I can sort of understand this…there’s a couple of small independent stores with a wonderful selection of items that I’d enjoy browsing, but each store seems to be owned or managed by a woman who brings her toddlers to work with her. Frankly, I hate kids in most circumstances. I wouldn’t say I loathe them, exactly, but I’ve been in each store ONCE, for about twenty minutes in each store. Toddlers need to be supervised. Stores need to be supervised. And sometimes toddlers need their caretakers to put everything else down and take care of them. I don’t blame the toddlers for this, it’s just their nature. However, I don’t feel that I need to put up with it when I’m a customer, either.
Some people will be put off by cats, perhaps so much so that they’ll avoid the store. However, some people will come to the store just to see the cats.
On another subject, I like to see a section of staff picks, especially if there’s a reason given for each pick. I mean, I KNOW that someone picked each book, but I want to see if they picked it for any reason other than “I think this will sell well”.
I really like the idea of staff picks, with short notes posted under the books, explaining why the reader like the book. One local (non-chain) bookstore did this, and it was always a treat to browse through those. They also had a big travel section, including maps, travel guides, and even a couple of globes in nice wooden stands.
Unfortunately, the owners got older and hired a guy to manage the place. He kept most of the local flavor and idiosyncracies, but then ruined it by blasting an Oldies FM station throughout the store. The loud music and endless commercials was inescapable. I have not been back there in 2 or 3 years. I like my bookstores to be quiet. If they have music, I want it to be in the background.
Another thought I had: people are often looking of ideas for books to buy. Prominently post in the store lists of recommended books (and have the books in stock if possible!), e.g.
In the fiction section, have a poster showing: The Modern Library: 100 Best Novels
In the mystery section, have a poster showing Edgar Awards winners
In the science fiction section, have a poster showing Hugo/Nebula Awards winners
Have a poster showing Pulitzer Prize winners for the past X years
A bookstore I used to pop into from time to time had a cat. I like cats, so it was kind of nice to be in a store that had a cat, and that place probably got more of my business than the cat-free place up the street. So yes, I guess it can work both ways.
What would I look for in a bookstore? Someplace that feels comfortable and inviting, like I could stay there for a while browsing. Staff is knowledgeable, but non-intrusive–if I need help, I’ll ask for it; but there is a chain of bookstores up here where staff are expected to [del]hassle[/del] ask customers if they need any help, and after saying “No” five or six times in a half-hour to five or six different staffers, I usually just leave.
How about journals geared towards children? I don’t know about boys, but girls might be interested. Also, you can have accessories to decorate them, such as stickers, etc.
I like music in the bookshop, but just playing some common-format radio station isn’t adding much, even if it’s an appropriate volume. Any commercials are a subtraction from the atmosphere.
The best way to do bookshop music (like coffee shop music) is to run a sound system from a CD changer loaded with something more interesting than a typical radio station. Recordings with local roots or thematic connections to the raison d’être of the store are good; idiosyncratic staff picks (frequently rotated) are also good.
I love cats with a passion. I’ll come to a bookstore just for the cat. Two cats would be even better!
I used to enjoy Jones soda, just for the interesting labels and of course the unique flavors. I don’t know if they’re in business any more, but something like that would be nice.
Add a fireplace or woodburning stove (a bad idea, I know, I know) and I would be in your bookshop so often you might want to give me a job. (changing the cat’s litter box, ha-ha).
I like the idea of a local interest section. I’m going up to Northern Arizona for the weekend. If I stop into a bookstore, I’m likely to buy some books on some of the attractions of Northern Arizona. I might also buy some fictions from a local author as well. I might also buy something like* The Economist* or Foreign Affairs, if I was going to be traveling for a few days and wanted something to keep handy to read.
I think Hampshire means to sell. I’ll tell you- with digital books and such, I probably buy more wrapping paper from Border’s than anything else (they have some REALLY unique and cool wrapping papers and cards). The stuff is CRAZY expensive at Border’s, though, so I imagine there’s a nice big mark up to be made there.
