DIY History | Transcribe | Hevelin Fanzines | Spaceways, v. 4, issue 4, whole no. 27, April 1942

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Spaceways, v. 4, issue 4, whole no. 27, April 1942

Page 4

4                                                                     SPACEWAYS

[Illustration of a balance scale on right side of page. Text wraps around image on left side.]

LET'S SWAP EFFICENTLY
by 
LESLIE A. CROUTCH

It seems, these benighted days, that everyone is swapping. The boys in England can't buy off their stf. magazines on the stands, because there just aren't any. Here in Canada we're in the same boat. In the United States many just can't or won't buy all that is offered due to vari-ous reasons we won't go into here. So, in order to read all we can, we are placing the accent on swapping, trading books and magazines with each other, helping the boys out overseas by trading them prozines they can't buy for books we can't get over here. Harry Warner, Jr. state this case in a recent issue of [underlined] Fan-atic.
But he left something out, something everyone seems to leave out when talk-ing swap--how to go about it in the best way. "Why, that's easy," all of you hoot, "what's so strange and unusual about swapping that some fellow's got to tell us about it?" Brother, and you too, sister, there's so danged many pit-falls on the royal road to swapdom that they've taken all the joy out of it. Take it from me, a veteran dealer along this line. Take it from Harry Warner, from Art Widner, [underlined] we know.
Consider a case or two just for clarity: you and your pal have decied to trade magazines, books, and other stfnal treasures. Let's just suppose you have three [underlined] Unknowns, first year, that he wants. In turn he has, we'll say, "Last and First Men" in clothbound edition that he's willing to send you in return. Is that a fair trade? It may be, it depends on too many variable factors to say yes or no right out. But we'll consider that you think those [underlined] Unknowns are worth 60c. Your friend brought his book for maybe $3. He's had it as long as you've had those magazines, so he figures if they are worth the original price, the book is too. Now it's patently unfair to trade a 60c article for a $3 one. Any Yankee trader will tell you that. Suppose the book's worth only half price, $1.50. It's still unfair. How are you going to get around that? Pitfall number one, chums, pitfall number one.
John Doe has some magazines worth, he considers, a buck. Elsie Smith wants those but has nothing at the time to trade. John says okay, he'll send them along and she'll owe him some books. Now, how many magazines are worth that dollar? How many books? How many of anything? Suppose John is swapping with half a dozen guys and nothing is even steven every time? John's going to get terribly mixed up in time and sure as God made little green apples and little green apples have made millions of tummy aches since the world began he's going to make a slip and somebody's going to get sore. Pitfall number two, children, and a nasty one.
Now, in the early days of swapping, Widner, otherwise known as Gallup of Fandom and other, unsavory, names, and I evolved first a ladder to climb out of said pitfalls and later on a plank to walk over said pitfalls with. That plank is very comfortable, and very safe as attested to by such gentlemen (?) as Rosenblum, Warner, 4sj, and other giants of fandom. What's the system? Hearken to me, all you little tyros and big wigs and brass hats of fandom, while to thee a tale I shall tell.
First thing we did was to put on every article of swap, whether it be pro-zine, book, or what have you, a definite value in hard, good old Camuck-Yank dollars and cents. Thus, a current Amazing was worth 15c. Since, we've changed and now value current prozines at cover prices. A book is worth whatever we think it is. But the value is stated at such and such in dollars or cents. There's the secret of the whole thing. When we trade we forget about keeping count of individual articles but only the values, in a book with credits, debits, 
(concluded on page 8)

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4 SPACEWAYS [Illustration of a balance scale on right side of page. Text wraps around image on left side.] LET'S SWAP EFFICENTLY by LESLIE A. CROUTCH It seems, these benighted days, that everyone is swapping. The boys in England can't buy off their stf. magazines on the stands, because there just aren't any. Here in Canada we're in the same boat. In the United States many just can't or won't buy all that is offered due to vari-ous reasons we won't go into here. So, in order to read all we can, we are placing the accent on swapping, trading books and magazines with each other, helping the boys out overseas by trading them prozines they can't buy for books we can't get over here. Harry Warner, Jr. state this case in a recent issue of [underlined] Fan-atic. But he left something out, something everyone seems to leave out when talk-ing swap--how to go about it in the best way. "Why, that's easy," all of you hoot, "what's so strange and unusual about swapping that some fellow's got to tell us about it?" Brother, and you too, sister, there's so danged many pit-falls on the royal road to swapdom that they've taken all the joy out of it. Take it from me, a veteran dealer along this line. Take it from Harry Warner, from Art Widner, [underlined] we know. Consider a case or two just for clarity: you and your pal have decied to trade magazines, books, and other stfnal treasures. Let's just suppose you have three [underlined] Unknowns, first year, that he wants. In turn he has, we'll say, "Last and First Men" in clothbound edition that he's willing to send you in return. Is that a fair trade? It may be, it depends on too many variable factors to say yes or no right out. But we'll consider that you think those [underlined] Unknowns are worth 60c. Your friend brought his book for maybe $3. He's had it as long as you've had those magazines, so he figures if they are worth the original price, the book is too. Now it's patently unfair to trade a 60c article for a $3 one. Any Yankee trader will tell you that. Suppose the book's worth only half price, $1.50. It's still unfair. How are you going to get around that? Pitfall number one, chums, pitfall number one. John Doe has some magazines worth, he considers, a buck. Elsie Smith wants those but has nothing at the time to trade. John says okay, he'll send them along and she'll owe him some books. Now, how many magazines are worth that dollar? How many books? How many of anything? Suppose John is swapping with half a dozen guys and nothing is even steven every time? John's going to get terribly mixed up in time and sure as God made little green apples and little green apples have made millions of tummy aches since the world began he's going to make a slip and somebody's going to get sore. Pitfall number two, children, and a nasty one. Now, in the early days of swapping, Widner, otherwise known as Gallup of Fandom and other, unsavory, names, and I evolved first a ladder to climb out of said pitfalls and later on a plank to walk over said pitfalls with. That plank is very comfortable, and very safe as attested to by such gentlemen (?) as Rosenblum, Warner, 4sj, and other giants of fandom. What's the system? Hearken to me, all you little tyros and big wigs and brass hats of fandom, while to thee a tale I shall tell. First thing we did was to put on every article of swap, whether it be pro-zine, book, or what have you, a definite value in hard, good old Camuck-Yank dollars and cents. Thus, a current Amazing was worth 15c. Since, we've changed and now value current prozines at cover prices. A book is worth whatever we think it is. But the value is stated at such and such in dollars or cents. There's the secret of the whole thing. When we trade we forget about keeping count of individual articles but only the values, in a book with credits, debits, (concluded on page 8)