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Post by Aspidistra on Jun 20, 2011 23:47:50 GMT 1
Will do. ![;)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/wink.png) You're not getting your paws on my Fanny Craddock book, though, I'm keeping that. ;D
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Post by janerowena on Jun 21, 2011 12:27:27 GMT 1
;D I thought so! I'll make a list of HE Bates books that I own, you can cart it around with you, find a few more and I will buy them from you on Ebay to bump up your stars. ;D
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Post by Aspidistra on Jun 21, 2011 12:33:45 GMT 1
Are you collecting a particular edition of Bates, Jro?
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Post by janerowena on Jun 21, 2011 12:36:58 GMT 1
No, any old book, I just like the way he writes.
I like Elizabeth Goudge too, if you come across any of hers. I can't collect many so i have decided to stick to those two.
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Post by Aspidistra on Jun 21, 2011 17:47:48 GMT 1
This is quite fascinating. Despite having a degree in English literature, I keep coming across all sorts of more popular writers I've never even heard of before as I suppose we stuck to the classics. ![:D](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/grin.png) I just wikipedia-ed Elizabethe Goudge, had never come across her before. ![:D](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/grin.png) Anyway, I'll do what I can m'lady. ![::)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/eyesroll.png)
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Post by janerowena on Jun 21, 2011 19:52:36 GMT 1
Nooj likes her too.
Yes, I did me eng.lit and love all the classics dearly, but there are many writers you don't get to hear of much. One of my very favourites is Katherine Mansfield, whose descriptive writing is just beautiful. She wrote wonderful short stories, just excerpts snatched from people's lives. If you haven't come across her, do look out for her. Unfortunately, as she wrote for a magazine, not all her stories are available in book form.
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Post by Aspidistra on Jun 21, 2011 23:00:00 GMT 1
Oh gawd, now it's kicking off on ebay. I have been soliciting help on their boards about bookselling, and now some idiot is saying that I ought to be registered with ebay as a business! ![:o](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/shocked.png) One or two people have come to my defence and pointed out I'm clearly a newbie and have only sold 10 books, but blimey, talk about being on my case. And I thought it was all going so well... ![:(](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/sad.png)
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Post by Amazing on Jun 22, 2011 0:11:17 GMT 1
Aspi my friend Seona sells a lot of stuff on Ebay I will ask about the Business stuff. She sells a lot of shoes from her parents shop so she will know.
Are you keeping a note of the books that you sell etc. ?
Seona has an Ebay book and it keeps track of all of her transactions.
I do suppose in a way you are a business, buying and selling said books to make a living.
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Post by janerowena on Jun 22, 2011 9:40:26 GMT 1
It may be for VAT purposes - but the books are all second-hand, so no, it must be for tax reasons, all you have to do is keep a record for this year - unless you start to make a fortune I don't see that you should have any problems. Just keep quiet about the word 'business', if I were you, always say you are selling your own books. Because you don't want to get involved in all that if you decide you are fed up with it in 6 months' time, do you?
It's such a fine line, that's the problem. You are still dabbling, so just play it down until you can decide if it's worth while continuing or not.
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Post by Aspidistra on Jun 22, 2011 10:44:57 GMT 1
I know I've joked about it but I am not seriously thinking of making it into a business, certainly not at the moment, I'm just dabbling. ![:o](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/shocked.png) And as some of you will know from private conversations we have had, I am quite good at making a loss... ;D There appears to be a long-running discussion on ebay about whether it is fair or not for large sellers to call themselves private sellers, as the private sellers benefit from the free posting weekends and stuff. I certainly don't need to worry about that having sold a dozen books. ![::)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/eyesroll.png) I understand how an ebay business is run and I understand the tax implications but this is just a hobby and as yet, I have made zero profit anyway, it doesn't help that I keep buying books and then keeping them ;D. I always keep accounts for everything I do, having had a lifetime of running my own business and self-employment. But Jro, you are right. I should be careful what I say on the discussion boards there, as there seem to be people on there who are keen to meddle in one's affairs. ![8-)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/cool.png)
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Post by janerowena on Jun 22, 2011 10:52:19 GMT 1
They always crop up when you least expect them - I have had several occasions when I have mentioned something as a laughing aside to a friend, only to see a steely glaze appear to coat their eyeballs as they slowly turn to me and minutely dissect every single word I have just said...
