How to start up a book shop: new business guide

In a world of chain stores and online shopping, it can be easy to forget the importance of independent bookshops. These locally owned businesses play a vital role in supporting the literary community, and they offer a unique shopping experience that you can’t find anywhere else. When you step into an independent bookshop, you’re immediately surrounded by books on all topics imaginable.

Whether you’re looking for the latest bestseller or a niche title, you’re sure to find it at an independent bookshop. But more than just being a place to buy books, independent bookshops are also home to a wealth of knowledge and expertise. The staff are passionate about reading and are always happy to make recommendations or help you find what you’re looking for.

They also host regular events, such as author signings and discussion groups, which provide a great opportunity to meet other book lovers. So next time you’re looking for a new book, remember to support your local independent bookshop.

There is no doubting that there are many challenges facing independent book shops in the digital age, but they can still succeed when they have a core of loyal customers to support them. You will find all the information you need to start and run your own successful book shop in this article.

Research your target market

Making a realistic estimate of how much demand there will be is essential when planning your new book shop. Researching the competition is also important. You can accomplish this by conducting some market research.

Customers – who and how many

One person may buy a book every month of the year, while another may never buy a book in their life. Studies have displayed, women between the ages of 25 and 35, from social group ABC, are most likely to be regular book buyers. Do not ignore the rest of your customers – not all of them are ‘typical’.

You may attract different types of people depending on whether you specialise in a particular market niche. As part of your business planning, it is a good idea to examine both the immediate locality and the surrounding area of your proposed shop. Take a look at:

• If it is an affluent area, most people will have enough spare cash to buy non-essentials like books
• What is the average age of the local population? Are there many young families with children in your region, or is it a popular retirement destination?
• How many students are there? What subjects does the local college specialise in?

Establishing how much competition your book shop will face

The next step is to determine how well your market is supplied once you have determined the size of your market.

Discover how many book stores there are in your local area. Focus particularly on those that carry titles similar to what you are proposing. Your competitors should be noted as follows:

• What is the size of their shop?
• What kind of stock do they carry – and do they specialise?
• Do they feel friendly, smart, or run-down in their shop?
• Do they belong to a major chain, such as Waterstones
• Are they a discount specialist?
• What kind of snacks and drinks do they offer?

List other book shops in the area, including supermarkets, department stores, newsagents, and, of course, WH Smith branches.

Be on the lookout for existing businesses that could pose a real threat to yours. Consider whether there is already a similar book shop near or on the local campus if you plan to stock mostly academic texts. The location of several book shops quite close to each other can sometimes be advantageous in some cases. The antique and second-hand bookshops at Hay-on-Wye, for example, attract thousands of visitors every year.

In particular, Oxfam, which sells books through its own specialty book shops, is accused of unfair competition by some book sellers.

The major internet retailers, particularly Amazon, as well as your local competitors will also be competing with you. A wide range of books are also available online from supermarket giant Tesco (ASDA sells some titles as well). Book sellers online frequently offer very competitive prices and, in some cases, a wide selection of titles to attract customers.

Although e-books are also competitors to traditional printed books, sales seem to have plateaued in 2013 before declining in 2015.

Distinguishing your book shop from the competition

If you want to make sure your book shop is appealing to customers, perhaps you should consider the following:

• Friendly, knowledgeable, and excellent service
• Ordering system that is efficient
• The shop’s smart appearance
• A loyalty program for regular customers
• The convenience of having a good book store nearby
• An atmosphere conducive to meeting other like-minded regulars with a ‘community’ feel
• Events such as author’s evenings and book clubs are available

It might be a good idea to stock books from publishers that include ‘printed book only’ content that’s not available on e-readers.

What will your book shop sell?

The contents of your bookshop may be very clear to you. For instance, you may be passionate about rare books and want to specialise in this market. You want your bookshop to be more than just an expensive hobby, so make sure enough other people share your enthusiasm for your market niche.

