Hugh Hollowell

I think the time has come to talk about shipping books. We booksellers seem given to debate naturally, and hardly any subject is debated more. All of us tend to believe that our way is correct, and the most often touted defense is “that we have never had any complaints”.

That is somewhat akin to a doctor saying bleeding the patient works because nobody has complained when his patient died. We know from a variety of sources that customers generally do not complain. Ask yourself about the last time you went out to eat and the experience was less than it could have been. Did you complain to the manager? Did you write a letter to the company? Did you even short your server their tip? If you are at all typical, you did not tell anyone at the restaurant, but more than likely you did tell someone; your friend at work, your neighbor, or someone who mentioned possibly going to the restaurant. No, you did not complain,but that by no wise means you were happy, or even satisfied.

If you doubt this is a problem, look to any discussion board or forum, not of book sellers, but book readers. The booksellers who use such shoddy methods in the interest of frugality leave a black eye on the industry, and then they bemoan how sales are slow. I am sorry, but if you send me a $300 book and use plastic grocery bags and a Count Chocula cereal box (one did!), I will never order from you again.

I recently had a discussion on a listserve I participate in about this very problem, and one very nice lady, who I have no reason to doubt her professionalism, uses this method:

1. Wrap the book in a plastic grocery bag
2. Tape it down tight.
3. Wrap it in multiple layers of newspaper.
4. Put the whole shebang in a Manila envelope that gets taped down tight.

And guess what? Never a bad feedback! (see paragraph #2 for a refutation of this argument).

There are several reasons I would NOT use this method:

1. I am sure you only use clean grocery bags, and I am sure you never carry oozing packages of meat in them, but the client does NOT know this, and all they know is that you have wrapped the book they want and paid you good money for, in your garbage.
2. Have you ever tried to open a package taped down tight over a book as described in step #2 above? You end up having to cut it. When the client gets the big kitchen knife out to cut open the package and cuts the book, she will not be happy.
3. I would probably not use newspaper as a packing material. Not only are we back to using garbage to pack books in, but most papers these days use soy based ink, which rubs something fierce. Try this experiment: Wash your hands, then dry them off with a towel. Rub your damp hand across a page of printed newsprint, then across a sheet of white bond (copy paper). More than likely you will get transfer.Imagine you just recieved this book you have looked for for years, you found it on eBay and you are so excited… You open the envelope, you tear off the newspaper, you open the used grocery bag that for all you know carried fish or raw meat, and open your book, only to see streaks of black ink across the formerly pristine pages.
4. It just does not look professional. If you order a book from Amazon, it does not come packed in garbage. If you buy a coat from Lands End, it does not come stuffed in a used grocery bag and wrapped with duct tape. Professionals use professional methods.

I can hear the clamor now, that “I am not a big time bookseller, I just have a few hundred books. When I get bigger, then I will use new boxes and materials, but for now, I will keep dumpster diving”.

The way you get bigger is by acting the way you want to be. Act like a professional, and you will be percieved as a professional. The customer who orders that $5 paperback is just as important to your longterm success as the guy who buys the 18th century plate book.

I am wary (and weary) of crusades of all sort, and tend to fall in the militant center on most arguments. I will not go on record and say there is only one way to ship a book. I use 3 different ones, depending on circumstances, but I do think there should be several underlying principles in back of whatever means you use.

1. Protection- The client should receive the book in “as described” condition.
2. Economy- If we shipped everything in boxes made of 3/4“ plywood, the book would be protected, but would cost about $25 each to ship.
3. Convenience to the client- The client wants to be able to open the box, short of using a blowtorch.
4. Professionalism- I am a professional, and I want to act that way, because I wish to be perceived that way. I am not a fan of being cutsie, nor am I a fan of looking like an amateur. I have spent years learning my trade, and to throw all that away by saving $.10 seems a bit asinine.

With those principles in mind, next time we will discuss how we ship our books.

Please feel free to tell us how you ship your books in the comment section below.