What should a used book shop be like?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I am currently in negotiations to buy a used book store. This shop is currently losing money, mostly because the owner inherited it from his late wife and he’s not a retail orienter person and he’s not a book person. I think I can make a profit from this store, but I want to do a little market research/opinion poll here.

What do you like in used book stores? What do you dislike? Any suggestions on anything? I know what I like, but that’s not necessarily what anyone else likes.

The store already has the required shop cats. I think it’s some sort of natural law that cats will show up in used book stores. The cats are GOING to stay.

2

One very easy thing I love to see in a used bookstores is good category signage so you can find things without having to ask a clerk. A nice map of the store layout posted somewhere is very nice too.

Clear pricing is also important. Either price stickers or frequest signs posted that let you know how much the book will be.

3

Our local used book store has a “shop dog.” My daughter loves to play with the dog while I browse for books.

I’m so jealous - I’d love a store of my own. I think what you need is enough space to navigate the aisles and maybe a small table with a couple of chairs so the ‘regulars’ can chat with you over books for a little while. This would also be a great place to sell the mesh? bags you use for groceries so people can buy one for their books and reuse them for their groceries.

Have some kind of kids corner too - mebbe with some shop coloring books to help keep the kidlets from trashing your store while mommy spends cash :slight_smile:

4

Will sidearms be allowed? If so the cats alone would bring me in. :smiley:

I love used bookstores. The smell, the slightly hectic look and feel, talking to a complete stranger about maybe the only thing they have in common. A book. I’ve bought more books in those stores than the national chains. Far more.

There really isn’t much more than books that will get me in, but some things I enjoy are a small coffee stand, a few comfortable chairs or sofas where I can read a bit to decide if it’s a story I want to get involved with. Not to mention all the great non-fiction history tomes no longer in print that few other know about. Oh, and NOT a sterile environment! It’s a used bookstore, there’s supposed to be a little dust here and there. I like ambiance more than anything.

Probably not much help, but that’s what I look for. And good luck! Let us know how it goes.

5

Of the used book stores I have frequented, a few design elements have been common:

  1. Approximate order. That is to say, each genre should be in it’s own section, but that’s about it. No ordering by alpha or title. Hardcovers are usually kept together, but mixing with paperbacks is okay, too.

  2. Old magazines. Got to have old magazines.

  3. The “good stuff” (first editions, hard-to-find, etc) usually kept on a shelf behind the counter or in a glass display case.

  4. If you have the room, a couple of old, overstuffed leather chairs are a must.

  5. A “cut-out” bin. Got 97 copies of Misery? That’s where they should go. Paperbacks with torn or damaged (but not stripped) covers should be cheap and plentiful.

  6. Don’t skimp on the science fiction!

  7. Have specials: got a huge run of one author’s books? Offer a “complete set” sale. If you want to clear out old stock because you just purchased a ton of books from another store? Grocery bag sale - as many books as you can cram into a brown paper bag. I see this quite frequently when the local ladies auxillary has its annual book sale at the mall and it’s the last day. Bring $10 and a bag and go nuts.

6

I’m so jealous! I hope you get it!

First off: It should have really good books. Including a HUGE used sci-fi section. And an erotica section. It should also have some comic books. And music, but not too loud. As for chairs, well if you want to encourage people to hang out, make them comfortable. If not, make them uncomfortable. But definitely a place or two to sit is nice. Also low benches to sit on while browsing bottom shelves, or to stand on while browsing top shelves.
When it’s winter, it should be warm and smell like tea. In summer, it should be cool and smell like books. :wink:
It should have the same person behind the counter every time you go. If this is impossible, at least have the people behind the counter be friendly and hopefully knowledgeable. If not about books, then at least about the inventory and how to find something you’re looking for.

And you’ve already got the cats.

GOOD LUCK!

7

Cat… friggin’ A. Goes without saying.

The best used bookstore I’ve been to (although it also sells new books) is Powell’s Books in Portland, Oregon. But that probably a larger scale than you’re thinking.

Personally, I like those used bookstores that have books everywhere… where it actually seems as though you have to crawl through a corridor of books, stepping over big piles of books resemble the Leaning Tower of Pisa. This of course puts the onus on the owner to have an almost psychic ability to know in exactly what pile a particular book is, if someone asks. Personally, as a customer of those kinds of bookstores… it’s more fun not to ask, and just dig.

8

Little metal step stools. Oh-so-important to get to the top shelf (or to sit on when perusing the bottom self). Very important for the Harlequin section - Grammy’s feet do get tired. But nothing *too * comfortable unless it’s near you and the front windows. :wink:

And I love the idea of tea and coffee. Good Luck!

