Need advices and opinions on opening (revive) a bookshop

[Anonymous No.15410617]

Is it a good idea in those fucked up times ?
Share your advices, experiences and takes…
Thanks

[Anonymous No.15410633]

>>15410617
Do it if you dont care about losing money.

[Anonymous No.15410643]

>>15410617
My understanding is that, unless you're doing it for one of the few big labels where people still actually buy books, it is a really bad gamble if you intend to make a living off it, and that the only persons who go through with it are doing for their own leisure because they can afford it.

[Anonymous No.15410755]

>>15410633
So absolutely no way of WINNING ?
I mean, there has been a few (((seemingly))) profitable experiments here and there… of course I don't want to end up with a tea house selling kid books

[Anonymous No.15410895]

bumping for moar…

[Anonymous No.15410926]

>>15410755
If you are unwilling to sell harlequin romance paperbacks, New York Times bestsellers, and the other stuff that nobody who visits /lit/ will ever read but everyone else does, than you will fail, and you will deserve it.

[Anonymous No.15411000]

Open a charity shop instead. Most of the donations are books and it saves you buying stock.
Charity shops can get local grants and selling the items donated to pay for rent/mortgage is justifiable as you need the building.

I volunteered in one and got a rent free place to live/sleep in a rather expensive city.

[Anonymous No.15411065]

You won't get rich but you'll be doing a service to your community.

[Anonymous No.15411115]

>>15410926
can't do both ?

[Anonymous No.15411204]

>>15411000
>>15411065
yeah at this point, this is the idea…

[Anonymous No.15412814]

>>15410926
You have some weird pseudo-double negatives in your post, but I get what you are saying. That said, while I agree that anon would fail, I don't think he would deserve to. It's rather sad that we lack a literate public with even mid-brow interests these days.

[Anonymous No.15412923]

>>15410617
My favourite local is pretty successful. Less so now due to COVID but overall it's pretty great. It sells used books which it sources from estate sales, people dropping by and offering collections or libraries of deceased relatives, university libraries looking to downsize and the like. It's really nicely divided into large sections based on genre with one large wall for fiction alphabetized. Non-fiction is broad, has a lot of achitectural, design and art books. These are typically pricey so people paying $30-40 for a folio sized book that would normally cost $120. I love the place. Keen to return when lockdowns ease.

They also have a pretty sizeable online store with a warehouse to store it all. Half their day is just filling orders for pickup or shipping. Pic related is their cosy place.

Best of luck to you anon. Living my dream.

[Anonymous No.15413049]

I find used bookstores to be doing pretty well in places where rent isn't exorbitant.

[Anonymous No.15413110]

>>15410617
even though i live in a small town, it has three bookshops. one is a high street chain (waterstones), one is a secondhand shop that has existed forever, the third is an antiquarian bookshop that opened a few years ago. inside it is a proverbial aladdin's cave but since i'm not really a serious collector i hardly ever go inside but instead stick to the bargain shelf outside the shop.
i have no idea how the shop survives. i guess he must make enough money from one or two valuable sales and/or online sales through abebooks etc to keep afloat. also i think he buys stuff from house clearances or job lots knowing that there will be one or two worthwhile items included (the rest go on the bargain shelf).
the guy who runs it looks a bit like bernard black but is a nice enough person. he gives a lot of stuff he's not interested in to the charity shops in the town.

[Anonymous No.15413366]

Use it as a cover for an illegal casino or something like that. It's literally the perfect business, chances of getting caught are minimal.
I'm not joking.

[Anonymous No.15413704]

>>15410617
As someone who loves bookstores, sadly no.... there is no way to be competitive with a brick and mortar store, unless you have brand name power, history in your city, or some gay paid-for slam poetry night to attract losers.

Aside from gimmicks, the age of the bookstore is dead.