Thrift store worker told me I was ruining the books and she was right

So I always grab a stack of paperbacks from the bargain bin at my local Goodwill in Portland, but last Saturday the cashier stopped me and said I was bending the spines too far back while flipping through them. She showed me how to check the condition without cracking the spine by just fanning the pages gently instead of opening it flat. Now I look for books that are already in decent shape and I treat them way more careful. Anybody else get called out by store staff for handling books wrong?

2 comments

2 Comments

daniel5111mo ago

Whoa, wait, she actually stopped you at the register and gave you a lesson on book handling? That's pretty wild, I've had cashiers give me side-eyes before but never a full tutorial. I guess some folks really care about the condition of those old paperbacks, sounds like she was trying to help you out in her own way.

robin8361mo ago

Three years ago I handed a rare copy of "The Hobbit" to a librarian and she literally put on white gloves before touching it. Made me feel like I'd been handling the book with barbecue sauce on my fingers or something.