What else would you look for in a bookstore?

I like book stores with one or several “reading niches”. Comfortable chairs, well lit, etc. Bummer on the food license; I like buying a coffee or tea.

Yeah, I came in to say this. I used to work the Christmas rush at a chain bookstores, and I can’t tell you how many times I’d ring up a book for a guy, he’d make some comment about it being a gift, and with a polite smile I’d ask if he needed giftwrapping stuff or a gift bag. 90% of the time, they got a sheepish look, went :smack:, and bought the stuff we carried so they didn’t have to make a separate stop.

Got a whole lot of that the day or two before Christmas. Last-minute shoppers: gotta love 'em, and if you anticipate what they need, they love you back.
Wombat your idea for a party for top customers is an excellent one! Love it!
As a general observation: customers are buying a book for themselves, or as a gift for someone else. The former - they either find something they like, or they don’t. It’s the latter that forms the largest group of non-book buyers at a bookstore, so if you’re expanding beyond books, that’s the group to target. They go in to get something for Aunt Mary’s birthday, don’t see a book she’d like but oh! she has all those peonies in her garden, and oh look! a beautiful handpainted mug with peonies! She’d like that! Here, we’ll just buy this pretty gift bag, and this card, and oooh! here’s some lovely tea to go with the mug. Boom! Done!

There is a company called something like “Unemployed Philosophers Guild” that has a lot of literary-themed gift items and stuff. My wife used to order from them when she was a buyer at a college bookstore.

How about discount software/games? My parents had a small town hardware store where they got a display rack full of software in, and at the end of a season they could return what hadn’t sold for a refund.
In my mind if I have free time to entertain myself, a game is often a substitute for a book (or vice versa).

I don’t know what “Mills and Boons” is. Can you explain?

You’re probably right. Since the toy store in town closed, I’ve been thinking about educational games, “thinking” games, specialty Monopoly games, and so on. I hadn’t thought about the strategy games you’re suggesting. Any other specific titles?

Good suggestion! I have some custom metal bookends that a local artisan did, but I should probably carry some cheaper ones, too.

Quality pens bombed for us. We had a local pen maker produce a great variety of wood pens, antler pens, and so on, ranging in price from $40 to $250, and it didn’t work out. That was over five years ago, before we had the really nice journals. Maybe it’s time to try again. I’d like to create a “writer’s center,” with notebooks, journals, pens, writing books, dictionaries, style guides, Writer’s Market, and so on.

I never thought of lap desks. Good idea! We sell probably a half dozen bookstands a year, mostly at Christmas. I’ll try lap desks with them this year.

Good idea! We do gift wrap, but we have only one paper and no bags & boxes.

You mentioned it in passing before, but I’d suggest getting local and national authors to come through and speak for an evening.
One local bookstore in my area has a thriving business and they’re constantly having authors come in to talk about their books. If the crowd is expected to be large, they’ll hold it at the local library or church where they can seat anywhere from 200-500.
http://www.rainydaybooks.com/
A few years ago, they switched it up so that (almost) all their events require a ticket to attend. But lo, the ticket is the exact cost of the book the author is touring for, so the event is free. Or the book is free. One of the two. It caused a minor kerfluffle when they went to this mandatory purchase but I don’t think it noticably dropped participation and (of course) sales went up considerably.

Its a type of inexpensive British romance novel that is in print for only a very short time. America has the same thing in Harlequin novels. People buy em, read 'em in a couple of days and bring 'em back to swap for another one in the series (Gary said it’s a new/used store). Within 2 months they’re out of print.

Just watch out for catering and encouraging your worst (lowest margin) customers. It’s no good having warm bodies in the store if they are actually causing you a loss (not saying they are, just mentioning something to watch out for).

Gary if you have a lot of business in romance novels, you can actually get lists from the publishers like Kensington, Harlequin, etc. of their upcoming series romance. Like here. When I, ahem, worked in marketing for Borders/Waldenbooks, customers loved the shit out of our “upcoming releases” checklists. We printed them on light card stock so people could keep them and bring them back several times.

