Category Archives: Retail Stories
The Giving Tree and the Boy
From the mouths of babes…the greatest truths are spoken. A fellow bookseller, who I nicknamed, “the Statue,” was chained to the registers for the rest of his shift. Most booksellers hate the registers because you can’t leave when you are the only one scheduled there. Imagine standing in the same place for eight hours a […]
The Bookstore Crowd
What makes working at a bookstore interesting is the people who come in. What makes a bookstore more interesting…is labeling the people who come in. Here are a few groups I encounter all the time. The Squatters Typically, this breed of customer can be found in the corner of the store. This person will find […]
I Am Against Teaching Erotica in Elementary Schools
At the bookstore, we give educators (K-12) a discount that can be used for books bought for classroom use. I highly approve of this discount because many parents don’t understand that teachers pay for a lot of books and supplies out of pocket to make their child’s learning experience the best it can be. Teachers […]
Retail Stories: Hurricane Irene and Last-Minute-Mommies
Saturday’s are generally busy in the book store. It is a day of rest for the normal 9 to 5 workers who seek refuge from their jobs in a new book. It is also a say when parents don’t want to pay someone to watch their children so they unclasp the leashes and let them […]
Retail Stories: The Shelf Life of a 1979 “Classic”
One thing people don’t understand it that it is not possible for any bookstore to have every book ever published in stock. A book’s popularity determines its shelf life. Shelf life is how long a book will stay on a shelf and if it is ordered back in. If the book doesn’t sell, it might […]
