|
Post by En on Mar 31, 2004 17:40:44 GMT -5
Okay. Let's say, hypothetically, that I had a chance to come up with some fun ideas for a bookshop. I have a few thoughts, and I wouldn't mind a few more if you folks volunteered them. So could I get your reactions to these, or additions to the list?
1. What if I put up one of those cafe menu boards with "Today's Special" -- liiike, ten great books about journeys? And for that day, journey books are 10% off. If I don't agree with you that a book is a journey book, you can argue your case, and I can award you 5% off for effort. The theme for the day could be based on customer suggestions, or maybe on historical events corresponding to that day (only you know me--they'd be weird ones like the Easter Rising in Ireland 1916, or the day steamboats were patented).
2. How effective are frequent-buyer programs, really? I mean could we really get people to buy 10%-off-card-memberships in a used-book store? Would it be worthwhile?
3. Recommendations. You probably know I'm the sort who could and would target individual people in the shop with books I'd tell them to buy, and that I'd probably actually do the whole book pharmacy routine. But I was also thinking it could be fun to set up a bulletin board on which people could play book dominoes. I'd give them rectangular slips of paper with a dividing line across the middle, and they could look at what's on the board, pick a book they know, write a book they'd recommend to the reader of that book, then write on a book they like and want a recommendation based on.
Like... I'd see that Pkia posted Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Maguire, and I'd post Girl with a Pearl Earring by Chevalier, then add The Awakening by Kate Chopin. Someone else could come along, see that, and recommend Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre; then they'd also post Steppenwolf by Hesse, to see what sort of recommendations they got from that.
4. Section/selection days -- like, Fridays are 10% off poetry (and we could have a poetry reading too?)
5. Send postcards/emails to people when we get a big buy of science fiction, a really cool rare book, stuff like that.
6. Suggest-a-section: have customers submit nominations for possible quirky sections, listing at least 10 books that would go in it, and choose one to actually put up in the store each month.
7. Magnetic poetry. You know you love it. Don't you think used bookstores just have to have magnetic poetry?
8. Once-a-month writing contests. Only, this is me, right? I'd be like -- write a ransom note for a book you want (up to $10), and the most creative ransom note wins the book. Like, producing an elaborately written letter from "Claudius, King of Denmark" to the King of England instructing him to take [person submitting ransom note] in exchange for a copy of Hamlet, only the name of [person] would be scratched out and someone else's name (like Rosencrantz & Guildenstern) written in over it. I would give a free copy of Hamlet for that, especially if I got to keep the letter and put it up in the store.
9. ...?
|
|
Fantasia
Hufflepuff House Member
ale teraz wiem
Posts: 2,712
|
Post by Fantasia on Apr 1, 2004 7:44:04 GMT -5
For the fantasy junkies, you'd have to hold big dress-up shindigs, you know how much we all love to don the latest in Hogwarts fashions whenever new books/movies come out. ;D Basically, I'm suggesting you hold, erm...."occaisions" for big new releases....that would be fun, and attract more customers......?
|
|
|
Post by Sphi on Apr 1, 2004 11:16:28 GMT -5
You know what I absolutely love? When I wander into bookstores at 10 at night and I hear live music. It's usually just one of two guys singing and playing the guitar, but it never fails to make me smile. I just grab something to browse through and then hang around by the cafe to listen to the music. And sometimes I sing along if I know the lyrics.
The writing contest sounds cool. And I like the postcard idea, but that would probably only work if you were really close to all your customers. Or if you just send it out to frequent patrons, that would work, too, cuz everyone likes getting handwritten mail, right? But the recommendations board might be hard if people don't really know what they're talking about, but a real-life book pharmacy...that would be nice.
|
|
|
Post by En on Apr 1, 2004 13:44:50 GMT -5
Hm-m. So if I took a guitar, or maybe took Gen and hir guitar, to work -- that would be a good thing. Yeees.
Oh man, dress-up events -- if I could get the SCA to come in and do a Renaissance event at the store, that would be awesome. Especially since the SCA crowd are the sort who would buy signed or antique editions, which are the hardest lot to sell in a used-book shop. Most people don't impulse-buy first edition, signed Steinbecks -- mostly because they cost several hundred or even a few thousand dollars But SCA folks would buy stuff like that. Not Steinbeck, but you know what I mean.
