Jessica Stockton Bagnulo’s efforts to grow a bookstore in Brooklyn are Timesworthy, as the paper’s metro section looks at the party thrown by the Fort Greene Indie Bookstore Initiative. “Given everything else going on in the world, [it] felt like a pocket of irrational exuberance, even extravagance — a through-the-looking-glass scene in which an independent bookstore, of all things, was the cause for great optimism and celebration. “Halfway through the event, Ms. Stockton Bagnulo announced with glee that she had a business partner — Rebecca Fitting, a 34-year-old sales representative for Random House who decided a few weeks earlier to […]
Bookstores
BN Square with California Over Tax Dispute
The Sacramento Bee says that as of last week, all actions and claims between the State of California and Barnes & Noble have been resolved. BN noted in their last quarterly report that they had paid the state $9 million in a settlement of claims against the bookseller’s online unit for sales tax of $17 million (plus interest and penalties) that should have been collected prior to November 2005. The settlement has been approved, and a countersuit by BN against the state’s board of equalization was dismissed.SacBee
Used Booksellers: Megalisters vs. Hand-Sellers
The NYT looks at how software drives the low-margin business of selling used books online in quantity: “The state of the art in used-book selling these days seems to be less about connoisseurship than about database management. With the help of software tools, so-called megalisters stock millions of books and sell tens of thousands a week through Amazon, AbeBooks and other online marketplaces. Some sellers don’t even own their wares….” Thrift Books–with 180 employees and about 3 million books for sale–“acquires its stock literally by the ton, usually from libraries, secondhand stores and charities.” They log the ISBNs and post […]
Indigo Sets Out Recycled Paper Requirements
Canada’s dominant book retailer Indigo has informed publishers of new recyled paper guidelines that “will require publishers to use an average of 20% post-consumer recycled paper for uncoated books and 10% for coated books, starting this fall. Those levels will then climb to 50% (for coated and uncoated books) after five years. Indigo has also set benchmarks for magazine vendors, and has vowed to reduce its own internal paper usage by 25%,” Quill & Quire reports. A consulting company Indigo worked with indicates that “publishers will not be punished for failing to meet the new benchmarks” but those who do […]
Indie Community
A group of New York City-booksellers has officially announced the formation of the Independent Booksellers of New York City. “Member stores must primarily sell books, have a storefront that is open to the public, and be located within one of the five boroughs.” They will promote NYC stores to the public and serve as a professional support group and advocate to publishers and lawmakers on behalf of bookseller concerns.http://ibnyc.org/ Separately, the ABA has launched a web site to organize an online community around independent community-based retailers of all kinds of merchandise, including books, around the country.IndieBoundCommunity.org
"Happy Bookseller" to Close
Columbia, SC-based Happy Bookseller, “the city’s most well-known independent bookstore,” will close in October. The paper reports that owners Andy and Carrie Graves mailed customers with the news last week. “We’re very sad this is all going to end. The reality is we don’t have a choice.” They add: “Sales peaked in 1993, Andy Graves said. They have been steadily declining but the last four to five years have been particularly hard, he said.” Rhett Jackson started the store in 1974 and solve it to Andy Graves, an employee, in 1996. Jackson says, “I babied that and loved it and […]