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Purveyor of Vintage Books & Pop Culture Memorabilia for Over 24 Years!
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UPDATES
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Check back here regularly for news concerning new stock, changes to the website, new policies, concurrent eBay auctions, problems,
or anything else I may think is worth sharing with patrons or prattling on about. Previous updates will continue to be archived on
this page for as long as I feel they may be pertinent to first-time visitors as well.
"The Gas Shortage Strikes Again!" (May 27, 2008) I really hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if you are not aware, USPS has once again raised their shipping rates, obviously the by-product of the price of gas going through the roof this last year. Small Flat-Rate Priority Boxes now cost about $10.00 to ship, and the larger ones about $13.00. Regular Priority and Parcel Post will have slight increases as well. Media Mail and Priority Flat-Rate Mailers will remain about the same, which means any handling fees I might charge will be reduced. Global Priority Flat-Rate Mailers now run from $10.00 to $12.00, with other International rates higher as well. Additional services such as Insurance, Delivery Confirmation, Certified Mail, Registered Mail, Signature Confirmation, et al. have also gone up.
"All Quiet on the North Western Front" (May 27, 2008) Just a quick update on the status of The Trash Collector. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to post much new in the last few weeks--just a smattering of books, for the most part--but hope to get back on track within the week. Still to come are more books (there's always more books), records, and a bunch of odds 'n' ends. "Thanks" to all of my regulars for their patience.
"Spring Cleaning" (April 13, 2008) Attention comic book collectors! Until the end of May, all comics posted on this site are 15% off the marked price. Of course, this offer can not be combined with any other coupons or special offers I may run during this time. If you haven't checked the comic pages in a while, you may want to take a quick gander as I've posted over a hundred titles this week, something new in every section. Enjoy!
"Making Headway" (April 3, 2008) Just a quick overview of what I've posted recently. I just finished adding a fair number of new books and magazines to the "Pin-Up & Erotica" section. The sections in Children's Books continues to grow exponentially. I've recently created and/or expanded numerous paperback sections, including Cartoon Strip Collections, Comic Book Collections, Humor & Satire, Science Fiction & Fantasy • Edgar Rice Burroughs, Science Fiction & Fantasy • Philip José Farmer, Science Fiction & Fantasy • Andre Norton, Science Fiction & Fantasy • Perry Rhodan, and Western. I am also in the process of adding about two hundred new titles to the Science Fiction & Fantasy paperback sections. I have also posted some new hardcover books and softcover trades of various genres and subjects. Much more to come!
"The Song Remains the Same" (March 19, 2008) Although publishing-related deadlines have kept me from posting nearly as much new stock as I'd like over the last few weeks, I continue to add stuff to the site. Most of the new additions are scattered throughout the site, although I did just finish adding about a hundred vintage children's books, as well as a fair number of books to the various adult sections. I've also recently added a bunch of older games and toys, although I have yet to scan many of the larger pieces. (Again, if there is a particular piece for which you'd like to see a photo, just let me know and I'll prioritize it.) Things to come in the next few weeks: Magazines, comics, epehmera, records, and--of course--more books.
"So Much Stuff, So Little Time" (February 25, 2008) I am still in the midst of vigilantly posting new items on the website, trying to chip away at the formidable walls of stuff that I have been accumulating the last few years. In addition to hundreds of new books in all sections (children's, paperbacks and hardcovers, all subjects and genres), I have been adding a great deal of general memorabilia, again all sections. (Unfortunately, posting oddball items is much more time consuming than books, so the selections don't look nearly as impressive.) Much more of the same in the weeks to come.
"Just the FAQs, Ma'am..." (February 5, 2008) Although I am still in the midst of posting new stock, I have just taken the time to update a few of the main pages ("About Me" and "Testimonials" among them), but mainly have complete rewritten and restructured the "How to Order" page. No longer a jumbled barrage of rules and procedure, I have now arranged it as a more traditional "FAQ" with all of the questions quickly reached via an index at the top of the page. In the past, people often had difficult finding the answer to their questions, so hopefully this will alleviate much of the hassle. Now back to work I go...
