(or: Thinking About it I could Just Shoot Myself!)

 

 

For almost 10 years my life has revolved around being a used/rare book dealer.

I’ve bought, sold and studied book collecting, values, care, selling & buying by computers & auctions, using data bases, accounting, store locations, advertising, book fairs, catalogs and dealer discounts. I’ve learned certain portions of the profession better than others but I know a whole lot more now about many parts of the business than I did 10 years ago.

 

And all along I’ve been content, happy and grateful that I had the opportunity to be in a business which didn’t hurt a soul – I wasn’t getting rich – but at least I knew that I wasn’t risking getting sued because of the products I was selling and in the end I wouldn’t have to apologize to God for selling tobacco, greasy food, liquor or guns. Especially guns.

 

I even debated when I open the store whether or not to carry books ABOUT guns. Guns. They destroy life (what (U/M)northern hippy girl doesn’t know that far down into their soul?. I’m of the age to have lived in CA and remember “make love, not war”. I have never shot a gun, never owned a gun and until I remarried 10 years ago, never (knowingly) was friends (let alone date) with someone who did.

 

So what was I doing at a southern gun show? Well, trying to sell gun books.

 

Having closed the store two years after moving to FL, I had more time to expand my show options and this one was touted as a gun collectors show with 300 tables and my husband signed us up for one table. Then his schedule changed and he had to work that Friday and Saturday so I had to face setting up in an unknown location knowing that there would be 300 (scary) men with god only knows how many guns.

 

I called the promoter to ask about my relative safety. I envisioned thousands of men and their babes in camouflage get ups and tattoos trooping past my table unable to read the titles, let alone the books.

 

O.K. maybe my apprehensions weren’t quite that bad, but I have to admit I was nervous and unhappy my husband wouldn’t be there assisting and protecting.

 

The parking area was pretty much like the book shows I’ve done – lots of vans with guys in blue jeans unloading lots of boxes. I took a deep breath and approached a couple of them unpacking their vans to ask directions to the loading area and started off badly: with my hands raised and a smile I said: “Excuse me guys, I’m not here to bother you (I know you’re all armed), I just wonder if you’d mind telling me…”. They very nicely gave me the information (no southern accent at all) and then informed me that they were not only not armed but were selling military buttons/badges/uniforms, etc. Whoops.

 

Then I entered the hall. 300 tables with dealers setting up. The promoters (husband, wife and kids having lunch) were very organized, showed me to my table and wished me luck (just like the book shows I’ve done).

 

One nice looking guy asked if he could help carry some of my boxes ( that COULD happen at a regular book show). Most everyone was busy concentrating on setting up their booths, covering with them with sheets when they left. Just like the book shows I’ve done.

 

I stopped at one booth to say hi to the dealer but SHE didn’t have time to talk – she was alone and setting up 10 tables. So I bought a book and left her alone, walked around a bit and went home. Exhausted from the stress as well as the work. But I was rather anxious to go back the next day to see the crowds and meet the other dealers.

 

Sales were slow both days but I sold 3x the cost of the ‘booth’. On Sunday my husband was there so I had time to talk with some of the dealers and buy some books (8 times the cost of the booth -just like a regular book show). I was amazed at how many of the dealers reminded me of specific book dealers I’d met up north at shows (look, Honey, doesn’t he remind you of…).

 

 

So, after two days I came away with these observations:

 

Gun/military dealers are not all that unlike book collectors. We were all dressed neatly, most were willing to answer lots of questions about their product, they were proud of their stock, were anxious to buy, had fun teasing one another about sales, and their ‘other’ lives were varied; I met a federal agent, a lawyer, a pawn shop owner, a museum curator and one guy who was independently wealthy and had just returned from a 6 week vacation in India. He does the shows just for fun – he likes to interact with people.

 

Gun/military shows are different in that they are less expensive, dealers don’t automatically assume a 20% discount, dealers can pack up and leave whenever they darn well get tired of it – with no penalty from the promoter, and there are more police in attendance. Only a certain percentage of any booth has to include guns, etc. The rest of the booth can contain whatever the dealer wants to sell (gold/diamonds/books/comics/etc). Can you just see a book show promoter allowing dealers to sell guns or dolls as long as a certain % of the booth contained books?

 

Attendees were NOT what I had envisioned. Well, except for a couple. One guy was totally dressed in camouflage with a gun over his shoulder, a flashlight and a covering over his head, which looked like a curly car chamois! (I asked the dealer next to me what the protocol was about taking pictures and he recommended that was definitely NOT a good idea.)

 

But he did approach the guy: “Looking Good”, he said. The attendee didn’t miss a beat: “Oh, you can see me?” Turns out he is a book collector, asked for specific books which I didn’t have – I guess it COULD happen at a book show!

 

I wish I had had the guts to ask to take a picture of him or my other favorite photo opportunity: the middle class looking father carrying a (assault?) rifle over his shoulder with his wife pushing a baby stroller with cute little twins inside. I probably wouldn’t see that at a book show.

 

So, by the time I got home, I had totally read the book I had purchased (FLORIDA FIREARMS Law, Use & Ownership by Jon Gutmacher) and had done enough research to know that when/if I was ready to ‘carry’, I need to attend a class to get a carry permit and I should buy a Smith and Wesson 38 special with a 3 inch barrel in stainless steel and a hooded hammer so it won’t catch on my purse (approximately $400.00 new).

 

And after talking with a few dealers since then, I’ve learned that some very prominent book dealers also “carry” at shows because of the areas and the cash involved. Well.

 

I guess our worlds aren’t as different as I thought. I may have to rent another storage bin to put my misconceptions and prejudices.

 

Madlyn Blom, Old Bag Lady Books & Stuff OldBagLady@embarqmail.com

Copyright, January, 2001 Rev.with photos 2005

 

 

 

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