How It Used to Work

Let's say a couple is moving to a new apartment and they decide they don't want to just box up their old book collection from their book shelves, set up their book shelves at their new place, and load up a lot of books that for the most part they really don't want to keep anymore. However, they know these books still might have some value to someone else so they don't feel right about pitching them into the trash. They might give them to friends and relatives (who for the most part really don't want them) or take them in to a used book store.

At the store they can just drop them off or trade for "store credit", which gives them a discount on future purchases of books at the store. Most of these stores in the past operated very informally without use of a computer or even a cash register, often accepting only cash (no checks or credit cards) which went directly into a shirt pocket. The customers' store credits were kept on index cards which often got lost or failed to get updated, but no matter because most customers either didn't make much use of their store credits or the store operators freely gave "discounts" to anyone they recognized as steady customers. They could do this since their inventory was essentially given to them at no cost and the "price" for any book was just a fully negotiable first offer.

In addition to the books brought into the store, the store owners very frequently get calls from surviving relatives wondering what to do with large book collections of deceased relatives. Some of these collections involve hundreds or even thousands of books with the store owners offering only nominal payment or sometimes nothing at all to the estate before boxing them up and bringing them back to the store. Some aggressive owners also regularly browse garage sales, thrift stores, and other places where books are practically given away. Over many years, these stores would develop huge inventories because there were always far more books being brought in than the store could sell.