Old Is New Again at 2nd Edition

"I guess we're bucking the trend," said Debi Echlin of 2nd Edition Books and Gifts in Oakland, California. Co-owners Echlin and Helen Talley reformatted their store from selling mostly used books to carrying only new titles. At a time when many booksellers are opting to add used books to their inventory mix, Echlin said she realized that her diminutive section of new books, comprised entirely of Book Sense Bestsellers and 76 picks, was substantially more profitable than the rest of the used stock.

Last year, when 2nd Edition renewed its lease after a year of negotiations, its rent had gone up 43 percent. "We had to do a much closer analysis than previously to ensure that we'd stay in business," said Echlin. "When we [scrutinized] the business, though we'd given 80 percent of our space to used books, the revenue from used books was only 10 percent."

Since the small bookstore doesn't have a lot of room, Echlin and Talley decided they needed to overhaul radically. "Our store only has 900 square feet of selling space…. In a small space, new is better if you have the market…. We felt good that the market had taken us there already," said Echlin, relieved that a solution to their additional financial burden had been revealed by their own numbers. Echlin joked, "It's embarrassing after six years of business to say, Oops, we've been doing it wrong."

So last January, 2nd Edition began a progressive sale and marked all used books half off. In February every used book was marked one dollar. In March, 2nd Edition closed for five days, and when it reopened the store was completely remodeled and sold only new books. Since then, Echlin has already seen that she and Talley made the right decision.

"Sales for October were up over 70 percent of the previous October. Each month our sales continue to grow. Our per-transaction and per-day sales are higher. Our previous per transaction price was $6.40. Now our average is closer to $72," said Echlin.

Second Edition's customers' reading habits also helped Echlin realize that the store would succeed in the new book market. "We're located in a fairly affluent community," she said. "People are very avid readers, and we're surrounded by lots of universities and lots of used-book stores. Our customers are educated people who like to read and subscribe to The New York Times Book Review, The New Yorker, or Atlantic Monthly, and they listen to NPR. They read and listen to book reviews, and they want to read what's being reviewed now. People around here are into reading the latest and greatest."

Aside from the rise in sales, Echlin has other reasons to appreciate the switch. "The change has allowed us to do more author events," she said. "We're not as crowded and cluttered. The result is that the local newspaper started to comp us ad space for events and even funds the refreshments. I love [the new format]. It's more mental work, but not as much physical. All of our sinuses have improved. It's the right decision for us." --Karen Schechner