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CharlasErotica

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1groovykinda
mayo 13, 2012, 5:39 pm

This is kind of off topic, but since you're my favorite people on LibraryThing, and I had to tell someone...
I've been working in this lovely li'l used bookstore for a couple of months now (I also work in the local library). Anyway, the owner, who is in poor health asked me the other day:
"If I were to sell the bookstore, would you be interested?"
We're just at the earliest stages, but it's looking very hopeful. My girlfriend (who is far more practical than I) is thinking of buying it and then selling it back to me when I sell my house.
Keep your fingers crossed!

2varielle
mayo 13, 2012, 6:32 pm

Jealous! I've always wanted a used bookstore.

3groovykinda
mayo 13, 2012, 6:41 pm

Well, there's three of them for sale out here in the Pacific Northwest. The best one is William James, in Port Townsend.

4Speedicut
mayo 14, 2012, 6:43 pm

The William James shop is great - like a West Coast version of Shakespeare and Company. I'm guessing that this isn't the one you are angling for - although it would certainly keep you out of trouble if it was. Good luck! Used seems to be the way to go. We've just lost two new book shops in our little town in as many months - it;s hard to go up against Amazon discounts. But used shops seem to be synergistic ... three-in-a-row isn't so much competition as a destination for book lovers, particularly if you specialise (erotica, anyone?). Sidney - the one across the water from Port Townsend - has at least a half-dozen (new and used) in a two block radius. they are going for a Hay-on-Wye thing, and advertise together.

5LordBangholm
Editado: mayo 16, 2012, 4:39 pm

Best of luck! I believe it can be a hard life, both from talking to booksellers, and from accounts by Jessica Amanda Salmonson at her Violet Books site, but if you've been working in the shop for a while, you know what you're getting into, and us bibliophiles depend on you.

Here's to the used, second-hand and antiquarian book dealers of the world - keeping forgotten literature alive, one near-fine H/C at a time!

6CliffordDorset
mayo 17, 2012, 7:42 am

Second-hand bookshops are perhaps unique in allowing the owner and staff to use his stock without affecting its value!

7groovykinda
mayo 18, 2012, 3:07 pm

CliffordDorset-Hadn't thought of that! I'm just enjoying my employee discount now.

Speedicut-No, it's not William James, though that's the kind of store I'd like to turn this one into.

I'm pretty hopeful-the current owner doesn't have an on-line presence (in this day and age!), and there's a lot of stuff that just needs to get donated to charity. Plus, my girlfriend is far more business oriented than I am, so she'll handle that end.
Then we can start building that erotica section..!

8paradoxosalpha
mayo 18, 2012, 3:19 pm

According to the wiki for the Black Books Brit-com, the misanthropic bookseller character Bernard Black (portrayed by Dylan Moran)
is based on a real bookshop owner Dylan Moran met in Dublin. Moran stated that "he looks like he's swallowed a cup of sour milk and peed himself at the same time. He has this green bilious expression, years of displeasure have shaped his face. In fact he looks like every other second hand bookshop owner I’ve seen. It seems to go with the job - being miserable".
I must say, the proprietors of my local shops are a dour lot on the whole. Here's hoping you can be one of the exceptions, groovykinda!

9groovykinda
Editado: mayo 23, 2012, 3:43 pm

I suppose it come with being in retail or something.
Maybe most bookstore owners are bibliophiles who would rather be home reading instead of selling Nicholas Sparks books.
I'm pretty misanthropic, but I project a cheerful demeanor. Plus, I love to talk books with people.

Though I also work in a library, and I know we scare people. They're afraid to ask a question because they think we'll think they're stupid ('cause we're so smart, 'cause we work around books).
It's probably the same with bookstores. Someone may be ashamed to ask if I had any Laurel Hamilton, not knowing the depth of my Grove Press addiction, or my growing love for John Colleton (thank you again, CD).
So maybe that turns people misanthropic?

But I do love Black Books!

Update- so, the girlfriend and I drove down to Tacoma to go to the Tacoma Book Exchange (great, great store) to ask questions about running a bookstore.
On the way she asked if I'd want to have an Erotica section. Of course I said yes.
At the next bookstore we stopped at, they had an "Adult Romance" section, right by the paranormal romances. I think that's the best way to name it.

10australwind
mayo 27, 2012, 4:40 am

Look forward to hearing more of your preparations to become an owner...and an on-line retailer! I'm guessing you might have a ready made client base especially if you develop your erotica and BDSM setions!

11groovykinda
mayo 27, 2012, 4:59 pm

#10-Well, of course! And with a "Library Thing Erotica Group" discount, of course.

12australwind
mayo 27, 2012, 8:10 pm

If you are online retailing, will there be any difficulty in filling orders from offshore?

Here in the Antipodes we often encounter online traders who won't dispatch to foreign climes...so challenging for us as we are prepared to pay for OS postage.

13groovykinda
mayo 28, 2012, 1:50 pm

IF I get the bookstore, you can bet I'll ship to my Library Thing Erotic Group associates, no matter where in the world they may be.

