Susan from Judith Eardley Books in Healesville,
Australia.
"I had been teaching full time for many years as an information technology teacher when, in 2000, a second-hand bookshop opened in our small town of Healesville, 60km from Melbourne. It is a small town but very pretty with trees and hills dominating the scenery. We are not too far from the vineyards of the Yarra Valley, a popular tourist destination.
The shop raises money for wildlife. Two years ago I decided to volunteer every
Saturday in the shop. I have always been an avid reader and the proximity of
all those good books was overwhelming. Just over a year ago the manager asked
me if I would sell the valuable books online. I switched careers.
I look after all our Internet sales and although I spend many hours processing
books I have never regretted leaving teaching. Books don’t argue.
We operate from a historical shop in the main street and we sell to locals
and tourists who visit the Healesville Sanctuary or the snow resort which is
an hour’s drive from our town.
Our online books sell mainly in Australia, USA and UK and a few to Europe.
I have sold sheet music to Finland.
I received an order from Canada a few months ago for a book written by an
Australian university lecturer of mine and which I didn’t really want to part with. I indicated my reluctance when confirming the order. Surprisingly the buyer went to my former university in Australia and was a good friend of the author. He too had fond memories of this lecturer. We exchanged many emails after that.
I love emails which give positive feedback or those which tell you a story
behind their book purchase or the occasion they want the book for. That makes
selling online rewarding. I get to keep all the valuable books at my home and
having a ‘personal library’ is another joy.
I receive many emails which say “hello Judith” but the name Judith Eardley Books is dedicated to the memory of a lady who cared for wildlife and who wanted her estate to be used for wildlife. We have been very successful in purchasing habitat, most recently for the endangered Helmeted Honeyeater which is our State emblem.
The image of the bookshop was painted by a customer of ours. He was visiting
the town and felt compelled to paint the row of shops shown as a souvenir for
his English visitors. He happily emailed me the result to use and we have incorporated
it into our flyer which we send out with each online book order. "
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