Comments on: Stacey’s Closes

By: steve

steve — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 21:42:01 +0000

i sold books for stacey’s for several years, from the late 80′s till mid-90′s, and went to work there because it was an independent bookseller, and i wanted to be an independent book-writer (stacey’s being the day job – i got so far as getting an agent, but never got the novels in print.) anyway, even then the bezos-bozos corporate trend that is indie-bookselling blight was very evident, so i flipped it and tried to use stacey’s long history with publishers world-wide to start acquiring obscure titles from obscure publishers for corporate libraries that encircled the store in their concrete towers, and made the store a good little income thereby. when i got news this past jan. that the store was closing, i got around to writing the owner, asking him to develop further my corp sales model, and one of his managers wrote back to tell me i was full of beans. so, i can only assume he knows more than me. but it’s a shame, SF is unique, and it will only stay that way if people keep reading and writing in and about it. the independently written and published and sold book is about as good a symbol of San Francisco as you are going to get, which happens to catch its spirit literally, too. something new will have to do that now. maybe the new beats will arise.

By: Goodbye Stacey’s : Edward Champion’s Reluctant Habits

Goodbye Stacey’s : Edward Champion’s Reluctant Habits — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 04:36:22 +0000

[...] read my tribute back in January, go here. (via [...]

By: Ambrose

Ambrose — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 18:15:29 +0000

Very nice, thanks for that.

By: Pete

Pete — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 18:23:46 +0000

Great post, Ed. I thoroughly enjoyed my one (and now, only) visit to Stacey’s while on that same business trip when you and I first met. Speaking of which, I think I still owe you a drink to return the favor.

By: Lily

Lily — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 21:57:33 +0000

This makes me so sad. Like you, I worked in the financial district in my twenties in a similarly soul-crushing job and spent a lot of time at Stacey’s. Now, I work in the Civic Center, where A Clean Well Lighted Place for Books recently went out of business — but at least it was replaced by Books, Inc.

By: Sydney Hannan

Sydney Hannan — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 18:52:48 +0000

Ed-What a lovely tribute! I have been the trade buyer at Stacey’s for many years (just ask Colleen) and your description of our inventory fits exactly what I tried to do all these years. It’s very gratifying.