9

What I like’s pretty much been said…

Books sorted into genre
Knowledgable people on hand
Trade-in’s (ie 2 for 1 paperbacks)

Uhm… know what you’ll trade for and post it somewhere obvious so people know. (For example if you have a bazillion romance novels you don’t want more so don’t trade for them) When I find a used store, and they do trades I like to know what they trade for. I’m not going to lug a large bag/box of books and find out I can only trade about 1/3 of it. One store I used to buy from printed up bookmarks with what they accepted.

For music, just keep a cd player behind the front counter :smiley:

Reasonable prices. I’ve been to a few used stores that sold paperbacks for almost their cover price, unless it was out of print I wouldn’t buy it I’d just buy it new.

I think I know where I am going next week…

10

I was going to say “a cat”, but it seems you’ve got that covered.

If there’s a college in your area, even if it’s a community college, I would recommend having a section of college textbooks where you could buy for a bit more than students would get from the college bookstore, and sell for a bit less. And make sure the students know about it. Broke college kids could be a potential goldmine, especially if they can get not only at least some of their textbooks, but also the kind of books that turn up as assigned reading, not to mention the sci-fi geeks, gamers, etc. who will need to feed their addictions as cheaply as possible. My current favorite used bookstore has a pretty nice selection of RPG manuals, and apparently they sell quite well. Oh, and if graphic novels, manga, and comic book trade paperbacks get brought in, buy them. They will sell so fast you’ll hear a Doppler shift. The comic book/graphic novel shelf at my fave used book store is nearly always empty because the owner can’t keep it stocked.

Also, a good religion/philosophy section wouldn’t hurt, if the books will come to you. I have found many otherwise excellent used bookstores that fall on their butts in that department.

11

Someone else was buying a bookshop a month ago, but I can’t find the thread about it now. I think there was a thread on the eurodoper’s board: http://pub75.ezboard.com/bnads too. You might want to see if you can find that too.

12

Dust, lots of dust!

Oh, it’s a given that you’ll have that and actually in terms of objective value, no dust would be better for my poor wheezy lungs, but I associate buying used books so strongly with the smell of book dust I’d be lost in a used bookstore without it.

Definitely clear labelling of categories. I like to see books alphabetised roughly by whichever category you put them in, because the very first thing I do when I go into a used bookstore is find the genre I’m looking for and search for one specific author I collect - I won’t roam until I’ve looked for him, and if the books are totally out of order it’s a little annoying.

Depending on the range of used books you sell, a cheap paperback bin or shelf would be wonderful. But obviously not if you’re going more upscale second-hand/antiquarian books. (Both kind of used bookstores have a place in my heart.)

My very favourite ever used bookstore definitely had too many books packed in, one had to climb over piles and search through double-shelved books. But this only applies if the range of books available is of a good calibre; stacks of harlequins would only turn me off. I think the key for me is a sort of scholarly chaos.

The other thing I loved above all about it was that the staff (especially the owner) were truly knowledgeable about the stock - right down to gently educating me about what collectors look for in condition. (I don’t collect for edition or condition, I can’t afford to, but it’s really nice to know what I’ve got and why some things are thought of as more valuable than others.)

Enough rambling? I do love a good used bookstore. I wish you lots of success with your new venture!

13

NO! If it’s going to be displayed, it should be in author order, at least somewhat. I can’t stand going in used bookstores and having to sift through stuff I have no interest in to find anything by the authors I’m looking for. Author order is important. If it’s not in alpha order, I don’t buy anything there because I figure the people running the store don’t care enough about their stock to keep track of it.

One of the things I like about my favorite used bookstore (Capitol Hill Books in Denver, though Moe’s Books in Berkeley is a close second) is that they track the stock. Meaning every book in the store goes into their computer, so if I can’t find a book where I think it should be, I can ask at the front desk and they’ll tell me if they have it and if so, where it is. I can also request a title and if they get that title in, I get first dibs. I really like that feature of Cap Hill Books. I also like that they have a frequent buyer card: you buy over $100 of books (kept track on a little card), you get 10% off for the next year after that. I must have spent like $400 in this store since I moved to Denver, and those are two of the things that keep me going back.

Other than that, I echo everything that’s already been said in this thread.

14

Well sorted. You don’t have to keep the books perfectly sorted but a reasonable attempt would be nice. A good selection of history, philosophy, and sci-fi is all I desire.

I concur with the above poster who said that pricing should be clear. I hate having to take a copy of a book I want to the front only to discover that the book I was hoping was $4.00 is really $15.

The coffee bar and seats might be nice, but that sounds more like a Barnes and Noble rather than a used bookstore.

Appearance wise, it should be stuffed with books. I want to see an incredible amount of books. I went to one which had a lot of space and didn’t feel crowded with books, and I found the experience to be completely lacking.

