Displaying books in a shop / Vintage horror magazines

 

A quiet week at Black Gull Books - (no, not as quiet as the photo suggests) - no mad requests and not much in the way of sales either, which might have made me thought I was doing something wrong if not for the fact that the shops either side were quiet sales-wise too - but what could I do wrong that would affect sales so much? Adorn the shopfront with pro-Trump stickers and play YMCA all day? Probably. Perhaps the table outside could be covered in the 'wrong' kind of books, thus giving a terrible impression and deterring anyone from venturing inside. But that's a subjective matter, eh? As is what I and the other two employees decide to display outside and in. 

To some extent what's put on display must represent our individual tastes - I think - but then, sometimes some very dubious books are on shelves or ledges (there isn't much space available to stand books) - no, I mean, books which I would never display, that's all. I wonder what the policy is in a place like Waterstones...do they have rules? Does the manager decide or do employees get a say? Must be tricky with three or four staff. Are there books which must never be displayed? Politically contentious? "That pro-Trump book must never be in the window! Nor that one challenging the climate disaster scenario!" 

When I choose books to display inside the shop they're a mixture of ones that have been known to sell well and ones that look good; fiction with striking covers or Art books. The table is a tougher challenge, since, yes, I really do think about it rather than chuck anything on there. Mind you, there's an argument to be made for putting cheap tat on the table when the chances are it will either be shat on by The Birds or caught in an unexpected shower or, as was the case on Thursday, all covers will begin to curl up because the atmosphere is so damp. Yet I could never just put virtually worthless books out for those reasons. By worthless, I mean the kind of thing that very rarely sells, or is a very cheap and nasty edition, or beaten up already. One must give a good impression, surely - you can judge a bookshop by the covers on its table!

Last week a box of vintage horror magazines turned up. The Owner didn't realise their worth but I did, on a hunch proved right by some quick online checks - so they became my pet project, price them up and get covers for them. They really are great and I was tempted to grab some for myself but thought better of it. 

I'm pleased to say that they began to sell this week. Any fan of vintage horror mags will stumble into a treasure trove when they come across this lot. Some great ads too, of course...