14groovykinda
Jun 6, 2012, 2:16 pm

Another update-One used bookstore in the north of our county is gone. I hear rumors that the closest one to us is closing. Then yesterday, I went to visit the nearest one south of us, and she's going out of business!
The boss is coming back today, so we'll discuss it. If I do get it, mine will be the only one in the north of our county.
I don't know if all these closures is a good (less competition, more variety in books to buy), or a bad thing.

15groovykinda
Jun 15, 2012, 1:57 pm

Update again-the owner is very sick, and I met with her daughter today. I told her I was still interested, and she's going to have her husband the accountant put the numbers together. Then I'll show them to my sister the accountant and we'll go from there.
This is getting scary. I have no idea how to run a business. But, it is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

16australwind
Editado: Jun 16, 2012, 11:22 pm

First prerequisite... make the decision to buy the business with your head not your heart.
Second prerequisite... love what you do and do what you love and that will encourage people to be a positive part of your business life (but make sure you have a life outside the business)
Third Prerequisite... if the "business" side of the business isn't your thing, make sure you employ someone to handle that - a good bookkeeper is worth their weight in rare first editions!

Good Luck!

17groovykinda
Jun 17, 2012, 4:36 pm

australwind, thank you.
I'll get the numbers this week. Even though business is down (and our local economy is doing fairly well), the store seems to make enough to support me and my daughter.
Oh yeah, getting the right books into people's hands is definitely what I do. I love it here, and at the library where I've worked for 13 years. And I love going out and finding the books for people. Even when they don't buy books it's always fun to talk to the customers.
And I have two people who know buisness-my girlfriend is studying to be an accountant, and my sister is one, so I definitely have that covered.

One consideration that I have to keep from influencing my decision is: If I don't buy this place, it'll close. The owner is sick, and there's not much of a market for used bookstores around here. In fact, we're losing four used bookstores in about three months. If we close, there won't be another (short of a paperback exchange and a really fancy store) within 40 miles.

18darksabre2
Jun 17, 2012, 6:56 pm

I am jealous - and wish you the best of luck and success, if you start a mailing list to buy sell and trade used books Keep me in mind, I can always use a source that loves books as much as myself.

19groovykinda
Editado: Jul 29, 2012, 4:13 pm

Latest update-they've made an offer, and it's very high. I'll counter this week, and we'll see. I don't have a lot of money to play with (I just sold my house and am paying off some debts).
I'm afraid, if we can't come to an agreement, that they'll liquidate the stock next month.

Oh, and I think I know why bookstore owners are so grumpy. They spend all morning straightening the shelves, only to have kids and fools come in and push everything around and make messes.
The same thing happens in the libraries that I work at. "We could get so much work done if we didn't have the public bothering us all the time."

That, and people who think "50 Shades of Grey" is great.

20Speedicut
Jul 29, 2012, 9:04 pm

There's that Bernard Black in you peeking out. It's why I didn't buy one of the local bookshops that closed its doors this spring - I'm just not that good with people. One of the partners there described how people would prop a book open to photograph a page for a recipe or a picture; or take a snap of the cover because they couldn't even take the trouble to remember the title for when they ordered it later on Amazon.

21paradoxosalpha
Jul 30, 2012, 9:41 am

They might have just been taking the picture to send to Good Show Sir.

22groovykinda
Jul 30, 2012, 2:09 pm

They did that at the grocery store I worked at. We'd have food samples, and they'd take pictures of the recipe and then go buy the ingredients.

I don't necessarily dislike people (in small doses) and the ones who come into bookstores are usually better than average. It's just the family of 8 with the bratty 5 year old who like to spend an hour hanging around and only buy 3 books (I also know them from the library I work in) that drive me nuts. Or whoever spilled
mashed potatoes on the carpet in the Literature section yesterday.

So, they named a price and it's waaaay too high. That means we'll start liquidating the store to close by the end of August. I'm thinking of offering them what I can for what's left, plus the business license, etc.
This store has been here for 24 years, and it's one of the few in our county. I'd hate to see it go. Plus, I know I can make a good living with it.

I think I'm nicer than Bernard Black, but there are times I'd love to treat customers the way he does.

23paradoxosalpha
Jul 30, 2012, 2:49 pm

> 22 I think I'm nicer than Bernard Black

Well, hopefully you have better personal hygiene, anyhow. (Love that show.)

24australwind
Jul 30, 2012, 8:53 pm

22 Hopefully you can see your dream realised in some way sooner or later.

25LheaJLove
Ago 6, 2012, 1:36 pm

Wow! That sounds great... I think everyone on LibraryThing is jealous!

Best of luck

26groovykinda
Sep 14, 2012, 6:42 pm

Well, I'm gonna buy the place. It's really scary. I just hope I can make enough to pay the former owners, the rent, and whatever food I can't get from the foodbank. It should be okay.
I'll keep you posted.

It's funny how the store reflects the personality of the owner. The former owner was a Christian homeschooler, and so those are two big sections of the store. I want to bring in an Erotica, or "Adult Romance" section.
I'd call it "Mature Romance," but we get a lot of seniors in and there could be some surprises...

