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The First Vacation

The First Vacation

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Opening a used bookstore: Stef takes a working vacation—bookstore hopping in Connecticut to study how other indie bookstores operate, what platforms they use, and what works (and doesn't) in their models. - I'm in Connecticut for a family vacation at Lake Candlewood, but I couldn't resist taking a day to visit used bookstores in the area for a little research and learning. The Rainy Day Paperback Exchange (Bethel): A quirky used bookstore in a house—jam-packed with books on floors, in bags, everywhere. Not how I set up my store, but how people expect used bookstores to look. Organized by theme and author, but books are stacked flat (easier to read titles, harder to replace if you pull from the bottom). The owner was incredibly generous with her time and gave me a master class in back-end systems. She uses specialized inventory software that most independent bookstores rely on, then lists on Biblio for online sales. She pushed me toward the Association of American Booksellers—yes, it's expensive, but it unlocks things which generate "significant revenue" she said. Literally worth the membership every year. Byrd Books (Bethel): Small, curated, beautiful. Three book clubs (sci-fi, romance, nonfiction). They do Book & Movie nights—discuss the book first half hour, watch the movie the rest. (Mental note: The Lark theater in Larkspur could do this.) The Booksmith (Danbury): A huge bookstore disguised as a new bookstore with lots of gifts, tucked inside a conference center in a condo development. Confusing location, but it works as a community hub. Mixed new and used books with confusing labeling (at first), but once decoded: everything's used except items marked "new." Enormous children's section, space for events, low prices. The trade-off: to keep prices that low, you need either rock-bottom rent (like me, tiny store) or a weird location (like her, middle of nowhere) that still pulls people via word-of-mouth and low prices. She's not discoverable organically—you have to know to find her. I'm trying to find the middle: discoverable + good prices + used books only. Key Learnings: Association of American Booksellers membership unlocks major revenue streams.Online is where the money is—if I start building that wing, I can boost revenue significantly and hire full-time help.Trade-offs are real—low prices require either low rent OR high online volume OR a unique location draw.I could get an Ingram account, but I prefer finding existing used copies for customer requests. No new books made in the process. I also found several books from my Larkspur request list while bookstore hopping. Buying used copies here and selling them there—that's the model working as intended. Current Book Count: ~15,000+ (plus several new ones I'm cramming into suitcases to get home) Follow along as The Phoenix Used Bookshop continues to rise—subscribe to A Bookshop of My Own and get updates at phoenixusedbookshop.com. Links mentioned: Association of American BooksellersLibroFMBookshop.orgBiblioThe Rainy Day Paperback ExchangeThe BooksmithSubmit a book request
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