That mystical smile

"How do you know what to pay for the books, then, if you're so uncertain about what to price them at?" I ask.

George smiles mystically.

Deborah Meyler, The Bookstore

I am naturally "slow to anger," as the King James Bible puts it. The above lines from the middle of Deborah Meyler's novel, however, act as something of an accelerant each time I read them. They remind me of my many frustrating experiences trying to sell books at secondhand bookstores.

In the novel, Esme Garland is a new employee at the Owl Bookstore in New York City. Her question is a natural one for someone trying to learn the business. George's mystical smile, while seemingly ambiguous, actually says a lot. You pay as little as possible for books, then sell them for as much as possible. That's how secondhand bookstores stay in business, those fortunate enough to stay in business.

I understand this. Still, in bookstores as in other commercial actives, there is a difference between sound business practices and taking unfair advantage of others. I am reminded of those American Pickers episodes I've seen where the owner of an object sets a price far below what the object is actually worth. Mike or Frank will then offer to pay significantly more than that, but still only about half of what they expect to charge in their store. Of course, there is a camera focused on them, so they have every incentive to not take advantage of people who do not know the value of the things they own. Honest dealers, however, will act ethically even when cameras are not directed at them.

In my last experience selling books at a store in Columbus, I had a box full of what I considered choice volumes, all in good condition, each book worth something to somebody. Not to this bookstore, however. The price they offered amounted to less than a quarter per book. I was told these were not books their customers were looking for and they would be difficult to sell. Yet I had purchased some of those books in that very store, paying as much as ten dollars apiece. I was living proof they could sell these books, maybe not to the typical customer but to the right customer at the right time.

Most of us who shop at secondhand bookstores do so not to find books we can find everywhere else, including the garage sale next-door, but to discover those rare, hard-to-find books we desire. Often we find books we didn't even know we were looking for. The books I sold that day would, I'm sure, someday find a happy home, and the bookstore would make a tidy profit.

As I remember leaving the store that day, I imagine someone there watching me go and smiling mystically.