Are your prices high-end or bargain basement?
That very much depends on the book. We do have some rare and sought-after books that tend to be expensive and are of interest to collectors with more specific interests; at the other end of the range, we have trolleys that we put outside on sunny days, with good paperbacks priced at £5 for three. It’s a case of everything from a paperback for today to a gift for a lifetime.
Do you take card payments?
In this day & age, we certainly do, though this is still something people often ask about to make sure of. The only limitation is that we are not set up to take card payments over the telephone, so payment needs to be made when you call in.
Is your stock listed online?
Most of the Bookshop’s stock is unlisted, so it pays to visit, but if you would like to browse the listed stock, visit www.abebooks.com and look for us under the bookseller name BOOKSHOPHEATH.
Do you buy books in?
We are interested in purchasing vintage children’s books (1950s or earlier) in good condition, and first or early editions of modern literature. We are not able to deal with books in large quantities given the limited space available in the shop, so we do need to be selective.
Is it possible to reserve something until I can call in to buy it?
Yes, this is something we do quite regularly. Although we are open every day apart from Wednesday, there is still a chance you will see something on display while walking past when we are closed; if that happens, we are quite happy to act on the basis of messages on the answering machine.
How well do you know your stock?
Better and better as the weeks go by! Having just taken over at the beginning of June 2014, there is still a lot to discover. The manager, Alicia Sherliker, has worked in the shop slightly longer since early 2013, but we are both still surprised from time to time. In early August we found a copy of a rare prose work by the Elizabethan poet John Donne, published in 1700 after his death, uncatalogued and unpriced; we have no idea how long it had been sitting there… The stock I probably know least well is the poetry: much of the stock is made up of small but often beautifully produced volumes, sometimes containing single poems, of a kind that publishers simply don’t produce any longer. They can take a while to look through but there are some real finds in there, which can make very special gifts.