Yeah, I do think I'd want people to sign up for the postcards, rather than sending out mass mailings to all our customers or something. And maybe even send out directed mailings -- like, have five categories people could get mail about (rare editions & literature/poetry; local interest; genre fiction (mystery, sci-fi, fantasy); humanities; and events in the store).
Hm... I would worry about the recommendations, except that Iowa City is a university town and happens to be home to the Iowa Writers Workshop, one of the most famous graduate writing programs in the world. So there's no shortage of bibliophiles in that town Dunno -- we could always try it for a few weeks and see what happened.
I'm also thinking, you know how loads of bookshops have an in-house cat or dog now? What if I took down a puppet? I have this rabbit that looks totally realistic; it could sit on the counter quietly while I type books into the store database, and then it could occasionally smart off to the customers when I overhear them talking crap about books I know
|
|
|
Post by Sphi on Apr 1, 2004 14:24:43 GMT -5
The SCA? Sounds like a secret organization...dealing in books. I would buy first edition books if I had a lot of money, which I don't. You're lucky that you're surrounded by such people, though. It's not that there are none in my area, but I'm also not going to say that people aren't obsessed with shopping, looks, cars...
In that case, I like the postcard idea very much.
Aww! That's so adorable, the puppet thing! I'd be tempted to steal the rabbit for a day or two. ;D
|
|
|
Post by En on Apr 1, 2004 17:52:31 GMT -5
Oh, I thought you'd have gotten abducted by them already. The Society for Creative Anachronism. They all have medieval or renaissance historical personas and they study the history of that particular period, usually have a costume, and occasionally throw renaissance festivals and stuff.
Here is a picture from the catalog of the company I got my rabbit from. His name is Dandelion (yes, that's a deliberate Watership Down reference), and he's has been to more continents than I have () :
|
|
|
Post by guinevere on Apr 5, 2004 2:00:52 GMT -5
the ideas are wonderful, but nix to the discount card... people at Walden Books can*t stand them and we tired lthem, but they didn*t work. we do have an explorer club where kids are given a card that is punched for each purchase (and when it is full, it is worth $5 off another book) but parents NEVER remember to bring those cards... I read about a bookstore in PW today during lunch...not only does it sell books , the owner sells baskets full of hand spun yarn (thereby supporting the local spinning guild--the Spinning Crones) and alcohol--microbrewed stuff and wine.--very casual place..
|
|
|
Post by En on Apr 5, 2004 14:46:11 GMT -5
Yeah, that's kind of what I figured. I've noticed that some other businesses who've tried discount cards have since quit (coffeeshops and the like), and I figured there was probably a reason for the end of the trend
The bookstore guy (at the place I want to work) had the idea of sponsoring a wine-tasting (and offering 10% off our cooking section that day). Since we just happen to be close to the Amana Colonies, an Amish community that makes wines, I thought we might do 10% off Iowa books as well. And since I've been doing legal stuff for ages, I know how to get the one-day alcohol license
And my mum wants a place to market her quilts. She makes an amazing variety of them -- everything from quilted wall hangings to the flannel-shirt one she did for a benefit auction, to one she's doing now with crocheted fan patterns. I could let her bring in a few for show and a book of patterns she'd do on commission or something.
Oh, and about coffee: if we serve it free (buy at least $5 in books and get a free cup?), the Department of Health won't regulate us (which would be annoying at best), so we could just put a couple of those carafe thingys out (the kind where you push on the top) and have a shelf where people could bring in mugs and leave them at the store, with labels on for their names, only then we'd throw a couple of fakes up as well -- a mug marked "Kurt Vonnegut," one marked "Frank Conroy," ... ;D
|
|
Calantha
Gryffindor Alumni
My name is Luck, this is my song, I happened by when you were gone
Posts: 4,493
|
Post by Calantha on Apr 8, 2004 19:41:41 GMT -5
I agree, I don't like the discount cards. In fact, I hate being asked if I want a discount card. I think that's one of the major reasons I hate BAM.
Oooohhh...magnetic poetry! Perhaps one of my favourite things in the world (including the picture magnetic poetry which is fun to mix with just the regular magnetic poetry) except...I could see people just taking the magnetic poetry and then by the second week or so you'd have the left of words no one would want like "the" and "of".
