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Inventory Management

View our Inventory Management Independent Study options
Registration will open Monday, November 18 at 1:00 pm ET / 12:00 pm CT / 10:00 am PT
This course is designed for those who are employed by or who own a retail bookstore (this includes a mobile or pop-up shop) that has been in existence for at least 1 year and has 25%+ new book inventory; the skills and strategies taught in the course are designed for the new book trade, not for used-only stores. The course will teach owners and/or store buyers to create buying strategies and routines that get the best discounts, maintain cash flow, work within budgets, and integrate with the store’s marketing and merchandising. The skills students learn will help them analyze and improve their buying process.

Our 2026 Instructors

Dean Carol Price, Former owner, BookPeople of Moscow, Moscow, ID

Josh Christie, Co-owner, Print: A Bookstore, Portland, ME

Erin Caudill, Buying Manager, Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Latonia, KY

Melissa DeMotte, Owner, The Well-Read Moose, Coeur d’Alene, ID

Kate Reynolds, Book Buyer, Colgate University, Hamilton, NY

Karen Ugarte, Tia Chucha's Centro Cultural & Bookstore, Sylmar, CA

Lily Clay, Eagle Harbor Books, Bainbridge Island, WA

Luis Correa, White Whale Bookstore, Pittsburgh, PA

Membership

Being an active member of the bookselling industry is a critical step in growing a bookstore and shows commitment to your chosen profession. Stores with students in all Professional Booksellers School courses are required to be current members of their regional trade association and/or the American Booksellers Association. To enroll, students must also create a PBS account, which is free.

 

Course Components & Cost

This course consists of live classes via Zoom, office hours, and a final project. Homework is assigned for each class. Students are expected to attend the live classes, turn in all homework, and pass their final project to be certified.  The course is $395, with discounts available from their regional trade associations. Find out what support your Regional Trade Association offers on our website

Preview the 2025 Syllabus
Course Objectives

The Professional Booksellers School Inventory Management Course provides buyers with the skills and tools to:

  • use the store’s POS to manage and analyze inventory and ordering
  • efficiently select and order the new book inventory that will sell best for their particular store
  • build a system to schedule and track ordering
  • understand how and when to order direct from publishers for better discounts
  • use Ingram both efficiently and effectively, especially for customer special orders 
  • maintain cash flow via returns, turns, and budgets
  • integrate marketing and merchandising into the buying process so that their carefully selected inventory actually sells
  • analyze and improve their buying process over time
Major Project Deliverables

Homework for Inventory Management is completed via Trello. Assignments include, but are not limited to: frontlist and restocking criteria; buying calendars and schedules; community demographics and target markets; procedure documentation; turns and COGS calculations; at least one specced out inventory experiment, and a big picture strategic plan as the final project.  

Classes

Class 1 -  Book Buying Overview

Class 2 -  Using Wholesalers & Ingram Tips & Tricks

Class 3 -  Special Orders & Website Orders

Class 4 - Buying Criteria

Class 5 - Buying Frontlist

Class 6 -  Buying for Children

Class 7 -  Communicating the Buy to Customers & Staff

Class 8 - Managing & Buying Non-Book Inventory

Class 9 -  Restocking Backlist

Class 10 -  Wrangling Returns

Class 11 -  Buying When Short on Money, Time, or Space

Class 12 -  Understanding Book Buyer Math

Class 13 -  Taking Advantage of Publisher Promos & Co-op

Class 14 -  Using Information, Efficiences, & Experiments

Learning Outcomes

As a result of this course, students will be able to:

  • Know the value of a good sales rep and how to request and work with one.
  • Set and/or document your store’s buying criteria.
  • Create a direct publisher frontlist order using an Edelweiss rep markup and import
  • it into your point-of-sale system (POS).
  • Track your frontlist buying for budgeting purposes.
  • Price sidelines to achieve a desired profit margin.
  • Calculate inventory turns, as well as cost of goods sold (COGS) for inventory purchased at different terms.
  • Create/document your store’s special order promise, procedures, and workflow.
  • Establish and/or document communication procedures between the buyer and other staff/departments.
  • Generate a publisher overstock return pull list.
  • Understand the publisher co-op system and how it affects a store’s bottom line.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of your community, store identity, and demographics.
  • Personalize the techniques you learned in class to apply to your store’s specific situation.

If you have questions or need assistance, contact administration at hello@professionalbooksellers.com.

Independent Study