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And I've mentioned before, I work at a used book store. So, I got to work this morning (ahead of the boss, as it happens), and I see a huge pile of books stacked up in front of the doorway. (I'm pretty sure the original pile was also blocking the handicapped ramp which my boss needs to get in.) Bluntly, we do take donations, but this is the wrong way to do it! (The boss said he'd never seen anything like it in 45 years.)
I wish I'd thought to take a picture first, but my immediate thought was that it was threatening to rain, which would probably have ruined the books. So after letting myself in, I spent the next 10 minutes frantically grabbing empty boxes, stuffing the books into them, and bringing them inside. (By the time the boss got there, the ramp was clear enough for him to get in.). We then spent most of the day sorting those and pricing the worthwhile ones, just to get the pile of boxes out of the way. (There were some useful books, but not the 1983 off-brand encyclopedia, the 8-10 year old computer-certification manuals, or most of the children's "anthologies").
Meanwhile, the store was as busy as I've ever seen it, with the possible exception of Black Friday. Several more people brought books in, including one who brought his books in two hugely-oversized boxes that I then had to repack in smaller boxes, (That is, to get the floor clear enough for the boss to get around in his wheelchair). We got between $200 and $250 in sales, which is more than some days, but not nearly as much as I'd expected given the traffic. And we ran so low on reasonably-sized boxes that the boss's wife and I had to go beg some from the wineshop across the street.
Oy vey. And I'll be back for the day of Christmas Eve... at least we should get some sales from last-minute gift buyers.
I wish I'd thought to take a picture first, but my immediate thought was that it was threatening to rain, which would probably have ruined the books. So after letting myself in, I spent the next 10 minutes frantically grabbing empty boxes, stuffing the books into them, and bringing them inside. (By the time the boss got there, the ramp was clear enough for him to get in.). We then spent most of the day sorting those and pricing the worthwhile ones, just to get the pile of boxes out of the way. (There were some useful books, but not the 1983 off-brand encyclopedia, the 8-10 year old computer-certification manuals, or most of the children's "anthologies").
Meanwhile, the store was as busy as I've ever seen it, with the possible exception of Black Friday. Several more people brought books in, including one who brought his books in two hugely-oversized boxes that I then had to repack in smaller boxes, (That is, to get the floor clear enough for the boss to get around in his wheelchair). We got between $200 and $250 in sales, which is more than some days, but not nearly as much as I'd expected given the traffic. And we ran so low on reasonably-sized boxes that the boss's wife and I had to go beg some from the wineshop across the street.
Oy vey. And I'll be back for the day of Christmas Eve... at least we should get some sales from last-minute gift buyers.
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