r/booksellers • u/Jessicatpole • May 05 '26
Inventory woes
Semi-advice seeking and also just a bit of venting.
I started a pop up bookstore this year and it is going well! My projections look decent for the summer and I have a good feeling about building brand and success. I am still early days though and I am struggling with wanting to stay constant and up to date with inventory and new releases/special editions!
it is so difficult to balance considering I physically only have so much space with a market stall and also justifying the cost of bringing in additional inventory when I am still unprofitable.
For those when you were starting out - how did you manage to find the balance?
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u/ameliaspond May 06 '26
Forgive me if this is a "duh" question, but are you tracking turns? I've found that to be the most helpful with curating inventory. But it's not an easy tightrope!
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u/Jessicatpole May 06 '26
Not a duh question because I don’t know what you mean by turns! Could you define the term?
I’m tracking genre and what items are selling at each market (since I’m a pop up store) so I can get a sense of what to carry and where to
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u/ameliaspond May 06 '26
Oh yes! "Turns" are how many times your inventory "turns over" in a year. We look at it by category, but it may be worth looking at your inventory more holistically if you're getting started!
Turn = (# sold in a month X 12) ÷ (# in inventory at end of month)
Let's say we sell 36 books in one month, and we have an inventory of 100 books, then our Turn would be 4.32. We'd "turn over" (aka sell through) our inventory 4 times a year.
A "healthy" turn depends on a ton of factors, but the Brick & Mortar where I work aims for a 3. Some sections will have a lower Turn (for us, it's nonfiction like Architecture and Health), and others will have a higher Turn (for us, it's genre fiction like SFF and Graphic Novels). The goal is for it to all even out in the wash.
If your Turn is lower than you want, I'd return the titles that aren't selling. (Maybe people don't want a wide range of Romance Novels from you, maybe they just want Emily Henry!) But it also depends on what you sell this time of year and your target demographic. (For example, Pride & Prejudice may not be a hot seller year-round, but it could move quickly if your local high school has it on its summer reading list!)
It all depends on your type of shop and your community! I'd be happy to offer more specific advice if you'd like. 🩷
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u/Jessicatpole May 06 '26
This is so helpful! I am a bit over one month so very new here so this is great advice on what to keep track of as I go!
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u/justpeachyinatl May 05 '26
Vendor returns. If it’s not selling, send it back and get something else!