How to buy books when opening a bookstore?

Go to the book wholesale market,

Reprinted below!

1. What preliminary preparations do I need to make if I want to open a bookstore?

First of all, you need to spend a lot of time thinking about matters related to starting a retail business: initial investment capital and corresponding financial goals, time, labor input, management, necessary social activities, etc.

If you have never worked in a bookstore, start by gaining practical experience. You can go to a bookstore and apply for a job, even if it's just a temporary help. Your goal is to do the most trivial things that go into a bookstore's daily routine, including receiving, unpacking, shelving, managing inventory, selling, operating the cash register, wrapping gifts, setting up and tearing down displays, and cleaning. If you're not willing to experience it for yourself, you might want to think twice about opening a bookstore.

2. How should I judge which areas are suitable for bookstores?

First of all, you need to examine the distribution and operating conditions of existing bookstores in the area. You have two options. One is to take advantage of the situation, which is to choose a bookstore next to a big bookstore or other bookstore gathering area. The other is to choose a bookstore. Distributed blank spots. It would be best if the bookstore opened in an area with a good business atmosphere, where the industries operated by neighboring shops and the customers of the bookstore can interact with each other. If the shop industry around this store location is not compatible with the bookstore, such as a professional street, it is generally not suitable. Generally speaking, places that are nearby cultural and entertainment venues, commercial office buildings, mature residential communities, university districts, business districts, etc. are all possible locations for opening a store. Bookstores invested by individual entrepreneurs are generally small in scale, and both mobile and fixed customer flows are very important. Therefore, it is best to choose a community or university area with a large flow of people such as a station, fast food restaurant, theater, etc., and is backed by a stable community readership. place.

3. How should I position my bookstore and what factors should I use as a judge?

This is the most important issue faced by store owners. To open a bookstore, you must have a clear market positioning. Characteristics are the life of a bookstore. For example, a store owner first clarifies the positioning of a bookstore and then purposefully searches for a store location, striving to maximize the target customer group; and if a specific store address is already available, the location of the bookstore and the existing and potential consumer groups around it need to be determined Choose a business category and establish your own characteristics based on their consumption habits and tastes. For example, when Shanghai Monsoon Bookstore opens a branch, it will position the bookstore according to the characteristics of the region. The Lotus store is located near a residential area and is designed as a community bookstore, with children's books as its main business; the art store targets nearby areas. Features such as drama schools and opera houses, and more books on movies and dramas. Bookstores in university districts should try to avoid too many best-selling books, and books that are too academic near office buildings will not sell easily. A highly professional bookstore will get twice the result with half the effort if it is opened near relevant places. Near residential areas, a bookstore mainly for rentals and supplemented by leisure and entertainment magazines can also be popular; in supermarkets, books on beauty, food, leisure and other lifestyle categories are often popular; in areas where migrant workers gather, most of the best-selling books are various Magazines, martial arts, romance books, etc.; around colleges and universities, academic books on humanities and social sciences can be the main ones. In addition, unique content positioning can often attract good business.

4. What aspects should I pay attention to when choosing a good store?

The quality of the location affects the ease of future operations, so choosing a good business location is crucial. Store owners must make the following key points to understand the internal conditions of the store;

Area size: Is the gap between the desired business area and the actual area acceptable? If it is too small, it will limit the characteristics of the bookstore to be operated; If it is too large, it will cause waste and false rent. In the future, it will also make consumers feel that the product is empty and not enough. At the same time, we should also pay attention to the smaller the gap between the rented area and the actual used area, the better. There are many high-rise buildings that take up a large proportion of public space, causing the actual rent per square meter to increase a lot, which is not economical.

Floor: If the location chosen by the store owner is not on the first floor, will the height of the floor restrict consumers' willingness to visit the store? For example, if a theme bookstore is opened, the impact of this restriction will be very small. Yes, if you want to open a general bookstore, the impact will be huge. In addition, it is also critical to consider the impact of the business type and business form downstairs on the bookstore.

Floor division: For bookstores, if the usable area is less than 1,000 square meters, try to be on the same floor. If there are layers, it should not exceed three floors. If floors can be selected, the order is one floor. The second floor, the first basement and the third floor. Because when the area of ​​the bookstore is not too large, too many floors will make the store feel fragmented and incomplete, and will also make people feel oppressed by the small space, and the operating and management costs will also increase.

Building structure: The condition of the building itself often affects the cost of decoration and future maintenance and repair costs. If the building in the location is an old building, you must first understand the safety of the building itself, whether the decoration design will overwhelm the building; what are its supporting facilities, whether they need to be repaired or replaced, water supply, drainage, and sewage pipelines , circuit pipelines, and capacitance conditions must be thoroughly understood.

