Maybe I'm old fashioned but I detest these people. I see them always in big book sales: they come in very early, hoard all the books that they think are valuable, and I mean hundreds of books and then scan through them nervously. In the end they pick their selection and leave the mess in a corner. Meanwhile, I do not have access to those books!
Yes, it seems double-edged trouble: On on hand, this commodifies a situation that before lent itself to serendipity and erudition. On the other hand, this also sets up a feedback loop, where the scanners only find books that have already been pre-valued via Amazon-crowds. When I look at the author's Amazon shop, the content seems utterly banal, depressing compared to that of a good used bookstore.
Let me explain more clearly (i) they quickly hoard together good books at the sale, cutting off access to other prospective buyers on location, like me, (ii) they buy a very small percentage of the books they hoard (guy in the OP says 1 in 30), the others books are just left in an unordered pile, so it's hard for other people to find them, and finally (iii) they create a mess for the sale organizers, I've heard many organizers complain about them and some sales won't let them in.
It's like a guy who runs in a cafeteria, gets all the good desserts and then tries to sell them to you.
Well sounds like the people organizing the book sale are doing a bad job keeping their patrons in check, then. No matter where you go, there are always going to be assholes. I have friend & family who own bars & restaurants - I can tell you that a guy trying to monopolize the dessert buffet and causing annoyance to the other guests is going to find himself outside on the pavement real quick.
