How not to sell books
I've ranted about this before but some of it bears repeating, particularly after me going shopping today. Yeah the drugs have kicked in and the fingers feel a bit better.
I found Naomi Novik's Black Powder War, book III in the series in Forbidden Planet today. So wanting book II I went to the counter and asked. Now I searched the shelves (oh boy those shelves are just about organised), so what does the staffer do? He starts to go to the shelves. I explain that I couldn't find it on the shelves. So what does he do next?
a) check the inventory for the book?
b) offer to order the book?
c) shrug and ask me if I want to buy book III?
if you guess c you would be right.
What kind of service is that? I've been in there a few times in the last few weeks and I've never seen hide or hair of book I. They seem to consistently buy in ends of series without trying in any way to get the starts of series and then they wonder why they don't get the business. Wake up and smell the coffee. This isn't brain science people. You have to provide people with what they want, and if you don't have it you have to think about getting it for them. You have to actually do some work here not coast, when you have a specialist book store you have to make a bloody attempt to make it work not hope it works and wonder why you're losing custom.
Feel free to add some ideas, this is largely targeted at Forbidden Planet but I thing it could apply to most bookstores in Dublin in some ways.
I found Naomi Novik's Black Powder War, book III in the series in Forbidden Planet today. So wanting book II I went to the counter and asked. Now I searched the shelves (oh boy those shelves are just about organised), so what does the staffer do? He starts to go to the shelves. I explain that I couldn't find it on the shelves. So what does he do next?
a) check the inventory for the book?
b) offer to order the book?
c) shrug and ask me if I want to buy book III?
if you guess c you would be right.
What kind of service is that? I've been in there a few times in the last few weeks and I've never seen hide or hair of book I. They seem to consistently buy in ends of series without trying in any way to get the starts of series and then they wonder why they don't get the business. Wake up and smell the coffee. This isn't brain science people. You have to provide people with what they want, and if you don't have it you have to think about getting it for them. You have to actually do some work here not coast, when you have a specialist book store you have to make a bloody attempt to make it work not hope it works and wonder why you're losing custom.
- Variety. If it's available in Easons you don't need 20 copies of it, unless they're orders
- Turn down the bloody music. I want to browse not lose my hearing. It's not making me stay and spend money. At least isolate the speakers in the book department and turn them down, books cost a fair amount of money and you're alienating the people who can pay.
- Offer to order stuff.
- Watch what's popular, read the trade journals. Actually pay attention to the stuff making waves and getting good scores in Amazon. Oh yeah, you could also occasionally check how that book is doing in the *gasp* library. We're online. If the damned thing hasn't been borrowed since 2004 it's probably not very popular, if you want to get copies consider getting paperbacks. Also check Eason's sale, if they're discounting it, you don't need to order many of it, you're only 5 minutes apart and your staff don't wear uniforms. Oh yeah, why not occasionally visit chapters? If they have it piled high on discount forget it, if there's a mountain of it in the basement (second hand) convince your supplier to forget it, if they have it in the 4 for a Euro or Euro each section and several of them get down on your knees and supplicate the supplier to forget it.
- However if they have book 3, 4 and 5 and haven't got 1 and 6, get them.
- Get book one of popular series, particuarly when the new title comes out.
- Get a selection of books by popular authors when the die, hello, get some Gemmell, he made it to the BBC news, people will be curious. Find out when his last book is coming out, know the answer.
- Shelf signs are your friend. If big name author has something coming out, put a little sign with the date and an invite to order the damned thing on the shelf.
- If one hardback edition of the book isn't selling, don't order in tonnes of the US edition as well. Wait for the paperbacks, honest. Maybe get in one or two of the US edition.
- If the last book by the author isn't selling, consider getting less of that author
- If a particular series is being bought out, get more.
- Sort your shelves regularly
- If your system is still card based, remember to remove the cards before wrapping, I have a collection of Forbidden Planet order cards!
- Review your system regularly, check your records, card system needs a master set.
- Why do you still have a card system? Excel is your friend if you can't handle Access. Open Office is free, cheerful and almost identical to Office in function, embrace it.
- Hire someone who has a clue, no seriously, invest in a person who knows something about sf/fantasy/horror fiction.
- Again, stop buying shelf sitters, if you had to discount 10 of that authors books and only ordered 12 why did you buy in 15 of their next?
- Again VARIETY. I would like to browse a little more of my wishist in a real shop.
Feel free to add some ideas, this is largely targeted at Forbidden Planet but I thing it could apply to most bookstores in Dublin in some ways.