sell « Robin Writes

Just like Main Street Books in St. Charles, AOTSP will begin closing out at the end of January; unlike MSB, it’s not because we’re retiring. Darn the luck.

Only a miracle can make a difference at this point. Sales were way down in December, half what we expected, and things are . . . tight, to say the least. So we have to make a decision:

If we could “find” $10K, we could stay open until our lease is up September 30 and maybe business will pick up.

If we could “find” $20K, we could extend our hours and stay in business through the next holiday season and again, hope for the best.

Or, someone could make an offer to buy – $30K.

On the other hand, the economy is still pretty much in the tank, Amazon can afford loss leaders in the form of books and we can’t, and we’re already stretched pretty thin with Dennis back at work and all of my other projects. I need to focus on what’s important and productive, and the bookstore just isn’t it.

We won’t be doing any campaigns like Indiegogo – they’ve been done to death in these parts and I’ve never had much response on those anyway. I doubt seriously that any investors, angel or otherwise, would consider a bookstore a smart move – it just isn’t.

Negative much? No. Realistic. I think.

It’s been fun, it’s been educational, but it’s probably time to stop the bleeding.

You’ll be the first to hear if anything changes, and of course, I’ll keep you apprised of all the details, such as author consignment, store credits, and so forth.

Here’s a thought – and I’m channeling Grumpy Cat, just FYI – don’t any of you read books? I know you must, because I know a lot of people who DO read books, and surely I know YOU. Or maybe not.

My point is that here I sit, while everyone is Christmas shopping – at Amazon? Maybe. Or maybe you already finished shopping. Or maybe you don’t give books as gifts. Beats the hell out of me.

And it’s true, we don’t usually carry bestsellers, but we can order them for you. And we have a lot of great titles, in spite of them not being on “that list.” In fact, we have our OWN list!

And a lot of people don’t seem to realize we’re here, even after two-plus-years. Even the ones who park their big damn SUVs right in front of the store, and then wander off to eat lunch or have their nails done for a couple hours.

I see posts and hear people talking about “shop local” all the time – but when it comes right down to it, these same people “like” pages and talk about “great deals” at big box stores. That’s where the advertising is, that’s where the “deals” are. I guess.

My point – wait, I already said that – my OTHER point is that we have nine months left on our store lease and it’s time to make some decisions. And this Christmas shopping season is definitely making me think twice.