Closing Too Soon I just found a used bookstore for sale via the internet. In the listing, the current owner writes, “Looking for a new owner who knows people read something other than the Kindle.” I’ve seen a few bookstores liquidating inventory, listing their store for sale on eBay, and simply closing up shop. My immediate thought isn’t, “Boy, it’s a shame the market shut them down” or “I guess the e-readers drove them out of business.” My response is, “They closed too soon!” I know of one former bookseller who closed his shop after 6 months of poor sales. I tried to make suggestions about things he could improve, but he had already “checked out” from bookselling. He was discouraged because another local used bookshop was closing down at the
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Has anyone else noticed the incredible push toward publishing books geared toward 12+? A number of major fiction authors have crossed over into teen writing (e.g. John Grisham, James Patterson). Does anyone know why this is happening? I can only assume that the big bucks earned from the likes of Harry Potter, Twilight, and The Hunger Games is having an affect. I wonder if teens are actually reading more, or do they latch onto the “book of the year” and then quit reading until the next smash hit comes out? Are more teen books being written in the hopes that teenagers will cross over from Twilight and read other similar authors like PC Cast, Richelle Mead, etc? Or is there a genuine desire, on
After church this past Sunday, a 15-year-old girl came to me and asked, “Do you allow free help in your stores?” I told her, “I’ll think about it.” Consequently, it made me think about a number of times I’ve been asked that same question in the past. Sometimes, you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into, even if you know the individual who is interested. Yes, you can allow a friend to come spend their off hours shelving books in your store. Yes, you can have a good time while they are there, enjoying each other’s company while being doubly productive due to the extra help. But, then there’s the practical side: What happens if they promise to come help, you prepare jobs for them,
In a previous article called, “Can You Franchise the Used Book Business?” I wrote the following: “I do not plan on ever franchising. I simply do not want to give the branded name of my store to someone else.” Well, almost exactly 3 years later, I’m now the CEO of Gottwals Franchising, Inc. which is doing business as Walls of Books. A few things have happened since June 29th, 2009, so let me explain the decision. At the point when I was writing that article, we were in the process of opening our second Gottwals Books location. A few short months later, we would open our third store. After that, we were involved in opening three other used bookstores. Soon after the third store
Shane Gottwals www.gottwalsbooks.com A Tour of Bookstore Websites I spent two days last week looking at 87 different bookstore websites. After doing all that, I came to a couple of conclusions: 1. my eyes hurt and 2. bookstores do a poor job with their websites. Obviously, most of us don’t have the funds to hire a web developer. However, I saw layouts that weren’t centered, words misspelled, and images that were of poor quality. Many of the websites didn’t have pictures of their stores at all. Isn’t this essential? If you are a brick-and-mortar only, you must have a website that will lure people into the store. I saw a story in a magazine that stated that a website is a company’s key to get