Veteran book and calendar man, Bruce Feldman, is a proud member of a rare species – native Californians. Not only was Feldman born in the Golden state, he has also lived and worked there his entire life. In a recent conversation with Bargain Book News, Feldman explained the connection between Sears’s vacuum cleaners, hot dogs, remainder books, and quality discount calendars.
 
Tell us a little bit about Bruce Feldman.
 
I grew up and went to school in El Cerrito, California, just three miles from my current address.  I have lived in a 20-mile radius of the Berkeley/East Bay area all my life.
 
How long have you been in the book business? What did you do before you got into books?
 
I began as a partner in Western Book Distributors in 1977, after working for 18 years as a manager and general manager for a chain of 22 hot dog stands called Doggie Diner.  An old friend of mine who I had worked with selling vacuum cleaners at Sears had a used book store and was buying more and more remainders to use in his store.  Matt Wyse, an institution in used books in the Berkeley Area, decided that the West Coast book buyers needed a remainder company located on the West Coast to reduce the cost of freight – hence the name Western Book Distributors.  I was in charge of wholesale and Matt ran the retail end of our company.  Both divisions grew and eight years later we had four retail stores and Western Book Distributors had a total of 40 employees and annual sales totaling close to $4 million a year. 
 
What happened to Western Book Distributors? Did you sell your interest in the company?
 
After 18 years, Matt sold his stock in both companies to a mutual friend. I remained on as her partner.  As it turned out, she was not to a good fit for the book business and two years later Western closed. We had to lay off 40 people. The four stores, however, were always successful and were sold to our supervisor of many years, Amy Thomas.  Amy has operated three of the stores very successfully for the last seven years.
 
What did you do after Western?
 
After Western closed, I continued selling books to my old Western customers on the West Coast representing three different remainder companies. I worked about two years each for Trident, Universal Sales, and, luckily, landed at World Publications where I have been for the last four years.  My territory includes the six Western states, as well as two week-long trips a year to London to sell remainders.  I attend the London Book Fair, which is held in March each year.  For four days before the Fair, Mike Horan and I rent a suite in a hotel and sell to many of the larger customers before moving the samples to the Fairs.  We also do this before the CIANA Remainder Fair, which is the United Kingdom’s version of CIROBE.   Over my 25 years as a West Coast and European bookseller, I have developed many special relationships with customers who grew to become friends.  Many of these people are still in the business and buy World Publications remainders from me. 
 
How and when did Bullseye Calendars come into being?
 
Bullseye Calendars was an offshoot of selling discount calendars at Western Books to used book stores, which did not carry calendars on a regular basis.  After Western closed, I continued with many of the customers who had purchased discount calendars from Western under my new company name – Bullseye Calendars.
 
Tell us about Bullseye. Whom do you sell to and how do you price the calendars?
 
In the last eight years, I have developed many very loyal customers who not only buy remainder books, but discount calendars as well from the five to ten publishers I purchase from each year.  I sell only quality calendars with an $11.95 to $16.95 original list price and sell them all at $2.69 each.  My selling begins at the Spring Book Show where I take orders and usually ship mid-August to September, depending upon my receiving the calendars. 
 
Are trade shows an important sales tool for promoting Bullseye?
 
The Spring Book Show is a great place for me to take orders for the upcoming calendar season.
 
How many people does Bullseye employ?
 
Bullseye is a three-person company; including my wife, Carol and me, and one part-time warehouse person.
 
How can our readers find out more about the calendars you carry?
 
We have a new website www.bullseyebruce.com
 
Do you have a favorite book or author?
 
My favorite books are spy and espionage books and I loved listening to the Harry Potter series on tape! 
 
Is there anything else you would like our readers to know about Bruce Feldman or Bullseye Calendars?
 
Selling books and calendars for over 25 years has been a joy in my life.  I want to thank all the friends and customers that have been so loyal over these many years.
 
Maryellen Duckett is a Tennessee-based freelance writer for National Geographic Traveler, Family Fun, and On the Road with Hampton magazines. She and her husband, Randall, are co-authors of the family travel books 100 Secrets of the Smokies and 100 Secrets of the Carolina Coast (Rutledge Hill Press).