Over the course of the past three decades there have been many challenges in operating an independent bookstore. You’ve Got Mail chronicled the rollout of the big box corporate stores and the difficulty of surviving in their shadow. Amazon, during the height of the dot com boom, spent millions of dollars (and was able to lose money for several years) marketing a delivery system made popular by Sears and Montgomery Ward at the turn of the previous century—mail order. And now, with the advent of eBooks, everyone, including publishers, is scrambling to determine a workable business model.
Add in an uncertain economy, escalating operating costs, and the sale of books in nearly every type of retail store, and it becomes clear that in our thirty plus years at Village Books we’ve never seen the confluence of challenges that we’ve experienced in these past few years. It may be, in fact, “the perfect storm.”
So, what does the future hold? I have to admit that my crystal ball is a little cloudy, but what seems clear is that we—the bookstore, our customers and the community as a whole—need to determine the value we add, and figure out a way to monetize that.
Bookstores, both indies and chains, have increasingly become showrooms for books, without always having commensurate sales. In more urban areas especially, it’s become common to see someone in a bookstore browse a book, then download it or order it on line from another seller. That wouldn’t be so bad if stores like ours were compensated to display and market the books, rather than sell them, but that’s not currently the case.
Each year we host around two-hundred-fifty author events. Only a handful of those events are ticketed, and in those cases the ticket price generally offsets additional costs or raises money for a local non-profit. Though we’ve not seen it to the extent some of our colleagues around the country have, occasionally someone will come to an event with a book they’ve purchased online or onsite from another retail outlet. There is a cost associated with planning and putting on every event, and when costs exceed revenue… well there’s a bit of a problem. A number of stores have begun to charge for most of their events, and though we’re not currently moving that direction, it may become necessary.
Though I would argue that the collapse of the Borders chain was due, in large part, to a series of bad management decisions, that bankruptcy has brought attention to the difficulties across the book publishing and retail industry. Though not surprising, their demise gave us no joy. The reduction in bookstores doesn’t bode well for the industry, or for society.
On a positive note, we’ve been pleased with recent discussions with publishers who are recognizing the importance of independent booksellers and investigating ways to change the industry to better assure our survival. Conversations about inventory consignment, print on demand, and other alternative business models are occurring every day. We’re guardedly optimistic that changes will come quickly enough.
We’ve also been gratified by the response we’ve had to our One Book Pledge campaign. Many of you have said that, of the books you plan to buy, you’ll buy one more of those from us, and one less from other sellers of books. If that becomes common behavior, not only will Village Books survive, the store should thrive. We hope everyone will ask themselves this question, “what is the value of an independent bookstore to me, and to my community, and would things be just fine without one?” Your answers are important; we hope you’ll share them with us.
To join the discussion, email chuck@villagebooks.com. For information about Village Books, visit http://www.villagebooks.com
