Well, Gottwals Books has been open almost 3 years. We started with almost zero knowledge of opening a book store. We had roughly 7500 titles in stock, and half of our shelving was bought at the department store. We didn’t know how to accept trades, so we didn’t do it at all. We had the walls covered with old framed images and our shelves had miniature gnomes, all hoping to be sold.
To anyone who has ever been inside a used bookstore, we must have looked a bit puny. We had 1500 square feet of space, but our inventory only covered half of it. A smaller space might have looked packed, but our space looked lean.
One year later, after the nail salon next door vacated (by God’s grace), we tore into the wall. Our space became 2700 square feet and would eventually hold 50000 books.
One year after that, we got the keys to a brand new store. Our Byron location is nearly 3600 square feet and has been successful since the beginning. No room to expand anymore at the two locations, but I think we’re comfortable with our current sizes.
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.
Here’s the heart of the matter… business will often slump, and it will slump hard. I remember managing a consumer electronics store that did two million dollars per year in business. We had (very embarrassing) days when our sales would be a couple hundred dollars. You don’t pay 30 employees with $200 per day in sales. However, I also remember those $10K+ days that made up for all of the rest.