Sunday Washington globe., 1902-06-08
ODDITY OF THE BOOK TRADE
EXT ENT or THE BUSINESS DONE
IN EXCHANGING VOLUMES.

BOOKS For lmpecunlous headcrS-
Benefits Deriver by the Readers and
by the shopkeepers Aso-The
Buyer" Occupies Unique Position.
One Of the peculiar features Of the
modern secondhand bookstore is its
exchange" department. In fact, the
exchanging OF books has developed to
such notable proportions in the last
decade that it is now one Of the recOg-
nized branches Of the trade as we'll as
a source Of considerable profit to the
'old bookmen, who invariably get
ahead in the negotiations.
That 1t must pay is evident from
the fact that many of the booksellers
advertise constantly in the magazines
and literary papers. It is also boon
for the INDECENT student or impe-
cunious literateur who cannot afford
to buy new books and has no time to
go to the library One of the booksell-
ers interviewed mentioned a case:
zone young fellow, evidently a liter
airy mar" he said. comes in here reg
ularly every week with a trunkful Of
books. which he doesn't wish to SELL
Oh, no! But only to exchange. This
has been going on for over a year and
/ guess that by this time he must have
read every volume in the house.
81 so informed him the other day,
and he 1eemed a little perplexed for a
moment Then a light came to him
and he cried Well, you remember that
set Of Thackeray 1 exchanged here
some Zine agO-have you got that yet?
Yes: Good let me have it, And,
bless me, if he didn't carry home his
own old books"
Where the booksellers profit comes
in is easily enough explained Suppos-
ing, for instance, a person brings here
a set Of Balzac, in reasonably fair con-
dition and bearing the imprint of a
well-knOwn publishing house, which he
desires to exchange for other books.
Now. a set of Balzac is worth at any
time So and can be easily disposed Of
at that price by any bookseller, al
though he himself would not pay more
than 50 for it, This makes a clear
profit Of 81. or 233 1-3 per cent.
Msking these figures his basis of cal
culatlon, the bookseller will give the
other $40 worth Of books for the Balzac
set, and the man or woman will go
home chuckling at his or her bargain.
But. as a matter of fact since the $40"
books only cost the bookseller SO, his
profits on a deal which only involved
q few minutes consideration was just
81. which the layman win admit is not
so bad
Some Of the larger secondhand book
stores in New York, with an eye
toward this particular branch Of the
trade and the purchase Of old books,
employ what is known in the vernacu-
lar Of the business as a buyer; a
mau whose position bears a vague re-
semblance to that Of a publishers
reader" with this vital difference,
however, that whereas the reader pass
es upon the merit Of the raw material
the mAnuscripts-the buyer pro
nounces judgment upon the finished
prOduct-the book.
In other words, people desiring to
dispose of rare and valuable antique
volumes or any ephemeral new novel,
and who go to a bookstore with the
idea Of converting their wares into
coins Of the republic, are referred 20
the buyer, who examines the offered
commodities, and, If acceptable, names
a price.
And right here It may as we'll be
said that once a price is offered no
haggling and pleading, be the seller
ever so persuasive, will raise the bid
one farthing. 1t is either Take what
We offer. OF 90 to some one else" The
owne.. II he be a wise man Cor wo-
man. W. choose the former alterna-
tive; for, in some manner inconceiv-
able end -nysterious-tO the layman, at
least--there seems to exist a sort Of
mental telepathy service" between the
different stores. and the bid of the
second buyer is likely to come so close
to that Of the first that the difference
would not pay car fare. One we'll
known buyer said:
"Ihe position Of a buyer Is a most
eXs.ting one. 1t demands thorough
admixture OF those two seemingly in
compatible attributes, the literary and
the commercial instincts, as well as an
expert knowledge Of books, an excep-
tionally clear memory and the finely
cultivated taste Of a connoisseur-biblio-
phiie.
"Tet despite all these necessary
qualifications. IL is not a very remuner-
ative profession The salaries range
between s12 and s35 a week. One
young chap-a college graduate who
failed in the newspaper business. ac-
tlally gets $40 a week. but. then. he is
considered both by his employer and
MS confreres as a wonder He knows
the history Of every book printed since
Adam. New York Post