Operating a Used Bookstore

Operating a used book store is a lot like owning a recycling center - not too glamorous until you take a look at the owner's bank account.

This is an ideal "absentee-owner" type of business, or a small investment business for someone to start while holding down a regular, full-time job. The type of person best-suited to running a successful used book store is the man or woman who loves to read, has collected books over the years, and enjoys associating with people that have similar interests.

Start-up risks are rated high, with the average time period needed to become firmly established about 3 years. After that stage, however, you should be able to enjoy ownership of a business without extreme market fluctuations, plus an income close to 50,000 per year or more. Ideally, a used book store will need a market population of at least 50,000 persons to support it. Try to locate your store in a "high traffic" area, as near as possible to a college or university campus. Something to bear in mind is the shopping habits of the average used book buyer. First, s/he's a browser. S/he notices your shop, drops in, and begins looking around to see what kind of books you have available. If s/he spots something of interest, s/he'll probably buy then and there. If not, and provided you've made them feel comfortable this first time in your store, they’ll be back - dropping in to browse whenever they’re in the area.

Shopping malls are excellent locations for bookstores. Locations near stores selling new books are also very good. If the buyer doesn't find what he wants in the "other" book stores, he'll check your store. Grocery store shopping centers are generally poor locations for book stores of any kind. It's important that there are a lot of casual strollers in your location and that you encourage these people to drop in and browse around. If you want the entire front of your store to be a show window, take pains to arrange your window display in an uncluttered manner, showing the kinds of books you have. Once you have your store location selected, paint the entire interior in a dark, warm color, such as mahogany. Install a lighter shade of indoor/outdoor carpeting throughout. The lighting should be indirect and somewhat subdued to give your store a warm feeling.

Locate your checkout counter parallel to one of the side walls. You don't want it blocking or guarding the easy entry or exit from your store. You want your customers to feel comfortable just visiting your store. In other words, do everything you can to encourage the browser, because it's been proven time and again that the browsers are the book buyers. Allow the people to come and go generally as they please; to pick up and thumb through the books that interest them; to read them, and "fall in love" with them. These will be your real book buyers.

Your book shelves should run along each side wall, and across the back of the store. Don't build them more than six feet high. Partition these shelves into sections about four feet wide, and at the top of each section, place a sign indicating the general subject matter of the books to be found in that section. Paper the walls of your store, from the top of your book shelves to the ceiling with posters - colorful and descriptive travel posters, Broadway show billboards, concert posters and full color dust jackets from books that are perennially popular.

Most used bookstore entrepreneurs use their own book collections as a start-up inventory base. In addition, talk to as many neighbors, friends, and relatives as possible for the donation of books. Then start making the rounds of all the garage sales and flea markets. You should have at least 10,000 books in stock when you open for business - and that's a lot of books. Search for books to sell - those you can buy for $.25 or less - in all the thrift shops, Goodwill stores and Salvation Army outlets. Church bazaars and estate sales can also sometimes provide you with almost complete libraries.

You might place a small ad in your newspaper announcing hat you're looking for good used books to buy. Generally, you evaluate a book according to the price you think you can get for it in your store. Then you subtract two thirds of that total, and offer that as your buying price. Always separate the books you feel certain you can sell from those you aren't sure about.

It's going to take awhile for you to become proficient as a book buyer, but with practice and some experience, you'll quickly develop the "intuition" you need to realize a profit on every book you buy.