Special Indies First Offer From Baker & Taylor a Hit With Indie Bookstores

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With this year’s celebration of Indies First on Small Business Saturday (November 26) just over two weeks away, stores should be finalizing their plans for special events — which for many stores include hosting and promoting guest authors — and for making the most of special offers available from an array of publishers.

To help ABA member bookstores have a successful Indies First and Small Business Saturday, Baker & Taylor is inviting booksellers to take advantage of a special offer on all trade books between November 20 and December 3. With this offer, booksellers can stock up in advance of Small Business Saturday and replenish shelves afterward.

Stores wishing to take advantage of the offer can place their orders as usual. No promotional code is required, there’s no minimum order to qualify, and there is no limit to the number of times a store can receive the discount.

Scott Kinberger, director of the buying department for Books Inc. stores in California, said that between the extra margin and the fast shipping Baker & Taylor is providing, the special offer “allows booksellers to respond to sales and not anticipate them, which is often very useful at this time of year, when a book can take off suddenly or something you thought would do well is slower-moving.”

“In our business, margins are so tight that any increase in discount, along with the speed to market that [Baker & Taylor is] offering, gives everybody another option. That might make a difference as we get closer to the holidays,” Kinberger said.

Sarah Murray, buyer for Chaucer’s Bookstore in Santa Barbara, California, said the Baker & Taylor offer is especially appealing because it’s a great way to get more books in ahead of Indies First and Small Business Saturday. “Assuming your store has an increase in sales surrounding those times, it’s nice to be able to get the books in quickly to provide for those sales bumps,” she said.

Even for stores that are not participating in the indie-related events on November 26, “it’s coming up on the holidays so it’s just a great time to not have to sacrifice margins to get books quickly,” she added.

Learn more about the special Indies First on Small Business Saturday offer from Baker & Taylor and contact your Baker & Taylor sales representative with any questions. Stores that do not have a current Baker & Taylor account are welcome to reactivate or sign up for a new one to take advantage of the special offer.

Promotional codes for other Indies First special offers are available on BookWeb (a username and password are required to log in). A downloadable Excel spreadsheet listing the publisher offers is also available.