Spotlight on 'Buying, Selling, and Managing Gifts, Sidelines, and Other Non-Book Products 101'

"Sidelines can really add to your bottom line," said Gayle Shanks, co-owner of Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, Arizona, at the ABA education session "Buying, Selling, and Managing Gifts, Sidelines, and Other Non-Book Products 101" at last week's BookExpo America in New York. "But I don't call them sidelines anymore. Customers don't understand what you mean when you say 'sidelines.' And if you use the word 'gifts,' over your PA system ... it will remind customers that you have gifts in the store." Shanks outlined a number of tested selling strategies for non-book items, including tips on creating displays. She also listed specific top-selling products and presented slides of merchandise displayed throughout her store.

"We're going to cover what to do with these strange things that aren't books," began Shanks. In Changing Hands' 10,000 square feet of selling space, 25 - 30 percent of sales come from "strange" non-book items. "Rather than taking up space, gifts will enhance your books," she said. "They don't detract from the fact that it's a bookstore. Think about gifts as the ambiance of the store. It should be a fun, beautiful reflection of your sense of what a bookstore is." But the real bonus is that "bringing in gifts that have a higher margin [than books] adds directly to the bottom line.

"The margins are very different," said Shanks, who noted that a markup of double the cost of the gift item plus freight costs is not unusual. But she suggested, "Use your brains to decide what the market will bear."

Of course, the first step is to find sidelines that sell. Shanks provided a list of her favorites ("a really great revised list"), including Nunzilla, a wind-up nun action figure that spits sparks (Accoutrements); harmonically tuned wind chimes (Woodstock Percussion); beautiful blown-glass "Witch Balls (Pairpoint); whimsical prints with quotes (StoryPeople); wooden puzzles and well-priced giant plush animals (Melissa & Doug); and more. But she encouraged the audience to use their knowledge of their customers' interests and their own instincts to buy for the store. "I always have a notebook and pen with me, and I write down everything that looks interesting," she said. "I write down websites, toll-free numbers. I'm just a scavenger."

Using reps for various sidelines is also a good way to find the right merchandise for your neighborhood, said Shanks, who also recommended reading magazines like Lucky, Real Simple, and Sunset to get a sense of what's trendy.

Finding the right gift item is as important as knowing where and how to display it. When Shanks switched from wire spinner card racks to towers with Lucite holders, card sales doubled. Not an insignificant figure considering Changing Hands now sells more than $100,000 in greeting cards annually.

Shanks emphasized that gifts should be displayed in "every available space," and she also advised pairing like with like. Luggage tags from Inventive Travelware "flew out of the store" when placed in the travel section. Teapots and ceramics do well near cookbooks. Shanks buys gifts from a local potter and recommended that other bookstores carry products from their local artists. Witch Balls, wind chimes, and bright colorful mobiles from MEE-sub Enterprises attract attention when hung in the window. She advised the audience not to worry about kids playing with wind chimes. "They sound so beautiful that it generates a lot of sales."

The cashwrap, said Shanks, is not the best selling location for books. "You can earn way more money at the front counters with gifts. When we had books at the counter, we'd sell one or two a day. Now we stock magnetic toys called Benders [Hog Wild], and we sell 15 a day for $10 to $20. That's a big difference," she said. "Impulse items are terrific. People see all kinds of things at the register that they can't resist. They'll see Tub Teas and buy four or five at $5 a piece. They'll spend another $25 they weren't going to spend. Some of these items are in such beautiful packaging customers can't resist."

Though someone just starting to bring in sidelines might balk at some of their unwieldy and unbooklike shapes, Shanks explained how to make the most of, for example, a giant plush giraffe or life-size dog. "You can just put them on the floor next to or on top of bookshelves," she said. "You can put them in places where you could never put books." The top of the line wind chimes from Woodstock Percussion are hung from grids in the dropped ceiling. She uses the same technique for the Witch Balls. Shanks also bought a lot of inexpensive Mexican furniture to hold soaps, candles, etc. One of her cardinal rules is that all gift displays must include a book.

Higher margins are great, of course, but Shanks explained that gifts require more maintenance to maximize their profitability. "Sometimes it takes a little more work," she said. "Gift items are much more volatile. They move more quickly, they have a quicker sell through, and they need more attention." The key is not to get sentimentally attached to something. Shanks' formula is to put a new line in a prominent spot and watch it; if it doesn't sell well, she moves it. If half the order hasn't sold in a month, she marks it down 50 percent or more and sticks it on the sale table. "It's very important to have a sale table. We sell a tremendous number of items off of ours," said Shanks, who suggested that if seasonal items don't sell, get rid of them by either marking them down by 60 to 70 percent or give them to a local charity. "Do not hang on to them until next year," she said. "By next year, there will be something else you'll want to put your money into."

It's also important to keep "really good records," said Shanks. "I used to have general category records for candles and toys, but I didn't know which sold.... I decided to keep track of each item. Although it takes a long time to keep such detailed records, when I reorder I get a whole picture of what is selling and what's not." Shanks also recommended getting security tags, using them wisely (i.e., only putting them on more costly items), and placing price stickers discreetly.

Summarizing, Shanks said, "Picking and choosing is really important" in gift item selection. But she recommended not being too afraid to "try new things." The idea, said Shanks, "was to make your bookstore a one-stop-shopping experience. That's what worked best for us." She decided one December that she wanted customers to come in with their holiday shopping list and be able to buy presents for everyone on it. Changing Hands has grown to offer that service, and it has an "incredible effect on sales." The point is, "the customer will have a lovely experience in your store, and you will have a lovely experience ringing up increased sales at the cash register."

Questions about sidelines may be directed to Shanks at [email protected]. Watch for more articles on gift items in future issues of BTW. And if you have any sidelines you'd highly recommend, send an e-mail to [email protected]. --Karen Schechner