Depending on your interests, you may decide to specialise in different areas. Some examples are as follows:

• Travel literature
• Children’s literature and school books
• Educational, academic and reference texts
• Business & Entrepreneurial
• Classical literature
• Second hand and/or antique books
• Religious texts

The store may also stock best-sellers including fiction and nonfiction, biographies, gardening and cooking books, etc. It is important to remember, however, that there is probably only a limited amount of space. You may be able to stock about 5,000 – 8,000 titles, compared to 60,000 stocked by major chains like Waterstones (up to 200,000 in their largest stores).

There are now more books available at supermarkets than ever before, so think about what will attract customers to your shop in particular. There will always be customers who prefer to take their purchases off your hands right away, even if you offer a prompt ordering service.

Throughout the year, think about varying your stock. During the spring and early summer, gardening books may be in greater demand. At Christmas, best-selling novels, cookery books, and biographies are in high demand. Every year before Christmas, the Booksellers Association distributes a catalogue, Christmas Books, to the public. If you are choosing Christmas stock, this can be very helpful.

Besides books, you might consider stocking the following items:

• Maps
• Newspapers and magazines
• Stationery
• Recorded music
• Greetings cards
• Computer games and software
• Toys and games

There is a limited amount of space. Ensure that you stock both popular complementary items and books in your book shop otherwise your customers may not perceive it as a ‘proper’ book store. A dedicated cafe area may be a good option if you have the space. According to Waterstones, the cafes were successful in attracting customers and encouraging more book purchases.

If you decide to sell e-books and e-readers, you may decide to stock them. Independent retailers can sell e-books in a variety of ways, and the Booksellers Association has called on all independents to do so. Tokens specific to e-books could also be sold. Remember, however, that Waterstones did not succeed in selling e-readers and e-books and has joined W H Smith in referring customers to digital book specialist Kobo.

E-book platforms Kobo and Hive are also available to Booksellers Association members. In order to suit the needs of members, each platform offers a range of solutions.

Selling books on eBay and Amazon

The benefits of selling online include reaching new customers and increasing sales. In spite of the cost of setting up your own ecommerce website, you may not be certain at first whether you will be able to justify the investment with sales online.

Trading on eBay or Amazon is another option for learning how to sell online but with much lower startup costs. Even if you have your own online shop, you may decide to keep selling through eBay and Amazon. The Amazon marketplace is filled with independent book sellers who sell both used and new books.

 

Getting started

Buying items for yourself and selling items you no longer need might already be a part of your eBay account. In your eBay listings, you must state that you’re a business seller if you’re trading as a business. If you want to upgrade your personal account to a business account, you must register a new business account. If you’re not sure whether you need to register as a business seller, there is guidance in the eBay Seller Centre on what constitutes ‘trading’.

In similar fashion, you can register as a business seller on Amazon using your existing account or creating a new one.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) must be notified if you intend to start selling on eBay or Amazon – even in a small way at first. Gov.uk provides guidance on what counts as self-employment and what counts as trading. In addition, it provides details about your tax obligations and record-keeping requirements.

Decide whether to have your own virtual book ‘shop’

You will be able to display all your products in one place by setting up your own virtual storefront for your business.

You can set up an eBay Shop when you sign up to sell on eBay. A template can be used to create your shop, or you can create your own. The eBay Shop option does not have to be chosen immediately. You may decide it’s best to wait until your monthly sales reach a certain level before upgrading.

Regardless of the package you choose, Amazon will automatically create your storefront. It won’t be very customisable, but you can add your business name and logo and provide some information about it.

How much does selling on Amazon and eBay cost?

You should find out how much fees you’ll have to pay before selling on Amazon and eBay. You may incur a considerable amount of fees depending on the items you sell and the method you choose to sell them. Some of the fees you pay will depend on how many items you sell each month, while others will be fixed costs that you incur regardless of how many items you sell.

You can sell as a business seller on eBay and Amazon without paying any fixed monthly fees, but unless you’re only selling a small number of items each month, a subscription-based package usually makes more sense.

