Five Tips for Marketing Mixed and Used Inventory

ABA’s October Marketing Meetup focused on how to market mixed and used inventory. Watch a recording of the session here.

Keep these five tips in mind:

• Decide how you want to organize titles in your store. Depending on what your store sells the majority of, you might consider creating a special display for new/used books. Other stores have had success mixing their used books in with new titles; Weller Book Works found that sales of both new and used titles increased when combining the sections.
• Post about used books on social media to keep customers in the know about what’s in stock.
• Consider offering a trade-in program. Take a look at Flyleaf Books’ trade-in guidelines as an example.
• Take advantage of unique used book covers. Place them face out on the shelves to draw customer attention. The Wise Owl Books and Music has found vintage covers to be a great conversation starter.
• Partner with community institutions. This can help you broaden the reach of your used titles. For example, Driftless Books and Music stocks gardening titles at Thoreau’s Garden, the greenhouse shop of Thoreau College.