"Burning the Midnight Oil" (February 1, 2008) Sorry for my not touching bases in nearly two months, although I hope that the tremendous number of new additions to the site will make up for my tardiness. When not dealing with a number of health problems, I have been posting stock to The Trash Collector website every waking moment. I have started to chip away at the growing towers of vintage paperback books cluttering my workspace (if only to keep them from toppling over and burying me alive at my computer), so you may have noticed that all of the pocket book sections have grown since the first of the year (especially science fiction). On the occasion they have become too overwhelming, I have taken "breaks" to post other items, including non-paperback books, magazines, some dolls and toys, misc. memorabilia and ephemera, etc. Slowing me down a bit, though, is the revamping of all of the pages on the website to match the new home and overview pages. (This includes little but ultimately time-consuming tweaks like adding the tab bar, reworking the HTML layout, and changing 2007 to read 2008. Since these aren't nearly as crucial as beefing up the site, I may not have all of this finished for another month or two. Heck, all of you know what year this is, even if I don't.) I also want to mention that weather on my side of the foothills has been stop-and-go this winter, which does affect my ability to get to the post office, so don't be surprised if it takes a little longer than the usual two to three days to get your package shipped, or to pick up payments from my PO Box. I will try to e-mail you if your shipment will be substantially late by a couple of days, but please be patient with me; the prolonged lack of sleep has made me unbearably forgetful as of late. (Which is another reason why this particular update is a bit delinquent.) Hope the new year is treating everyone out there well, and that your resolutions are bearing fruit. Take care, and I will be back before another two months has gone by. I promise. Really.
"Tis the Season" (December 4, 2007) Once again, everything has happened at once. I had just gotten over the flu and started to work on the site when I was hit with a number of deadlines from my publisher relating to my forthcoming Trashfiend book. (For more info on this stupendous volume, Click Here.) Due to numerous technical difficulties, this took much longer than I had anticipated, and so I am only now getting back on track with The Trash Collector. Furthermore, in the last few days we were hit with our first snow of the year (about five inches in our area) and two days later, we were deluged with record rainfall which caused some major flooding in the area, thus making it nigh impossible to get to the post office so far this week as planned. Thanks to Mr. von Sacher-Masoch's vigilance, I have already fixed about a hundred broken image links this morning, and hope to get a fair amount of posting accomplished before the day is out. A few weeks ago, I left off with expanding most of the general memorabilia pages (including the "Holidays • Christmas" page, which has been curiously empty since I created it about a year ago) as well as beefing up the "Toys & Games" sections. To come is more of the same. Much, much more. As I go along, I am also reformatting the old pages, which includes adding the new tab bar at the top of the page in order to make negotiating the site easier, but since this in itself is time-consuming, I doubt I will have the entire site updated until January some time. More updates to come as the posting progresses. (This time, I promise. Really...)
"Happy (cough) Holidays" (November 24, 2007) Well, I was making pretty good headway in getting new items and old pics posted, until I came down with a particularly bad case of the stomach flu last week. Sleeping has been prevalent, eating has been a chore, and doing anything more strenuous than lying on the couch watching reruns of reality television has been inconceivable, so it may be another day or two before I'm to snuff to try wrestling with The Trash Collector site again. As it is, the demands of writing this update have convinced me that a mid-day nap would be a very good thing, so I will try to give a more detailed update in a couple of days.
"Guaranteed to Be More Popular Than a Stocking Full of Coal" (November 20, 2007) Just as a holiday reminder, gift certificates are available for The Trash Collector website. Can't think of anything to get that certain collector in your life who is a pain in the butt to buy for? Then look no further! For more information concerning gift certificates, Click Here.
