Sean Concannon of Parson Weems, the book rep firm, offers the following notes (with a slight ad) about the Great American Bargain Book Show, held for the first time in Boston, Mass., last weekend:

GABBS was a fantastic show for us and for our core remainder house, Symposium Books Wholesale. Keynote speaker Gayle Shanks of Changing Hands Bookstore, Tempe, Ariz., attracted some of our New England customers who are interested in exploring the bargain book business. Bargain books are a proven traffic generator, and that is precisely what all of trade stores need at this point.

Gayle Shanks repeated an idea I've heard (especially from Sue Little at Jabberwocky): booksellers should stock single copies of bargain titles. They represent a lower inventory risk than trade books, fill the same niches and encourage customers to browse since they may find hidden, inexpensive gems in the store's inventory. When customers find a bargain, they're likely to look for more, which results in a higher average ticket per customer.

For stores that don't have the time, money or staff to allow two to three days off for a remainder show, Parson Weems and some other rep groups and remainder reps can help buyers give remainders a try. Parson Weems reps are in stores anyway presenting essential frontlist, and we carry a full remainder presentation that a buyer can get through in the normal course of business.

The show was semi-busy Friday and dead Saturday, but most people I talked to seemed happy with it and confident it would be better next year. Here's who I ran into or met:

Lorna Ruby, Wellesley Booksmith, who is planning on getting started with remainders but is not sure how she wants to do it. She'll chat with Alie Hess, remainder buyer at Brookline Booksmith, who is on maternity leave.

Rob Lee, ToW Distribution, a branch of comics website Tales of Wonder, who was peddling Diamond hurts and lots of other graphic novel stuff. It has 300-plus titles and plans to grow.

Steve Fischer and Nan Sorensen from the New England Independent Booksellers Association, who were at Gayle Shanks's address Friday morning and reiterated that trade stores should stock remainders with general inventory "Powell's style."