The BookThinker Newsletter ISSN 1547-9501 #116, 10 March 2008

BookThink Update
17 March 2008>>>

Update Announcements

Increasing Your Bookselling IQ With Libraries Unlimited An Introduction If you specialize in bookselling, you're probably familiar with most or all of the reference books relevant to your specialty, but if you're new or newer at things, perhaps not - and sometimes asking for suggestions doesn't deliver the breadth and depth of information you need to make good choices. In today's first article, I'd like to introduce you to a publisher of reference books that can help you make these decisions. I think you'll be surprised at how useful to bookselling some of their titles are, even if they were intended for librarians!

How to Start a Clicks-and-Bricks Bookstore Store Layout The Basics Next up is Jill Hendrix. Now that the ink is dry on your bookstore lease, we're getting to the fun stuff - designing your store. As usual, Jill provides exceptional detail on what to consider and how to go about this.

From the Editor Important announcements for BookThinker readers.

Storage Solutions for Booksellers Part II: The Joint How time flies when you're between parts on a series of articles! I'm ashamed to say that Part I of my "Storage Solutions for Booksellers" was published early last year, and here I'm just getting to Part II. If you missed Part I or simply forgot everything, here it is. Meanwhile, in Part II I propose a woodworking technique that should enable even a 10-thumbed bookseller to construct low-cost, high quality shelving for inventory storage quickly.

BookThink Top 10 on eBay November 2007 Also today - Pamela Palmer's Top 10 on eBay for November 2006. "Fiction sales focused on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows with a smattering of Faulkner, Puzo, Koontz, and King making up the remainder. Non-fiction, though, was diverse. An Easton Long Road to Freedom topped the list which included the Beatles and Chagall among others. The most interesting item(s) came in last. Seems the same copy of Atlas Shrugged managed to sell two days in a row. Both were sold by the same US seller as BINs with what appears to be the same photograph. And, of course, classifying Atlas Shrugged as non-fiction only adds to the interest."

Gold Edition #47 How To Establish a Trusted Internet Bookselling Presence Part II: Pricing What role does pricing have to do with trust? More than you might think. Purchase now.

BookThink's Quarterly Market Report of Common, Profitable Books Issue #3 Issue #3 of BookThink's Quarterly Market Report of Common, Profitable Books is now available for purchase. Purchase or subscribe now.

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BookThink Update
3 March 2008>>>

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Buying and Selling Civil War Ephemera Part I Photographic Images Michele Behan writes about ephemera, but, if you don't buy and sell letters, photographs, brochures, postcards - or any of the innumerable items that comprise this market sector - this doesn't mean you should give her articles a pass. The thing is, if you're good at selling books, you'll almost certainly be good at selling ephemera - and vice-versa - and gaining knowledge in one will be essentially equivalent to gaining knowledge in the other. What makes the study of ephemera especially productive is that it almost always leads you to what is collectible and why. See how this plays out with Civil War ephemera in today's article.

Becoming an Antiquarian Bookseller Part II: Scouting and Finding Saleable Books Chris Lowenstein, our Accidental Antiquarian is back today as well. Those of you who are looking to establish a career in bookselling would do well to follow her series closely. Though somewhat new to bookselling, Chris isn't taking a conventional approach - she's not spending most of her days pointing laser beams at bar codes, etc. Instead, she's deliberately seeking knowledge about books and how they can most effectively be bought and sold. Today's article focuses on acquiring inventory - and there's not a word about scanners.