated into shouting matches between customers.

I am happy to report that the sale I usually attend has very little of such bad behavior. First, the Friends of the Library, who voluntarily accept the donations, sort the books, and staff the sale rooms, are very organized. The sale is held on the second full weekend of every month. The Children’s Book Room and the Bargain Room open at 10:00a.m. The Main Sale Room opens at 11:00a.m. One can arrive as early as 8:00a.m. and get a numbered ticket to be used for admission to the Main Sale Room. No tickets are required for the Children’s and Bargain Rooms. They are first come, first serve. During the first hour each room is open, customers may only purchase 12 books at a time. Once they have purchased those books, they can put them outside or in their cars and immediately re-enter the room. This prevents people from bringing in boxes, bags, sheets etc. and making the sale more crowded than it already is. The restriction is lifted after the first hour. The sale is staffed by about 30 volunteers, at least in its opening hours, and it continues the next day.

My usual strategy is to arrive at 8:00 and get a numbered ticket. Then I leave and have a quiet breakfast at a cafe nearby. I return a little before 10:00 to get in line for the Children’s Room. After making purchases at the Children’s Room, I leave and put my books in the car. Then I hit the Bargain Room. Once I’ve made my purchases there, I put them in my car and get in my place in line for the Main Room. There are boxes of ephemera outside along the line for the Main Room. Everything in the boxes is .25 cents each. I mentioned before a signed Ansel Adams book I got at this sale for .25 cents. I found it in an ephemera box while I was waiting in line:

It was the very first item I sold at the book fair in Sacramento last weekend. I’ll a) donate some of the proceeds back to them, and b) keep spending time and money at their sales in hopes of another extraordinary find.

I received my monthly newsletter from the Friends of the Library today, publicizing their upcoming annual sale, when members can enter one hour earlier than everyone else. This issue highlighted some of the finds from last month’s sale. Here is just one example of where I think this group’s sale strategy differs from other FOL groups:

“There is an unconfirmed report making the rounds that some months ago one of our customers purchased a French art book for $1.00 in the Bargain Room and turned around and sold it for $5,000 on ebay. This just suggests how a knowledgeable buyer can capitalize on our inexperience (or, as one of our bluntly speaking buyers put it, ‘our stupidity’). More power to you all.” (Emphasis mine.)

This particular library sale understands that its primary customers, those who spend the most money at a sale and who return month after month, are booksellers and book scouts. When the FOL finds a book they know can be re-sold for a significant amount of money, it is rarely marked up more than 30-40% of market value, so a bookseller can buy it and make a decent profit on it. Often enough, they don’t mark up “significant” books, and they can be had for the usual .50-$3.00 apiece. This brings booksellers and scouts back to the sale month after month.

This particular FOL raises money and attracts lots of customers by quickly turning its inventory. This FOL seems to have decided that it does not want to be an antiquarian bookseller, who might hold a book marked at retail price for a few years. I have nothing against FOL groups who charge full price for important books. They have every right to do so, and I am somewhat amazed that the FOL at my sale doesn’t do this. But that’s what keeps me coming back and spending money there month after month. I suspect that FOL sales that mark up their books to more than half of full-market value have less repeat customers and less profits than this particular sale.

When I attended the Colorado Antiquarian Book Seminar in August, a number of the seminarians were volunteers for FOL groups, looking to become more educated about the books they were receiving as donations each month. I applaud those seminarians for trying to be knowledgeable about what they do. At the same time, some of them mentioned that they did not want to let “treasures” slip through their hands for pennies on the dollar. I don’t understand how charging the full market value of a book helps the FOL to obtain and keep repeat customers, unless, like an antiquarian bookseller, they plan to hold onto their stock for some time. (This not understanding is probably my own lack of experience. If so, please set me straight.)

I’d appreciate hearing from those of you who work for an FOL and seeing if my suspicion is egregiously wrong. I would guess that the model sale I’ve described above only works if you have lots of donations every month, lots of volunteers, and a good sized venue for your sale. Many FOL groups don’t have these three criteria.

One thing I forgot to add: About three days before the sale starts each month, the FOL post about 300 photos of their shelves on their website. You can “scout” a particular section to see what’s new that month from your computer. Also, attending the sale the second day, when things are quieter has yielded some good finds.

Thank you, thank you to my favorite FOL sale! Keep up the excellent work.

See you at the sale!

Tomorrow: What we’re doing this weekend

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