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Okay I am kind of nervous about this new business my partners mother owns. Its a used bookstore. She opened it a year ago but I am afraid she is wasting her money. Do used bookstore print out Abebooks.com and Amazon.com prices (used) and place them inside each book to show what price the internet is selling them for?
I am confused. She has about 5,000 in the store but 15,000 in storage. So that is a lot of paper and I wonder if printing out prices, which do not match the exact books posted on abebooks nor amazon, is useful. Don't used bookstore just pencil in each price. Unless, of course, its a first edition Jane Austen novel.
I cannot aruge with her because she is convinced its a good idea and makes the books valid!
Well, yes, she's probably wasting her money, given what's happening to books, but I"m not sure that's the point.
The print-outs sound stupid and make her look insecure. First, Abe and Amazon prices vary constantly - how much paper and time is she going to waste updating them constantly? Second, she often would have no idea what the real condition is with a book online; she may be underpricing a book is great condition to match an online book in mediocre condition. But third - and this is the really important one to me - to set yourself up against places like Amazon, where desperate people sell for pennies, this is a dangerous race to the bottom, and hurts everyone in the long run.
She doesn't need pricing to make a book "valid." If someone is in the store and sees a book selling for $6, chances are he's not going to run off to see if he can find it somewhere else for $5 (plus shipping).
Thanks so much for replying.
I also thought it was so ridiculous. Thousands of sheets!!! Can you imagine that??????? And worse the price on abebooks.com never match the actual book in the store.
Oh by the way most of her books are ex-library books. Don't those books worth much less than non-library books? I saw an ex-library books with all the stamps priced at 10.00, it was a paperback, fiction! I was stunned!
I wonder if they could get in trouble for this?
The people in the bookstore (booksellers) think its stupid idea but they need a job so they keep their mouth shut.
She spent 700. ea on 3 copiers and spends an average of 50 dollars a day on ink to print out the abebooks. print outs!
Its unbelievable.
I actually feel bad but I cannot convince her. She thinks she has this brilliant idea (about the print-outs).
I believe in the long run she will develop a bad reputation and no one will go there any more.
A used bookstore can be great, depending on exactly how you acquire the books. Does she buy the books, or take them in trade?
When I opened my tiny used store 20 years ago, I did make an initial investment of about 500 books sold to me by another store I had worked in previously. They were far enough away that the owner and I weren't any competition.
With the bare shelves looking...well, bare, I put small signs up everywhere saying "Please bring your books in to trade! The next time you come, I promise we'll have a bunch more!" And believe me, they poured in. How many businesses have their inventory given to them?
I went by the cover price. Customers received 25% of the their traded book price in store credit.
Used books were priced at 50% off, half of which could be paid for with their credit, the other half in cash.
I was picky about the condition of the books I took. After all, the customers weren't trading with me, they were trading with the other customers.
These rules were posted on signs on every wall in the store. Less confusion, it's all right there on the wall. I did spend money on bookmarks to place in customers purchases., and some advertisements in local papers etc.
Now, my store (despite a not good location and a lot of commercial development eventually opening around us) did get closed after 6.5 years. I had a blast tho.
Thanks so much for replying.
I also thought it was so ridiculous. Thousands of sheets!!! Can you imagine that??????? And worse the price on abebooks.com never match the actual book in the store.
Oh by the way most of her books are ex-library books. Don't those books worth much less than non-library books? I saw an ex-library books with all the stamps priced at 10.00, it was a paperback, fiction! I was stunned!
I wonder if they could get in trouble for this?
The people in the bookstore (booksellers) think its stupid idea but they need a job so they keep their mouth shut. She spent 700. ea on 3 copiers and spends an average of 50 dollars a day on ink to print out the abebooks. print outs! Its unbelievable.
I actually feel bad but I cannot convince her. She thinks she has this brilliant idea (about the print-outs).
I believe in the long run she will develop a bad reputation and no one will go there any more.
