When is a bookstore a bookstore?

Interesting snippet I found on the Maine Public Broadcasting Network.

MUSIC RETAILER BUCKS TRENDS, ENTERS BOOK BUSINESS.
"As independent bookstores struggle to compete with online booksellers and digital reading devices such as Kindle, Maine's largest music, movies, and video game retailer (Bull Moose) announced today that it will enter the book business."


Actually, I think this is going to be the new model of bookstores. And it's something similar to what, in a smaller way, I'm doing.

1.) Books, as hard as they are, I think are probably actually easier to sell than music, movies, and video games. Or for that matter, comics and games and cards. Retailers who have survived and thrived in the trenches of those industries aren't going to be as intimidated by books and will be willing to make changes to the model that old-line bookstores won't. The margins on books are actually pretty good, compared with most products, and there are return privileges, and -- best of all-- a huge backlog of proven sellers.

For someone like me, who has been trying to sell 'dated' material (comics and games) , or had horrible margins (cards and movies), books are somewhat refreshing, frankly.

2.) Bookstores have become hidebound in their approach. They think diversity means selling knick-knacks, or adding a coffee bar, or selling books online.

Well just about everyone sells product online, so that's not much of a competitive advantage anymore. Coffee bars in my opinion are more trouble than they're worth. But mostly, the product they are pursuing, best-sellers, Oprah books, etc. put them in direct competition to Barnes and Nobles, and to Walmart for that matter.

Meanwhile, used bookstores are stuck with outmoded trading policies, or the idea of 'rare' and 'valuable' and haven't (most of them) transitioned to the idea that books are a commodity, thus make the mistake of restricting the flow of books into the store. (You can always sell the 'rare' and 'valuable' books online.) Every time a bookstore turns away a customer because it already has too many John Grisham books or Tom Clancy books, is a lost opportunity, yet that seems to be the norm.

I believe the getting half-cash and half trade with every sale is the only reasonable policy, especially with the glut of books in the world. Strictly trading books for books, in a world of thrift stores, will simply bury you). But I believe that a minority of bookstores are trying for half cash -- though the percentage is rising every day, as the oldtime "book exchanges" die off.

And, in a mirror image, I think new bookstores are too resistant to Used Books, often, and that seems the minimum level of diversification.

3.) Real diversification is going to be what keeps all these media alive. While doing nothing but new books, or video games, or comics, or games, or cards, or movies, or music, or....any other specialty is going to get tougher and tougher, a combination of some of the above may actually be possible for the foreseeable future. If nothing else, carrying three or four full lines of specialization, gives you the opportunity to change.

Diversity allows for synergy. After all, people who like books, also like movies, who also like video games, etc.

Sure, by carrying more than one product line, you are going to be forced to be more selective in your purchasing, but that may actually help. Selling the best 20% of 6 product lines, for instance, theoretically would produce more sales than 100% of one specialty.

I stumbled across my mix, because my section of downtown transformed into a high foot traffic area instead of destination only. So, I try to have my anchor specialty --graphic novels and comics--, which pulls in my 'regulars', as well as product that will sell to browsers -- new books and games.

The other product, cards, toys and card games, are a mix of both.

I also stumbled into my mix because I could see that the Book Barn was leaving, and thought maybe I could sell the very 'best' books I could find. And when Gambit left, I thought I'd try to sell boardgames.

4.) I think this is a reproducible formula. An anchor specialty, 4 or 5 other strong specialties, a heavy foot-traffic area.

Or maybe we're unique.....

Unique is probably going to be what it takes-- whichever form that takes.