Thursday, September 20, 2012

Typical Order


This is a typical order from one of my more or less regular customers. This is an independent bookstore selling new, used, and bargain books. They have a good position in their market, but theirs is not the biggest bookstore in town.

The buyer places his orders within one or two days of having received my lists. If it gets later than that before he can get to it, he waits for the next list.

As you can see, he orders many titles in smaller quantities, a few in larger quantities. He orders from most categories.

You might also notice that he orders some titles (or all?) that make you wonder how the heck he sells them. Kind of puts the indie in independent. 

The thing is, in his whole town, he is the only one buying bargain. There are other bookstores, but they can't be bothered. It's not that they are not ordering from me. I have visited them and know that they only have new or they only have used. So when he places an order like this, he is the only bookstore for miles in any direction that will have these titles at bargain prices and be able to feature them and offer them to his customers. This is the scenario with so many of my customers, maybe the majority (as if I have so many customers…)

Order Qty
ISBN
Title
Author
Publisher
Format
Category
List Price
Net
10
0547195575
Lost Cyclist: The Epic Tale of an American Adventurer and His Mysterious Disappearance
Herlihy, David
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Hardcover
Biography
$ 26.00
$ 2.08
6
0156033593
Ambitious Brew: The Story of American Beer
Ogle, Maureen
Mariner Books
Paperback
Cooking, Food & Spirits
$ 15.00
$ 2.25
4
0395547032
Richard Brautigan : A Confederate General from Big Sur, Dreaming of Babylon, and the Hawkline Monster (Three Books in the Manner of Their Original ed)
Brautigan, Richard
Mariner Books
Paperback
Fiction
$ 17.95
$ 2.69
8
0156572044
Marcovaldo: or the Seasons in the City
Calvino, Italo
Mariner Books
Paperback
Fiction
$ 13.00
$ 1.95
6
0547572565
Lies, Inc.
Dick, Philip K.
Mariner Books
Paperback
Fiction
$ 13.95
$ 2.09
4
0547572425
The Divine Invasion
Dick, Philip K.
Mariner Books
Paperback
Fiction
$ 13.95
$ 2.09
6
0547572506
The Simulacra
Dick, Philip K.
Mariner Books
Paperback
Fiction
$ 13.95
$ 2.09
6
0547572557
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch
Dick, Philip K.
Mariner Books
Paperback
Fiction
$ 13.95
$ 2.09
12
0547572603
The Transmigration of Timothy Archer (Valis)
Dick, Philip K.
Mariner Books
Paperback
Fiction
$ 13.95
$ 2.09
12
0547572417
VALIS
Dick, Philip K.
Mariner Books
Paperback
Fiction
$ 13.95
$ 2.09
6
054724763X
Eleventh Man
Doig, Ivan
Mariner Books
Paperback
Fiction
$ 13.95
$ 1.50
6
0156031027
Sea Runners
Doig, Ivan
Mariner Books
Paperback
Fiction
$ 13.00
$ 1.95
6
0156031647
Whistling Season
Doig, Ivan
Harvest Books
Paperback
Fiction
$ 14.95
$ 2.24
18
0156001314
Name of the Rose: including the Author's Postscript
Eco, Umberto
Harvest Books
Paperback
Fiction
$ 15.95
$ 2.39
4
0156030373
The Island of the Day Before
Eco, Umberto
Mariner Books
Paperback
Fiction
$ 15.00
$ 2.25
6
0156035154
Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure
Goldman, William
Mariner Books
Paperback
Fiction
$ 15.00
$ 2.25
4
0547747616
Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead
Gran, Sara
Mariner Books
Paperback
Fiction
$ 13.95
$ 2.09
12
015602859X
Codex
Grossman, Lev
Harvest Books
Paperback
Fiction
$ 14.95
$ 2.24
14
0156030209
Life of Pi
Martel, Yann
Mariner Books
Mass Market Paperback
Fiction
$ 8.99
$ 1.80
15
0156006219
Magician's Assistant
Patchett, Ann
Harcourt Brace
Paperback
Fiction
$ 14.95
$ 2.24
8
0547520204
Patron Saint of Liars
Patchett, Ann