15

My favorite used book store must be doing something right. They started off in a rented barn some time ago, and now they occupy a campus of barns, outbuildings, and sheds connected by landscaped paths, small koi ponds, and flower gardens.

Anyway, they have a table just inside the door with a coffee pot hot and ready at all times (and hot water for tea, too.) They have dogs and cats, but that part’s not so important as just having friendly four-leggers padding about. Lots of nooks and crannies where chairs, stools, and benches invite browsing. Huge selection, with specialty sections for regional “hot topics” - for example, nautical books sell extremely well there, since it’s in Niantic on the Connecticut coast.

I agree with others that pricing should be unambiguous. This store pencils the price inside the front cover on every book. There is never any doubt as to how much a book is going to cost.

Be sure to offer trade-ins or have a good book purchase policy. This store has two purchasing tiers: they offer an dollar amount in store credit and a somewhat lesser amount if you prefer cash.

16

I meant have an industrial-type urn on a card table with a stack of small styrofoam cups. It’s a used bookstore, not a coffee bar with some novels scattered about. And the chairs should be either well-worn leather or threadbare cloth. The mustier, the better for me.

Oh, two more ideas. Have one of those little bells over the door that ring when it’s opened. And try to hire an 82 year old man smoking a pipe. Again, I love ambiance.

17

Granted, a used book store must have a cat or several, but please, please don’t let it stink of cat pee. I think that is what killed the only used book store in my college town. I tried to stock up on oxygen before I went in because of the reek.

Best of luck. I’d shop at the store that has been described in this thread.

18

Cats, check.
Comfy chairs, check.
Clean bathrooms!
Lots of nooks to explore
Evening activities like poetry reading, book clubs, local writers’ group
Fireplace? (Hmmm, fire code probably wouldn’t go for it)
Books-by-the-foot - a concept I saw at Half-Price Books in Dallas. You know those leatherbound, expensive looking volumes of pointless titles no one will ever read? Some people actually want those to decorate with.

Good luck!

19

I think there are two distinct kinds of used book store. The one you go to to buy books and nothing else, and the one you like to spend time in. A lot depends on the sort of books you intend to sell, and the sort of profit you hope to make. If you don’t need to live by the proffits made by the book shop that is good. The utilitarian book shop will be bright, quite like a library and with mostly modern books. It requires very good organization of the books, careful purchasing of books that will sell, and a few semi comfortable seats and maybe a coffee pot. Such a place has little soul but can turn a proffit. The other type of book store is as described by dopers above, it requires that you can find specific books on request from a customer, and that you don’t have much local competition if you want much chance to turn a proffit. Lynn do you have an expertise that will allow you to specialise in a particular type of book? Most of the best book stores I know have a good general stock and one or two excellent stocked specialities. Specialities could be cook books, foreign language books, war books, sci-fi, occult etc. but if you have a speciality then anyone looking for that kind of book might travel many miles to get to your bookshop.

20

How marvelously exciting!

I’ve always held the fantasy of a coffee shop/used book store idea. If you have space, maybe hire/have a band/singer once in awhile to bring in business on weekend nights.
Having clear signage is very important. As well as the letters of the alphabet popping out( ----->this way) of the rows of the shelves from both directions so it can be easily read.

" If you like This author May we suggest these authors" tags are always helpful.

Rental books for a quick turn around of popular titles.

You must have a computer inventory of your stock so when I come in and ask for "Do you have any Barbara Metzger books " it is all at your finger tips…and then if you don’t have what I am looking for, you can take down the title or author of what I am looking for and call me when it comes in. This is imperative to me, the consumer.

My most favorite bookstore lady did this for me, had a most excellent system and was On The Ball for every one of my MY! book needs. She screwed herself on her money area and went out of business and I still - 4 years later - mourn her business closing.

If you have a large stock pile of outdated romance/sci-fi/westerns/whatever that have sat there since Truman was in office, they need to be offloaded. Either to a Salvation Army, large sets sold on Ebay, or rip the covers off of them to decoupage a wall/bathroom with.

Have a kids area. Some toys in a corner for them to play with.

Have kids books for sale. Make the prices reasonably low , say $1.00 or lower, so it will always encourage the kids to rummage for a book or three instead of a child moping about waiting for Moooom or Daaaaad to finish looking.

Become friendly with the other used book stores in the area. Offer swaps of books. You need specific books for a customer that another store has, she needs everything Danielle Steele has ever produced. Work out a plan to help each other co-exist.

This is imperative: You must have one dead houseplant on the premises. It is vital to the success of your business.

Keep us updated on this great news! Are you going to rename it?

Can we have a contest to rename it? Can we, huh huh?