"Make Room, Make Room! And Tidy It Up While You're At It" (November 8, 2007) First, a general update on the site. I have been working vigilantly the last week on uploading new items; in addition to even more paperbacks (I swear there's no end in sight), I have expanded the various record pages (including segregating all of the children's fare into their very own section) in order to accomodate the hundreds of new albums and singles I am in the midst of posting. As I unbury several years worth of accumulation, I will undoubtedly post a mish-mash of other collectibles as well. I also hope to start chipping away at the hundreds (thousands?) of vintage children's books soon as well. If only sleep weren't so darn necessary to our survival... Second, I want to extend some well-deserved "thanks" to Michael von Sacher-Masoch. Although the site is pretty much maintained by myself (it's a dirty job, but no one else will do it), Michael has spent countless hours editing the site so as to minimize any unnecessary confusion on the part of the visitor, and to minimize any embarassment on the part of Yours Truly. Suffice it to say, this website has been a virtual madhouse over the last year, in part due to the demands of numerous day jobs, and in larger part due to the unexpected technical difficulties that have plagued the Internet experience as a whole. Since the move, he has made it his mission to bring to my attention every little flub, foul-up and faux pas I have made, and for that I am very grateful. And a little annoyed, but mostly grateful. So, if for some masochistic reason, you actually enjoy stumbling over broken code, or prefer not to see the pretty pictures, you only have him to blame. That's it for now.
"Where Has All My E-Mail Gone?" (November 6, 2007) I have just discovered that--for reasons still unknown--a great deal of e-mail correspondence sent to Your Truly is not making its way proper to my new e-mail account. Some customers--and even family and friends--have had their queries returned to them as "Undeliverable," whereas others don't even receive a stock error message for their troubles. Of the former I would like to ask a favor; if you do receive a pesky "return to sender" e-mail, if you would be so kind as to foward it to my ISP at "support@fidalgo.net" in the hopes they can figure out the problem and get it rectified as soon as possible; in the meantime, anyone who has not received a response within 48 hours (some of the mail that has made it my way has been postponed by a day or so), feel free to try my alternate e-mail addy ("hiddennoise@fidalgo.net") in the hopes it might squeeze through the cracks and reach its final destination. Once again, I apologize for such unforseen problems; it's enough to make one yearn for the old days of pony express.
"Oh, How I Miss Thee, Let Me Count the Ways..." (October 31, 2007) I am currently stealing some time away from my pre-planned all-day monster movie marathon having been reminded of why I partake in this blissfully mind-numbing tradition in the first place. Many people--especially those who grew up in the 1970s or earlier like myself--probably have fond memories of staying up late Friday or Saturday nights to catch their local horror host on the tube, trying to sell the viewer on whatever paltry monster movies their station could exhume from their dusty vaults. For me, it was a show called Nightmare Theatre, which ran from 1964 to 1978, and its master of ceremony, The Count. If one person could be blamed for my obsession with all things horror, it would be this man and the weekly double-billings featuring the best-of-the-best alongside the worst-of-the-worst, and for both he has my eternal gratitude. In honor of the show and the man behind it, Joe Towey, I created a fan website a few years back--a virtual shrine to all things Nightmare Theatre. I have recently moved and rebuilt the site (now dubbed "Nightmare Theatre NW," in order to differentiate it from all of the other unrelated, but similarly-titled sites), which can be found at www.nightmaretheatrenw.net. If you grew up in the Pacific Northwest where it aired (particularly Seattle and the outlying regions), come visit the site and relive the Friday nights you spent trying to stay awake until 11:30 in order to catch our resident bloodsucker and his little slices of B-movie heaven. Even if you weren't weaned on the antics of this particular horror host, you are still welcome to come take a look-see as to the show responsible for schooling Yours Truly and inspiring me to become a horror writer and film historian in the first place.
