Pay the Seller

You've heard the famous Harlan Ellison rant about paying the writer, haven't you? If not, look it up. Here's a variation on the theme.

I was driving around today checking the thrift shops. As usual of late, finding a whole lot of nothing. Horror is hotter than ever and it's harder than ever to find cheap books and movies. Decent stuff, anyway.

We sell used books at cons and have some shows coming up. I started thinking about it and something began to bother me.

Now, we love the vast majority of our customers here at Horror Drive-In Books. Meeting great readers and collectors is a big part of the attraction for us. Then there are a few who are harder to love.

Now and again someone will have a handful of items and they ask the question: "What can you do for me for these?"

Haggling may be considered a time-honored tradition, but trust me, that ship left the harbor a long time ago. Sellers are, by and large, barely scraping by. It may appear that we are making bank. Sitting there, raking in the cash, but appearances often deceive. No seller wants to hear that shit.

This is my livelihood. I retired from my day job early for health reasons. I did not retire into comfort and wealth. Things are tighter now. I'm watching every dollar.

My answer to the above question from now on will be, "I can offer you a bag".

I presume the wheedlers have jobs. How would they like it if their boss came up on Friday and said, "You worked forty hours and you make twenty-five an hour. What can you do for me?" The only correct reply is, "I can tell you to kiss my ass and pay me for my hours".

The same applies to sellers.

You wouldn't enter a Wal-Mart or Home Depot, grab a handful of stuff and go ask the manager what he can do for you. It's absurd. They can afford it more than your average seller at a con or a festival.

I'm a member of a book collecting page on Facebook. Some numbnuts recently asked for advice in strategies for talking down prices from used bookstore owners. Thankfully everyone jumped his ass about it. Like I said, it's only the few.

You might have the philosophy that it doesn't hurt to ask. I hate that kind of thinking. No one wants to be put on the spot, and besides, it makes you look like a douche.

Very, very few people selling at cons, flea markets, festivals, or faires are making anything approaching real money. The odds are against us all. There's a ton of competition at these events and table fees have skyrocketed. Taxes choke the life out of us.

Then there is all the hard work. It may look like easy street to a casual observer. We're just sitting around, handing out books and collecting money. People don't see the endless work and expense we put in obtaining our stock. The storage. The hours spent trying to decide what to bring to each individual show and how much to charge. Packing up the vehicle. Books are heavy. Unloading, setting up, tearing down, packing all the unsold items back up and hauling it all home. Unloading and dragging our asses back into the house and re-organizing everything.

I'm not complaining, but it is a hell of a lot of work. We strive to keep our prices as low as we can while trying not to cut ourselves too short. Our philosophy is low profit per item but high volume sales. That and repeat customers.

So the next time you are at an event with vendors and you want some stuff, please don't ask them to drop their prices for you. We're all struggling to get by in these trying times.

Written by Mark Sieber