Non-books

Becky Anderson was “blown away” by the scope of Germany’s Nürnberg Toy Fair, where she recently found several new toy lines for Anderson’s Bookshops and came away with ideas for how indie booksellers can share information about favorite products.

Hundreds of booksellers are supporting the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression and its all-important work in the fight against censorship by selling products in the ABFFE affiliate program, including reading glasses, bookmarks, and incense.

Maroma, a supplier of incense and other aromatic products from India, is the newest partner in the affiliate program sponsored by the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression.

Standout sidelines – whether they’re laminated stamp bookmarks, quality fair trade journals, or flip toys – usually sell themselves.

As price wars dip into already slim profits, offering an array of gifts and other non-book products with impulse purchase appeal can make a significant difference in a bookstore's bottom line this holiday season. Here's a look at some popular items selling well at three indies whose owners take serious advantage of the excellent margins offered by non-book products. Just don't call them sidelines, Steve Bercu, owner of BookPeople in Austin, Texas, cautioned. "I will point out that BookPeople does not sell any sidelines.

The American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA) is offering its trade show member rate of $149 to bookstore members of the American Booksellers Association who would like to attend the ASTRA Marketplace & Academy, to be held in St.

By Valerie Koehler of Blue Willow Bookshop

Whatever a bookseller calls merchandise other than books -- sidelines, gifts, or non-book items -- the effects are still the same: The addition of non-book merchandise to the inventory mix can add significantly to a bookstore's bottom line.

By Lance Fensterman When was the last time you stood refueling your car and didn't see, essentially, a convenience store inside the gas station? Have you been to a movie theatre recently that had no concession stand? Did you know that Best Buy is now opening stores where you can get a pedicure and buy organic healthcare products while you learn about the latest iPod innovations?

Bookshop Santa Cruz in Santa Cruz, California, is no stranger to tongue-in-cheek, clever marketing gambits. In 1993, the bookstore weighed Rush Limbaugh's book and sold it at the price of baloney. In 1995, the store included an airline "barf bag" with every copy of Newt Gingrich's To Renew America (HarperCollins).