"Bye, Bye Bizland" (October 22, 2007) If you are reading this, it means that the The Trash Collector 2.0 is finally live (no thanks to BizLand), and the old site has been laid to rest once and for all. Admittedly, it has been a rough haul these last few months, my having spent far more hours on the phone (the majority of this time whiled away "waiting for the next available customer service representative" and being subjected to the most nerve-wrenching elevator music imaginable) than actually spending quality time with my much neglected website. There is still a great deal of work to be done, especially in regards to AWOL scans, updates and--I'm already assuming the worst--the inevitable broken links, but at this point most of the site should be functional. Even though the domain name and URL has been transferred, please be sure to bookmark the new home page so that you aren't redirected to BizLand's dead zone. On a similar note, if you have my old e-mail addy on file, note that I am no longer with Earthlink, so please change this to my new e-mail address at "Trashfiend@fidalgo.net" as soon as possible, as I have no idea how long correspondence to my previous account will be properly forwarded. I am still in the process of posting new merchandise and adding new pages, and should have a tremendous amount up by the weekend for your perusing pleasure. In addition to hundreds of new paperbacks (of all genres and subjects), I am currently knee-deep in Halloween and monster-related memorabilia, which I am attempting to rush up in keeping with the spirit of my favoritest holiday. (Yes, I know "favoritest" is grammatically atrocious, but Halloween always bring out the kid in me, as illiterate as he may be.) I also hope to have most of the images up for all of the books I have posted in the last few months with descriptions only. Again, if you want to see images of a particular item or section right away, don't hesitate to drop me a line so I can expedite any requested scans. Also, if while glancing through these pages you stumble across a broken link, feel free to let me know. Since the site is nearing four hundred pages, with multiple hyperlinks on every page, it may take me a while to track down all of the orphaned code. To my regular customers, thanks again for bearing with all of the problems this site has suffered as of late, and for being patient as I struggled to get everything functional. Hopefully, you'll find it all worth the wait.
"Expiration Date, Bad... Coupon, Good..." (October 21, 2007) To those customers who have received a flyer and coupon with their order, please note that--despite the expiration date listed--they are good until January 1, 2008. I was undoubtedly distracted when I updated them recently and forgot to update this before printing quite a few out (which probably confused some people since they were receiving offers that had long-sice expired). Sorry for any inconveniences this may have caused; if you received one and disposed of it having figured it was no longer valid, but want to take advantage of it, drop me a line and we'll get that rectified immediately.
"If You Can't Trust My Customers, Who Can You Trust?" (October 18, 2007) If you are interested in reading some testimonials from recently satisfied customers, Click Here.
"Return to Sender" (October 9, 2007) Addendum to Previous Update: Unfortunately, I won't have my current e-mail issues rectified for a few days, and I may lose some unread correspondence in the interum, so please be patient when it comes to a response time. If by Friday you have not heard back from me, it would probably be best to assume that any e-mails you sent in this time were gobbled up by voracious cyber-beasties who subsist on unclaimed mail, and to resend any correspondence at this time. I apologize greatly for these inconveniences, but hopefully this will all be water under the bridge in due time. Many thanks for your vigilance.
"Sometimes, ISP Stands for Stupid Ignorant People" (October 8, 2007) Just to let everyone know, this is the first time I've had full Internet access in over a week; thanks to some now-resolved technical difficulties with my current ISP, I've been unable to send and receive e-mails, as well as upload updates to The Trash Collector storefront. Although I can now gain temporary access, it appears that a disturbing amount of my correspondence was lost in the interim, so if you have e-mailed me in the last few weeks but have not received a response, please resend any unanswered queries. Due to these and other recent problems, I may be going with a new ISP and web host in the near future, and will post any changes on this page as soon as I am able.
"How to Make Your Website Invisible, and Other Stupid Tricks" (September 5, 2007) The website is currently experiencing some serious technical difficulties, and I am doing my best to resolve the issues. I've recently discovered that the current versions of my webpages (all HTML) haven't been coming in Internet searches; instead, web surfers have been routed to outdated CHTML versions. The curious thing is is that all of the CHTML pages were deleted from my directory in March after I converted them to HTML. Apparently, the old pages are still being stored (somewhere) on my host server, and even after updating the site with the search engines, only those pages were tagged. This has caused numerous problems: Not only have people been placing orders for products long since marked unavailable or deleted from the site altogether, the Home page is inaccessible from them. This also means that all of the items I have posted since March are not coming up in searches. Few people have been able to access the site proper, which would account for the slow sales as of late despite the fact that the site has grown considerably. Thanks for all of your patience and understanding in these matters, and I hope to hear from you soon.
