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On snotty, elitist booksellers

(coming soon)

A Half Dozen Ways OP Booksellers Can

Survive a Recession

November 9, 2008

by Richard Menec, Booksinternationale

Many dealers in out-of-print, rare, and antiquarian books are having a hard time of it these days, and part of their grief is spilling over onto bookseller lists: "Where are all the sales"? "This is my third consecutive day without a single sale"! These good folk are worried, and for good reason.

There's little doubt by now -- in November 2008 -- that the world economy is sliding into deep recession, and in talking to at least a dozen booksellers over the last few days the fear is palpable. We all agree the downward spiral will continue, unabated.

How does one prepare? Is it even possible to? How to prevent 'worse' from becoming 'worst?'

Expect and plan for a major reduction in mail orders

Don't let the present lull in gasoline prices fool you; as energy costs skyrocket, shipping anything anywhere, including books, is bound to get costlier. If selling online is part of your business, expect this portion of it, over the coming years, to gradually reduce to a trickle from previous volume.

Make your stock available online

While the cost of travel and shipping goods around the world will steadily rise, shipping costs will also increase intra-city, intra-state and intra-provincially. As travel gets more costly across the board, more and more people will turn to the internet for information. Booksellers with all their stock online are well "located" to provide that information. General leisurely shopping and impulse buying may well become a thing of the past, so ensure people can find you from their computer. Separate your stock into appropriate online catalogues.

Cut out the superfluous

While it's often necessary to make major investment during affordable times, the converse is equally true and it's just as necessary to downsize during economic slumps. If possible, scale back on the most costly introductions you've made to your business, those things that keep your monthly payments high. These are far too numerous to mention, and shouldn't be limited to the obvious ones like renegotiating your lease if you're renting, or postponing planned renovations. They should also include more ordinary things, like cancelling out long-distance driving to booksales and bookfairs when you already have hundreds or thousands of books to catalogue. Any bookseller with a large amount of stock to list doesn't need to be roaming the cityscape or countryside looking for more books; although fun and diverting, it can also be a huge waste of time and expense. And if you wean yourself off the need to get to every estate sale, new possibilities may present themselves, like eliminating the expense of operating a vehicle, along with the costly insurance.

Know your local market

A shrinking economy will push you there anyway, so you may as well be ahead of the game. If you're an online-only seller, especially, and not known in your own 'hood, then reach out to your community and get known. If you have a specialty, advertise it. There are dozens of ways to effectively advertise without costly overhead: introduce yourself to librarians and charity booksale organizers; set up book tables at your local university or college; develop a mailing list and print out catalogues in your specialty areas and post or hand-deliver them to your clients; cultivate local media by introducing yourself (once known, reporters may contact you to comment on book-related stories). NGOs hold numerous events throughout the year. If part of your stock fits their work, offer to set up a book table.

Debt as killer

Despite what the gurus in the stock market may tell you, this is not the time to make major investments or go into debt! Don't let present low interest rates hoodwink you (remember the fiasco called sub-prime mortgages!); interest rates are bound to rise again, soon enough. If you can't get out of borrowing, lock yourself in at the lowest possible interest rate (shop around!), so you know in advance what you'll be paying; otherwise, defer or forget it. The money you save on buying "new" stock should go into paying off any balances on credit cards, loans, or mortgage. Think about the long term; if you have a mortgage coming up for renewal, renegotiate and insist on flexibility that will allow you to put a percentage of the total down as a lump sum, without penalties.

Don't necessarily commit to your "business model"

Think about different scenarios that might come about from tougher times. An economy in recession could very well result in more people staking out used bookstores. Expect large new bookchains in your 'hood to shut down or close shop; recent spikes in transportation costs have ensured that large numbers of books are seldom shipped twice any more, so if you're in a financial position to do so, you may be able to take advantage of chains closing up shop and acquire new stock at less than used prices. Remaindered or not, new books add a new selling feature to a used bookstore.

A note on list-servs, and publisher and bookseller forums

Whatever your specialty, even if politics and journalism, let it be known online, and as a result, always expect know-nothings to attack you. Offer knowledge of your specialty when opportunities arise (or at least when it seems it's sorely needed), but still expect numerous attacks from pretend-liberals or outright racists. There are more than a few people out there who think they own mailing lists and the internet; don't let them fool you either!!

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