What about the money?
Well — outside of revenue stream models, what it costs to start a bookstore, and marketing surveys determining your overall strategy (which isn’t everything), here are two things that turned up while poking around the web.
1. via —
“Interestingly, I interviewed a friend who worked for an independent bookstore a few years ago, and he insisted that indies actually rely on sales of Used and Bargain books in order to stay afloat financially– citing higher profit margins on those titles.”
In other words, higher profit margins doesn’t necessarily mean good pricing. Lowering margins seems to drive higher profits, in fact.
2.
“We generally find that for a regular event we’re hosting, we’ll sell books to 10% to 20% of the audience,” said marketing manager Amanda Darling. For private groups, that rises to 30% to 40%. Until recently, Harvard Book Store linked ticketed events that included a book with business breakfasts or meals with foodies like Ruth Reichl or Jacques Pepin. In June, the store hosted its first higher-priced nonfood event, a reading with John Updike for Terrorist at a nearby church. “We were very clear with the publisher that we had to have first editions and that the author had to sign them all,” said Darling. If Harvard held to its usual policy of charging $3 a ticket, the store would likely have drawn 600 people and sold 100 books, Darling said, but with a charge of $25, the store got a smaller audience but sold 350 books. Going forward, Darling plans to hold more events that require attendees to purchase books. “The thing that concerns me,” she said, “is that on one side we want to sell more books. On the other side, we want to make events open to people of different incomes.”
(via.)
Previously: The Christian Science Monitor talks with Independent Bookstore Owners / Novelty Shelves / Some of the Oldest Bookstores on the European Continent / Why Do I Want To See A Bookstore in Somerville?