I think 'parting with some of my excessive collection' should just about cover it. ;D
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Post by Aspidistra on Jun 25, 2011 13:35:31 GMT 1
I did something totally unspeakable today. ![:-[](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/embarrassed.png) I went to a church fete, browsing the bookstall, came across a Harry Potter First Edition. Not one of the early ones, but it was for sale for £1 and is worth about a fiver, to sell. Anyway, had it tucked under my arm ready to buy, while browsing the other books, and I heard someone saying to a little girl 'well you should have bought it then, before someone else got it' I began to realise they were talking about the Harry Potter. ![:-/](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/undecided.png) I start to feel a bit guilty...should I give it up to the little girl? Slight grumbling noises from the little girl, mother says 'Anyway, it's probably one you've got at home already, you don't know, do you?' I waver, then think, bugger it, she's not going to know she's got a first edition, it's worth more to me than it is to her, and besides I have to save up a huge amount of money to get me up to the norf of england to see my pals...and...and... So I ignore them and pay for the book. How could I? ![:-[](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/embarrassed.png) I feel SO guilty now, imagine depriving a child of a book. Norty, narsty Aspi. ![:-[](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/embarrassed.png) I feel like Oscar Wilde's The Selfish Giant. I am now somewhat worried that God will strike me down for being so horrid. ![:o](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/shocked.png)
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Post by margaretstar on Jun 25, 2011 13:44:16 GMT 1
I did something totally unspeakable today. ![:-[](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/embarrassed.png) I went to a church fete, browsing the bookstall, came across a Harry Potter First Edition. Not one of the early ones, but it was for sale for £1 and is worth about a fiver, to sell. Anyway, had it tucked under my arm ready to buy, while browsing the other books, and I heard someone saying to a little girl 'well you should have bought it then, before someone else got it' I began to realise they were talking about the Harry Potter. ![:-/](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/undecided.png) I start to feel a bit guilty...should I give it up to the little girl? Slight grumbling noises from the little girl, mother says 'Anyway, it's probably one you've got at home already, you don't know, do you?' I waver, then think, bugger it, she's not going to know she's got a first edition, it's worth more to me than it is to her, and besides I have to save up a huge amount of money to get me up to the norf of england to see my pals...and...and... So I ignore them and pay for the book. How could I? ![:-[](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/embarrassed.png) I feel SO guilty now, imagine depriving a child of a book. Norty, narsty Aspi. ![:-[](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/embarrassed.png) I feel like Oscar Wilde's The Selfish Giant. I am now somewhat worried that God will strike me down for being so horrid. ![:o](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/shocked.png) It might however instill in her other qualities, like buy a book before it's gone, collect books, read as many as you can before mother steps in etc, etc. You may have unwittingly given her a most valuable lesson Aspi....... ![:-/](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/undecided.png)
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Post by Nooj on Jun 25, 2011 13:53:29 GMT 1
Or encourage her to join the library, where she can read for free, and find lots more stuff that she enjoys and is also free One of the most valuable lessons in a kids life God would like you for encouraging that.
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Post by Aspidistra on Jun 25, 2011 14:00:37 GMT 1
Stop being nice to me, guys. ![:o](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/shocked.png) I need to be punished, chastised, for being so horrid, not told it's okay. ;D
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Post by koalagirl on Jun 25, 2011 14:04:38 GMT 1
Naughty Aspi! (is that better? ;D)
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Post by Aspidistra on Jun 25, 2011 14:09:45 GMT 1
;D. I just can't understand why I did it. It was the predatory bookbuyer in me that took over from being nice to a small child, I find that scarey. ;D
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Post by Nooj on Jun 25, 2011 15:04:14 GMT 1
Listen - small child's mother said she had it already Enough!
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Post by janerowena on Jun 25, 2011 15:56:14 GMT 1
Also - they might not have even noticed that it was a first edition!
What you did was far far better than what DBH's mother did to us. She has always had a bit of a look-out for a first edition.
She gave us, as a family, an edition of Harry Potter - she heard about it very early on, and as she liked it so much, gave us her copy as Leonie was about 11 or 12 at the time.
Then she came to stay with us, started feverishly looking through our book collection without saying why, and finally had to own up. She had bought us a new copy and had wanted to swap it for the one she gave us, as she thought it was a first edition. I eventually found it - by that time, over 5 years later, Robert had read it and it was under his mattress as he had been told he was too young to read it!
