Counter-intuitively, I tend to be more selective in books during the summer and Christmas seasons than I an in the off seasons.
When I started, I would bulk up for the summer and Christmas because that's when we were selling the most stuff. But, eventually, a Christmas season came along where I really, really needed to turn a big profit and the only way I could do it was to sell down the inventory and be more picky.
Strangely, it didn't affect sales at all.
I started thinking about it and decided that during the off season you need the biggest selection you can manage because people are much more likely to come in looking for a specific title. They are more likely to be locals, so they will want something they haven't seen before.
Whereas in summer and Christmas, the majority of customers or infrequent locals or tourists. It's all new to them. As long as you have a reasonably expansive selection, you will sell books.
The "reasonably expansive selection" is done during the off season.
So strangely enough, it all seems to work, assuming you can afford to possibly lose money to take chances during the off season, you're more likely to make it up during the busy seasons.
I don't know. This is my observation and I could be all wet.
Meanwhile, I've noticed how often we are complimented by our "curation." Which is true, considering that all my titles are handpicked by me, rather than by some corporate algorithm.
Put I've always been a bit abashed by the knowledge that I pay a lot of attention to the bestseller lists and to the inventory levels at the wholesaler. (Inventory indicates that they have faith in it and will be pushing it.)
But I've noticed lately that when it comes time to reorder, especially with the trade paperback editions, that I veer quite a bit from those two indicators, because I have own experience as to whether the hardcover sold.
For instance, this week I'm being offered the PB version of "How to Age Disgracefully." The inventory numbers are on the low end, but I ordered high because I sold the HC over and over again.
So in the end, the more or less permanent inventory, or what I call "perennials," are most definitely handpicked and curated.
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