Bracton wrote:
Gotta love the English when it comes to place names.  

'cept that it's not an English place name.
(Short straw, that!)

Brave move, Al; and good luck indeed!
Can well understand why some locals were pleased to see you opening shop since decent second-hand bookshops are like gold dust nowadays.

Buying in bulk from eBay with lowball snipes where there are at least a few obvious saleable items has proven a viable approach for some further afield but you're reasonably well placed to acquire stock at least.

killjoy32 wrote:but as they say, there ain't nowt as queer as folk, lemme tell you - already in the first two days, have had some real odd bods in - the tastes are so varied its bizarre.

i even had the old cliche thing...guy waits til all leave the shop then comes to the counter with a book relating to sex   was very amusing, but hey, i am not one to judge like that (bites tongue) - to each their own.

Compare notes and you'll find that's a rather common ethical dilemma there given the potential money, albeit a copy of Lady Chatterley's Lover in a brown paper bag might not cut the mustard nowadays. *jk*

killjoy32 wrote:as for RPG, thats already in the works too i have put up a few things as i had some cool magazine racks, so a nice way of putting judges guild items for all to see (already had some interest in the art on it, never seen it before, i must come back and check them out etc) and i believe i am the only person in north west england with judges guild products in their shop   some shelving will be going up very soon, and i will be advertising/selling my RPG stuff as well. guy across the road, thinks he is so cool with his collectibles....wait til he sees mine!

Having fun is darned important as it's a lot of hard work, too. Good to have a specialist niche as well and RPG side to back up SF&F (which is a relatively good seller) should hopefully help out. Might even help get some people back into "proper" gaming, thanks!

faro wrote:
Having fun is darned important as it's a lot of hard work, too. Good to have a specialist niche as well and RPG side to back up SF&F (which is a relatively good seller) should hopefully help out. Might even help get some people back into "proper" gaming, thanks!

well part of my plan for near future (time permitting of course) is on a saturday morning, i plan to get help of kaz's son to come and serve etc in the shop and i want to run a game. the idea is, is to again try and show folk RPG gaming and how easy it is to get into it. again, i will work a way based similarly to the way Frank and Tim do at the Con games - very loosely based on stats and rules and just let the game flow - i like it much more like that and i want folk to come and just show up and we will have a 3 hour game just so folk can see what things are all about.... i think its the perfect advertisement for RPG stuff and hopefully spark an interest in something that most wouldnt necessarily bother with.

i want any/all to come and play it - so i will be making it as easy to play as possible, so that folk can just come and have fun.

so if anyone has any ideas on how to go about this, then lemme hear them!

best, Al

stratochamp wrote:best of luck Al! it's great to be able to follow a dream.

easy to follow a dream but sometimes (as in this case), a massive sacrifice financially.

but i would like to think it would be worth it in the long run from a personal perspective.

Al

bombadil wrote:Nice sweep of the boards, Ash!  

First time in 4 years and all relevant posts too!      Mostly

Al,

You sound so happy. The shop looks great.

Good luck, and I wish you success.  A shame I can't send you a few boxes that I have in "storage."

All the best,

Paul

Nice to be able to do something you wanted. At least the UK people can read, so you've got an advantage.

Just saw the pics, Al.  Congrats.  If anyone can make a go of it you can.

Martin

Nope. But I have had the Sony e-reader for a year. Same technology, but like laptops I'm sure they all work a little differently in respect to menus and navigation and whotnot.

I'm selling my e-reader which appears to have held its value remarrkably, because I now find it just as convenient and easy to read books on my iPhone. Something that was unimaginable a year ago with the screen technology of the time.

The devices on the whole are cheap and cheerful, pleasant on the eye, and the Sony has a good solid feel about it. eBooks are convenient, but you learn soon enough not to be shelling out full £ for ebooks when most are available online via other sources. Once you've dropped £200 on books, you sooner or later decide which authors you'll support with your £ and which you'll find a means of reading cheaply.

Most read other formats, and there is a good community out there and tools to convert formats if you want to get into it that deeply.