Beginning with the first Winter Institute in Long Beach, Calif., the ABA has tried to use the event to address the nuts and bolts of bookselling by featuring some of the best professionals in the business. This year, on the topic of book buying, it turned to Paul Yamazaki from City Lights in San Francisco and Arsen Kashkashian from the Boulder Book Store in Colo. to share their best practices.
"I think of this as a tool box," Yamazaki said, "and each one of us has to apply it in our own way." City Lights involves the whole staff in front and backlist buying. That means each staff member has about 7,000 pieces of catalogue copy to consider. "Having the staff--and particularly the younger staff--involved] is one thing we emphasize as a key practice."
While Boulder takes suggestions from the staff, Kashkashian said it is not the store's practice to share catalogues with everyone. He noted, however, that employees who are fans of certain publishers will be heard in the buying process.
According to Kashkashian, the two most important elements about buying are: knowing what distinguishes your store from all other stores and understanding how a publisher deals with your store and its market.
"Of course, the intersection of those two pieces is the rep," said Kashkashian. Yamazaki concurred, calling publisher sales reps are "our best friends."
Aside from knowing the bookseller's market, reps help booksellers follow the track record of acquiring editors on the bookseller's radar. It is a trickle down kind of relationship that ultimately improves the customer's interaction with the bookstore. A bookseller trusts an editor's track record to take chances on an unknown author, Yamazaki pointed out. In turn, the consumer trusts the bookseller's track record to take a chance on an unknown author. The end result: an enriched indie reading experience not found at a chain store or online.
As nuanced as book buying can be, both buyers acknowledged that it is an integral component of the store's bottom line. "We buy much tighter than we did five years ago, which is true for most of us," observed Yamazaki. City Lights buys 95% directly from publishers to maximize discounts and free shipping incentives. Kashkashian said Boulder's buys were more like 80% direct from publishers to 20% wholesaler.
Both book buyers run reports prior to rep sessions to know what kind of sell through the accounts have had with past titles at their stores. Having such information helps make sure "everybody is on the same page," said Kashkashian, and also keeps reps from running on "auto-pilot."
While it might be good for the reps to go title by title in a buying session, Kashkashian wants an overview. Instead of the 15 debuts reps might want to promote in such a tough fiction climate, he asks for the top five that will work in Boulder.
Still, both veteran book buyers said they readily respond to quick moving titles and drop ins and are always open to new discoveries.
How important is the buying process? Armed with staff feedback, and the track records of editors and publishing houses, Yamazaki said: "For certain publishers for certain titles, we help to start those books." --Bridget Kinsella