Brick and Mortar Thoughts – Page 27

The Time to be Merry

December 16, 2009 by Jo Canham

Well, with less than two weeks to go to the Happy Day, I’m wondering how everyone else fares over the silly season. For our shop, I find every year that we don’t do very well in sales pre-Christmas, but as the holiday season begins that’s when the shop really takes off, from Boxing Day. (Note … Read more

The NYT bestsellers aren't my bestsellers

December 12, 2009 by Nora O'Neill

The bestsellers on the used market aren’t necessarily the best sellers you see on the New York Times list or on Amazon’s hot list. Often they bear no relation to each other. However, statistics on the used market can be devilishly difficult to come by. And of course, it’s all relative too. The bestsellers in a small New England town where I am may be totally different than what sells in a shop in the heart of London. But “what’s your bestseller?” is a question I get asked a lot by people considering getting into the book business.

Finding the Right Help for your Book Store

December 3, 2009 by Jo Canham

Finding the Right Help When you’ve held for a lifetime the dream of your own little bookshop, it’s more than likely that the dream didn’t include the Sunday helper that you’ll eventually need if you want a day off to enjoy some time away from your shop (as unlikely as that need would appear to … Read more

Respect Your Space, even when it isn't Yours.

November 17, 2009 by Shane Gottwals

It’s amazing how little some store owners seem to own the space they lease. It’s a common problem in America, isn’t it? We don’t value anything unless we own it, and, even then, we don’t seem to care that much. With our first location, I didn’t think about it that much. We have had it … Read more

Considering a Facelift at Blarney Books, Port Fairy

November 16, 2009 by Jo Canham

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

Working with Book Clubs

April 15, 2022November 9, 2009 by Kim Allen-Niesen

bookgroup

Book clubs are a great constant source of clientele for a bookstore. I chatted with Julie Robinson of Literary Affairs about hints for how bookstores can better serve book club members and tap into that book loving audience. Julie is a professional book group facilitator who runs dozens of monthly book groups, in addition to hosting luncheons with literature professors and literary themed trips around the world. For many of her events, she works with Book Soup of Los Angeles – Julie provides the event and Book Soup provides the books, a perfect match.

Children in Bookstores – Oh my….

November 2, 2009 by Shane Gottwals

No One Cares This chapter is sort of a side-note to everything that is being discussed in this book. Of course, with a good selection, fair pricing, and a nice store, most everyone will appreciate your products and what you are doing as a bookseller. However, they don’t care at all about your books and … Read more

10 things to ask when you've already bought the store

October 31, 2009 by Nora O'Neill

So you’ve just bought yourself a bookstore. Congratulations. You asked all the big questions before buying, rent, utilities, cash flow, inventory, etc. but before the old owner moves to Florida make sure to ask some specific questions about the details of doing business.

1. Where are the lightswitches?

Oh you laugh, but I had to call the previous owner the first day because I couldn’t get the lights on. The lightswitches by the door didn’t work. All the switches are actually BEHIND the white bookcases. You need to move books to find them! If you’re in a brand new building, this probably isn’t a problem, but many bookstores are located in repurposed older buildings… which means the lightswitch may not be by the door.

Make sure to ask what ALL the switches do! If you’re in a subdivided space, it may turn out that some switches in your space control the neighbor’s lights! Some switches may also be master switches that control whole areas and if they’re off, nothing in that area will come on, no matter how many times you flip the switch.