"eBay Auctions... for Those Poor Souls Who Still Shop There" (July 25, 2007) I have numerous eBay auctions currently running, much of it being pieces that were never offered on this site. Included are several dozen Doc Savage novels, doubles and omnibus editions, many high grade; three rare Ed Wood, Jr. novels; some Liverpool Press paperbacks from the 1970s; several low grade copies of the pseudonymous Ramsey Campbell Universal monsters paperbacks from 1977; a super-rare Captain Marvel jisgaw puzzle from 1941 in beautiful condition; a handful of harder-to-find books (Gor, an early Koontz novel, etc.) and a few expensive pieces that have been kicking around the site for a short while. To view the items I have for auction on eBay, Click Here. eBay auction winnings may be combined with purchases from the Trash Collector storefront to save on shipping. Come on over and check them out when you have a spare moment.
"On Matters of Trash Collector Etiquette: The Sequel" (February 22, 2007) A few quick reminders. Please include your ZIP Code or country of origin when making any inquiries so that--if an item is available--I can e-mail you an invoice with payment instructions immediately. Also, remember that there is a minimum of $12.00 before shipping on all orders. This will also benefit buyers, as I will be able to post many lower priced items, as well as lower the prices on some existing stock, as I won't have to worry about time and energy spent on $3.00 orders as I did previously. With the upcoming selection that will be made available to public (I'm predicting that the size of the site will double within a couple of months), buyers should have no problem finding a plethora on interesting items to strike their fancy. Finally, if you are not planning on following through on an order of an size (barring the availability of some or all of your order), please save us both the time and wait until you are sure. I still spend a great deal of valuable time checking stock, packaging orders, calculating shipping costs, and writing numerous e-mails on orders for which the buyer decides not to honor, which only makes it harder on me and the valued customers who follow through on their transactions. Thanks. Happy New Year!
"Tis the Season" (December 13, 2006) First, I want to apologize for any current delays in shipping, as my day job has made it quite difficult to get to the post office on a regular schedule. Also, keep in mind that, due to the post office being overworked this time of year, packages--especially larger ones--will probably take more than the average ship time as quoted by USPS. Second, I have had to raise the minimum purchase up to $12.00 (prior to shipping costs) on all purchases made through The Trash Collector. Between the cumulative time it takes to process orders (which is at a premium right now, due to my day job), and additional costs for and related to shipping and handling, I cannot continue justifying processing orders for less than that, especially when many people are ordering a single three dollar book. I am losing a lot of money by fulfilling these smaller orders, and the larger orders do not make up for these losses, especially since my profit margin is so low on most items. The fact that I have had a poor turnaround as of late, with countless people not sending payments as promised and thus wasting valuable time and energies which could be better spent on maintaining and updating the site or responding to sincere queries, is not helping matters either. So, as of today, all orders must total ten dollars before shipping. Hopefully, you can understand my situation and respect this decision. Third, and once again I cannot stress this enough, please include your ZIP Code or country of origin when placing an order or even submitting a query. Thank you, and I hope your holidays go well.
"On Matters of Trash Collector Etiquette" (November 26, 2005) A couple of quick updates and lengthy reminders. First, as far as updates are concerned, I've added hundreds of new books and toys in the last week, and have been working dilligently to clean up the sections as I progress (at least in the way of fixing missing pics, corrupted HTML and the like). Although I'll be slowing down a bit this next week to accomodate a publishing deadline that I'm still working on, I should be adding at least some new stock every day. Second, a couple of pleaful reminders. Most importantly, I have been getting a slew of people placing orders, then not following through. If you are not seriously intending to purchase at this time, please wait until you are ready to order. It is time consuming for me to gather materials, obtain shipping quotes, and send out invoices and reminders, and doing so chips away at the little time I usually have to devote to the site (remember, this is a one man operation), especially when I have to refile items after the buyers have changed their minds. It is even more difficult right now in light of the aforementioned book deadlines, which are demanding and--at this point in time--do not pay the bills. Additionally, I want to remind everyone that my prices are firm, so please do not ask for a discount, even if purchased in quantity. My profit margin is extremely low--especially when compared to other dealers--as I tend to undercut everyone else while paying more in order to obtain quality items. (Many of the items on the site are also from my own collection, and it is not uncommon for me to be asking as much or even less than what I paid for them in the first place.) I know things are tough for a lot of people, but I sympathize more than you know as when the market does poorly--especially in light of such disasters as Katrina and unpredictable oil prices--I do poorly, and paying the bills has been a tremendous struggle for me in the last few months. (And since much of these items--especially the higher grade, vintage pieces--are getting harder to come by, it is getting more difficult for me to obtain materials I know I can turn over faster--hence my branching out as of late.) Hopefully, you can understand my situation. Also, as I've mentioned before, when inquiring about an intended purchase, please include either your ZIP Code or country of origin in the initial e-Mail so I can send you an invoice with shipping costs right away; this saves us both time having to write additional e-mails and wait for the responses. (I try to save all correspondence for at least three months, so this will also slow down the expanding girth of my e-mail filing system; to say it is overwhelming would be a gross understatement.) I want to continue offering a good variety of great products at competitive prices, so respecting these requests will help me immensely, as well as expedite the service I offer and our communication. Thanks in advance!
