Customers in Pegasus Books often say something like, "I'd really like to have a bookstore."
For the past five years of so, I've answered, "If you're serious, I have all the fixings. Tons of used books and fixtures. You can have them for a very low price."
"Oh?" a few people mutter, already backing away.
"Yeah, my wife and I owned a used bookstore for 15 years, and I've been buying up used books for another five or ten years, with the intention of opening a used bookstore in Redmond when I retire. But I've worked longer than I expected and so it's probably not going to happen. Especially with what the rents in Redmond are like now." (Not all that much cheaper than Bend...at least not cheap enough...)
Well, by that time they've probably scooted out the door. Obviously, they weren't serious, or maybe they didn't believe I was serious, that I really had the fixings, or that it would be cheap enough. But I really wanted to give my 15 to 20K used books stored at home and I couldn't see dumping 35 or 40 perfectly good bookcases, or leaving it for my loved ones to have to deal with when I'm gone.
In my mind, I could see some young person getting a start in a store for less that I paid for my own store 41 years ago. I was quite serious. I could see someone earning a perhaps small wage at first, but maybe turning it into something, the way I did with Pegasus.
It would have to happen in some small town, such as Prineville or Madras or Burns or LaPine, someplace like that, but yeah....someone could make an attempt for what would have been peanuts.
No one bothered to ask the price.
So I had a young woman in the store a few weeks ago and we went through the conversation and she was still standing there.
"I'd love to do that," she said.
"Would you like to see the fixtures?"
"I really would."
So I gave her a tour of the basement, and it was about closing time, and I asked her if she wanted to follow me to my home to see the books, and she did. I had a large storage shed and a garage packed with boxes of books.
She was still interested.
Long story short, she's opening "Oliver Books" in downtown Prineville on April 1st. (No joke.)
She's gone way beyond the starter kit that I provided. With my advice, she decided to add new books to the mix. Even Prineville isn't terribly cheap anymore and she is renting a space larger than mine, so I told her I thought new books would be necessary to carry the load.
Most gratifying of all, she's seems to be listening to my advice. She's doing it right, not the bare bones effort I originally envisioned but a full-on, quality bookstore, with my contribution being only a foundation to what she's building.
I'm amazed by her energy and her savvy. I think she's got the stuff to do it.
Prineville is a small but growing town and I suspect they'll welcome her with open arms. It might even be worth a visit from all you folks in Bend and Redmond and LaPine and the rest of eastern Oregon.
OLIVER BOOKS, Prineville, Oregon.
It's been fun to see it take shape, and I'm super impressed. Good luck to you, Hannah Oliver!
