When we started our bookstore 10 years ago, we tried to be all things to all people. Whatever people asked us to carry we did, including shirts, hats, wall art, gifts, jewelry and church logo items. We really didn't know what people would buy. Staff members would ask us to carry certain products or keep a large quantity of a certain book on hand. We felt we had to carry whatever they asked.

Through trial and error, we found that just because one person asked for something, that did not mean there was a demand for it. We learned the hard way, as we got "stuck" with lots of nonreturnable product in the early years. We had to set a narrower focus and stop spending our time and money delving into departments of items that did not sell well.

Also, we were not good on returns in the first five years. Because we were continually growing, we didn't worry about books that didn't sell when they were new releases. We just added them to the backlist titles to help fill up our shelves. Over time we discovered that was a costly mistake.

Our church bookstore has many repeat customers, so if a book didn't sell well when it was new, it didn't sell well when it was old either. We had to begin cleaning out our shelves and discounting many unsold books and also posting them for sale at a reduced rate on Half.com, just to get rid of them and recoup some of the investment.

Diane Busch, manager
RiverTree Christian Church Bookstore
Massillon, Ohio

One big mistake is I have allowed reps to sell me too much product. I often get overwhelmed with all the choices when a rep comes in and rather than thinking through who will buy it, how it fits the mission of the store and (that) I can always re-order, I go with the price-break quantity.

This is so not necessary--the extra discount is not a discount if we are stuck with the product, have to return and pay shipping or practically give it away to move it.

Special-ordering of artwork is another area that I blundered in just last week. I allowed a church staff member to pick out a piece in the catalog. She made the purchase when it came in. After she took it home and hung it up, she found that she hated it and brought it back. This $160 piece wasn't one that will sell well to our congregation and will probably be marked down well below price.

After the fact, I called the vendor and learned that they do not take returns, a "totally my fault" for not checking ahead on their return policy, not having a special gift order policy in place for the store such as a restocking fee or a no-return-on-gift disclaimer when special-ordering. It may end up as a donation to an organization when they come calling for items....

Lorena Allen
Manager
Harvest Bookstore
Eastview Christian Church
Normal, Ill.