"Eric's Excellent Adventure" 
Travelogue #1 
 

Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association

 

Laura Ayrey

Executive Director

 

3278 Big Spruce Way

Park City, UT 84098

435-649-6079 office

435-649-6015 fax

800-752-0249 toll-free


E-mail: 

laura@mountainsplains.org  


Website:

www.mountainsplains.org  

 

 

MPIBA black gold logo gif

 

 

Follow

Mountains & Plains

on Facebook:

mountainsplains   

and:

 

 

Join Our Mailing List! 

 

 

 

 

Mark your calendars!  
The 2015 Trade Show  
dates are October 8-10, 2015, at The Renaissance Denver Hotel.
 



Eric's Been Out in the World,
Talking Up Bookselling.


Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association announced on August 19, 2015, that Eric Boss, beloved (retired) Penguin sales representative, will be traveling our vast and wonderful region to contact prospective booksellers about joining the MPIBA "family," meeting and greeting existing bookseller members, and generally talking up books and bookselling.

We couldn't be more delighted. Following is his first travelogue report for your enjoyment.
 
"Thanks to Marnie O'Connor ...
air-conditioned comfort."


I landed in Phoenix at 6:45 a.m. on Monday, August 17. The wisdom of visiting Phoenix, or anywhere in Arizona in mid-August is questionable but it's the time window I had and everything's cheap. Thanks to Marnie O'Connor's gracious offer of her family's condo, I was able to immediately establish myself indoors, in air-conditioned comfort. A trip to the grocery store to stock the fridge for the week, and I was ready to go.
"... Changing Hands in Tempe; the original flagship store."

It's been a while since I've been in the Phoenix-Tempe-Glendale-Mesa-Scottsdale-whatever metro complex, so after consulting some handy web maps, I headed to my favorite Arizona store with my favorite Arizona people (no offense other guys) Changing Hands in Tempe; the original flagship store. I visited with Gayle Shanks and Sarah (Buddha) Brown and generally had a swell time talking about books, the biz, MPIBA, and my arthritic knees.
"I motored to Prescott to call upon the good folks at Peregrine Books."

Acting on a hot tip given me by Gayle, I pointed my rental Hyundai north and motored to Prescott to call upon the good folk at Peregrine Books. Peregrine is already a member of the Association and so my visit was to meet the staff and familiarize them with MPIBA and what we do. It's a very nice store that reminds me of Maria's in Durango. High ceilings, wood tones everywhere, and a great selection. I urged them to return to the Fall Discovery Show again this fall, which I'm sure they will enjoy as much as they did last year.
"Hell's Angels Arizona"

As I returned from this journey, I espied a rare bird: a Hell's Angel. You don't see them much anymore, although I walked into a gas station/caf� in northern New Mexico a while ago to find an entire platoon of them eating truck stop food. Not the most comfortable trip to the counter to ask for a receipt for "pump number five - $25.74." This one was alone, sporting a patch that read "Hell's Angels Arizona" (no great surprise) and acting entirely within the limits of the motor vehicle code. He even interacted in a quite friendly way with another Harley rider (NOT a Hell's Angel) at an oddly placed stoplight intersection apparently inserted randomly into the
highway grid.

Ah, so, back to Phoenix and the lovely Scottsdale condo. What a relief to my first day in the land of sun, sand, saguaros, and heat. Thank you, thank you, Marnie and family.
"I popped into First Draft Books ..."

The next day I visited these establishments with the following results: All About Books and Comics: all about comics, nothing about books. Book Cellar (one of several): all about "adult books." Not a prospect. Book Gallery: used books only. East West Exchange: mostly crystals, incense, and a very few books. Krazy About Books: used only.

To find some solace, I popped into First Draft Books, Changing Hands' new store; the one with the bar. I talked to staff, bought a book, and took some photos. It's a great space in a good location with plenty of free parking. They are having success and strong sales, so the gamble paid off.
"The Tucson Festival of Books
draws 100,000 people each year."

The next day I toodled down to Tucson. My first call was upon the University of Arizona Bookstore, without a doubt the best college bookstore I have personally visited, and I've seen quite a few. Ellen Dickinson, the General Books Manager, greeted me with great enthusiasm. She is a lovely person and is deeply committed to books, her bookstore, and the Tucson Festival of Books.

We discussed the MPIBA programs at length and her opinions about how MPIBA could become involved in this event which draws in excess of 100,000 people each year. I am not making this up. It's real - I've been there, with the Penguin Truck and the numbers are not inflated. We both agreed that our association needs to forge a relationship with the festival. I'm working on that, with the help of Laura Ayrey and Kathy Keel.

While in Tucson I stepped into Mostly Books on Speedway to leave an info packet and try to persuade the owner to join. She rather sheepishly admitted that she really should have before this, so I pointed out that now's better than ever. A strong prospect.

Bookmans, which is a large independent chain in Arizona and surrounding states, has their corporate headquarters in Tucson, surrounded by a 6-foot chain link fence and with a security system using a speaker to summon an employee to let visitors in. I left the info packet with the marketing director, Sheila Kressler-Crowley, who assured me that I would be contacted.
"The owner seemed intrigued and was very interested in the Winter Catalog."

Back in Scottsdale, I concentrated my efforts in that area, first calling upon Guidon Books, a seller of Arizona history and American history books and a few related sidelines. The owner, Shelly Dudley, seemed intrigued and was very interested in the Winter Catalog. We discussed the possibility of her selling books she would not otherwise, which seemed good to her. We also talked about the Sales Rep Online Database and the contact information available there, since she does not routinely see reps. I also pointed out that next year being the 100th anniversary of the National Park System that there would be numerous titles relating to the parks, Arizona being a large part of it. Strong prospect.

Shelly recommended I call on Alcuin Books, a mile or so away, even though the proprietor specializes in antiquarian books. Although doubtful, I followed her advice and was quite pleased to discover that the folks that run the place were receptive to the notion of becoming members. We talked about the business and the changes that have occurred and I left with hope that they would come into the fold.

I drove by Poisoned Pen and although Barbara Peters was out of town, I left the info packet and will follow up with her later. The remainder of the day was consumed discovering more used bookstores masquerading as full-service stores in the yellow pages but I felt good about the work.
"They landed me in one piece ...
for which I was grateful."

Friday I flew back on Spirit Airlines which was an experience in itself; not bad, not good, but they landed me in one piece in Denver for which I was grateful.

Thus endeth the first lesson.
 

Your financial support will allow Eric to offer
prospective bookseller members free admission to
the Fall Discovery Show. Then, if contributions exceed expectations, he will also be able to offer some expense reimbursements and meal tickets.

Want to Get Involved?
Tell us what you'd like to contribute by calling (800) 752-0249 or e-mail info@mountainsplains.org with "Book Haul Windfall" in the subject line, and we'll take it from there.

What's the Benefit to You?
You will be listed as a "Book Haul Windfall" contributor in the Fall Discovery Show Directory and on the Show's large-format signage. This project could even prove to be a source of new accounts for you.

How Do You Track Your Money?
Eric will be filing "Eric's Excellent Adventure" travelogues like this one and you can follow his progress as he makes his way through our vast and wonderful region.

 
 

Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association