Site shape: The shape of the internal usable area should be as square and complete as possible, because too irregular a shape may cause more idle area in the design and cannot be fully utilized in the business area; secondly, it is easy to This creates dead spots in the store, making the circulation less smooth, increasing the frequency of patrols, increasing the personnel load, and the product loss rate will also increase. These will be reflected in operating costs, requiring store owners to think twice.

Neighbour status: Whether neighbors are easy to get along with will also affect the amount of non-operating costs; in addition, if the nearby business form is incompatible with the bookstore, or is mostly a night entertainment business, it will often make the bookstore operation difficult. It causes a lot of trouble and even spending a lot of money on publicity may be in vain.

5. Everyone says that research is necessary to open a store. What kind of research should I do to obtain the necessary information? How should I determine the size of the business district?

Research is actually a process of collecting relevant information. You can do it in various ways, such as asking relevant companies to do it, doing it yourself, etc. Business circle research can be divided into site survey, business circle survey and There are three types of market research.

(1) Site survey: It is a survey based on the location of the business location, that is, to understand the location you want to choose and its relevance to nearby geographical locations. It can be based on the commercial form around the bookstore's business location, the flow of people in front of the door at various times, the age group of the crowd, the purpose of the flow, the direction of the flow, the traffic flow during the time, the purpose of the traffic, the direction of the traffic, the convenience of parking, and public transportation Focus on the in-depth understanding and analysis of the tool's site distance, the starting and ending points of each line, the first and last shift times, and other factors that affect the business location.

(2) Business district survey: It is a circle drawn with the business location as the center and a certain distance as the radius. The area within the circle is called the business district. The scope of a business district is related to the size of the store area, business content, and consumption habits, that is to say, it is defined according to its scope of influence. Of course, the business district where the bookstore is located can also be the business district. For example, if a beauty salon is opened in a certain community, all or part of the community will be the business district of the shop owner.

(3) Market research: Conduct research on specific goals or things. These goals or things may not necessarily be in the business district, but they are often representative, topical, or even trendy.

6. What key elements must I pay attention to when doing research so that I can obtain useful information?

(1) Competitors in the same industry: location of competitors, business area, product structure, business characteristics (price, activities, etc.), factors affecting oneself, ranking of peers (including oneself) in the business district, etc. .

(2) Other commercial stores: location, business area, business characteristics, influencing factors on themselves, ability to gather customers, etc.

(3) Other non-business gathering places: parks, religious sites, hospitals, schools, military agencies, government agencies and other related influencing factors.

(4) Business district residents: including the living population and working population, their age, education, religious beliefs, jobs, income, consumption habits, etc.

(5) Others: government policies (such as demolition, incentive policies, etc.), any factors that may affect business.

7. Is it difficult to apply for a store license now? What are the procedures and how should I operate?

At present, the threshold for operating retail books in my country is very low. You only need to obtain a cultural business license from the local Press and Publication Bureau or the cultural department, and then register with the Industry and Commerce Bureau. There are no restrictions on where you can operate. The specific procedures are as follows:

First, the staff of the Cultural Affairs Bureau must conduct an on-site inspection of the applicant’s store to confirm that it complies with relevant regulations; after passing the inspection, the applicant should prepare the following documents: 1. Accounting firm A capital verification report of 100,000 yuan issued; 2. A copy of the store’s property book, and if the store is a rental property, a housing rental agreement should also be attached; 3. The application form of the “license” applicant (note: application form and house The rental agreement should be printed on B5 paper). The applicant can obtain the "permit" within about one week after submitting the above documents. The fees that need to be paid when applying for a license include an inquiry fee (40 yuan), a license application fee (30 yuan), and a membership fee (60 yuan/person).

8. How can I obtain the Junior Publisher Certificate?

To apply for a license to open a bookstore now, the legal person must have a nationally recognized publishing qualification certificate. The Information Publishing Department holds qualification examinations only twice a year. Each time you take a certificate, you must first study for a week, and the fee is 600 yuan per person. After completing the study, take the exam, and only those who pass the exam will receive the qualification certificate. The specific time and situation of the exam can be checked on the press and publication websites of various provinces and cities, such as the Beijing Press and Publication Bureau website www.bjppb.gov.cn.

9. For newly opened individual bookstores, what is the reasonable budget and arrangement of funds?

Before opening a store, not only must sufficient funds be prepared, but the source of funds must also be relatively reliable, and there should be no pressure to repay at any time. Only in this way can we ensure the smooth progress of future operations.

