Post Akkb9aW1FDtGBOSpUm by pwaring@fosstodon.org
(DIR) More posts by pwaring@fosstodon.org
(DIR) Post #AkkapLQHeGbTaB81om by thelastpsion@bitbang.social
2024-08-08T07:48:45Z
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Question for #bookstodon: How do (or even "How can") second-hand bookshops make money in the face of companies like World Of Books? Or, at the other end of the market, Oxfam Books who get their stock for free?Is the trick to sell yourself as a destination? Obviously, Hay-on-Wye in Wales is known as the home of second-hand bookshops, so shops can rely on that reputation. But if you're in most other locations, do you just hope for footfall?Or do you become a specialist?
(DIR) Post #Akkb9aW1FDtGBOSpUm by pwaring@fosstodon.org
2024-08-08T07:52:23Z
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@thelastpsion I think the only ways forward are to specialise or offer something that can't be replicated online, such as author signings (but that's tricky for second-hand shops as opposed to new ones).Hay-on-Wye is an exception, and even then the number of bookshops has declined since I went there on holiday in the 1990s.
(DIR) Post #AkkdXPgXMYzDS2s8oK by benetnasch@writing.exchange
2024-08-08T08:19:06Z
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@thelastpsion I've...never heard of any of those places, so I don't know if they're a good representation for used book stores. At least not here.But it's not really that complicated, tbh. Part of it is buying books for cheap and selling them at higher prices. They can also sell miscellaneous items and DVDs to increase foot traffic.Many people will only read physical books, and some browse used book stores for rare or obscure books.At the end of the day, it's just regular old retail.
(DIR) Post #AkkfaYW9BFcFcbdeYC by thelastpsion@bitbang.social
2024-08-08T08:42:07Z
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@benetnasch I guess I'm looking at this from a UK-centric POV.World Of Books is an online second-hand bookstore (selling through Amazon, eBay, and their own website) that makes it very easy for people to post their old books to WoB and make a small amount of money - scan via the app, get a price, box up, ship, profit. Oxfam is a UK charity that has a large book sales arm, getting stock from donations and house clearances. Hay-on-Wye is a small town in Wales with 20+ second-hand bookshops.
(DIR) Post #AkksGQdG5SFimJhKDo by EdS@mastodon.sdf.org
2024-08-08T11:04:07Z
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fixed price and free teaand an ever changing witty window display (today, two yards of Teach Yourself books and a prominent Teach Yourself Window Display)@thelastpsion
(DIR) Post #Akkvk8vQmjNyPZ3gK8 by phf@mastodon.sdf.org
2024-08-08T11:43:05Z
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@EdS the bookstore looks so Baltimore but I am probably wrong?
(DIR) Post #Akl2ApTnn5sle5F9cG by thelastpsion@bitbang.social
2024-08-08T12:54:40Z
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@phf @EdS Just googled: Frome, England. https://www.discoverfrome.co.uk/attraction/reed-books-five/
(DIR) Post #Akl2CHeuVUFDKb8IQS by thelastpsion@bitbang.social
2024-08-08T12:55:04Z
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@EdS This looks so welcoming!
(DIR) Post #Akp87v9JdE4kiZUseu by mskeggs@mastodon.social
2024-08-10T12:20:42Z
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@thelastpsion I buy a book I know I want online, but I discover many books I didn’t know I wanted in a secondhand bookshop where the reasonable prices and co-location foster discovery.