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2022 Publishers Weekly Bookstore of the Year. Est. 1987. “The Emerald City of all the bookstores” — Ilya Kaminsky "Kansas culture beacon" — Sarah Smarsh
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Jul 24, 2020 8 tweets 5 min read
I used our shipping software to pull quotes on shipping this copy of @DrIbram's HOW TO BE AN ANTIRACIST:

📨 @FedEx Home Delivery: $14.03
📨 @UPS Ground: $23.87
📨 @USPS Media: $2.94

The end of the United States Postal Service would be a disaster for bookstores and libraries. The independent bookstores that have managed to pull through the pandemic so far have all done it thanks (at least in part) to ecommerce. Selling books online relies on shipping books. We're no exception; we were proud to send books to all 50 states.

Apr 29, 2020 4 tweets 1 min read
Perhaps an unpopular opinion:

It should take a little while for a package to get to you. Moving items across thousands of miles in an efficient manner (that accounts for environmental impact) is not a fast process.

Amazon Prime has created unrealistic expectations. We're hearing about shipping "delays," but we argue that shipping speeds are returning to a rate that should be considered normal.

Clicking on something and having it arrive tomorrow has pretty severe consequences for the people making it happen, not to mention the planet.
Dec 12, 2019 8 tweets 2 min read
Selling this book for $9.59 would have the same effect on our bottom line as opening the cash drawer and handing a customer a $5 bill for no reason. What happens when you buy a book from us at full price:
1️⃣ just over half goes back to the publisher to pay for the book
2️⃣ of the rest, about half goes to pay employee wages
3️⃣ the remaining half of our share goes to rent, marketing, donations, cat care, maintenance, etc
Sep 4, 2019 11 tweets 3 min read
Hi! It appears that a certain huge online retailer shipped out copies of @MargaretAtwood's THE TESTAMENTS a week before its release date (September 10th). Some people (it's unclear how many) have already received copies in the mail. This is bad. Here's why: 🧵 In order for us to order copies of THE TESTAMENTS we had to sign an affidavit swearing that we wouldn't put copies out before 9/10. As outlined in the affidavit, if we broke the terms we'd be liable for damages and we wouldn't be allowed to sell the book anymore.
Apr 17, 2019 12 tweets 3 min read
Today a customer mentioned that she could get a new hardcover book online for $15. Our mission is not to shame anyone for their shopping practices, but we do feel a responsibility to educate about what it means when a new hardcover is available for $15 online. When we order direct from publishers, we get a wholesale discount of 46% off the cover price. The book in question had a cover price of $26.99, meaning our cost for that book from the publishers would be $14.57. If we sold it for $15, we'd make . . . 43 cents.