No writing done, today. I'm off to San Francisco on Monday and need to finish a quote for a library move. The person I spoke with told me it was 380 titles, some multiple volumes, and framed artwork...but in fact it's more like 4900 volumes because half of those "titles" are actually full shelves of various titled books. I counted them once I saw the photos. Just a bit of a difference that chucked all my preliminary work out the window.
This happens a lot more than is necessary. In fact, it's why we ask people to send us photos of the books they want to ship. Half the time those show the "regular-size" books are thick quartos (like smaller coffee table books) and occasionally elephant folios (as in massive). I ran into that with a job in Chicago a couple years ago, when a man who really should have known better told me 25% of a library he wanted me to pack was elephant folios while the rest were quartos and octavos (regular hardcover size).
It was 65% elephants, and that screwed up my plans, completely. I had to order more boxes. The job ran long. The client was pissed off. I had to leave the day before it was completed for another job we'd set up, so had to get someone to come in and finish the lesser books...which she was able to do without trouble but it was a major hassle. And...of course...it cost twice as much as they expected. If he'd sent me photos, like I asked, we wouldn't have had the issues and could have cut the costs by 20%.
So...this evening was spent catching up on that. A 2-day job for just me became a 3-5 day job, depending on whether or not I hire a couple of assistants...and the cost is going to be very high. I have a feeling we won't get it, because people who have million-dollar libraries will nickel and dime you over every price point in materials and labor and freight. We were approached by a man who won a painting in an auction for over $200K and he wanted it shipped to him for the equivalent of $1.98 and whined because our rate would have been $3K. It's ludicrous.
One great thing about working at Heritage was, Ben and Lou Weinstein understood that sometimes it's better to spend the money and do it right rather than be mealy-mouthed and childish about every penny. It saves you money in the long run and actually helps you make more, because people are more willing to trust you when they see you won't cut corners over nothing. There were people in the antiquarian trade who were jealous as hell of Heritage, but you don't get to be the biggest shop in the business by being cheap-assed.
I miss that place.
This happens a lot more than is necessary. In fact, it's why we ask people to send us photos of the books they want to ship. Half the time those show the "regular-size" books are thick quartos (like smaller coffee table books) and occasionally elephant folios (as in massive). I ran into that with a job in Chicago a couple years ago, when a man who really should have known better told me 25% of a library he wanted me to pack was elephant folios while the rest were quartos and octavos (regular hardcover size).
It was 65% elephants, and that screwed up my plans, completely. I had to order more boxes. The job ran long. The client was pissed off. I had to leave the day before it was completed for another job we'd set up, so had to get someone to come in and finish the lesser books...which she was able to do without trouble but it was a major hassle. And...of course...it cost twice as much as they expected. If he'd sent me photos, like I asked, we wouldn't have had the issues and could have cut the costs by 20%.
So...this evening was spent catching up on that. A 2-day job for just me became a 3-5 day job, depending on whether or not I hire a couple of assistants...and the cost is going to be very high. I have a feeling we won't get it, because people who have million-dollar libraries will nickel and dime you over every price point in materials and labor and freight. We were approached by a man who won a painting in an auction for over $200K and he wanted it shipped to him for the equivalent of $1.98 and whined because our rate would have been $3K. It's ludicrous.
One great thing about working at Heritage was, Ben and Lou Weinstein understood that sometimes it's better to spend the money and do it right rather than be mealy-mouthed and childish about every penny. It saves you money in the long run and actually helps you make more, because people are more willing to trust you when they see you won't cut corners over nothing. There were people in the antiquarian trade who were jealous as hell of Heritage, but you don't get to be the biggest shop in the business by being cheap-assed.
I miss that place.
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