I’m opening a small bookstore, selling new (few) and nice, clean used books. I’ve managed a bookstore before but we had an inventory of over 10,000 books…I’m starting out with only 1000 books. I’m wondering if I have enough of the right mix books…any ideas or thoughts would be greatly appreciated! Also, I don’t have much capitol and am relying mainly on my books and those I take in as trade or buy will help keep the store going. OMG, what have I gotten myself in?
I would suggest romance/mystery/fiction. People FLY through those novels and manage to accumulate a ton of books before shipping them off to the used book stores. And I would imagine they would be looking around for something they haven’t read yet. Whenever I go to a used bookstore and see someone trading in bags full of books they’re almost always those mass market romance novels!
I’ve worked at Borders and one thing I noticed was how popular those romance novels are. I’ve tried helping people find books and they would take forever because they couldn’t remember if they’ve already read the book, THAT’S how many books they’ve read. Or all romance is basically the same, cough cough. My aunt and grandma (and i’ve seen friends mom’s who are like this too) have several book cases full of Nora Roberts and Danielle Steele, etc etc. So that genre gets read A LOT and they churn those suckers out like it’s nothing.
I’d also suggest young adult novels as well. Those are becoming increasingly popular with kids and adults. Everyone’s looking for the next Harry Potter (good luck =D ) or the next Twilight, and probably want to do so as cheaply as possible.
Good luck!
February 7th, 2010 at 9:55 pm
Twilight and Harry Potter
References :
February 7th, 2010 at 10:34 pm
"OMG, what have I gotten myself in?" LOL! Every business owner’s motto. I don’t have an answer for you with such a limited selection, but with your experience, you know what sells. Just downsize it. And good luck. let us know how it goes…
References :
February 7th, 2010 at 11:08 pm
What you don’t have is capital, not capitol.
I’m not sure how much help people on YA will be. You have experience in the business that most of us don’t have.
I’m a librarian–I imagine cookbooks would be popular, and nice used copies of recent bestsellers. Seems to me that anything connected with celebrities would sell. (I wouldn’t want them, but what do I know?)
Good luck!
References :
February 7th, 2010 at 11:34 pm
I would suggest romance/mystery/fiction. People FLY through those novels and manage to accumulate a ton of books before shipping them off to the used book stores. And I would imagine they would be looking around for something they haven’t read yet. Whenever I go to a used bookstore and see someone trading in bags full of books they’re almost always those mass market romance novels!
I’ve worked at Borders and one thing I noticed was how popular those romance novels are. I’ve tried helping people find books and they would take forever because they couldn’t remember if they’ve already read the book, THAT’S how many books they’ve read. Or all romance is basically the same, cough cough. My aunt and grandma (and i’ve seen friends mom’s who are like this too) have several book cases full of Nora Roberts and Danielle Steele, etc etc. So that genre gets read A LOT and they churn those suckers out like it’s nothing.
I’d also suggest young adult novels as well. Those are becoming increasingly popular with kids and adults. Everyone’s looking for the next Harry Potter (good luck =D ) or the next Twilight, and probably want to do so as cheaply as possible.
Good luck!
References :
February 7th, 2010 at 11:51 pm
Romance novels – Nora Roberts, Sandra Brown, Catherine Coulter, Jude Deveraux, Judith McNaught, Barbara Delinsky, Maeve Binchy, Danielle Steel, Jo Beverley, Mary Jo Putney, Debbie Macomber, etc.
Murder Mystery – Agatha Christie, JD Robb, Margaret Truman, Andrew Greeley, Gwendoline Butler, James Patterson, MC Beaton, Alexander McCall Smith
I have a website about books with really long lists for both of these categories and others. Unfortunately, YAHOO is currently NOT allowing me to provide a direct link here, BUT if you click on my Avatar and go to my profile you can find the link for the website there. I love used books stores, BUT I never sell my books, I only buy.
References :
February 8th, 2010 at 12:31 am
I would suggest using GreenTextbooks.org
Save Money, Save The Planet
GreenTextbooks.org specializes in the recycling of textbooks, DVDs, CDs. Buying used textbooks not only saves you money, but cuts down on greenhouse gases caused by the manufacturing of new textbooks.
With GreenTextbooks.org you’re not only saving trees, you are saving some green. http://www.greentextbooks.org
References :
http://www.greentextbooks.org