Used Book Sales In Connecticut 2009 Presented by: Carl W. Nawrocki

FOCL Workshop – Used Book Sales in CT2 USED BOOK SALES According to 2009 FOCL Directory –72 planned used book sales in CT –276 used book sale days 52 Friends groups responded to the survey

FOCL Workshop – Used Book Sales in CT3 Other Characteristics Admission Prices –About one-half of the groups reporting have preview or early admissions fee –Half of the book sales charge $ 5 and the remainder from $ 10 to $ 20 Length of Sale –One-half of the book sales are for a single day –Another third are for two days –3-day and 4-day sales make up 10% –The remainder are greater than 4 days When –Saturday is the most popular day for a book sales followed by combinations of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday –Some sales are for an entire week

FOCL Workshop – Used Book Sales in CT4 Categories Generally, the larger the number of books, the more categories

FOCL Workshop – Used Book Sales in CT5 Hardbound Fiction Prices 36 surveys gave a single price $2 is most common $10 11 surveys showed a range of prices

FOCL Workshop – Used Book Sales in CT6 Hardbound Non-Fiction Prices $2 is most common 8 surveys showed a range of prices Wider ranges $10 $25 $20 $1,000

FOCL Workshop – Used Book Sales in CT7 Trade Paperback Prices $1 is most common 4 surveys showed a range of prices 21 groups priced trade paperbacks higher than mass market paperbacks $3

FOCL Workshop – Used Book Sales in CT8 Paperback Prices $0.50 is most common One group charges 3/$1 and there are a few ranges even here

FOCL Workshop – Used Book Sales in CT9 Children’s Prices Hardback Paperback $0.50 is most common One group charges $0.35 and another charges 3/$1

FOCL Workshop – Used Book Sales in CT10 DVD Prices $2.00 is most common One group charges $0.75

FOCL Workshop – Used Book Sales in CT11 Other Items for Sale Most Groups –DVDs, CDs, Videos, records, games Less Common  Basket raffle  Magazines  Puzzles  Mugs  Christmas items  Flea market / Tag sale  Stuffed animals  Book bags  Tee shirts  Bookmarks  Plants, herbs, and flowers  Note cards  Decorative tiles  Magnets  Historical prints

FOCL Workshop – Used Book Sales in CT12 Bag Sales 38 Groups reported bag sales Two-thirds –Last day(s) dedicated to bag sale –Half of these are on Sunday One-third –Conducted during the last couple of hours of a sale –Transition to bag sale by announcement and signs –Bags are handed out by the staff

FOCL Workshop – Used Book Sales in CT13 Per Bag Prices $5.00 is most common

FOCL Workshop – Used Book Sales in CT14 Leftover Books Sell –About one-half of the groups sell leftover books to a wholesaler – Pro Quo Books is the most often used Donate –Goodwill gets most donations –Other possibilities: clinics, hospitals, other Friends groups, schools, retirement homes, traveler restaurants, and GOT books Retain –Selected books for Friends Bookstore, Friends shelf/cart, online bookstore Discounted sales?

November 14, 2009FOCL Workshop – Used Book Sales in CT15 Profit by # of Books in Sales < – ,000 – 19, , ,000 – 30,000 50,000 – 80,000

FOCL Workshop – Used Book Sales in CT16 Profit by Population Served < – ,000 – 19,999 50, ,000 – 49,999

FOCL Workshop – Used Book Sales in CT17 Questions Pre-Sale –How do you price books? –What do you do with rare/valuable books? –What publicity is effective? –Do you reach out to dealers? –Where do you sort and/or store books? During the Sale –How do you handle dealers using scanners? –How do you handle dealers who are too pushy? After-Sale –?

Q and A

FOCL Workshop – Used Book Sales in CT19 Categories by Profit Group < – ,000 – 6,000 50, ,000 – 50,000 10,000 – 15,000 7,000 – 9,000 18,000 – 20,000