Mariner Books
Paperback
Fiction
$ 14.95
$ 2.24
20
0547574118
Elephant's Journey
Saramago, Jose
Mariner Books
Paperback
Fiction
$ 15.95
$ 2.39
6
0156013037
The Tale of the Unknown Island
Saramago, Jose
Mariner Books
Paperback
Fiction
$ 10.95
$ 1.64
10
0156010593
All the Names
Saramago, Jose; Costa, Margare
Mariner Books
Paperback
Fiction
$ 14.00
$ 2.10
16
0156028794
The Cave
Saramago, Jose; Costa, Margare
Mariner Books
Paperback
Fiction
$ 14.00
$ 2.10
6
0618219153
Hotel Honolulu: A Novel
Theroux, Paul
Mariner Books
Paperback
Fiction
$ 14.00
$ 2.10
6
0618658963
Mosquito Coast
Theroux, Paul
Mariner Books
Paperback
Fiction
$ 14.95
$ 2.24
6
0618485333
Stranger at the Palazzo d'Oro
Theroux, Paul
Mariner Books
Paperback
Fiction
$ 14.00
$ 1.50
15
0618446885
The Book of Salt: A Novel
Truong, Monique
Mariner Books
Paperback
Fiction
$ 13.95
$ 2.09
5
0156189216
Collected Stories of Eudora Welty
Welty, Eudora
Harcourt Brace
Paperback
Fiction
$ 16.00
$ 2.40
19
0156032899
Lighthousekeeping
Winterson, Jeanette
Harvest Books
Paperback
Fiction
$ 14.00
$ 2.50
10
0156628708
Mrs. Dalloway
Woolf, Virginia
Mariner Books
Paperback
Fiction
$ 13.00
$ 1.95
4
0156212501
The Complete Shorter Fiction of Virginia Woolf: Second Edition
Woolf, Virginia
Mariner Books
Paperback
Fiction
$ 14.00
$ 2.10
3
0156028050
The Voyage Out
Woolf, Virginia
Mariner Books
Paperback
Fiction
$ 31.95
$ 2.50
5
0618219080
Constantine's Sword: The Church and the Jews -- A History
Carroll, James
Mariner Books
Paperback
History
$ 17.00
$ 2.55
4
0156027631
Stones of Florence
McCarthy, Mary
Mariner Books
Paperback
History
$ 14.00
$ 2.10
10
0547521871
Revolutionaries: A New History of the Invention of America
Rakove, Jack
Mariner Books
Paperback
History
$ 16.95
$ 2.50
8
0547577435
The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2011 (Best American R)
Eggers, Dave
Mariner Books
Paperback
Literature
$ 14.95
$ 3.00
3
0156027836
A Mind Awake: An Anthology of C. S. Lewis
Lewis, C.S.; Kilby, Clyde
Mariner Books
Paperback
Literature
$ 13.00
$ 1.95
25
0547085605
Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream: A Day in the Life of Your Body
Ackerman, Jennifer
Mariner Books
Paperback
Science
$ 14.95
$ 2.24
12
0547248237
Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals
Grandin, Temple; Johnson, Cat
Mariner Books
Paperback
Science
$ 15.95
$ 2.39
5
0547577575
The 4 Percent Universe: Dark Matter, Dark Energy, and the Race to Discover the Rest of Reality
Panek, Richard
Mariner Books
Paperback
Science
$ 15.95
$ 2.39
15
0547350635
The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2011
Roach, Mary
Mariner Books
Paperback
Science
$ 14.95
$ 3.00
20
0547333366
The Best American Travel Writing 2011
Crosley, Sloane
Mariner Books
Paperback
Travel
$ 14.95
$ 3.00
10
1439154147
Crazy River: Exploration and Folly in East Africa
Grant, Richard
Free Press
Paperback
Travel
$ 15.00
$ 2.25
8
0618446877
Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Capetown
Theroux, Paul
Mariner Books
Paperback
Travel
$ 15.95
$ 2.39
5
0618126937
Fresh Air Fiend: Travel Writings
Theroux, Paul
Mariner Books
Paperback
Travel
$ 15.95
$ 2.39
12
0547237936
Ghost Train to the Eastern Star: On the Tracks of the Great Railway Bazaar
Theroux, Paul
Mariner Books
Paperback
Travel
$ 15.95
$ 2.39
5
0618658971
Riding the Iron Rooster: By Train Through China
Theroux, Paul
Mariner Books
Paperback
Travel
$ 15.95
$ 2.39
5
039552105X
The Old Patagonian Express: By Train Through the Americas
Theroux, Paul
Mariner Books
Paperback
Travel
$ 15.95
$ 2.39
12
0547336918
The Tao of Travel: Enlightenments from Lives on the Road
Theroux, Paul
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Bonded Leather
Travel
$ 25.00
$ 2.50