2011 has been an interesting year for Fair’s Fair and has us wondering which way the books business is going to go.
I realize there is something innate in us (those of us who laughably call ourselves independent merchants) that spurs us towards secrecy but I worry that secrecy isolates us as a profession and does […]
Let's talk about books: A used bookstores and book business blog
Used book store operator since October 13, 1988. I entered the business as a book lover with little real knowledge about either books or business but it soon took me over.
I am still fascinated by the unlimited possibilities for growth the book business presents, not only to diligent operators but, to the reading public.
Seeing the opportunities has created a sense of obligation/compulsion to build an organization capable of making a positive contribution to as many facets of the business as possible.
We feel indebted, not only to our customers who have guided us this far but, to booksellers everywhere (past and present), the authors, publishers and all of the fields contributing to expanding mankind's knowledge.
We are presently a family business operating 4 stores in Calgary, Alberta, Canada but watch this site for further developments.
28 September 2011 · 8:17 am · No comments
How’s Business?
1 January 2011 · 9:12 pm · No comments
Thankful for Surviving 2010
2010 was a year of change for Fair’s Fair and tested us as individuals and as an organization on many levels.
We had started to look for a warehouse location in September of 2009 when we realized our inventory of well over 500,000 books (many of them single titles) would soon become unmanageable if it was not centralized and brought […]
19 October 2010 · 5:42 pm · 1 comment
Seven Hard Months Behind Us
It is a shock to come back to earth when you are riding high - like we were during 2008 and 2009 when sales advanced by 12% and then 10%. 2010 started off with January, February and March continuing to show improvements of 10% over the previous year - and then the Greeks and the […]
28 April 2010 · 8:30 am · No comments
The Book Business is Simple - but it isn’t Easy
Becoming successful in the book business shares similarities with becoming good as a poker player. Patience and perserverance are key factors. Some studies have shown that over the course of a long poker session each player will receive approximately the same number of winning hands - the player with the most chips at the end of […]
16 January 2010 · 3:25 pm · No comments
Still in the Book Business!
Over 21 years and more enthusiastic than ever!2009 turned out to be our second best year ever! It was only exceeded by 2008 and 2008 would have been even better except sales stalled slightly in the fourth quarter after the world became aware how the blind greed of people focused primarily on money can wreak […]