Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with bookstore

Working in Retail

phrontist — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 20:38:52 -0800

Following a second interview tomorrow morning I will more likely than not be working at a large chain bookstore for a few months (including, obviously, the holiday season). I've never worked in retail, or anything that required me to deal with the public for that matter. I'm not expecting it to be very difficult, but is there anything I should know?

To erase or not to erase, that is the bookworm's question.

zardoz — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 04:00:32 -0800

Before taking my used books to a used bookstore for sale or trade, should I erase the penciled-in prices inside the cover? No reason: if a book has a good price on it, maybe higher than you'd expect from a used book (i.e. I was ripped off when I bought it in the first place), then I can hope for a good trade in/sell price.

Yes reason: the bookstore worker will, at the very least, be a teensy weensy bit glad they don't have to do the erasing themselves, therefore giving them a teensy weensy boost, and perhaps giving me a better deal. What do you think?

I'm glad bookstores are in business, but how?

abdulf — Sun, 10 May 2009 19:18:05 -0800

How do bookstores make money? Ever since books were available for sale online, I've stopped buying books from bookstores. I assume other rational people purchase their books online or at local used stores.

What's keeping brick and mortar bookstores in business? Especially the ones that stock new titles?

Older patrons? People who just like browsing and picking up interesting looking books? Kids?

Some seem to rely on side businesses like movie/game rentals, music and a coffeeshop. Barnes and Noble sell online too, but don't they ship their books from a warehouse?

So how do they make rent? Harry Potter and Twilight release parties?

Where to sell used books, CDs, DVDs, and gaming stuff in Chicagoland?

korpios — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 09:59:49 -0800

What are the best places in the Chicago area to sell used books, CDs, DVDs, and tabletop gaming materials? My wife and I are moving into a new place in a month; since we're largely a digital-only household these days (Kindle, MacBook, iPhone), I'd like to take this opportunity to clean out the physical media that keeps following us around. We have a bunch of DVDs and CDs, as well as quite a few boxes of books (largely non-fiction and older tabletop gaming stuff, e.g., AD&D 2nd Ed.); I refuse to drag it all to yet another apartment.

I'd ideally like to be able to visit as few places as possible to offload the majority of what I have; I'm willing to drive (both within Chicago and the suburbs), but I don't want to end up having to visit 15 different places. I also don't want to list items individually on Craigslist since what I can expect to be paid per-item isn't worth the hassle of making many individual sales; by the same token, I really don't want to bother with eBay. My primary goal is getting rid of the stuff — not making the most amount of money possible. (Anything I don't end up selling will be given away and/or tossed.)

So, Chicago submodule of UsedStuffFilter ... suggestions? (The closest AskMeFi post I've found was this one for used CDs.)

Bookselling salary guide?

Miko — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 11:14:45 -0800

I'm looking for salary guidelines for a job outside my field that I'm interested in -- coordinating events and marketing for an indie bookstore. So I just had some conversations with the owner of an independent bookstore. They're looking for someone to manage events and marketing. The goal is to take the bookstore from its current, basic approach to the newer model of community engagement, frequent instore events, partnerships, big author events, etc. The job would involve the event planning, working with publishers, marketing, managing a presence on social networks, etc. It will also involve serving as the assistant manager, the second of two fulltime staff in the store. About half the time would go to the marketing and events, the other half to bookselling and management tasks. I wouldn't do hiring or payroll.

The store is in an affluent Northeastern college town. The goal is revenue growth through increased event sales, and increased overall sales from newly-built customer loyalty. So there are some success measures that can be built into this job.

It's a newly created job; I would largely define what directions it develops in. I have all the required skills.

We're at the stage where I need to communicate my salary requirements to them. I'm coming from the world of nonprofit management, so it's not like I'm expecting hundreds of thousands; I already work for modest wages. But I'm afraid of both lowballing them, and coming in way too high, and I can't find any references. There's a baseline I need to make, but if I can beat it by a lot, I will definitely try. Does anyone have any idea what a job like this could command?

What's your favorite bookstore in NYC?

captainscared — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 07:59:17 -0800

I have the week off and want to visit some great bookstores I haven't been to before. What are your favorites in Manhattan and why? Thanks.

what makes a good bookstore

MrMerlot — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 06:40:34 -0800

What specific qualities make for a truly good bookstore other than the content on the shelves?

Help me get my hands on Trent Parke. I mean, his photo books.

neblina_matinal — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 10:52:22 -0800

It's driving me mental. I *must* get Trent Parke's "Dream/Life" and "The Seventh Wave" photo books. They are nowhere for sale. Or are they? Please MeFi, tell me you know how to help me get my hands on these... Pretty please?

Books on tape in Sacto?

Ambrosia Voyeur — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 15:36:35 -0800

Where can I buy books on _tape_ in Sacramento?

Where are the used book stores in Houston?

mrbill — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 12:46:21 -0800

Where are the good used book stores in Houston? My wife and I have lived in Houston for three years, and we still can't find any good used book stores here. By "good" I mean hole-in-the-wall places full of paper dust and feet-high piles of ancient paperbacks and things like hardbacks dating to the 50s.

When I lived in Austin from '96-'05 there were plenty of places like this - The Book Exchange on Burnet, The Book Store next to the hardware store in the shopping center at 183/McNeil, etc.

All I've been able to find here are a few Half Price Books locations, and they don't seem to have the neat selection and variety of new and ancient books that the HPB on Guadalupe in Austin did.