They do love us. We have people that come in on vacation every year that say, “Last year you recommended X and Y for us and we loved them! What else do you think we’d like?” One of the advantages a brick & mortar bookstore has over Amazon and Wal*Mart is that we can talk with people and provide good recommendations. “You say you enjoy paranormal romance, but you’d like something by a woman author with more literary quality and historical accuracy? And your husband likes modern mysteries, but would like to explore something with a Western theme by a local author? I know just the thing for you!”

My son’s iPad has “Don’t Panic” in big friendly letters when you turn it on!

Most of our customers are likely to buy a sideline item and a book, rather than a sideline item instead of a book. That’s why I try to keep books in each sideline section that tie together. We sell a lot of Walter the Farting Dog books, so we added a plush Walter toy that farts when you squeeze it. People buy them together. I do like the idea of literary-themed shirts, mugs, etc. I’ll check into that.

I will definitely look for that!

Good idea. I signed up with a company that sells computer games & console games, and the margins were very tight. If one game failed to sell, that blew the profit on seven that had sold. They also made us a very low priority. In books and CCGs, I get new releases the same day as the big guys. With the games, I got World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade a full week after K-Mart and Toys ‘r’ Us. By then, everyone who wanted it, had it.

Maybe some ‘off the rack’ reading glasses.

And as for games Wombat, “Balderdash” is a really great board game based on (well I guess it was a ‘parlor game’ once) ‘Dictionary’ - that we used to play (oddly enough) with just a dictionary.

Talking books are great if you don’t already have them.

Cigars and pipes? How cool!!

Sure. Carcassonne, Pandemic, Arkham Horror, Battlestar Galactica, Fluxx, and Munchkin are other strategy games with a pretty wide appeal. Most of these games also have a large number of expansions. I do also suggest, if you have the space, in trying to set up a game night. These are the type that people will buy them if they get to play them. Feel free to pm me if you have any more specific questions.

For games I also like Small Word and Bang! and Kill Doctor Lucky (the latter originally by Cheapass Games, now sold by Titantic Games)

How about having local jewelry artists consign stuff? That way if it doesn’t work out, you’re okay, but if it does everybody wins.

And definitely if you don’t have reading glasses, get some. My mom is always losing hers.

I misread that as “candles,” which wouldn’t be a bad idea, either.

Are your maps by your travel books? When I buy maps, usually of foreign cities, the purchase is tied to that of a tour book.

For games, try ones that appeal to readers. I suggest Bananagrams which my daughter played compulsively with her friends all through Europe, and which we even saw in a bookstore in Malta. Just about everyone who wants one has a chess set already, and you can buy one very cheaply in a toy store.

What kind of puzzles did you carry? The catalogs seem to have migrated almost exclusively to cutesy animal and Kinkade puzzles, but there are some with literary or artistic themes that might be of more interest to your customers, and which can tie into the books you sell. I suspect people in Montana in January might have indoor time on their hands.

Nthing couches and chairs. The longer I sit in one the more likely I am to buy something.

Also seconding the off-the-rack reading glasses. Seems fairly cheap, and if your clientele is older, they will appreciate it.

Do you have a bathroom that you let people use? There’s a bookstore I like but won’t go into often because of the lack of a bathroom. Seems like a small thing, but I imagine this impacts women more than men.

Cooking magazines are a great thing - the thinking is that often you don’t want to commit to a particular publisher by buying a whole book, but a magazine you can swing. Cooking Light and EatingWell are great.

Do you have a shop cat or two? Bookshop cats lend a certain atmosphere to a shop. They also play hell with some people’s allergies, so there’s that to consider. And, of course, cats need litter boxes, which need to be taken care of on a frequent basis.

And yes, the wrapping paper/gift bag is a great suggestion. Especially if you can get bags in the right size for one or two hardcover books, or paperback books. I’ve seen some quite interesting boxes for DVDs and CDs, which are printed in gift prints, and are a snap to put together. And I’ve bought the boxes and the wrap and sometimes tissue paper and cards at a book store, too, if they’re offered. Yes, I have wrapping paper at home, but I’m usually not sure if I have something suitable. I particularly like arty or literary prints for most of my book gifts. I almost always buy a bookmark for a gift book.

