muttering and the like at bookfairs...

One of the major social aspects at most bookfairs is chatting with other dealers about the fair, other dealers, and various aspects of the success or failures of any given day. This is especially true when A) it is slow; B) any change has been made to the show from one year to the next; C) folks are looking but not buying. That is, booksellers tend to bitch/comfort one and other in an arbitrary and caprecious fashion.

I tend not to bitch much about shows. We really don't "expect" to sell much at any given show...if we break even we are happy, anything above that is just great...but shows fall under "marketing" on our P&L statements so it is really more about getting the brand out there and making new contacts and follow-up opportunities (e.g. I was interviewed today for a national antique journal....a *big* plus for this show). So the issue that makes the most number of dealers the most...er...talkative is not something that tends to get me very riled up (and I tend to not like to talk about such things anyway).

I do, I'll admit, sometimes tell stories about other dealers...though to be fair, they are almost always funny/flattering and if they are not, *I* am typically the dork character. I have certainly heard (or overheard) *many* stories about others that range from the snarky to to downright mean-spirited. Again, personally, I tend to try to extricate myself from such situations as...well...no good comes from such things.

The reason I am thinking about this is that I had a new client chat with me at length about this very issue. He had just come from another booth where 3 dealers were apparently discussing/critiquing the current show and he was really rather put off by it. He has been collecting for many years and has shopped shows throughout. It was interesting to chat with someone "from the other side of the fence" about this issue. He told me that several years ago, he had walked into a booth and browsed while two dealers discussed a mutual client is not remotely positive terms (he stated that he has never bought from either of them again).

The moral, I guess, is that we should all be more conscious and cautious about what we chat about and when. Bookselling, at least for some, is a profession...I guess it is not unreasonable to expect professionalism in our collective conduct. Then again, bitching when it is slow is really...er...kinda fun.