Idea Exchange This Week

Every week dozens of booksellers seek and share advice and information about bookselling and the book industry on BookWeb's Idea Exchange Forums. Here, BTW presents a look at some of this week's topics -- with the hope that more booksellers will join in.

This week, visitors to the Idea Exchange will note something different: the name of the General Forum has been changed to the Bookseller-to-Bookseller Forum to better represent the focus of this message board -- to spur collegial conversation between ABA bookseller members and give them an opportunity to network and to benefit from the perspectives that could only be gained from their peers.

In the Bookseller-to-Bookseller Forum this week, new topics included a discussion regarding publishers selling directly to consumers and bookstore reading groups. In addition, a number of booksellers responded to posts started in previous weeks, including threads about book fairs, used paperbacks, recycling gift cards, Harry Potter sales, and more. ABA staff does not reply to postings in the Bookseller-to-Bookseller Forum.

The "Ask ABA" Forum provides booksellers with the opportunity to ask questions or direct comments to the ABA Board and staff.

The "Ask BookSense.com" forum provides an opportunity to ask questions of the BookSense.com staff, as well as to discuss concerns and to find out how other booksellers are using the e-commerce site.

And on the Inventory Control Forum, a bookseller is seeking advice on inventory control systems.

The Idea Exchange Forums are open to ABA bookstore and provisional members only. (Booksellers who do not already have a BookWeb Account will need to create one -- to do so, click here.) The greater the number of booksellers participating in the forums, the more useful they become as an educational tool for the whole independent bookselling community.