The owner was incredibly rude and condescending. I was interested in two paperbacks by Bishop John Shelby Spong. One was from the 70s, kinda banged up, and $5. The other was just a little scratched up on the front cover. I was more interested in that one, but it had a sticker on it that said "New! $16." Inside, it cited many bits that were published in previous years, but said that the copyright date of that version was 1990. 1990 was the latest date mentioned on that page. I really didn't want to pay more than $10 for that book, but was willing to bargain, and even if I didn't buy that book, i was gonna get the $5 book either way. I brought my misgivings about the price up to the woman, and she told me that the date a book was originally published isn't the same as the date a book was reprinted. I tell her that I'm aware of that but that this book says it's from 1990. She then sighs dramatically, and kind of rubs her eyes and goes "HOW do i explain this?" and then proceeds to tell me, slowly, as if i am an idiot child, that a Jane Austen book would be from the late 1800s. But if that book was in a bookstore, it would most likely not be an edition published in that century, but a newer edition. I'm telling her the whole time that I am aware of this, but she's ignoring my actual words and just reiterating her talking points in front of the ignorant straw woman she's created. She then looks at the copyright page and conceeds that book companies are often tricky about the copyright page but that, i kid you not, "this bookstore has only been open for 26 years, so if it's marked as new, we've bought it in the last 26 years." I pointed out that if its been there that long, they might want to lower the price, and she sniffs that he is a very popular author so that if nobody's bought it, it's only because nobody's noticed it on the shelf yet. Oh. Okay. She acknowledged the wears and tears on the front cover several times during the conversation, but wouldn't lower the price because somebody else would want to snatch that book up any minute. I walked out without buying anything at all, because i had never been that patronized to at a store in my life! read more