How to search for "lost books" in your on-line inventory.

Whenever I have a hard time finding a book in my inventory...I quickly assume that there is something "tricky" about this book.

It's "hiding" from me for some reason.

I just finished a longish search for a large tradepaper book that I "knew" had a black cover...

OK? So I "assumed" it had a black spine as well....

I even looked up a picture of the book on line...Ebay is best for this because almost every seller uses photos in their listings.

Still no luck...

So I assume that the book is tricking me somehow...

Then I drop back to the technique of literally touching each book as I "scan" it visually.

For some reason this use of an "extra sense" helps me focus and avoid the "error" of visual scanning.

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Result:

Yes the book had a black cover...and it was reasonable to assume that the spine was also black...which of course is the only thing I can see on the bookshelf

BUT IT WASN'T!

The spine was white!!

An all black book...suddenly has an all white spine. Go Figure.

Anyhow. Bottom Line.

If a book is "hiding"....

Get the ISBN and go to Ebay or Addall or ABE and look the book up. Look for a picture and also the books dimensions.

And even then DON'T just assume that a black book has a black spine!

It may be white...because if your mind is Hell bent on "finding" a black spine on the book?

You're not going to find that book!

Until you get rid of preconcived notions on what you're really looking for... Always a problem.

How to store books in your on-line inventory...

After you get a certain number of books in your on-line inventory you have to figure out how to find the ones that have sold...

At first this is not a problem... You simply go to your bookshelves and look for the book.

But later, after you have about a thousand books in your inventory, this "scanning" method starts to break down... Suddenly every sale becomes a panic to "find the book"....

The rows and rows of books all start to look the same...!

OK...here's an idea. You can break down your inventory by catagory and subject matter...easy enough.

For example...

History. Science and Nature. Lit Crit. Cooking. Fiction. Biography. Children's. Business. Travel and Places. Americana. Arts and Decorating. Psychology. and so forth...

You might also seperate out your mass market paperbacks (MMPBs) and the oversized books...since these tend to disrupt the order on the shelves and create confusion.

Fine...so far.

But what happens when your Biography and Fiction section balloon to a thousand books each...!

Suddenly you're back with the same problem of scanning huge rows of books to find one title...

Then, you can take each catagory above... and break down even further...

History becomes... American History-Pre-Civil War. American History-Post Civil War. American History -20th Century...

European History can be seperated...by country.... if you have enough books to merit that... Asian History. African History. Medievel and Ancient History are seperated out too.

The various War Histories can be seperated...perhaps, WWII and WWI.... Korean and Vietnam. Etc.

So you keep "granularizing" your topics and catagories....

As long as your shelf space holds out...

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Now, there is another way to tackle this problem....

I call it the "Bin System."

It's a bit more professional and probably less work for the larger on-line opertion.

In the Bin System, you buy a lot of clear plastic bins...mainly those 56 quart "Sterlite" bins that are available at Target, Kmart, etc...

Then, as you "list" books on-line...

You put a SKU number on your online listing reflecting which "bin" the book is in...

This SKU data will be visible on your Sale Notice from your "selling venue" like Amazon, ABE or Alibris.

So, you are dividing your books up by "bin number" or "location" ....not by title and topic!

Thus, any given bin can have books about cooking, war history, biography etc...

The KEY of course is to remember which book is in which bin...it's a nightmare situation othewise.

But once in operation...you no longer have to "scan" long rows of books for one title! Because many books are obsure and hard to see ...or faded on the spine occasionally.

For book operations over 5000 books .... I think bins are the way to go...

They will stack nicely and take less space...but can be heavy, so don't buy the really big ones...stick with the 56 or lower quart size... They are light, damp and vermin proof...always a plus.

For operations under 5000 books you can still organize your books topically...and probably find things fairly easily...

Thus avoiding the panic attack that comes from selling a book and realizing that you just CAN'T FIND IT!! Your worst nightmare as an on-line bookseller...

More on this "nuts and bolts" topic later...

The "Where's my book?" email....