In terms of fixed investment, there are: store decoration, bookshelf production, purchase of business equipment, etc. Experts suggest that the working capital for the first phase of distribution should be calculated at about 3,000 yuan per square meter, which should be calculated according to your own needs. In this case, sufficient working capital can be used to temporarily purchase goods from the local market and be used for necessary expenses related to opening the business.

The specific cost of store decoration, according to the current general situation, the total investment is 300 to 400 yuan per square meter. If the internal floors, walls, and ceilings of the existing store have been renovated, then this part can save some money. Bookshelf: Generally calculated as one per square meter, the average price of fireproof board or particle board is about 320 yuan each. The cost of in-store equipment such as telephones, fax machines, computers, cash registers, calculators, etc.

In addition, a separate budget needs to be arranged for advertising and promotion, and also includes the cost of some consumables such as bags, wrapping paper, advertising sheets (DM sheets), etc.

Of course, the situation in each region is different. Doing more peer surveys can reduce your mistakes.

10. In addition to books, what other business types can be included in the business types of bookstores?

According to the location of the bookstore you have selected, the store owner can determine his other business forms:

According to the area and location of his own store, relevance, and business characteristics, the bookstore The types of businesses to be operated, such as books, periodicals, stationery, gifts, and audio and video, are the most common business forms related to bookstores; in addition, software, computer hardware, peripheral supplies, digital products, movie posters, and even catering, etc., are all It can be considered in your business scope.

11. What is the store rent to ensure that my business has room for profit?

Store rental costs vary from place to place, and book retailing is a low-profit operation. The rent is not easily too high.

According to general conditions, the maximum monthly rent per square meter of a bookstore should not exceed 100 yuan. The risk of operating beyond this standard is very high. If the store owner expires or cancels the lease midway, he can still charge a transfer fee, so this is more appropriate. If not, it is equivalent to increasing the rent.

12. What issues should I pay attention to when renting a store?

Whether the store has any legal disputes, who owns the store property, whether it has been seized by a bank or court or auctioned by other institutions, etc., to avoid any disputes over the property rights during the rental period; if who sublease it to you? , you need to find out whether he signed a contract directly with the property owner, the specific starting time of his renting, rent, etc.; for old stores, inquire whether they will be demolished in the future. When building a new store, consider hidden construction quality issues. Who will be responsible for problems in the future should be reflected in the lease agreement.

13. How should I proceed with the preliminary planning of the bookstore store?

After the store owner determines the varieties he operates, he must divide the area occupied by each variety according to the store area, and consider the proportion of each book category; after completing these actions, the store owner must divide each variety into Make reasonable arrangements for the positions of special categories in varieties and make written information. There are a few points that need to be noted when making specific plans: Generally, the customer channel only needs two people to pass across from each other without being crowded, and it is generally not less than 0.8 meters; generally for stores less than 100 square meters, the area of ​​the cashier counter should not exceed 1.5 square meters. It is appropriate, too much is wasted. The appropriate height is about 0.75 meters. If it is too high, customers will not feel close to each other. In terms of store supervision, it is best for one person to be able to see the entire store. Therefore, in addition to taking this point into consideration as much as possible when arranging the location of the cashier, tall bookshelves should not be placed in places that block the view; the span of the bookshelf is about 0.75 meters. If it is too wide, the partitions will easily be bent by the books. The bookshelf in the middle is placed according to the trend that the bookshelf can gradually increase as you go inward. This gives customers a sense of openness, good visual effects and the ability to store more books.

New books and best-selling books are the focus of a bookstore to attract customers. They are generally located at the front of the book area or closest to the door. The design style and height of the new bookcases and best-selling bookcases themselves are also important. Each bookstore has its own functional requirements.

14. What should I pay attention to when designing product shelves?

The design of shelves is a science. If designed well, the space can be fully utilized, the amount of merchandise displayed can be increased, and customers can feel comfortable and convenient in their choices, thus making the display of the entire bookstore neat. and a sense of richness, stimulating customers’ desire to buy. Therefore, store owners must comprehensively consider factors such as various business types and the size, display characteristics, purchasing habits, and even ergonomics of various commodities in the industry to design the shelf style. In addition, store owners should also pay attention to the height of the center cabinet and wall cabinets. The height of the center cabinet should not block the line of sight. The height of the wall cabinet should not be too high, causing inconvenience for customers and staff.