It is possible to compare the fees charged for different selling methods on the eBay website with the fee illustrator tool and the fee calculator, which allows you to estimate your per-item fees.

Several examples of prices for subscriptions and non-subscriptions are provided on the Amazon website.

Managing your listings

When you plan to sell many items, uploading your inventory to eBay or Amazon and managing your listings can take a lot of time.

There are a variety of listing tools available on eBay and Amazon, some of which are free and some of which are paid.

Promoting your items

In order to stand out from the crowd on eBay and Amazon, you need to do everything you can to make your item stand out among the others.

You should always ensure that your listings include accurate, spell-checked descriptions, as well as high-quality photos and other images that demonstrate what you’re selling best.

Consider using eBay and Amazon’s tools for marketing, such as search engine optimisation, cross-promotions and paid advertisements.

Your reputation

Your online reputation is extremely important as an eBay or Amazon seller. Future customers will check your reliability and trustworthiness by checking your feedback score, which is based on actual customer feedback.

It’s therefore important that you maintain a high rating by providing excellent customer service and quick delivery at a reasonable price. Be sure to respond to customer queries promptly, deal with returns efficiently, and keep an eye on your stock levels so you don’t show an item as in stock when it has already sold out.

It isn’t easy to pack up orders and send them out, but you need to stay on top of it to ensure that the right items arrive at the right time. Several parcel delivery services now offer bulk shipping tools that integrate with your eBay or Amazon account, allowing you to arrange and track your deliveries much more easily.

It’s also worth considering Fulfilment by Amazon if you’re selling on Amazon, where Amazon picks, packs, ships, and provides customer service for you.

More information

There is a great deal of useful information on the eBay and Amazon websites to help you get started as a business seller and to expand your business as demand grows. A lively seller community forum is also available on both sites, where experienced sellers are usually happy to provide advice.

Decide which services your book shop will offer

In order to be a successful specialist book seller, you must provide excellent customer service to your clients. Many customers will ask for advice before they buy, and some may even ask for your opinion on a particular title you stock. They expect you to have a thorough knowledge of the books that you stock.

Your customers can benefit from the following special services:

• Selling and accepting book tokens, specifically for e-books – books are often given as gifts, and many recipients prefer to pick the book themselves
• Tracing and ordering books that are not held in stock – developing a reputation for tracking down difficult-to-find titles could really benefit your business, although it does require some extra effort
• Become a stockist of Open University Set Books

You can contact the Booksellers Association through its website for some of these services.

You can add value to your books by thinking of other ways to do so. Perhaps customers can purchase books as presents and have them wrapped as gifts. You might consider setting up your own website as an alternative way to reach your customers. Detailed information about your stock inventory and reviews could be included. Books and other items can be sold online if you have an e-commerce website.

In addition to eBay and Amazon Marketplace, you could also do this through Facebook. In addition, you may be able to sell e-books through the e-book services of the Booksellers Association.

Consider hosting regular events for customers and book lovers, such as ‘meet the author’ events.

Make your shop as appealing to customers as possible. A majority of the big multiples have comfy chairs and sofas, reading corners, and some even have cafes. Even if you don’t have much space, consider making your outlet a place where book buyers will want to browse and linger.

Buy an existing book shop

Rather than starting your own book shop, you might decide to buy an existing one. A currently existing business venture may have books, customers, regular sales, staff, premises, and equipment.

In spite of the strong competition from large chains, supermarkets, and online retailers, there’s still room in the market for good well-run independent booksellers.

Before buying any stock, make sure to check its condition and age. How current is the stock, and are many titles likely to be able to be sold at full price? What percentage of old stock can be returned to the publisher? Before agreeing to a price, review this information carefully.

When you don’t have the right skills and experience on your team, including legal and financial expertise, buying a business can be a hazardous, costly process. You should establish the true trading and financial position of the business before paying a high price. As well as ensuring you have the right financial in place to finance your book shop moving forward.