Why selling books might be a better fit than you think
Many retailers miss out on selling books because they hold on to some mistaken beliefs about book retail. We thought it was time to bust a few common misconceptions about who can sell books, how to sell books and why it could be more viable than you think.
Myth 1
People don’t buy books anymore.
Not true. With every new advance in technology, comes a new declaration that printed books are over. Yet, people are still buying books, and in large numbers. Last year, 669 million physical books were sold in the UK, a record level for the publishing industry*.
Rather than halt the desire to pick up books, technology is having the opposite effect. TikTok’s BookTok community has been widely credited with boosting the popularity of books, especially among young people.
Myth 2
I can’t compete with Amazon.
For lots of products, including books, many retailers struggle to compete on price with large online sites, like Amazon. But post pandemic, more people are returning to the high street, craving a more tactile, personal shopping experience that you can’t always experience online.
For the gift market, especially, books are a product that make a great spontaneous purchase for anyone looking to their local retailer for inspiration. This is what our gift and lifestyle retail customers at Bookspeed tell us. And that’s why they keep stocking and selling books.
Myth 3
Books should be left to bookshops.
Specialist booksellers are highly skilled and there is a definite romanticism attached to a great bookshop that will always be a draw for any avid reader. But books are a versatile product, and don’t always belong tucked away on a bookshelf.
Our customers at Bookspeed represent a wide array of retail specialisms. We sell books to beauty salons, delis, farm shops, restaurants, garden centres, fashion stores, toy shops, and more. Our expert selection team at Bookspeed is skilled at identifying beautifully designed titles that will complement any product range or retail theme and look fantastic in displays.
Myth 4
But it’s just too complicated.
Without experience of working with publishers, buying books to sell can seem daunting. Where do you even start? But there are wholesalers, for example Bookspeed, which can make it easier.
Bookspeed selects the best books on the market for a range of retail sectors and lists them on our website. You’ll have access to 1000s of books from 100s of publishers, organised into the themes that are most relevant for your customers. You can place an order on our website and your Bookspeed account manager will be on hand to help. Once your order is ready, you’ll get it quickly. And you’ll be back to do it all again when those books fly off the shelves!
Talk to us
If you’d like to learn more about how to introduce books into your product ranges, get in touch. We’d love to hear from you.
