Cart 0

Which Way Is Up? Trying to Make Sense of the Current State of the Bookshop April 24, 2007 – Posted in: bookshops

If you are an independent bookseller and your door is still open you are to be commended. The systematic onslaught against independent businesses that is a byproduct of our current economic policy and technological advances has been steady and ruthless for the last decade. Luckily the bookstore is faring better than the independent (or the patronizing tag the mom & pop) hardware or drug store. I don’t have the numbers but I would bet the…

Continue reading

The Bookseller Manifesto Part I: I am a Bookseller – New Definitions for a Shifting Landscape December 17, 2006 – Posted in: Bookselling / Collecting

There are not many industries in the last 10 years that have undergone the volcanic eruptions that the world of bookselling has. The world of the antiquarian and used bookseller has been turned upside down. A dinosaur of a trade that pretty much moved at turtle speed for most of the 20th century has had it shell torn off in the last decade. The new bookseller has feared worse. It has become almost impossible to…

Continue reading

The Dumbing Down of Bookselling November 5, 2006 – Posted in: Bookselling / Collecting

Granted Amazon is the Godzilla of the new book business and much of their energy has been channeled in redefining the new book business. And one must take their hats off to them for what they have accomplished. Of course, I am all for the independent bookseller and the independent spirit but one must always be open to change. Too many new booksellers spent their energy running for the hills, and not enough energy in…

Continue reading

The Trade Discount November 2, 2006 – Posted in: Bookselling / Collecting

One of the stickiest issues facing today’s bookseller is the trade discount. How much? Who gets it? Which sales channels are eligible Historically, the trade worked on a 20% discount to members in the trade Beware of the CWS – Collector Who Sells

Continue reading