blogging and discounts

Well, I have added one follower I see in the brave new world of blogging. At this rate, some time in the far far future I may have everyone in the universe following my blog.



Did you see the rather bland but interesting PBS show on indie bookstores last week? I did! The story focused on two famous but struggling indies. One has since closed and the other soldiers on. Mind you I have the utmost respect for bookstores and the owners who love them but having done this twice I can only hope that anyone else who opens a bookstore or even buys an existing bookstore does not, I repeat, does not need to finance their childrens education on the proceeds from such a store! Bookstores are also harsh mistresses and oft times do not return the love we owners lavish on them.

Keplers is still open and according to the show embarked on a redesign of the floor that mirrors the concepts here at Phoenix Books(OK, Mike, don't hurt yourself patting yourself on the back), like openness, accessibility, and a comfortable but contemporary environment. I learned that in the fifties there was an explosion in paperback book publishing that led a charge to make books more affordable and thus more ownable. The industry got away from that in the eighties and nineties but now I think Phoenix Books may return to that older model and return many of our hardbacks(at $30-$40 each) and stock more paperbacks (at $12-$15 each).

Codys and Keplers have attempted to stay alive by soliciting direct investment from community members. The Cody owners expressed surprise that the initial surge of support during their crisis didn't last longer than a few months, that within 6 months traffic dropped and supposed regular customers had returned to buying books based on convenience and price. I was surprised that they were surprised! Customers are like butterflies, flitting from flower to flower, sampling each one and always looking for the better flower from the next bush:) In order to keep your butterflies the bush needs to have a lot of flowers and they need to be very colorful and, presumably, flavorful and interesting (OK, the metaphor is stretched but there is such a book called "The Butterfly Customer" :) get it?) The point is that loyalty, per se, is a myth. Customers shop for convenience first, followed by price and then, perhaps, by social concerns, and quality of the experience. There are, of course, exceptions and many of our customers are exceptional! But the level of motivation generated by our "buy local" efforts or "indiebound" efforts are slight by comparison. We soldier on however, fighting for one new customer at a time:)

The show also reiterated the evils of the internet, which does, quite literally, steal sales taxes from starving states and could easily be solved by requiring internet sellers to collect and remit sales taxes to the state from which the sale occured( loosely pretending that your home computer was the nexus of the sale, not the computer of the seller). And perhaps those of you shopping online will think about the consequnces of your actions when you do that and don't complain so much about ice heaves, property taxes and declining state revenues. They also pointed out, quite correctly, the disgusting practice of Costco and Walmart to use books, books mind you, as a loss leader, as if a book was some throw away toy or last seasons shoes, thereby selling front list bestselling books at prices I cannot get from the publisher!

Well, enough about me...what about you? If you read this go ahead and submit a response. I'd love to here from you. If you have an idea that might make the store a profit center please tell me! I'd love to hear that too. Better yet, come by the store and tell me your self. I'd love to make your aquaintance.

Michael DeSanto