I don't think she will develop a "bad" reputation, but she's wasting money and may look foolish. Maybe at some point you can be in casual conversation with her, say you had mentioned her store to a friend, and pass on what I said. She can't, and shouldn't, compete with people online selling books for a dollar. Unfortunately, she's also doing herself a disservice by having hired spineless wimps who don't speak up.
By the way, is she buying these library books at library sales? Or from individual. The Strand here refuses to buy library books, on the grounds that they have have been stolen, I think.
I don't think she will develop a "bad" reputation, but she's wasting money and may look foolish. Maybe at some point you can be in casual conversation with her, say you had mentioned her store to a friend, and pass on what I said. She can't, and shouldn't, compete with people online selling books for a dollar. Unfortunately, she's also doing herself a disservice by having hired spineless wimps who don't speak up.
By the way, is she buying these library books at library sales? Or from individual. The Strand here refuses to buy library books, on the grounds that they have have been stolen, I think.
She buys out out of business book stores and the library books are from the library sales. She buys them for very little money.
Aren't libary books worth much less than non-library books?
She prices ex-library books very expensive, maybe 10.00 for a paperback! So far she sells an average of twenty dollars a day. And wonders why she doesn't sell.
She buys out out of business book stores and the library books are from the library sales. She buys them for very little money.
Aren't libary books worth much less than non-library books? She prices ex-library books very expensive, maybe 10.00 for a paperback! So far she sells an average of twenty dollars a day. And wonders why she doesn't sell.
A used book is just a used book. A library book is a very used book. Imo, it's certainly not worth more than a non-library copy. I think she'll have a very difficult time selling them for that amount, except for rare or hard-to-find books.
A used book is just a used book. A library book is a very used book. Imo, it's certainly not worth more than a non-library copy. I think she'll have a very difficult time selling them for that amount, except for rare or hard-to-find books.
This is very important. Thank You for your insight.
Hope to hear from others...
Well, yes, she's probably wasting her money, given what's happening to books, but I"m not sure that's the point.
The print-outs sound stupid and make her look insecure. First, Abe and Amazon prices vary constantly - how much paper and time is she going to waste updating them constantly? Second, she often would have no idea what the real condition is with a book online; she may be underpricing a book is great condition to match an online book in mediocre condition. But third - and this is the really important one to me - to set yourself up against places like Amazon, where desperate people sell for pennies, this is a dangerous race to the bottom, and hurts everyone in the long run.
She doesn't need pricing to make a book "valid." If someone is in the store and sees a book selling for $6, chances are he's not going to run off to see if he can find it somewhere else for $5 (plus shipping).
I have some experience selling used books, both on my own and to used book stores.
A library book is usually valued at much less than a non-library book. Check to see if it has "withdrawn" stamped on it somewhere. Unless it is an unusual, in-demand book, very old or something special, they are not a good idea to aquire.
Her pricing sounds out of whack! TEN bucks for an ex-lib paperback??? Was this for a common romance novel type of book? What was the book? That's crazy!
Yes, the idea of printing those Internet prices is silly. And expensive! Those printers and the paper sure aren't free. I am guessing that she doesn't have a great deal of experience at selling used books. I will PM you a link that may help some. There are also groups out there devoted just to used books.
As a customer, I would find the printed sheets annoying. She has no idea what condition the on-line books are in, if they even sold, whatever. It isn't difficult to learn if a certain title is better sold on the 'net or in her shop.
How much experience does she have at selling used books? Is this her first venture? 15,000 in storage...yikes! What types of books? What condition? Do they reek of cigarette smoke? I hope they aren't encyclopedias, Reader's Digest condensed versions, Nat Geo mags, and moldy things from someone's garage or barn.....
Last edited by katnip kid; 08-07-2012 at 02:31 AM..
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Can you imagine that??????? And worse the price on abebooks.com never match the actual book in the store.
