Bargains To Be Had

"Bargains To Be Had" - it seems like another "SALE" sign, which we see all to frequently in this age of austerity. Hardly a day goes by without somone offering "two for one", "Buy one get one free", "Three for the price of two", etc. All these are simply ploys to get you to make a purchase of the goods on offer (even if you hadn't intended buying them before you entered the shop)- and let's face it, they are not a bargain if you hadn't intended buying them. You have spent money on goods you didn't need! So why have I headed this blog "Bargains To Be Had"? For some time now I have made purchases of books from four or five online book suppliers - Amazon, The Book People, Postscript, Selections and Bibliophile. Of these, Bibliophile is quite unusual in that it is the only online book supplier with a Royal Warrant. The name Bibliophile was dreamed up by Australian Max Harris, with former owner Bill Smith in the 1980's. Bill Smith was the first person to open his then bookshops until 9.00 pm and always had a pile of baskets by the door so that his customers could use these to fill with their purchases. In the 1990's Bibliophile was joined by Fred Bass, 80 year old owner of the Strand Bookstore on Broadway, New York (following the death of the founder, Max Harris) Before the death of Bill Smith in 1992 he had arranged for the editor Annie Quigley to buy the business from his widow and Mr Bass. Fred and Annie still buy their books together at all the major book fairs, and have cheekily been called "herons" for the way they swoop on an unsuspecting supplier and hoover up all his books! At the turn of the Millennium (in 1999) a website was launched to list all the titles for sale, an to prove that you can sometimes judge a book not just by an excellent review, but also by its cover!!! During the last week I ordered the books you see below.

The Cover price total for these books came to £138.91! Bibliophiles price for them was £36.00. YES THAT IS CORRECT THIRTY SIX POUNDS!