27Speedicut
Sep 15, 2012, 11:31 am

Congratulations - and good luck!

You'll still have to play the demographics (is Christian homeschooling big in your town?), but it sounds like you will be one of the few bookshops in your region, so you should be able to put your own stamp on the place. Ease the locals into the wider world - salt the "Mature Romance" with some of those zillion copies of "50 Shades of Grey" (and sequels thereof) that should hit the used market soon, and some of those rude Laurel Hamilton volumes that also seem to fly under the radar ...

Going to rename the shop?

28LordBangholm
Editado: Sep 15, 2012, 1:28 pm

Best of luck, and don't underestimate your seniors - they've seen everything!

29australwind
Sep 15, 2012, 11:29 pm

Congratulations!

I'm sure you could work out a means by which you could build your Erotica section without offending the existing client base....try purely online sales for that part of your market to begin with?

30LordBangholm
Sep 16, 2012, 7:03 am

I'm sure it's not the look you're going for, but sleazy bookshops of the old school in the UK often had an adults-only back room behind a curtain. Sometimes there wasn't much in the front of the shop at all, though!

31Speedicut
Sep 16, 2012, 2:21 pm

I suspect on-line rather than backroom sales might fare better in your neighborhood.

Still, "Ye Oldschool Sleazy Bookshop" does conjure images.
(Pity I can't use an appropriate font for that - 'ErotiCaps', for instance.)

Psst ... LB sent me ...

32groovykinda
Editado: Sep 16, 2012, 3:48 pm

Well, we already have a lot of Laurell K. Hamilton books, along with Lora Leigh and others, in the Romance section. I don't think the former owner knew what they were. So I could put some there, I suppose.

But where to put my extra copies of Arabella or Venus in the Country and other fun stuff?
And Pucker Up, and The Loving Dominant and other essential how-to books?
Not to mention the David Hamilton books, which I would rather not sell, but still...

30-LordBangholm-back in the old days, video stores would have a room in the back for the 'racy' stuff. You'd go around a corner and through the curtains to find the more 'mature romance' VHS tapes.

On a side note-my daughter and I were in Barnes and Noble, and ran across a "If you like 50 Shades" display. There was a "50 Shades" magazine, and the A.N. Roquelaire trilogy reissued with a "If you liked 50 Shades of Grey" tagline.

Maybe putting in an Adult Romance (fiction and non-fiction) section would work after all.

I could call it "Ye Olde Sleazey Booke Store" -"Wherein Marriagyes Shall Bee Strenghteyned, ande Muchhe Merrieyment Shall Bee Obtayned Therein."

33LheaJLove
Sep 23, 2012, 7:07 pm

Hahaha. I like "Mature Romance"

34groovykinda
Sep 24, 2012, 3:14 pm

But then, would the regular romance readers think that I'm saying they're im-mature?
I've got a fairly high up shelf in Romance that will hold all my "Sleazy Romance" novels.
Or "Spicy Romance." Hey, I like that one! Draw a little cartoon couple of hot peppers smiling at one another...
Now all I have to do is find a place for the Non-fiction. Roman Sex, The Sensuous Man, Pucker Up, etc.
Maybe up front by the cookbooks, which are next to the children's books. That way the teens can't get at them without me noticing. Not that I don't want them to read that stuff, but I don't want them to steal it.

35LordBangholm
Sep 25, 2012, 1:54 pm

'Spicy Romance' is good. I like that. Non-confrontational, bit old-fashioned, but no-one's gonna go there by mistake. For the non-fiction, how about the equally-retro 'sexology'?

36groovykinda
Sep 26, 2012, 2:43 pm

Yeah, the more I think about it, the more I like "Spicy Romance." It has that "we all know what you're here for, and we can have a sense of humor about it. You filthy, filthy pervert, you."

For non-fiction, I kind of like the old "Relationships" tag. That way I can put Dr. Laura and Dr. Phil in with Tristan Taormino and Dossie Easton. Put Women Are From Venus, Men Are From Mars next to The Ethical Slut.

In other news, I was cleaning up the back room and found a nice copy of Paradise Regain'd by John Milton.
From 1772.

37groovykinda
Sep 29, 2012, 3:58 pm

Well, I signed the papers yesterday. I am now the proud (and terrified) owner of the Poulsbo Book Stop, in beautiful downtown Poulsbo, Washington.

38LordBangholm
Sep 29, 2012, 4:08 pm

Congratulations! Just took a turn past the shop via Google street view - isn't the twenty-first century amazing? Best of luck with it!

39varielle
Oct 1, 2012, 10:30 am

I envy you! My lifelong dream is to have a bookshop.

40groovykinda
Mar 18, 2013, 4:50 pm

It really wouldn't be that hard-you'd need to get about $5000 worth of books (which you could stockpile from Goodwill, garage sales, library book sales, etc.) and a storefront that gets good foot traffic. We're lucky, in that we're one of the only places to go and stroll and shop, and we have a marina which brings in many rich boat owners.

And a used bookstore owner came in from Florida. They call their erotica "Top Shelfers."

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