I was absolutely delighted to see that it was a reprint. ;D
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Post by Aspidistra on Jun 25, 2011 17:02:58 GMT 1
Yep, that's worse. ;D But child's mother only said she 'might' have the book at home <continuing to feel guilty... ![:-[](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/embarrassed.png) >. They defo didn't know it was a first edition, nor would they have cared. It's awful, but I just thought, well there will be another first edition getting crayon all over it if I budge...but not for me to judge... But in all seriousness, if you hear disappointment in a child's voice, as in the situation I was in, should you, as a someone who can alleviate that, do something about it, or is that pandering to the child? ![???](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/huh.png) The only Harry Potter first edition really worth anything is the first book, first edition and it has to be the first printing. That's because there are less of them about, because they didn't have such big print runs as she wasn't a famous author then. But once a book becomes popular, they may well print more in the same year, but unless it's that first print run, it won't be so important. This applies more to modern books, because the print runs get so huge, scarcity only exists in initial copies. And of course earlier works by a famous author, before they get famous, are worth more than later works. Sorry don't know why I am going on about this, it's probably obvious and you all know anyway. ;D
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Post by janerowena on Jun 25, 2011 20:15:01 GMT 1
<yawnsmiley>
Fascinating! Well I never!
;D Yes, I did, because my father used to buy in first editions and we sold them all when we were broke in Winchester. I Had to split them between me and my sisters of course, so we have some each, but heaven knows what the values of them all are. We weren't that fussed at the time.
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Post by Nooj on Jun 25, 2011 20:54:52 GMT 1
You do realise the kid has forgotten all about it? Don't you?
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Post by Juliet on Jun 25, 2011 21:07:16 GMT 1
It's not only pandering to the child, Aspi, it's patronising them. You wanted the book too - why should the child have more right to it than you do, just because they are a child? You got there first! And look at it this way - by keeping the book, you're helping that child to grow up to be the female equivalent of Harry Potter, not Dudley Dursley!
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Post by Aspidistra on Jun 25, 2011 22:18:11 GMT 1
...but that makes me the Dudley Dursey, doesn't it? ![:-/](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/undecided.png) I dunno. Just seems wrong of me to have acted like the old spinster bag that I am. ![:-/](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/undecided.png) I'm sure if I had children I would have been nicer. ![:-/](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/undecided.png)
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Post by Amazing on Jun 25, 2011 22:24:32 GMT 1
Nah I doubt it Aspi. You did the right thing.
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Post by Flumps on Jun 25, 2011 22:36:48 GMT 1
Right, brace yourself Aspers, I'm about to be nice to you. No, really, I am! ![:o](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/shocked.png) Most small children are spoiled little shits. There. I said it. Really and truly, they are - I see hundreds of 'em. The ones that are NOT spolied little shits have turned out that way because they have discovered that sometimes in life you don't get what you want, and they have learned to deal with it. Disappointment is part of life - you got there first, hard cheese for her. If she had grabbed something you wanted first, would you have expected her to hand it over just because you are a bonkers old cat lady who needs a distraction from the nutella jar?* No? Didn't think so. It's not like you've deprived her of anything major - her life won't grind to a halt because of it. So honestly, stop worrying <flumpyhugs> And btw, her mum sounds remarkably sensible to me! *Well, I only said I'd be nice - I never said anything about not being rood! ![:-*](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/kiss.png)
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Post by Juliet on Jun 25, 2011 23:11:37 GMT 1
Flumpet is quite right, Aspi. And you would only be Dudley Dursley if the little girl had picked it up first and you had thrown a tantrum and said "I want it!".
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Post by Aspidistra on Jun 25, 2011 23:22:51 GMT 1
Well I have to say, I'm surprised you lot have all decided it was okay to do that. :-/In a funny way, all those thoughts sort of went through my mind in rapid succession as I was making my mind up, but it was just one of those moments where I felt that the old-fashioned nice thing was to offer it to the little girl and that I was sort of going against the way I was brought up, or something like that. Also, that the next logical step to behaving like that would be that if we were all starving, I'd grab the last loaf and eat it all myself and not give it to the starving little girl. Do you see where I am going with this? I mean, where might it all end? ![:-/](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/undecided.png)
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Post by Amazing on Jun 25, 2011 23:26:24 GMT 1
Darwin's theory. Survival of the fittest.
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Post by Juliet on Jun 25, 2011 23:48:55 GMT 1
Not the same thing at all, Aspi - it's the difference between luxury and necessity. Neither of you needed the book, and you happened to get it first. Another day, someone else will get the book first and you'll be the one thinking "bother" for an hour or two - and then you'll forget about it. If you both needed the bread and you got to it first, of course you wouldn't have done the same thing at all - I expect you'd have offered to share it with her. You can't do that with a book.
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