Jim Crocker of Modern Myths in
I read John Riley's latest Sharpening the Stone columns with great interest, as we are a relatively new store that started with a very small back issue selection that we eventually eliminated as a permanent fixture in our store.
One potential back issue model I wanted to mention that John didn't is going to a remainders-style model, essentially treating them as commodities rather than collectibles. We still buy collections, but only in bulk (5-10 cents per book, period, no haggling), and we ID and return any pre-70s high-value books we come across in those collections and advise our customers to consult a local back issue expert on moving them.
Rather than have a section in-store devoted to back issues on a regular basis, we have two yearly back issue sales that run 5-6 weeks where we bulk price them (buck a book, a dozen for $10) and blow them out the door, turning back issue sales into an 'event.' We run the sales in February-March (an otherwise slow period for us here in frosty New England) and late July-early September, starting at our local downtown Sidewalk Sale, where summer tourists and vacationing student hit the boxes hard for cheap summer reading.
We do have two back issue bins that contain not single issues but sets, full series and long runs bagged together and priced roughly comparable to a similar graphic novel. We build these sets from purchased collections and rack pulls. Positioned next to our used GNs as they are, they do very well with the small footprint they take up, essentially appealing to those 'catch-up readers' John referred to, rather than hard-core hobbyists.
We've also been known to order singles from Lone Star to fill out some of those runs and sets with one or two missing books, another good way to take advantage of that service.
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