Bookstore Profiles

Is your shop profiled here? Send us a blurb or two and some photos or a video, we’d love to give you some free exposure.

Shipping A Container Full of Books Back to Australia

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Good Day,

From time to time we like to post profiles of used bookshops. If you ever find yourself in the area please pop in on these great little places, we need more of them and they need your support. Of course I don’t need to say this to other used book dealers,  you guys are crazy for these places and likely would drive a hundred miles if you find out about a new shop, but if you are a casual buyer of experienced books then please continue making the effort. The small shop owner needs more visits from you (and bring a friend).

We recently received a note from Therese Holland of McLeods Books, Melbourne Australia. She casually mentioned that about once a year she would fly to the US to purchase 10 000 books for her small shop. Holly Cow. I thought that was a little unusual and asked if she’d mind sharing the details with you guys. Here is Therese’s reply and please do pop in on her if you are in the Melbourne area.

Second Hand Books Melbourne

I used to buy Mbags full of books from sellers in the United States when it was a princely $1.05 per pound for surface mail print post but I heard through the grapevine that surface mail was going to be abolished in May 2007. A few of us had said we would go over and buy books and send them back but never did anything about it. I really, really wanted to go and I have a pocket full of frequent flyer points to get me there.I asked about coming over  on the eBay US booksellers board and got some really great responses with one ebayer sending me a message that if I wanted to come across her way she would take me round (in exchange for a little Aussie culture for her kids). We were able to go across school holidays so it worked out well. I had seen her post on the boards a few times and she seemed to be a really nice person -anyhow I took the plunge and found myself and my son in Iowa in April 2007.

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Bookshops in Mumbai

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Have you ever entered a bookstore and felt swept away by the atmosphere? Rows and rows of books lined in mahogany book cases or simply stacked to the ceiling without a care about stylish interior design? Have you met a bookstore owner who knows exactly where a particular book is in that stack, and is … Read more

3 Years, 3 Stores

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Northside1

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.

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Considering a Facelift at Blarney Books, Port Fairy

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We have been asking ourselves this question for the last five years, but I think we are reaching the decision that we probably should.  The front of our building isn’t very welcoming, looking more like a book warehouse than a character-filled secondhand bookshop.  We have a problem in that council doesn’t want us to change … Read more

A Journey to Opening a Bookstore

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After years of dreaming and almost two years of planning, Jessica Stockton Bagnulo and Rebecca Fitting finally opened Greenlight Bookstore in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn. I’m well aware of Greenlight Bookstore’s opening even though I live 3,000 miles away and have never been to Brooklyn. How did they do that?