Yesterday I took delivery of a book: “History of the Welsh Baptists from the year 63 to 1770”. I had to refer to this post for the exact dates – I’m on my way to Manchester, the book is at home and the acknowledgement email cuts the title off at the number 6.
I’m happy enough with the book although the paper has a distinctive odour. Much of it is fictitious rubbish sourced from medieval tracts. It serves a purpose as I am interested in Welsh Baptists in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries1, particularly from the area between Caerfyrddin and Castell Newydd Emlyn 🙂
The book is a photocopy of an abbreviated English translation of an early Welsh text but it has done the job for me. It’s a print on demand job from India. The service was good.
This morning I woke up to an email from someone called £$%^&* (name withheld – it wouldn’t be fair – he seems a nice guy) who is evidently over for the London Book Fair 2014 and fancies meeting up:
Dear Friend
First of all we want to give thanks for your continuous orders through abebooks.com. We hope you would be satisfied with our services.
We are visiting London Book Fair which is going to be held from 8th April to 10th April 2014. We are interested to meet you if you are available in the fair for further discussion to strengthen our business relations. I will be available on all the days of the fair, please let us know your convenient time date and venue for the meeting.
Thanks and Regards
£$%^&* (note continuity/consistency of name – it’s all about attention to detail)
Now my order was a tenner plus a very reasonable four or five quid for P&P. Even though we are talking with a company based in India it is hardly going to set them up for the rest of the year.
Old £$%^&* might want to consider a new CRM system or even buying one in the first place. Then he would know I’ve only ever bought one book from his business. Although I was satisfied with my purchase (8/10 – marks deducted for the pongy paper) I have no plans at this point in time to buy anything else from them.
Anyway I’ve replied to him telling him I would be visiting my parents in the Isle of Man that week as it is the school Easter holidays and would he be kind enough to unsubscribe me from his mailing list. Bit of a bummer really because I like curries and you never know, £$%^&* might be a one for taking his customers out to dinner. Wouldn’t get much for a tenner in London mind you.
Book publishers eh…?
Another book related post: How to walk up Steep Hill and be sixty pounds lighter by the time you get to the top.
PS very interesting book btw. You can see the persecution that went on in the 17th cent from the stories of people emigrating to the Americas – a big move for people in those days
1 as you do 🙂
