More Sidelines Selling for the Holidays & Beyond

Whether they are called gifts or sidelines, non-book products added to a bookstore's inventory mix can help boost the bottom line. In this second of a two-part series, booksellers share some of their consistent top-sellers not only for the holidays but year-round.

At the Best of Times in Red Wing, Minnesota, owner Leslie Hakala said that soaps and spa products from The Enterprising Kitchen appeal to her customers in more ways than one: The Chicago-based company, whose motto is "Feel Good, Do Good," is a nonprofit enterprise that provides employment and support services to lower income women who have been unemployed or under-employed.

Hakala also noted that the store does well offering greeting cards from Artists to Watch, which is located in Maplewood, Minnesota.

City Notebooks by Moleskine

Tom Campbell, at the 30-year-old Regulator Bookshop in Durham, North Carolina, told BTW that the store carries few sidelines and focuses almost entirely on books. "But," he said, "we do carry the Moleskine notebooks and their new City Notebooks, and they have been selling extremely well." The City Notebooks, now available for 12 major European cities, include a series of detailed maps, removable pages, route overlays, and an inside accordion pocket.

Moleskines are also top sellers at Changing Hands in Tempe, Arizona. "They're a great gift for men and women, and work for everyone from your boss to your best friend," said Changing Hands gift buyer Liz Steinzig. "The design is based on the small notebooks that everyone from Hemingway to Picasso used to keep ideas in. This is the ultimate multi-purpose gift."

Changing Hands is also having success this holiday season marketing glass jars of Tupelo honey from Savannah Bee Company with tea and a good read. "The Tupelo honey flute is the queen of the honey world and makes an elegant hostess gift, or a beautiful addition to any kitchen," said Steinzig. Changing Hands pairs the jars with boxes of tea from Tea Forte. "It makes a gorgeous, eye-catching display." The store also packages the honey and tea with The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd, Penguin). "We sold quite a few to people who missed [the book]. Buy a pack of tea, honey, and a book. It's sort of a no-brainer."

Changing Hands also sells gift items from the female- and minority-owned company Cocoon House, based in Minnesota. "Cocoon House scarves, hand-sewn multicolored scarves with crochet, are a constant seller," said Steinzig. "The House's velvet and tri-layer silk scarves also make great gifts, even in Arizona's 85-degree winters!"

At Blue Willow Bookshop in Houston, Texas, Valerie Koehler asks her staff for picks that extend beyond books. "We ... ask each staff member to pick one game to try." This year, she noted, the overall staff favorite was Ringgz Game, which appeals to ages eight to adult. Other popular gifts are Coocoo the Clown, which challenges the dexterity of children ages 3 and older, and Webkinz plush toys. --Karen Schechner with reporting by David Grogan and Nomi Schwartz

• The Enterprising Kitchen: www.theenterprisingkitchen.org
• Savannah Bee Company: www.cocoonhouse.com
• Tea Forte: http://www.teaforte.com
• Artists to Watch: http://www.artiststowatch.com/
• Moleskine: http://www.moleskine.com/eng/default.htm
• Ringgz Game: http://www.blueorangegames.com/ringgz.php
• Coocoo the Clown: http://www.blueorangegames.com/coocoo.php
• Webkinz: http://www.webkinz.com/

For more sidelines sources, check out ABA's Booksellers Resource Directory.

If you have a sideline that you would like to share with BTW readers, please send us an e-mail.