Monday 05/20/2024
Took the standard walk. At 10:30 it was time for the monthly event coordinators meeting, always an interesting session.
Following that, down to FOPAL to process four boxes of computer books. I’m going to start adjusting my prices. For a year now, our pricing guideline has been. Find the lowest price on Amazon (or eBay if the book isn’t listed on Amazon). Mark the book at half that, rounded to a whole dollar. With a bottom limit of $2 for a paperback and $3 for a hardback. So if a paperback shows up on Amazon Marketplace at under $4, it goes directly to the bargain room, as half the Amazon price is less than the floor of $2.
Well, at the latest volunteer zoom meeting they went over our finances for the last fiscal year. And although we churn through a ridiculous amount of books each month, thousands literally, and although we generate enough money to give the Library over $100K a year — our main sale room, where my section is, where I put in all my labor, is only breaking even. The expenses of running the main sale room, rent, supplies, salary for our one paid manager, is only a bit less than our gross income from sales.
Where does all the profit come from for the Library? Mostly from the higher-value books that we sell via eBay and a broker who sells to Amazon. The monthly sales, to which hundreds of people come to shop, are just paying the rent on the building and other fixed costs.
This was very disappointing to me, and it seemed obvious that we need to charge more for our books. So starting today I began marking books a little higher. Not hugely, but an extra dollar for good condition, etc.
Back home played some guitar. Working on Jimmy Buffet’s “Margaritaville”.
Television: I bailed on the rest of The Amazing Race. I’ve watched 20+ seasons of that show but finally decided I didn’t care any more. Also deleted American Idol from the DVR list. I really didn’t think much of the talent they were coming down to, and anyway it was all overblown. Last night I watched a PBS special, Audra McDonald. Now there is a voice. Or, Friday night, I didn’t mention it here, I put the SFJazz Friday Live Stream on the 11th floor TV to share with a few others. The performer was Samara Joy, another amazing singer. You would think that with all the auditions, Idol could have come up with one decent female voice, the kind of soprano (or alto, I’m not prejudiced) that just flows out and grabs you. Well, grump grump.
Codgerville 