Every online bookseller hates to get the inevitable..."Where's my book?" email...

The implication is usually that you did not sent to book....or that you delayed mailing for some reason... Which in my case is never true but I can't speak for other sellers.

Here's a copy of an email reply that I did a few days ago:

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Your book was mailed to this address on the day it was ordered:

John Doe
123 Elm Street
Anytown, USA.

Is this the correct address...? This is the address on the Amazon records...

If this address is correct;

You might check at the local post office...they are probably holding the book for your pick up...

We ship same day...very, very fast. And, as you will see from our feedback, we complete all of our transactions quickly...

I have never actually "lost" a book in the US mail... And I doubt that yours will be the first...

If you don't receive the book in the next few days...and if it is not at the post office awaiting your pick up...Email me...

And I will see what I can do to resolve the situation for you...

Best Regards,

Etc....

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Note:

The book is almost always at the destination post office...the first delivery attempt failed for whatever reason. And sometimes there is no second attempt made... Merely a "pick up" slip hidden amid the other mail the buyer recieved that day! Of course it likely gets lost! And the buyer sits, and sits and sits...getting madder and madder ...that you did not send their book!

Meanwhile the package is sitting at the buyers post office awaiting pick up...

So buyers must be aware that failed deliveries are not "lost books"... In fact, I have never "lost" a book in the US mail. Now the Italian mail...perhaps... But never in the US mails.

Also note that I verify the address immediately... This can stop any issue of obsolete addresses at the book selling venue like Amazon or ABE. And there could be a "typo" But, I ALWAYS copy and paste my addresses to eliminate any possibility of typos...

Finally I let them know that I'm not buying the "lost book" scenario...at least until they check their local post office...

Also note, I never mention a "refund" directly...

This could put ideas into the buyer's head that are best left unmentioned...ie demanding a refund!

Rather, I promise to "resolve" the situation...

But in some serious cases where I think the buyer may be on the verge of panic... I out right tell them that I bear the risk of loss in the mail...not them.

This also has the effect of making the buyer more agreeable to waiting a little longer for their book... After all, it's my loss now, not theirs if the package never arrives...so we split the difference... They are protected and I get more time to get the package delivered.

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I recieved an email from this buyer the next day saying: "Thanks! The book was at the Post Office..."

Another potential problem solved!

Selling "Coffee Table" Books...

Large sized...or "Coffee Table" books are not quick sellers...

They tend to be specialized books with lots of pictures...and the content is generally ephemeral.

But certain books are worth having... Books about very high end areas like Martha's Vinyard, or Jackson Hole or Aspen will have a following... Perhaps well off people want these books for their "coffee tables" at condos in the area...

People are not shy about buying large cookbooks... There are several deluxe editions out there that are sort of collectors items...they have a following.

Books on Fung Shei and Japanese Gardens are good bets.

Art Books are a good area IF you know that to buy...

Generally out of print books about blockbuster exhibitions are worthy additions.

Also, art exhibition books for some lesser known artists are often the only resource for that artist's work for years to come...

I would definitely consider picking up "exhibition books" for lesser known artists just on "spec" that they may be more popular in the future... Imagine if you had some early Andy Warhol exhibition materials...!

Generally you don't want the best and most well know artists...they are too popular...and the printings will be huge. I'd rather look into second tier artists...who are still established in their genre...and whose work will be studied in the future.

Some important historically significant, but second tier artists will only have "solo exhibits" at key museums every ten or twenty years... These exhibition catalogs could be money in the bank for the bookseller.

I have stacks of oversized books in my inventory...and they do sell... I order special boxes (12X12 inches) to mail them in. They also usually take a 14 inch mylar DJ cover... Although having a big 16 inch might be needed for huge atlas sized books.

People will "cherry pick" your inventory just as in other kinds of books... It's amazingly how the customers can focus in on the very best books...

They know what they want...and they go for it.

Children's Book Collecting Blog....

Here's a link to a blog about collecting children's books from a person who catalogs childrens' books at a Utah university....