Local Independent Bookstores and Cafes discussion

After you move IndieBound.org up your list, it is worth looking through the list of links that are available for web sites to your favorite brick and mortar book stores. I have Tattered Cover, Elliott Bay, and Powells on my list. It would be neat to see what other stores people like to support.

Brilliant!

We, of course, love Tattered Cover, too! Our weekly podcast is recorded at the Tattered Cover and features authors reading from and discussing their latest books.

www.authorsontourlive.com

AuthorsOnTourLive! wrote: "We, of course, love Tattered Cover, too! Our weekly podcast is recorded at the Tattered Cover and features authors reading from and discussing their latest books.

www.authorsontourlive.com

Thank you! And thanks for joining "the movement"!

I have a maybe not quite happy comment. I work for a medium size independent bookstore in Michigan. We have a website, which I am unable to add to my links for some reason. But I'm not sure I want to because our website isn't the greatest resource. Our bricks and mortar stores however are absolutely fantastic, just a different experience from online, obviously. We are NEVER supposed to let customers see us accessing Amazon on the computers, but we do it all the time, trying to be discrete, because it's the best way we know to get accurate info. on laydowns etc. I don't know whether to blame my employers (the owners) or just the marketplace or what. I HATE telling customers they might as well go on line, but I can't lie to them either. If they really want the book, and Powells doesn't have it, sometimes the bigger sites are the most efficient way. I hope you don't kick me out of the group for voicing this. Maybe you all have some suggestions.

Andrea wrote: "I have a maybe not quite happy comment. I work for a medium size independent bookstore in Michigan. We have a website, which I am unable to add to my links for some reason. But I'm not sure I wa..."

As an independent publisher (Monkey Puzzle Press - www.monkeypuzzleonline.com), I can say that using Amazon should be your last resource for finding/ordering books you don't have in stock. Amazon takes a huge cut of the SRP - which means less money for publishers and the writers they publish. The best route would be to order books straight from the publisher; if you don't know who the publisher is, then Amazon could be a good resource - publishers are listed under Product Details. Hope that helps.

And don't forget that "going online" does not equal "going to Amazon." Indiebound.org is a great place to start for anyone going the online route, and of course there are many great, independent used book stores accessible via the web as well.

As for reference, our store uses TitleSource (Baker & Taylor's site) and iPage (Ingram's). They are subscription sites, but I don't know the associated costs. The only time I feel the need to use Amazon is when I'm completely striking out on a book a customer originally saw on Amazon, and I finally resort to just recreating the search they conducted in the first place. Once we've located the title, I switch back to non-Amazon sources.

Yes, we use ipage too, but of course they only list what they have available. And just to clear my name, we DON'T actually order the books from Amazon. We look them up and then go to the publisher. But some customers are not willing to wait the three to six weeks it takes some publishers (they know who they are:)) to send the book. I guess you can't win them all, but it's quite frustrating to spend 10-15 minutes tracking something down only to have the customer say, "Oh, I can get it at Amazon with a 10% discount and a free widget." I'm really thinking of what Independents need to do to lure customers from Amazon to their own stores and sites i.e. keep them searchable and up to date. Thanks for the suggestions.

I also am a bookseller at an independent bookstore and know well the frustration of losing sales to Amazon. For us independents it's all about service. One thing I try to keep in mind is that the customer came to us and left with info about how to get their book. So next time they need a book they may again check with us first, and hopefully they want something we have in stock. Essentially our store can be their resource for book research, which gives us first crack at selling them the book if we have it and saves them the time and energy of doing the research themselves. Also our bookstore staff check local competitors for books that we don't have in stock, which saves the customer the hassle of driving around town looking for something that may or may not be available. Again we become a resource for our customers not just retailers.

Andrea wrote: "Yes, we use ipage too, but of course they only list what they have available. And just to clear my name, we DON'T actually order the books from Amazon. We look them up and then go to the publishe..."

Andrea,

Assuming your iPage access is like ours, there should be a drop-down menu on the main page allowing you to broaden your search from "Ingram Active" to "Ingram Extended," making it more of a books in print search.

Good point, Chris. And I agree with Chuck, that we need to keep in mind that a "real" store offers so much more than selling; that's why people come to us.

Folks, I just found and joined this group.... Great group........... I have a favorite bookstore ,The Atlanta Book Exchange, I get them to order books for me and have them delivered to their store where I pick up and pay for them. They mark them up for the trouble ~10%, they find and buy them for me and sometimes I get them for good deals!

Our bookstore has a website as well, but despite referring to it on all of our event fliers, even our regular customers are unfamiliar with it. We have a new, printable coupon up every month, which maybe one person every couple of months will redeem. Maybe other stores have success stories, but it seems to me that the personal aspect of independent bookstores is their perennial appeal, and the best tool we've got in our bag.

My bookstore is in South Padre Island and we are primarily a resort community. In the summer we have a lot of families visit and kids with reading lists or books that they want to read for fun when they have the time. I usually try to have summer reading list titles on hand but often there is a request for a backlist title that my customer wants right away. In these cases Amazon is my best source - they can get an obscure title to me next day delivery - and my customer generally appreciates our going to the extra effort to order and deliver the needed title expeditiously. There are times when the book has no discount and I will sell it to the customer at cost and tell them honestly what I have done. Many of them will then buy other books and several of these transactions have resulted in return customers.

I don't like the Amazon model, but they are experts at distribution and occasionally it only makes sense to take advantage of that expertise.

One thing that Amazon does that causes confusion among customers is listing a book without the release date but just stating that they do not have it available. I have people then come in and ask me if we have the book and when I explain that it has not been published they say "Well, I saw it on Amazon". I will go to the site and explain to them what amazon has neglected to disclose.

Personal service is what we have to offer. A friendly face, background music, fun and unique sidelines, and the bookstore dogs sleeping on the counter are things Amazon can't provide. That is what will keep our customers coming back, I hope.

I list local independent bookstores on my author website as places to buy my books. However, I only support stores who do NOT charge authors for signings, so Tattered Cover doesn't get my support.

Beth,

I have never paid to go to an author signing at the Tattered Cover. I think that they might ask you to purchase a book to get it signed (and then only for really, really high profile authors, like Bill Clinton) but you can still GO to the event for free.

Nate wrote: "Andrea wrote: "I have a maybe not quite happy comment. I work for a medium size independent bookstore in Michigan. We have a website, which I am unable to add to my links for some reason. But I'..."

I mostly use Amazon to check details of a book, such as a description, the author, occasionally to find suggestions for what to read next, etc. I honestly prefer going into my local independent bookstores because the employees tend to be funny and give good suggestions on what I should read or what to buy as gifts. I can tell them what I've read recently that I liked and what I didn't like. I find I get better suggestions that way than from Amazon.

My favorite book store closed a few months back.................what now?