Can someone rescue us from a fate of depending on Amazon for our used book habit? We live near Gessner/Westheimer but are willing to drive anywhere in Houston for a good read at a good price.

Japanese Bookstore on Maui?

TauLepton — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 21:18:25 -0800

Is there anywhere to purchase Japanese magazines on Maui? Oahu is also on the itinerary - suggestions for good places there would be fabulous. Specifically, I'm interested in picking up the latest issue of Cotton Time. Any other Japanese language/published crafting books or magazines would be a huge bonus.

Google searches have turned up all kinds of books about Maui/Hawaii but no actual bookstores and their specialties.

I'll be in Maui a few more days and then over to Oahu for the next few days before heading home to the mainland. I'd prefer to go while in Maui and am not stretched for time and transportation (I have both kids with me).

I did find Hakubundo on Oahu. Any other suggestions would be awesome.

Toystore and Bookstore in Tokyo?

silusGROK — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 14:02:12 -0800

I am in Tokyo as we speak, on business for two more days. I am in the Kayobacho district, one metro stop away from Ginza... though Saturday will see me taking an early train to Kamakura. I am looking for two things: an amazing toy store and an amazing bookstore. Suggestions?

They sell books where?

RogerB — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 08:59:18 -0800

Why do book advertisements say "available wherever books are sold"? I've seen this in print ads, but also heard it in places like short public radio underwriting spots, where words are at a great premium. Surely the audience for a book advertisement already knows how to buy a book — and if not, this generic reminder does nothing to help it find a bookstore anyway. Why not use these five words to communicate something more specific about the book being advertised? Is "sold" a subtle attempt to bias the audience away from library borrowing? Or is this just a useless vestigial remnant of ads that promote a specific bookstore chain?

Framing my Diploma

debit — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 13:21:31 -0800

Should I have my diploma from my university put into a custom frame, or should I just buy one of the pre-made frames available at the college bookstore and do it myself? I'm also in a graduate program. If I were to get a custom frame, I would like to at least have the frames match.

Thank you for your help glorious hive mind!

English library in Tokyo?

rsk — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 13:33:50 -0800

Is there a good English library in Tokyo? What about used bookstores? I'm moving to Tokyo next week and would like to find an English language library/used bookstore. There are a few suggestions I've found on google that I plan to check out (here) but I'd like to see what the hive mind suggests. Thanks!

A simple way to make an Amazon associate bookstore?

sntamonica — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 12:06:00 -0800

I want to create an online bookstore using Amazon's associate program. I'm not a web programmer. Are there any super easy-to-use web design templates that simplify this process? Why on earth hasn't Amazon created an associate "bookstore automator", I wonder?

selling out in DC

mookieproof — Thu, 25 May 2006 10:19:53 -0800

Anyone know of used bookstores in the Washington, DC area that give cash for books? Second Story and Idle Times do not. Thanks.

Used textbooks in Canada

arcticwoman — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 13:18:36 -0800

Where can I get used textbooks online... in Canada? All the used bookstores that I have been able to find online are located in and ship from USA. The shipping and customs costs could kill a poor student, but so could buying new textbooks from my university bookstore. What are some good, reliable stores in Canada where I could find Sociology, Religious Studies, Psychology and French books for cheap(er)?

Tech book store in NYC?

bingo — Sat, 27 Aug 2005 07:01:09 -0800

Where can I find a good computer/technical bookstore in Manhattan? Yes, I've googled. Bully for you if you can do it better than me. However, personal I've-been-there recs would really be best.

Bookstores: the natural laxative?

nitsuj — Mon, 06 Jun 2005 07:20:46 -0800

Why do bookstores and libraries make me poop? At first I thought this was some sort of kindred-based phenomena; all the men in my family experienced similar reactions when visiting bookstores and libraries. Over time I've found that many of my aquaintinences also experience this same thing. Is this just a case of conditioning, or could there be some sort of chemical floating through the air that triggers excretion? How wide spread is this phenomena?

Selling autographed books

u.n. owen — Mon, 28 Feb 2005 13:45:42 -0800

I have several rare/autographed books that I'm interested in selling due to financial issues. I don't want to be ripped off. Help! I have several rare and autographed editions of Gwendolyn Brooks works. Online, they don't sell for less than $100 ever from what I've seen (and several sell for considerably more). But when I took them to a local book store in Madison last year, they offered me $5 apiece.

Problem is, online they can take quite a while to sell. Is there a happy medium? Is there any store that will buy books online for a reasonable price?

I'm figuring this is a long shot of a question, but if such a place existed, I figured y'all would be the ones to know about it.

Textbook store in Boston?

Firas — Fri, 25 Feb 2005 14:48:55 -0800

I'm looking for a large-ish general (or political) textbook store in, or accessible from, Boston, preferably one open on Saturdays and/or Sundays. Basically, I need to acquire the book "Comparative Politics: Notes and Readings" by Bernard Brown (9th Ed.) ASAP. I'd expected Google (or Google local, or Google answers, or the archives here) to easily answer the query; no such luck. Is there even such a thing as a textbook store? Some college-affiliated ones turned up but I'm not sure whether they'd have this and whether people unaffiliated with the college can randomly walk in. (Mine doesn't have it right now)

I'd like to be holding this thing in my hands by Monday evening, however I manage to procure it.

I'm trying to avoid ordering from Amazon because I've been 'sent' stuff at my current address that I didn't receive (not from Amazon though).

The Boston Public library seems to have a rather outdated edition, but I'll go check tomorrow anyway.