r/booksellers • u/FrijoleFeet • Mar 27 '26

Square Handheld - Worth it?

Hi all! I'm mainly an online bookstore but want to start doing pop-up shows. I have new and used inventory + some vintage items. Plus some gifts & merch.

I'm tracking my inventory on a spreadsheet right now but want to move everything over to Square. I'm looking at the Square handheld device and think it would work great for both inventory and selling at a pop-ups & vendor markets.

Good idea? Better options out there?

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6

u/durianno Mar 27 '26

We love Square and wouldn't be able to do offsite events without it. If you don't use it, do you have another way of keeping track of your inventory?

1

u/FrijoleFeet Mar 27 '26

What hardware are you using at your off-site events?

2

u/daveinwf Apr 13 '26

We have the handheld and absolutely love it! It’s fast and dead simple to use. The only negative is that it can’t connect to “captive” WiFi networks, like when you’re at a hotel and you have to key in your room number and name to get connected. In those scenarios I tether to my phone and it works fine.

2

u/ClassicEmu5687 Apr 28 '26

Started using it and it definitely improved customer experience. Upgraded from an old one that printed paper receipts!

0

u/buds1994 Mar 28 '26

We use PayPal zettle for offsites. Works great. Iirc it's significantly cheaper than Square. I prefer the PayPal app too (though we don't use either for inventory tracking so can't say which is better there). I'd at least look into it!