"Media Mail Packages Violated by USPS... News at Eleven" (August 9, 2005) I have some news which should be a concern to most buyers, as it was to me. The United States Post Office has been cracking down on individuals shipping non-media items via Media Mail, and have recently started stamping them "Subject to Inspection." Not an idle threat, I have discovered that a large number of the items I have shipped via Media Mail in the last few weeks were indeed opened and their contents rifled through to ensure that I had adhered to their stipulations (which I always do). Unfortunately, postal workers have no concept of collectibles and condition, so because of their inability to handle them with care and repackage them in a way so that the books will not be damaged in shipping, I have had reports that some items are not being received by the buyer in the same condition in which they were sent. Since I can't be responsible for damages accrued when I have taken great pains to ensure they are packaged securely, I suggest that if you decide to go with Media Mail in the future, you may want to pay for Postal Insurance so that if some numbskull does manhandle your purchases, you can at least be compensated by USPS. I do not want to discontinue offering Media Mail, because shipping more than a few books via First Class or Priority has become costly in the last few years with USPS' excessive increases since the rise of online marketing. If you have received something recently that has been damaged, I suggest that you go to your local post office and complain about the treatment of your goods; maybe if they realize that there is a problem on their end, they will at least take greater pains in the future. On a better note (for me, anyway), I have recently had a short story published in a new horror anthology called Cold Flesh, edited by Payl Fry and published by Hellbound Books. This anthology contains twenty-five short stories and novelettes, all of which are zombie-related and aimed at the splatterpunk crowd. (My story, "EasterAlways Falls on a Sunday," was like all of my fiction written under the nom de plume of Reginald Bloom.) Copies can be obtained from me for the list price of ten dollars, and--if you are so inclined--I can autograph it as well. More information and cover art can be found with its entry on The Trash Collector at:
"As If Children Use PayPal" (July 23, 2004) Please note that I can no longer accept PayPal payments for many items listed in the "Pin-Up & Erotica" section of The Trash Collector website, as they frown upon their services being used for anything of an explicitly sexual nature. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
"Will Work for Digital Camera" (May 21, 2004) I have just posted a batch of new Mexican lobby cards, mostly horror but with a few odds and ends of other genres as well. (I've broken them up into four sections now in order to make the downloads quicker.) A quick note on these and other scans: I have been using a new scanner for the last few months, but unfortunately it's not up to snuff with my old model. The newer scans are much softer, with generally less contrast. Also, it is more difficult to stitch together scans of larger objects; in particular with things like lobby cards and records, you may notice faint vertical lines bisecting the image. If there is any question as to whether this is the scan, or a flaw on the item itself, please e-mail me. I have also been forced to crop some of the images so as to keep scanning time within reason. Eventually, when I can afford to, I will upgrade, but for the time being I will have to make do with this. Thanks for your understanding.
"Steal This Book... and You'll Secure a Place for Yourself in Hell" (July 23, 2003)
Just to let interested parties know, my book The Gorehound's Guide to Splatter Films of the 1980s is finally out. I can
honestly say that it is far better than its predecessor, in girth, quality of content, layout and editing. Also, it retails for the
same as the first book ($32.50), but runs a hundred pages longer (for a total of 398 pages), giving the reader much more for their
money. To order it directly from the publisher, or for more information,
Click Here. If you are interested in checking out my
first book from McFarland, which instead focuses on splatter films from the 1960s & 1970s,
Click Here. |