Do your customers prefer hardbacks or paperbacks? Do you even sell hardbacks?
Obviously, price is a big factor when customers make the decision. We sell both hardbacks and paperbacks at Gottwals Books (www.gottwalsbooks.com), and we often hear the question, “Isn’t that out in paperback yet?” because someone would rather not spend $15 for a new release.
Many of my customers, though, love the feel of a hardback. They also like how they can make them stay open while they read. A hardback also looks better on the shelves.
Many of my customers, though, love the feel of a hardback. They also like how they can make them stay open while they read. A hardback also looks better on the shelves.There is a short story called, “Seven Types of Ambiguity,” that tells of a small basement bookshop that is crowded with books and lamps (the store owner uses lamps instead of overhead lights so that he can leave unnecessary lighting off during the day). The story begins with one young, educated man perusing the classics, loving every bit of it. He particularly loves a certain green-colored book. The sad part, though, is that he doesn’t have the money it takes to buy the “good stuff.”
Well, in walks a small lady with her BIG husband. He awkwardly looks around, fumbling through pages almost as if he has never read before. He says that he wants some of the “good stuff” like Dickens because his mother read that to him when he was younger.
