Basic Bookselling Store Subscription

Training new staff members in basic bookstore skills such as handselling, customer service, display building, and writing shelf-talkers, takes valuable time - and that doesn't include the background work of explaining how the bookstore industry works, introducing key terms, and gaining insight from owners and staff with decades of experience.

We have a great tool for you! With a Store Subscription to our Basic Bookselling for Independent Study course, your entire staff can access all nine classes for an entire year. The subscription includes handouts, and a document with the homework assignments for you adapt into training assignments.

This program is only $350/year, with discounts available from NAIBA, SIBA, MIBA, GLIBA, MPIBA, CALIBA, and PNBA. PBS courses are supported by the Indie bookstore industry, and are intended only for owners and staff members at Independent Bookstores that are members of their regional trade associations and/or of the American Booksellers Association.

These nine videos introduce booksellers to:

• The Independent Bookstore industry, including the ABA, Regional Trade Associations, BINC, Edelweiss, Ipage, Bookshop.org, Libro.fm, and more
• Daily life in bookstores, including different jobs and roles
• Why and how stores choose the books that they stock, and how these connect to a store's mission statement and/or customer base
• The traits, skills, and practices that make a frontline bookseller successful, including understanding where to find information on books, customer service skills, and how effective hand-selling works
• How a store's layout, inventory displays can drive and increase sales
• How bookstores operate financially, including margins, COGS, turns and sidelines