I got a hundred paperbacks to move*. What’s my loadout for that? – And, yeah, bensdad00 is right: I need a hand truck.
Moe Lane
*If I sell them all, I lock up the money in the car, leave the information for getting the book online and go check out the rest of the convention. I will not sell them all.
As a casual observer of the scene, the answers most often are either “cardboard boxes” or “plastic bins”.
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The cardboard is the easiest, since that’s usually how the books arrive at your door, but the plastic do a better job of protecting the inventory. Oh, and they all get unloaded onto the table, then stashed underneath.
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https://www.amazon.com/Distribution-Container-Hinged-21-9×15-3×9-7-Blue/dp/B017SMVNS0/
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Mew
I’m gonna see if they have those at the Staples.
Milk crates.
Small enough that they don’t get too heavy, made to be stackable and transported by dolly, durable, and cheap.
The only issue is you’ll need a tarp to cover them with if you’re shifting product in the rain.
Off topic, because it’s good to hear good news:
my daughter’s much-dreaded and often-delayed cardiac surgery went about as smoothly as it possibly could have.
There have been some hiccups since, and recovery will take time, but I’m now comfortable announcing that it went well, without fearing that I’m somehow cursing it.
Oh, thank goodness.
Glad to hear it.
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Mew
The folding hand truck is the ticket without doubt. Bungee cords are perfect to secure the boxes to the cart (I like the milk crates but that’s more to bring back).
Please trust me on one thing: you personally need to spend as much time as you can visiting other booths. It’s worth losing a few sales (which you probably won’t) to visit your peers and potential distributors/editors/collaborators during the convention. That sort of networking means more to your career than a few sales will.
Also: as long as you reach breakeven, in the last hour or so of the con give away some or even the rest of your copies to the most likely suspects that you cultivate. Not people who know you or who have already read your books, that is, but new centers of influence.
Free advice, but it’s guaranteed to be worth more than you paid for it.
Or your money back! 😉
DOUBLE your money back.
Hrm. That is, indeed, a thought. Thanks.
We got a foldable wagon in the camping section of a walmart that has served us well. Probably not quite as good for heavy loads, but it can probably hold a couple boxes of books. We use ours to bring in groceries and take out the trash.
Let’s work on our optimism:
WHEN you sell them all before the end of the convention, you WILL celebrate by buying something impractical, A claymore, perhaps, or a full length maroon leather duster. Or both.
This, of course, assumes you don’t already own a claymore, or a full length maroon leather duster. Or both.
Anyone else have suggestions for Moe’s Splurge Funds?