Grab a bargain!
When is a bargain not a bargain? When the price has been artificially inflated so the retailer can offer a whopping discount and the customer feels the satisfaction of getting something way below retail price.
Well, we don't believe in that sort of bargain. When we state something is discounted, we discount from the price we have previously sold the item for. So you know that you are getting a genuine bargain. That's important to us because we believe that having impeccable business ethics is essential to building customer loyalty and trust. Our emphasis as a small indie bookstore is on good customer service and a great selection of titles - that's our edge if you like, rather than a constant cheap bargain-basement attitude.
Having said that, though, we are happy to pass on cheaper prices when we are able to get heavily discounted offers and remaindered titles from our suppliers, or when we need to reduce our over-stocked items to make way for newer titles. That way, we can strike a balance between the latest and the cheapest!
Since I'm having a bit of a grouse, there's another misconception I'd like to correct. There's a common, though unstated, assumption that booksellers are knee deep in profits, laughing all the way to the proverbial bank. Unfortunately, that really isn't true. It's tough making ends meet with narrow profit margins, retail rentals being as high as they are here and all the other overheads to pay. It means that even a 10% customer discount, although it doesn't seem that much to the customer, makes it tough for the bookseller to make a decent profit.
Independent booksellers are well aware of the professional inadvisability of waging a price war, but are often at the mercy of larger concerns which routinely offer "lost leaders" to attract customers into their store, where other items are generally at regular prices.
Will we go the way of the wonderful bookshop in "You've Got Mail" and be swallowed up by the equivalent of Fox, the big international chain? Not while we have loyal customers who appreciate the more personal service, those who bring their children in for storytelling and others who just enjoy being able to get things unavailable elsewhere.
I mean it when I say, "We look forward to being of service!" It is seriously so gratifying to receive so many compliments and we want to make sure we deserve the many accolades our customers have given us. Best of all is to see young children so enthusiastic about books, and older children coming in to ask for the latest book by today's many, wonderfully talented, writers. So do send us feedback and help us improve.
Bargain or no bargain, we want to make your experience shopping with us a satisfying one!
Well, we don't believe in that sort of bargain. When we state something is discounted, we discount from the price we have previously sold the item for. So you know that you are getting a genuine bargain. That's important to us because we believe that having impeccable business ethics is essential to building customer loyalty and trust. Our emphasis as a small indie bookstore is on good customer service and a great selection of titles - that's our edge if you like, rather than a constant cheap bargain-basement attitude.
Having said that, though, we are happy to pass on cheaper prices when we are able to get heavily discounted offers and remaindered titles from our suppliers, or when we need to reduce our over-stocked items to make way for newer titles. That way, we can strike a balance between the latest and the cheapest!
Since I'm having a bit of a grouse, there's another misconception I'd like to correct. There's a common, though unstated, assumption that booksellers are knee deep in profits, laughing all the way to the proverbial bank. Unfortunately, that really isn't true. It's tough making ends meet with narrow profit margins, retail rentals being as high as they are here and all the other overheads to pay. It means that even a 10% customer discount, although it doesn't seem that much to the customer, makes it tough for the bookseller to make a decent profit.
Independent booksellers are well aware of the professional inadvisability of waging a price war, but are often at the mercy of larger concerns which routinely offer "lost leaders" to attract customers into their store, where other items are generally at regular prices.
Will we go the way of the wonderful bookshop in "You've Got Mail" and be swallowed up by the equivalent of Fox, the big international chain? Not while we have loyal customers who appreciate the more personal service, those who bring their children in for storytelling and others who just enjoy being able to get things unavailable elsewhere.
I mean it when I say, "We look forward to being of service!" It is seriously so gratifying to receive so many compliments and we want to make sure we deserve the many accolades our customers have given us. Best of all is to see young children so enthusiastic about books, and older children coming in to ask for the latest book by today's many, wonderfully talented, writers. So do send us feedback and help us improve.
Bargain or no bargain, we want to make your experience shopping with us a satisfying one!
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