Leave and learn.

So a guy from Redmond robs a bank in Bend, where people know him. I was told by a customer that the people at the bank even knew his name!

I'd say that's a cry for help.

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I have about 4 sites that I go to daily that recommend books. Either stellar reviews or best-of lists or simple mentions that sound intriguing. I'd have to say, about 20 books on average per site. (Actually, way more than that, but I'll limit it to significant profiles.)

If I was just to order 10% of just those books, it would be 8 books a day, 240 books a month. With, say, an average retail price of 20.00 (being newer books, most are hardcover or trade paperback), that would by 4800.00 a month in just those books. Just four sites I happen to visit, just 2 books per site.

That's not including all the replacement books, the automatic purchases of certain authors, the best-sellers, and -- well, just every fricken book that's ever been published up to the day...

I get the feeling that people have no real idea not only how many books there are, but how many really good and interesting books there are.

It can get kind of silly at Christmas. People come in with ridiculously specific and obscure titles. Sometimes I even have them! But they walk away, thinking they'll find it elsewhere, to which I really want to blurt: "Dude! Not only won't you find this book cheaper. You flat out won't find this book!"

Leave and learn. (I just made that up. "Leave and Learn." So pleased with myself today.)

(Leave my store and learn how hard it is to buy it elsewhere. Instant Karma.)

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So I stocked up on boardgames. Settlers of Catan, Ticket to Ride, Catan, and many others. Multiple copies of the major games, one or two of most of the rest.

I have people window shopping, which is fine, I guess.

But there is a chance I'll get a run on some of these games and there won't be time to reorder. This waiting until the last week is problematic on stocking levels-- but hey, maybe it's the only thing that gives us Christmas business at all. Everyone orders online until the last 10 days, then they HAVE to buy from us locals.

Heh.

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"Midnight in Paris," is still running in town. What? Did the theater accidentally buy the film print?

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