Vent: That craft fair where a customer handed me a book held together with packing tape

I was at the Riverbend Makers Market last Saturday, third booth in from the entrance. This lady walks up holding a paperback with the spine completely split and layers of clear packing tape over the whole thing. She asks me to 'fix it like new' for under ten bucks. I tried to explain grain direction and proper tape removal and she just walked off saying I was overcomplicating it. Has anyone else had people bring in stuff that's basically been destroyed by duct tape and glue?

2 comments

2 Comments

holly_craig17d ago

oh man, I feel this so hard I could cry. the packing tape thing is a special kind of heartbreak because they think it's helping when really it's just destroying the paper and leaving this sticky nightmare residue. I had a guy bring in a signed first edition that his kid had covered in glitter glue and asked me to just "scrape it off" like it was dried playdough or something. it's honestly wild how people see clearly damaged books and think there's a quick cheap fix when book repair is so much about patience and the right materials. you explaining grain direction was actually really patient of you because most people would have just laughed and sent her away. the audacity of someone walking off after you tried to help them save their book is just... ugh.

wyatt_chen8617d ago

Yeah people really think we can just magic away glitter glue like it's no big deal.