I was considering suggesting this too. Sometimes you end up browsing for long enough that you really need the loo, and if that means you have to leave the store, it might well mean you have to leave the book you were considering buying. I think it would only really work if you could check that people weren’t using the facilities to facilitate theft - a bathroom whose external door is in view of the tills or the storefront door. Some bookshops I go to do have toilets, so clearly it does work for them.
The giftwrap idea is also a really good one, because I don’t know what it’s like where you are, but I recently had to get some giftwrap and found it hard to find any in most of my local shops. The one that did was a charity shop and I ended up going back there for giftwrap after completing my other purchases elsewhere and ending up buying a load of stuff.
First I’d the suggestion of a public accessible washroom, something about a book store triggers that urge to go now for me.
Lighting
Most of the times I go into a mom and pop bookstore, they have racks of books with the spine tittle showing, and the light shining on the spines make for lots of squinting.
I dont need the new age experience in a book store, just the major genres. I like the idea of cd/dvd sales along with a selection of xbox or ps games.
I’d suggest monthly themes, December and Febuary stand out for christmas and valentines day, march and april being vacation planning time with local and out of state resources. So instead of trying to sell everything at the same time, you track your sales and retire or deploy as needed.
Other than whats been mentioned, the only thing I could suggest would be model kits, sorta like having a millenium falcon or an xwing hanging over your scifi section, along with some of the kits that draw attention to what ever book section you happen to have set up.
Odd ball Ideas would be to have a harry potter night on halloween, have the local rug rats come in costume and vampire theme parties on valentines day, that sort of thing. You want the event to complement what ever medium you want to push for that time.
I’m a sucker for book character toys and my kids exploit that. We’ve got Max and the Wild Things, Maisy, the rabbit from GoodNight Moon, Madeline, Big Nut Brown Hare from Guess How Much I Love You, etc… I think they’d sell well. If I’m buying a kids book, I always buy the one that comes with the little stuffy. It’s fun to play with while we read.
You should think about having some comic books. My son and my sister are two kids out of many I know who will not read a ‘real’ book willingly, but love comic books. Reading a comic book is better than not reading. I think I heard of a comic book series that turns children’s classic literature into comic format. I would totally buy those for every kid I knew. (And myself!)
You could try hosting a kids story hour, too. Have someone patient read a good book they may not have heard of, and of course, offer up a stack for sale right there (with toys!) I am much more likely to spoil my kids at a bookstore than anywhere else. I’m not the only one.
You guys are awesome! Lots of ideas to play with here. I especially appreciate the specific game title suggestions. I have research to do now.
My store is right on the main drag in town, and the front door is often propped open in nice weather. My cats have never lived near a road before, and I’m afraid if I took one into the store, it would run outside and get squished.
We have special discounts on reading group selections, and sponsor a couple of groups. There are only 2,300 people in the town, and there are 8 reading groups.
It is the only bookstore in a 50-mile radius, so I need to carry a bit of everything. But we do have a few specialties: a very strong children’s nature/science section, a lot of local/Western history, and outdoor activity books (hiking guides, etc.).
During the peak summer months, our business is probably 50-60% tourists. During the winter ski season, it’s probably 30% tourists. During the shoulder seasons in between, it’s probably 5-10% tourists.
We don’t really have the space for a public computer, but I look up books for people all day long. I’ve gotten very good at finding “that book with the blue cover and the word ‘turtle’ in the title by the guy with the Irish name.” Of course, the book ends up having a green cover, the word tortoise in the title, and it’s written by a Scotsman
That’s kind of how our used book section works. Bring in your books and we issue you used book credit. It’s not a free exchange (it’s roughly 2-for-1), but I really need the money.
I use an iPod loaded with music we sell (which means I don’t have to pay ASCAP & BMI fees). It’s all local and regional stuff, with a bit of good Celtic stuff, because I like good Celtic stuff.
I understood that. I’ve been chatting with my wife since this thread opened, and we’ve decided we’re definitely doing this right away. There’s a dollar store right next to us that’s going out of business, and we can get a jump-start on inventory by buying out their generic wrapping paper and gift bags. Then we’ll get higher-end and literary-themed stuff to round it out.
