{"id":3998,"date":"2021-04-14T09:55:38","date_gmt":"2021-04-14T17:55:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.tavbooks.com\/?p=3998"},"modified":"2021-04-14T11:39:32","modified_gmt":"2021-04-14T19:39:32","slug":"entering-a-post-covid-bookselling-world-qa-with-vic-zoschak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.tavbooks.com\/?p=3998","title":{"rendered":"Entering a Post-Covid Bookselling World – Q&A with Vic Zoschak"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Well, all… this year has been a doozy for almost everyone! We don’t know a single soul that was completely unaffected by this global pandemic, and many sadly affected in traumatizing ways. The bookselling community has done its best to stay connected and functioning during this time, and we thought it might be a good idea to pick the brain, almost a year later, of our fearless commander Vic Zoschak Jr. on how Tavistock Books was affected by these past many months and what he sees for bookselling in the near, vaccinated future!<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Book,Shop,Of,Pieter,Meijer,Warnars,On,The,Vijgendam,In\"***<\/span><\/p>\n

Q: So Vic, over a year of bookselling during a global pandemic has passed us by! How did you, personally, fare, and how did your patterns or habits change throughout this time?<\/em>
\n<\/b>
\nIt\u2019s been a YEAR has it not Ms P?! \u00a0Despite the retail challenges posed by COVID to many businesses, it\u2019s my understanding that most in the antiquarian book trade did ok. \u00a0I know that\u2019s true for Tavistock Books. \u00a0Sales were stable, but expenses declined significantly [no travel, and no employee expenses], so revenue actually increased over 2019. \u00a0And to be honest, the lack of general public foot traffic in my shop turned out to be beneficial, in that I was better able to concentrate on cataloguing, & quoting, material from my backlog.<\/p>\n

The one significant habit change for me came about mid-summer last year\u2026 \u00a0after Samm left to head back East, I started closing up the shop at 3 pm. \u00a0I\u2019m getting to be of an age when I just want more leisure time!
\n***<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nQ: Did you see any shift in what was being purchased (less of one thing, more of another)?<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n

Not that I could readily point a finger at\u2026 \u00a0my sub-specialities haven\u2019t changed, so those continued to be patronized by those interested in that sort of thing.
\n***]<\/span><\/p>\n

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\n***<\/span>
\nQ: What are your thoughts on the many virtual book fairs (in terms of both selling and buying), and how do you think they impacted the world of antiquarian bookselling and book collecting this year?<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n

I think they are here to stay. \u00a0 While a VBF can\u2019t offer the same breadth of material in one’s \u2019stand\u2019, that\u2019s counteracted by the fact that expenses are but a fraction of what you would spend to exhibit at, say, an ABAA fair. \u00a0For example, the Feb 2020 ABAA fair in Pasadena cost cost me, with booth fees, display cases, travel, meals, etc, etc around $10K to exhibit; in contrast the most recent ABAA VBF was under $1K. \u00a0As a result, just in terms of $$ & \u00a2\u00a2, the most recent ABAA VBF was much more profitable.<\/p>\n

What is missing from the VBFs are the intangibles\u2026 \u00a0dinner with colleagues, the chance to personally interact with customers walking the aisles, that sort of thing.<\/p>\n

I suspect in the future, once the nation has moved beyond the COVID restrictions, we\u2019ll have a hybrid schedule of both types of fairs.<\/p>\n

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\n***<\/span>
\nQ: What do you see for the book world going forward? For example, do you think virtual book fairs will become a new norm in a post-Covid world? Do you think people might have taken up collecting during this time? Any insights you may have in the shifts of our little corner of the world we’d love to hear about!<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019m of the opinion the recent VBFs proved the viability of digital book fairs\u2026 \u00a0I remember, oh over a decade or so ago, there was an attempt at an ILAB on-line only fair. \u00a0I participated. \u00a0The mechanics were a bit clunky & it was poorly attended. \u00a0I did not sell a book. \u00a0I don\u2019t think another such was planned until COVID made it necessary to do so.<\/p>\n

So again, I think VBFs are here to stay, though it seems they\u2019re popping up every time I turn around. \u00a0I don\u2019t participate in all of them, and to be honest, I don\u2019t shop them \u00a0with the same diligence as I did a year ago when they first came on the scene. \u00a0Probably that\u2019s to my detriment, but to be honest, I find I\u2019m very much missing the real thing. \u00a0I loved hoping on a plane to Boston in November, primarily just to shop the fairs \u2026 \u00a0I\u2019d spend an hour just in Peter Luke\u2019s booth, flipping through all his boxes. \u00a0That is, me, and at least 20 other customers\/booksellers. \u00a0I currently don\u2019t have that motivation for the VBFs. \u00a0But still, I\u2019m also appreciative of not having to pack\/schlep\/unpack\/display\/repack\/schlep\/unpack & re-shelve 15 boxes of books. \u00a0I\u2019ll try to find a happy balance that works for me.<\/p>\n

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\n***<\/span>
\nQ: So tell us… what’s coming up next for Tavistock Books?<\/em><\/b><\/p>\n

The $64,000 question! \u00a0Well, I did sign a lease extension through 2022, so we\u2019ll continue to be at 1503 Webster Street for a bit\u2026 \u00a0as to the immediate future, Jim Kay has said he\u2019s planning an in-person Sacramento fair for September, so given I\u2019ve gotten my shots, I\u2019m inclined to exhibit there [presuming no big COVID surge between now & then]. \u00a0And theirs a couple VBFs coming up in which I\u2019ll participate, the next one being the WESTERN STATES, April 29 – May 2nd. \u00a0Come visit!<\/p>\n

\"westernfair\"<\/a>

Find out more information on the Western States Book & Paper Fair at www.rarebookla.com<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

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