True Customer Tales: Kerouac

As a result of the boss' recent rare book dump, wherein he emptied the warehouse of six or seven boxes of genuinely collectible, hard to find stuff of the sort we don't usually stock because really expensive books make him nervous, we have on the shelf a significant collection of Jack Kerouac pocket books, roughly 20 random titles.  

Most are 1st editions thus, meaning the first pocket book appearance, with a couple of oddball foreign printings mixed in (Sur La Route, anyone?) and a few extremely clean actual, honest to gosh 1st editions.  Kerouac was a disreputable character in his time and several of his titles made their first appearance as 'pulp' paperbacks.  The highlight of this collection is a spectacular, flawless copy of Tristessa, alongside three variant covers of the first edition of The Subterraneans and somewhat further down the food chain the true 1st edition of his minor work Pic .

The group is somewhat underpriced at $500, but the boss wanted to keep them together as they are the last vestige of the beat library he helped our pal Tony sell off years and years ago.

So, cut to this morning.
While counting in and opening the place up I come across this note from the night clerk, relaying a customer comment:

When there is no Kerouac on the shelf, don't you think there is an obligation to break up that group and sell them for a lot less?

Gotta love those customers!