In one of the most blatant displays of hubris in the annals of bookselling, the notorious Tim Miller of Flatsigned.com is celebrating his 10 year anniversary by issuing a press release for the ages.
Here are some nuggets:
on his business name-
“Coined by legendary horror writer Stephen King, the term FlatSigned refers to the most desirable type of collectible book.” Not.
on how he got started-
One of his friends told him “he could make money by getting books autographed and reselling them. At the time, the film version of John Grisham’s novel “The Firm” was being filmed in Memphis, where Miller served as President of the Junior Chamber of Commerce. He purchased four copies of Grisham’s book and, through his political connections, was able to garner the autographs of the movie’s stars.”
on his business approach-
“I patterned my company after my only competitor, Easton Press.”
on the ABAA-
“Despite Miller’s success, some have attacked his credentials and doubted the authenticity of his autographs – namely the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America. Miller disregards these insults, saying that the ABAA’s leadership had a monopoly on rare autographed books until the advent of the Internet and are seeking to shut their competitors down through dishonorable means, including an unsuccessful attempt to persuade eBay into restricting the sales of rare autographed books on its popular auction site…it saddens me that the organization’s leadership is so aggressively trying to maintain their monopoly on the rare book market that they would attempt to discredit honest people. The time wasted in terrorizing me has allowed others who are guilty of faking autographed books to slip through the cracks and steal money from other honest people”
Boy, it sure would be nice if the ABAA had a monopoly on the rare book market, it sure would make it a whole lot easier than having to deal with all the online marketplaces and their inherent pitfalls. Please. And beside, the last thing I would call the ABAA leadership is aggressive.
and finally, if that isn’t enough-
“Miller himself has achieved elite status through such prestigious distinctions as being one of George H. W. Bush’s 1,000 Points of Light recipients.”
Enough said.
This guy is something else.