John -
Why should you buy it is the first question. As a sideline hobby?
Viable business? Something for the wife to do? A tax writeoff? (all
of these are the background reasons for stores within an hour of where I
sit). There are 3 things of value in a bookstore when you're buying it:
stock, real estate, and customers. Also community goodwill which is
harder to measure but can affect your business in a substantial way.
Paghat dealt mostly with the first - the value of the stock. The value
of the real estate is fairly simple - get three local appraisers to give
you an opinion, and look at trendlines for real estate values over the
last 5 years to get a sense of which way the real estate values are
going. The third is harder - the customers and the value of the good
will in the community. This is the place to focus, and the one that
Paghat didn't talk much about - it is also the driving factor behind
what brings sales in the door. If you are buying the business as a
"going concern" rather than a storefront to rent and a stock to pick and
list online, this is what you have to focus on since it is hardest to
quantify.
There is a great book by Dale Gilbert called "Complete Guide to Starting
a Used Bookstore" with lots of practical advice. One of the biggest
things he talks about is location, location, location. Is the location
of the current store good? Good parking? You can only have as many
customers as you have places to park unless you're in a high traffic
walking area. Look at the fixed overheads you can't get around (and
which might not be listed on tax returns either) like heat, electric,
permits, insurance, etc. Those are fixed costs you can't get around.
It is really pre-internet so there are many things that are different.
Be VERY skeptical of the value of the stock. Has the owner picked it,
or allowed one or two dealers to do so? If so there probably isn't much
really saleable stuff left. I've bought 2 stores towards the end of
this process and DONT recommend it. 10% useful at best, most slow
sellers. Don't let them run a sale to bring in cash unless you've been
allowed to store the good stuff away and the sale is to clear the
shelves of "Stuff".
Lastly be VERY hard on your evaluation of how vibrant the customer
community is at the existing store - these will be the people that keep
you afloat as you learn the local business (every used bookstore has a
local population they cater to and you have to learn that group and what
their needs are). Many bookstores have died in the last few years. The
internet has changed the walkin traffic substantially, and also affected
the number of dealers coming through. Be smart if you do buy it and put
stuff on the shelves that are real bargains for the dealers etc who come
through - don't price everything at net prices or you'll lose whatever
dealer population you do have quickly. The best local stores here leave
stuff on the shelves that is not listed online at better prices even if
they do list some of the store stock online. Keeps people coming back.
Good luck, hope some of these thoughts are useful. David Gregor in
Seattle Washington teaches a course for booksellers that is practical as
well and you might want to see if he's running a program near you or
would be willing to talk by phone - very practical guy, strong marketing
sense, and runs his own open shop quite successfully too.
Best,
John Kuenzig
Bookseller
John A. Stovall wrote:
I've bought collections in the past but now I have the opportunity to
by a book store in the town where I work. It is a general used
bookstore. The present owner a University professor (not at mine but
one 70 miles away) and his wife have run it for 7 years but only
opened it 3 days a week and closed it all summer. I don't plan to
quit my day job but have a wife to run it and the building is included
with the stock of some 40,000+ volumes (80/20 hb/pb). The store has
never listed on line.
What questions should I be asking and considering when thinking about
this possible purchase?
************************************************* ******
""Lord!" he said, "when you sell a man a book you don't
sell him twelve ounces of paper and ink and glue - you
sell him a whole new life....""
"Parnassus on Wheels"
by Christopher Morley
--
Sincerely,
John Kuenzig, Bookseller
Kuenzig Books
PO Box 452, Topsfield, MA 01983
978-887-4053 9am-7pm Eastern Standard Time
(orders or inquiries)
Important Books in Science, Technology and Speculative Fiction
Secure, direct ordering at http://www.kuenzigbooks.com
Save time, money and earn other exclusive benefits.
We are proud members of:
MARIAB
http://www.mariab.org
IOBA
http://www.ioba.org
and graduates of the Book Seminars International Programs:
http://www.bookseminarsinternational.com
Buying 18th-21st century books, manuscripts, ephemera,
scientific instruments, artifacts, and related material in
our fields of interest