Good quality pens and writing materials, the kind suitable as gifts? Not drawing materials, but the kind someone might buy if they just bought a high-end, leather journal?
Some stuff that relates to your books but isn’t spesific merchandice?
Fantasy Section: Stuff you might find in a fantasy library like hourglasses. Magic wands, maybe?
Crime section: Nice magnifying glass, the kind a Sherlock Holmes clone might carry around. Also pipes and fancy tobacco.
Childrens books: some nice, quiet toys with a literary theme, like Paddington bears or stuffed dragons.
I agree about stuff with quotes, like mugs and t-shirts.
My policy is to greet each customer and tell them I’m happy to help, and then leave them alone if they don’t need assistance. Our store is small enough that we can keep track of which people we’ve talked to.
It’s funny how often I’ll say, “Howdy, is there anything I can help you find?” and people will say no, only to say within seconds, “Actually, do you have X?”
We have a travel section, which consists of books about areas other than where we are. Our maps, hiking books, fishing books, and so forth are all together, because a book and a trail map make a great combination.
We do that, but I’ve been lax about updating them.
We not only have a restroom the public can use, but it’s near the front, so parents don’t have to hang out in a hallway or storage room while their little ones use the loo.
I’m not sure what this means. Our new age section is pretty small, but we do stock some. Most people who want the new age stuff special order it, but we carry a few tarot kits and a couple of books on feng shui, crystals, and such. It’s certainly not an “experience”: just a lower shelf in the back near religion, spiritual, and self-help.
The pens were a major flop when we tried them 6 or 7 years ago, but that’s before we had the high-end journals. Maybe it’s time to try again. Since there are so many outdoorsy people in our area, we just decided to bring in a line of waterproof journals and notebooks. I know there are special pens for those.
Interesting idea. We sold a bunch of magic wands during Harry Potter parties. I have no idea whether we could make that stuff work ongoing. Hmmm.
Magnifying glass is a good idea. We already carry pipes and good tobaccos, including the McLelland 221b shag, which is supposed to replicate what Sherlock Holmes was smoking in the stories.
Along with the gift-wrapping, you might want to offer shipping. Since you’re a tourist area, people may want to buy something for the parents or kids back home, and have it shipped then instead of lugging it around with them. Particularly as airports are raising the fees for luggage.
if you want to dabble in the games selection again, why not have a games night once a month, where each month people can come and play a different game. You can get teams up for Pictionary or Trivial Pursuit. It’ll draw people into the store and add to the game sales.
Do you get the school reading lists and have those books available? Or offer to sell them directly to the schools at a discount. If a school needs 60 copies of “To Kill A Mockingbird” for their middle-school reading class, it would be a great and easy way to sell in volume. If you know that the entire 8th grade of your town is going to read The Diary of Anne Frank, why shouldn’t you make money off her tragic end?
OI like recommendations on the shelf of “If you like Robert B Parker, have you tried Ed McBain?”. I’m always on the lookout for new authors, and that’s a good way to start.
Oh, I don’t know how much staff you have, but the local geeky bookstore has a special little display the staff take turns organizing, and it’s then marked with “Anne recommends” and “Robert recommends” and so on.
(Yes, I happen to know that both Anne and Robert actually work there)
Gary, bless ya for being an independent bookseller! I really miss Square Books in my old hometown of Oxford, MS. Even with all the great bookstores here in Chapel Hill, NC, Square Books stands out from the rest. Check out their website for ideas.
Of course, Willy the Faulk and Southern writing in a university town drives their business with a good bit of cachet. I treasure my Square Books mug: they have the store logo on one side, and a pithy quote from a writer on the other. I see they now have a to go coffee cup as well.
This just popped into my mind, and might be appropriate considering you have a heavy summer tourist trade: water bottles with your logo on them. I definitely would buy one if passing through to hike your Western wide open spaces, and count it a great souvenir.
My local bookstore runs a monthly literary quiz of 5 questions. Correct answers go into a draw to win a book.
I’ve won two - though winning a nice pen would be great…!