Have you considered having reading clubs? If you’re going to get more into games, you might also consider offering game space. And even though Munchkin is not at all educational, I urge you to carry it.

On the other side of this, I absolutely hate cats with a passion. If it’s on the other side of the store I won’t care, but if it’s a cat that would come near me I’d leave the store and never go back.

Yes, it’s irrational, but I loathe cats with an absolute passion.

Is this supposed to be:
A general purpose bookstore?
A niche bookstore specializing in a topic?
Do mostly tourists come in, or mostly locals?

If I’m on vacation, and in a bookstore, I look for the following:
A section with books on local topics. e.g. if I’m in Arizona, I would be looking for a section on Western Fiction. In California, a section for books on the gold rush. etc.

For games, try a theme. For example:
“Board Game Award winners” section!

Have one of each of the “Spiel des Jahres” winners. Have one of each of the “Deutscher Spiele Preis” Winners. (Or any of the other awards mentioned at the link I gave.) If you have the “boardgamesrating.com” award winners, try to get mentioned on the “boardgamesrating.com” site as a place that carries their award-winning games.

What I would like to have - a computer so that I can look and see if a book is in print or not, and an easy way for you to order it for me via the ISBN.

Have a “book exchange” section - if you bring a book, you can exchange it for another “giveaway” book that someone has brought in. (This might cut into sales, but it would bring people into the store.)

If you can’t make coffee, have a pitcher of ice water with small paper cups next to it for thirsty people. Sell some fancy cookies (madeleine) and/or small chocolate bars (Godiva, Lindt.)

Another idea relating to games: if you are selling card decks, sell card decks that are offbeat or unusual. For example, card decks that have famous paintings on the front, or historical figures. Something like this:
http://www.uncommongoods.com/item/item.jsp?itemId=18384

Do children come often in the store: Try Lego board games
http://shop.lego.com/ByTheme/Leaf.aspx?cn=595&d=70
If you can get sell small lego kits, $15 or less (the price of a book), those might be an impulse buy for a parent dragging their kids along with them, or a grandparent. Preferable lego kits related to books (e.g. Harry Potter items.)

I think a small and well-chosen selection of games would be a great idea.

The folks here have the right idea about the types of games you should be getting. I used to work in a toy store, and people always wanted to buy games for kids but had no idea what to get. If people value you for book recommendations, they will value you for game recommendations. Also, there’s a lack of good games for kids that are too old for little-kid games but can’t read well enough for most games for older kids, so if you can get some in that category, I’ll bet they’d sell. (I Spy games are good for this)

And your adult patrons will certainly appreciate having better strategy games available.

Settlers of Catan and several varieties of Fluxx are great ideas. You could even get some “plants” to start up a game of Fluxx and invite other patrons to be dealt in. It’s such a silly and fun game that once people try it, they will likely buy it.

Quiddler is a must. It’s a card game that’s like a cross between scrabble and gin rummy, and I think it’s a heck of a lot more fun than scrabble. It’s usually sold side-by-side with Set, and that’s supposed to be good as well.

I just tried Chrononauts last night, and that was a hoot.

Fluxx, Quiddler, Set, and Chrononauts are all just decks of cards, too, so they won’t take up much space in your small store.

For little kids, you should definitely get What’s Gnu. It’s fun for adults and kids to play together, and hits that hard-to-buy-for age group.
As far as coffee mugs–please get larger-sized ones. Having some from a local potter on consignment might be a nice way to get some unique merchandise at low risk to you.

Since people are already buying books with accessories, why not take a few and pre-wrap them together as gifts. Like take Walter the book and Walter the plush and put them in a cellophane gift wrap with a fancy curly ribbon. Knock maybe a buck off the price of the two of them together. If they don’t sell, just unwrap them and sell as normal. Very low risk.

And a suggestion that may help sell more books–make up a few lists targeted toward gift buyers. Not everyone will ask for help. Like you can do “10 Great Children’s Books You May Not Have Heard Of” or something. Laminate it and velcro it to the edge of a shelf in the children’s section.

How’s your selection of crossword puzzle and similar books?