This might make me a dork, but I really like themed things...one of the bookshops in town has a fantasy theme...not meaning all the books are fantasy...but the decor is and the things they sell. I also like nooks. A nook is a neccessity in life.
That rabbit is adorable. And I like your suggestions, only thing is a lot of them seem to be based upon your customers and how involved they want to be in the shop...which could be really easily done...or not so easily done...
|
|
|
Post by En on Apr 10, 2004 12:24:47 GMT -5
*nods* None of my ideas would work overnight; it would take a lot of drawing out the shy regulars, telling leader-type customers that you want them to take charge of one project or another so that they feel challenged and compelled to return, psyching people up for the various projects, advertising (not sure how much or how yet).... In fact, it would not be even slightly unlike running TD
I definitely like your theme idea, and the nook thing would work really well because the store in question is arranged in about 9 rooms/nooks on 2 floors. It would be fun to decorate each room/nook appropriately to the subject matter there, keeping the front room (where the counter and new arrivals are) as a sort of open living-room like area, which we could push the tables out of and fill with folding chairs for open mic things.
So what do they have for fantasy-themed decor?
|
|
Calantha
Gryffindor Alumni
My name is Luck, this is my song, I happened by when you were gone
Posts: 4,493
|
Post by Calantha on Apr 10, 2004 14:07:54 GMT -5
The wife of the guy who runs it is an artist so she has painted a lot of beautiful fantasy type paintings...from the typical unicorn/wizard to really abstract paintings of stars and things and they sell a lot of cards with fantasy things on it and they have drapes that remind me of a castle...just things like that, like you just walked into a fantasy book and they have a mural of a dragon wrapping around the room and then they made entrance ways into the various rooms of the store. And everything is for sale...the paintings, the rug, the drapes. All too expensive for me to buy, but still for sale.
I really like it, it totally gives of the used book store vibe. The smell of it is perhaps the best...old books and a sage type smell.
|
|
|
Post by En on Apr 12, 2004 15:08:29 GMT -5
That does sound cool... I'd also like to do a thing in the kids' section where they could contribute short poems, which they could write on construction-paper circles. Then I'd glue a pair of construction-paper legs/feet onto each circle, stick a funny-looking head on the wall, and make the circles into a "bookworm." Then if anyone asked if we'd ever had poets read at the store, I could show that we had autographed, handwritten copies of loads of poems ;D
|
|
|
Post by guinevere on Apr 12, 2004 23:05:50 GMT -5
a small problem to think about... this wonderful, inviting, friendly, cozy, dry when it rains shop may become a haven for homeless who will spend the day in a chair reading the books, etc. any ideas?
|
|
|
Post by En on Apr 13, 2004 11:31:49 GMT -5
The good news is that it's a relatively small store. It's not unreasonable to be aware of how many people are in the store at any given time, and even roughly where they are (the stairway to the basement creaks, and all the connecting passages between rooms upstairs are visible from the counter).
So on that scale, I'd suggest handling it like one handles any small group that meets on private property -- the proprietor has the right to ask people whether they intend to buy anything, and to ask them to leave if they don't -- and also has the right to leave them there if they're not hurting anything. With me, I'd probably draw the line at serious hygiene issues (such that other visitors aren't comfortable going into a room with the person) and probably also at sleeping in the store, unless it was obviously an accidental nod-off.
But what do you folks do about it? Or does it happen there?
|
|
|
Post by guinevere on Apr 13, 2004 23:39:12 GMT -5
yes, it does--on a regular basis. the regulars are usually lined up at the door in the morning (especially on rainy mornings). they find a chair and spend the day reading. we haven*t had anyone who smelled too strongly--and I*ve found that our regulars read magazines, books, etc. and, don*t faint--put them back where they got them!! (not like our other customers..) we had an incident one night where a boy (around 10 years old) apparently went by a homeless fellow and kicked him! he cursed and boy went running for his dad--a honolulu policeman. the policeman came to me and raised hell--and the homeless fellow left pretty fast--but returned a few weeks later. one of our regulars, an older gentleman who wore a baseball cap and pulled a little suitcase on wheels, hasn*t been by for about 3 weeks. I read that a body was found in the park across the street--someone died of natural causes--and since we didn*t know our regular*s name, we are thinking the worst. but then again, maybe he found another cubby to pass the time.
|
|