The appearance of a bookstore is an important piece of publicity that shows style. In addition to the clear signs on the signboard, what is more attractive to customers is the window display, which expresses the latest information about the products. The display of the display window is changed according to the changes of time, season and various subjective and objective factors. Therefore, during the design and decoration period, if the conditions of the store permit, there should be a window display plan. Spacing of security doors: The latest designed spacing of security doors is 1.8 meters. Many bookstores use 90 centimeters, which feels different. Although the 1.8-meter spacing is more expensive, it still needs to be considered to allow readers to enter. Leave enough width. If you use anti-theft doors, you should try to use ones with wider spacing and better materials. Don't use something with a heavy wooden structure, which will have a bad visual effect.

15. What else should I pay attention to when it comes to the decoration details of the bookstore?

Due to the characteristics of bookstores, store owners also need to pay attention to details such as the design of the cylinder, the design of the POP poster board and the brightness design.

If your store has some pillars.

Visually, the existence of pillars is a visual obstacle. However, at the beginning of the design, special attention must be paid to the combination between the pillars and the bookshelf. The pillars are not only for simple beautification, but also have a close relationship with performance, otherwise they will become a shopping mall. Loss of area.

The design of the POP poster board is to standardize the posting of posters in the future. For example, the wall behind the cashier can be used as a poster board. The posted content is mainly about membership application methods or notifications of other long-term activities; the column A poster board can also be designed on the surface. The content is mostly focused on a single product or a small book fair counter, so it is best to have a small number of display racks or platforms below it.

The brightness of the lights in the store will first affect customers' willingness to come to the store, and secondly, whether customers are prone to fatigue when choosing products. Therefore, when store owners are designing a store, it is best to measure the brightness.

16. How can I make a more reasonable budget when I’m selling goods for the first time?

For a newly opened bookstore, the first purchase of goods is large in terms of product type and quantity; and the purchase time and arrival period are also very tight, so the store owner should Planned and step-by-step arrangements allow procurement and logistics operations to proceed smoothly and avoid any mistakes.

According to the planning drawing, the number of shelves required for each category of merchandise is calculated as a budget of 3,000 solid dollars per square meter of merchandise. As a general rule of thumb, it is better to keep a conservative purchase budget for new stores. It would be better to keep the inventory slightly tight and replenish the goods at the right time, but it is equally important to have sufficient stocks during the business period. You need to ensure that customers come to the store once and find reasons to come back next time.

17. What are the channels for purchasing books? Which channels are more appropriate for me to purchase in the early stage?

There are basically three channels for purchasing books: one is purchasing directly from publishing houses, the other is purchasing books directly from booksellers, and the third is purchasing directly from wholesale markets. For a small bookstore that is starting to operate, purchasing goods from the wholesale market is the most common practice. Cash transactions in the wholesale market can reduce the discount for purchasing goods. In addition, when many new books are first released, publishing houses will outsource them to some booksellers and give them larger discounts. If they maintain a good cooperative relationship with powerful regular booksellers, they can take advantage of this market opportunity. What needs special attention is that whether it is publishing houses, booksellers or wholesale markets, they basically adopt an adjustable and non-refundable book supply model.

18. When distributing goods for the first time, what should I pay attention to in terms of variety and purchase price?

Be careful when buying goods for bookstores. Distributing goods is a one-time investment, the purchase price is low, and the content is good. The variety should be large but affordable. Don’t pursue variety at the beginning. The variety will be gradually formed based on actual conditions. Good books should be purchased at low prices and the leading ones should be discounted at a lower price to attract readers.

In terms of procurement methods, we first purchase the books needed for shelf display. Because this purchase is based on the publisher’s catalog, there are many types, few copies, and the processing time after acceptance is also long. So it is listed as the first purchase. The second purchase is mainly for new books and best-sellers. This time the purchase is for new books. Publishers or distributors can actively recommend them and then deal with them according to the number of copies ordered. At the same time, supplementary purchases can be made for the parts that are insufficient in the first purchase. .

19. How do I judge the quality of a book? What are the purchasing principles for new stores?

When making an initial purchase judgment on a book, the following points of attention should be paid attention to: whether the publisher of the book is famous, whether the cover is eye-catching, who the author is, whether it is authoritative and appealing, and the catalog informs What is the entire content of the book, what useful things are told in the preface and introduction, what are the recommended things on the jacket and book jacket, etc. These are the sources of "selling points". The purchaser must first have something that can impress him or her as a reader. Only by "argument" can the readers be moved and purchase.

The purchasing principle is: the publication time of the book should be given priority to newer products, the popularity of the author or the book itself should be given priority, the publication quality of the book should be given priority, and the completeness of the variety should be given priority. Prioritize the lowest discount.